Feel Lost with 6 yo

[glperky]

I have a DS that just turned 6 two weeks ago. I have just been doing phonics, math, and handwriting with him. Last year we did LHFHG with my son that will be 8 in two weeks. I didn't move him into Beyond with his brother because he is not getting phonics and he wasn't ready for the writing until now. Other than phonics and spelling words he would place in Beyond. On most days he does sit in on the History, Science, and Storytime and does a good job answering any questions I ask and does a good job narrating. (He joins in because he wants to.) So, I am wondering if I should just put him in Beyond (we have only done through Unit 5) with his brother after the new year, just keep doing what we have been doing and let him join in, or just work on phonics, math, and handwriting and not let him join in on the rest so he doesn't go through it twice? An other opitons might be, to move my 8 yo up to Bigger, because he places there, and go 1/2 speed in Beyond with my 6 yo. I would love to just combind them but feel pretty sure that my 6yo would not be ready for Bigger, he would have to come a long way, and don't feel comfortable doing Beyond half speed with my 8 yo. Sorry if this doesn't make much sense. I would appreciate any input you can give. Thank you!

[Tidbits of Learning]

This is just my opinion based on having kids that are close in age but not necessarily on the same abilities...I wouldn't combine them. I have 3 kids all a year apart in age. I used to combine my oldest girls b/c they are 13 months apart, but now with high school looming...I am looking at the big picture. I don't want her to graduate at 15. She won't be ready to graduate at 15. She is doing math and language arts behind her sibling. I don't want to re-invent the wheel either to get her the rest of the way through high school. We stopped combining a few years ago and that first year I could really see how much my oldest had been cruising through things to keep it on her sister's level as well as how much my younger dd had been letting my older dd take the lead in school and not necessarily her having to work her hardest.
I know a lot of people love combining but I see the beauty in letting them have something their own as well. The time spent with just mom is invaluable. They truly grow in their skills instead of an older sibling unintentionally leading the way. I love to sit side by side on the couch with just one of my children and read with them and talk with them about what we are learning. The thing is that eventually you will have a 13 or 14 year old freshman and an 11 or 12 year old pseudo freshman. I wouldn't combine any children that are 2+ grade levels apart.
With your situation, I would leave the 6 yr old in LHFHG since he places their with math and reading. Those are the 2 that I would really look at b/c all the rest jumps dramatically over the years and Bigger is a lot more than Beyond. If your 8 year old would now place in Bigger, then I would make that move so that you aren't in back to back guides. I have done the combining but when you have 2+ grade levels apart in abilities it just doesn't work out for them. It may be easier to get through the school day faster but all the children will get short changed long term.

[glperky]

With your situation, I would leave the 6 yr old in LHFHG since he places their with math and reading. Those are the 2 that I would really look at b/c all the rest jumps dramatically over the years and Bigger is a lot more than Beyond. If your 8 year old would now place in Bigger, then I would make that move so that you aren't in back to back guides. I have done the combining but when you have 2+ grade levels apart in abilities it just doesn't work out for them. It may be easier to get through the school day faster but all the children will get short changed long term.

Tidbits-
Thank you for your input. I hadn't even thought about the whole graduating two years early deal!

You said, "I would leave the 6 yr old in LHFHG," but he has already finished it, and that's why I am not sure what to do now. He is ready for everything in Beyond expect reading and spelling and he is no where close to either of those. His mind is really sharp it just doesn't seem to be clicking on reading, at all.

[MelInKansas]

I think you are right on in seeing that while your 6YO may be enjoying Beyond right now and able to do History, Storytime, and Science there, he would not be able to move to Bigger as quickly as his brother, and that's OK. I had a similar situation. My now 6YO (almost 7) did the read-aloud and activity portions of Beyond with her older sister (though I rarely asked the younger one to answer the questions in Bible or History because it wasn't really "her" guide). Then when older sister went up to Bigger she started LHFHG. It was perfect for her. Now the 2nd is in Beyond and my oldest is getting ready to move into Preparing. I like having them 2 guides apart, though if they placed closer I would do back-to-back guides.

Give the younger one time to grow in his writing, spelling, and narration skills, keep doing reading and math where he is at and let him enjoy sitting in on big brother's stuff if he wants to. My 2nd always wanted to. Now my 3rd, she cannot be bothered to sit in on too much of her sisters' stuff except for crafts and science experiments. LHTH is just right for her right now too.

Reading wise he does not need to be doing ERs in Beyond. They are in Bigger too. So writing, spelling, and narration might be what is holding him back. I guess he might remember repeating Beyond twice if it was two years in a row, but I bet he wouldn't care. Maybe a little older it would be a problem. Hopefully if you go through Beyond twice he will then be well placed and be able to move on when Beyond is over.

Some people repeat LHFHG too, you could think if repeating part of that might be appropriate.

[Tidbits of Learning]

With your situation, I would leave the 6 yr old in LHFHG since he places their with math and reading. Those are the 2 that I would really look at b/c all the rest jumps dramatically over the years and Bigger is a lot more than Beyond. If your 8 year old would now place in Bigger, then I would make that move so that you aren't in back to back guides. I have done the combining but when you have 2+ grade levels apart in abilities it just doesn't work out for them. It may be easier to get through the school day faster but all the children will get short changed long term.

Tidbits-
Thank you for your input. I hadn't even thought about the whole graduating two years early deal!

You said, "I would leave the 6 yr old in LHFHG," but he has already finished it, and that's why I am not sure what to do now. He is ready for everything in Beyond expect reading and spelling and he is no where close to either of those. His mind is really sharp it just doesn't seem to be clicking on reading, at all.

When he completed it his writing wasn't great, right? Did he do 1st grade options? He was doing it with a sibling as well. There are 2 Bible options for LHFHG combined with other science options. You could always go back through the storytime and work on his writing and narrating skills. The reason I say this is b/c back to back guides of BHFHG and PHFHG or PHFHG and CTC would be intense. I would go back through it with different options for the Bible and Science and the 1st grade options for the math, handwriting, and reading. If his writing and spelling isn't ready for Beyond then he isn't going to be there in a year for Bigger which is a really intensive guide that jumps the writing skills a lot. Having that one on one time for writing and reading in LHFHG could help you to prepare him better for the next guide to improve his skills all around.I think you will be surprised at how much growth a student can make when not combined with an older sibling even if they repeat some materials.

[glperky]

With your situation, I would leave the 6 yr old in LHFHG since he places their with math and reading. Those are the 2 that I would really look at b/c all the rest jumps dramatically over the years and Bigger is a lot more than Beyond. If your 8 year old would now place in Bigger, then I would make that move so that you aren't in back to back guides. I have done the combining but when you have 2+ grade levels apart in abilities it just doesn't work out for them. It may be easier to get through the school day faster but all the children will get short changed long term.

Tidbits-
Thank you for your input. I hadn't even thought about the whole graduating two years early deal!

You said, "I would leave the 6 yr old in LHFHG," but he has already finished it, and that's why I am not sure what to do now. He is ready for everything in Beyond expect reading and spelling and he is no where close to either of those. His mind is really sharp it just doesn't seem to be clicking on reading, at all.

When he completed it his writing wasn't great, right? Did he do 1st grade options? He was doing it with a sibling as well. There are 2 Bible options for LHFHG combined with other science options. You could always go back through the storytime and work on his writing and narrating skills. The reason I say this is b/c back to back guides of BHFHG and PHFHG or PHFHG and CTC would be intense. I would go back through it with different options for the Bible and Science and the 1st grade options for the math, handwriting, and reading. If his writing and spelling isn't ready for Beyond then he isn't going to be there in a year for Bigger which is a really intensive guide that jumps the writing skills a lot. Having that one on one time for writing and reading in LHFHG could help you to prepare him better for the next guide to improve his skills all around.

He has done all the first grade options except he is working thorough the first grade math now. And you're right, I don't want to do the guides back to back.

[Tidbits of Learning]

He has done all the first grade options except he is working thorough the first grade math now. And you're right, I don't want to do the guides back to back.

This is just me and looking back in hindsight as I actually combined all 3 of my kids in BLHFHG one year. It was a dismal failure even though they were all in the age range. I had to tweak and adapt and supplement for my older and younger child until HOD was a distant memory of what it should have been for that guide. You still have the option of another Bible, another science, pick up a different handwriting book (you can get cheap zaner bloser ones for $10 at Target or Walmart). I wouldn't jump into Beyond without the phonics or writing being there b/c Bigger is a much bigger jump after Beyond. I have jumped with a child that struggled in reading and writing. It didn't do us any favors and in each new level he was behind in reading and writing and the higher up in the guides the more adapting we had to do at that point.
The other option is to just do the 3 R's at his level and take a break from HOD so that you don't have back to back guides. But I do think going back through LHFHG with different Bible and Science (there are 3 science options I believe) and picking up a cheap handwriting book while continuing your phonics would give the most growth to be prepared for the next guide. There is also a reading list in the back with books you can get from the library.

[tollhousemom]

If older brother places solidly in Bigger, you could move him up and do Beyond 1/2 speed with the 6yo. If the 8yo goes full speed, he would progress through Bigger and Preparing while the 6yo spends two years on Beyond. Then you would have the older one in CTC with the younger in Bigger which would avoid the back-to-back guide issue.

[my3sons]

You have some good options to weigh here! You'd mentioned 6 yo ds is not ready for the phonics and the spelling in Beyond. I am wondering if you would be able to share a bit about each of these areas? Is he writing his letters properly, but not ready to write (spelling) words? Or, is he able to do some copywork of a line or two of poetry? For his phonics, what has he done, what is he doing, and how's it going? Sorry for all of the questions, but I'd like to know a little more to feel a little more sure of what to advise. As far as your 8 yo, does he solidly place in Bigger Hearts, including the amount of writing? Thanks!!!

In Christ,
Julie

[glperky]

You have some good options to weigh here! You'd mentioned 6 yo ds is not ready for the phonics and the spelling in Beyond. I am wondering if you would be able to share a bit about each of these areas? Is he writing his letters properly, but not ready to write (spelling) words? Or, is he able to do some copywork of a line or two of poetry? For his phonics, what has he done, what is he doing, and how's it going? Sorry for all of the questions, but I'd like to know a little more to feel a little more sure of what to advise. As far as your 8 yo, does he solidly place in Bigger Hearts, including the amount of writing? Thanks!!!

In Christ,
Julie

Julie,

Thanks for the questions. He is writing properly, and can copy a line or two. He really enjoys copy work. I don't think he is ready for spelling because the sounds of letter just are not clicking with him. For phonics he has done ETC Ready Set Go books. Watches Leap Frog videos. We have tried The Reading Lesson and McRuffy and MFW Kindergarten. ETC is the only thing that went well. But he doesn't seem to be retaining any of it. If I place letters in front of him and ask him, "Which one is the C or sounds like /k/" he can point to it, usually. But if I ask him, "What letter is this or what sound does it make?" He can't answer and gets upset and says, "Mom, I just don't know" or "I just don't remember." I don't know what to do.

Yes, the 8 yr. solidly places in Bigger, including the writing. But he is loving Beyond!

[my3sons]

Thanks for answering my questions! I am walking out the door right now, but a few more quick questions and then I'll get back with you the next day... what are your thoughts about The Reading Lesson? If he does alright with copywork, and you have the Beyond manual, do you think could you try doing Day 1 with spelling list 1 in the back of the Beyond guide, with showing him the index card, letting him study it, taking it away, and having him write it on a markerboard? Just try a few if it's not clicking. I'd love to know how that goes. Last question, how do you feel about your oldest doing Beyond now, and how do you feel about him doing Bigger now? Thanks!!!

In Christ,
Julie

[glperky]

Julie,

My 8yo old used The Reading Lesson and it worked great. We also used ETC and McRuffy Kind. But it is not working at all for my 6 yo. Not sure why, he just doesn't get it. I'll try the spelling words tomorrow and get back to you on them. And as far as Beyond or Bigger goes with my 8 yo, either one is fine with me. I did forget to mention that he is not a strong reader yet and is reading the Emerger Reader books. He is on the second Bible book. I don't know if that makes a differnce or not. Thanks again Julie.

[glperky]

Julie-

Wow, we did spellomg and he got 8 out of 10! That's way better than I thought he'd do. I think he could have done all of them if big brother won't have been around. So, now what?

[my3sons]

Thanks! Well, I think I'd get "Reading Made Easy" and do that with 6 yo. It is an excellent phonics program, and it takes a bit of a different approach and gives more details for helping than TRL. As far as combining in Beyond, you had mentioned... on most days he does sit in on the History, Science, and Storytime and does a good job answering any questions I ask and does a good job narrating. He seems to be doing ok with the spelling too. My only concern is getting to Bigger Hearts, which has quite a bit of writing, too soon. So, I see 3 options...

Option 1: Combine 6 yo and 8 yo in Beyond now, and go half-speed for as long as needed in Bigger Hearts until then 7 yo can do it all. You could use LA/math from next guide for 8 yo as needed, but you would have to be alright with slowing down Bigger for then 7 yo as long as needed in this plan, or they wouldn't be able to stay combined anyway.

Option 2: Separate 6 yo and 8 yo, going half-speed Beyond with 6 yo, taking 2 years to complete it; and going full-speed Beyond with 8 yo and full-speed Bigger Hearts with then 9 yo, so at the start of third year then 8 yo would do Bigger Hearts and then 10 yo would do PHFHG. These guides are both more teacher directed though.

Option 3: Separate 6 yo and 8 yo, going half-speed Beyond with 6 yo and putting 8 yo in Bigger Hearts full-speed. The next year then 7 yo would do other half of Beyond, and then 9 yo would be doing PHFHG. This only works well if 8 yo can handle the "I" work and reading/writing in PHFHG by next year. Otherwise, it'll be too much of you having to step in and help.

What do you think?
In Christ,
Julie

[glperky]

Julie,

Thank you very much for the help. I think I am just going to keep on combining in Beyond since he wants to join in anyway. And after looking at Preparing, I am not real comfortable moving my 8yo into Bigger. If my 6 yo isn't ready for Bigger when we get there, well we'll cross that bridge when we get there. God could do a mighty work between now and then. Thanks again for the help.