?'s about combining kids

annegirl1919 · Post by **annegirl1919** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 7:51 pm

i have a dd who i've purchased beyond for as her 1st grade program. she is a perfect fit for it. (skill level, etc.) she has a little brother who is probably going to be 2 grades behind her. (3 if he's slow to want to do school, but i'm hoping for the 2 that their ages put them apart.)

this year i'm planning to do lhth with him. we did it 2 years ago with dd. but the thing that i wonder about is how could we ever get to the point of combining with this starting place. (both of them being in programs that are perfect for their skill level.) i have a hard time seeing how it would work without dd having to repeat the same years pretty close together, but with the extension packs.

so i've figured i'd just do two programs because everyone says it's so doable, but honestly that scares me. plus, behind ds is another dd, who will be 3-4 grades behind him. meaning eventually i'll have to do 3 programs?!! i can't fathom feeling like i could do 3 programs of anything and still keep up a house and have any other life outside homeschooling. (including my husband.)

i don't want hs to be the only thing i get done in life, so what are your thoughts. do you see a way for me to combine them in the future that wouldn't require 1st dd to go through the same programs back to back? should i use something besides hod for dd until ds is ready to do a program that i could beef up for her? what does it mean when they say 2 and 3 programs are doable? how much time is it taking of direct parent involvement to accomplish this?

thanks in advance!

Marty D · Post by **Marty D** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 8:27 pm

I don't have a whole lot of answers for you. I am just going to give you my first thoughts. This is very close to my situation also. I have an 8 yo who I am going to be doing beyond with, and 4 yo (5 at beginning of "school" year) that I am doing LTHT with, and then a 2 yo. I have wondered this same thing about whether I can do three different programs. My thoughts on the subject are that by the time number three is ready for school number one should be more independent. So I would think that I would be spending less one on one time with him.

I am still considering how I can combine the other two, but I am not sure that it will be workable. Maybe someone else has some better answers for you.

my3sons · Post by **my3sons** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 8:58 pm

I'll be doing 3 HOD programs eventually too. I've been doing 2 for the last 2 years, and it has gone just fine. The programs are very time-conscious, and I can work with one while the other is doing something independent, and then switch. I think that if the age span or ability level of dc begins to get too wide, it's actually harder to combine than it is to separate. The HOD guides continue to teach the child to be more and more independent each year, and I know the future guides will continue in this vein.

So, I'd say just do what fits your dc's placements best for now, and as they grow, there's more "wiggle room" for which guide might work for combining if you decide you want to do so. It's easy to slow one of the 2 programs down so the other catches up so 2 of your dc could be together eventually - whether it's the older two, or the youngest with the middle child, that may be very possible to work out over time.

In Christ,
Julie

Kathleen · Post by **Kathleen** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 10:13 pm

Anne & Marty,

I'm in the same boat, too...and have thought of the same things you have. I really like the way HOD moves the kids towards independence, so that I can spend more of my time with the younger ones.

Julie, I like your idea of slowing a program or 2 down so that one can "catch" the other...I may just try that as we go.

I guess I'm thinking that if God wants me to homeschool my kids, and HOD is teaching what we believe He would have us to teach, He'll absolutely provide the strength and time to do it! (Plus...Carrie will have 4 different programs going soon, AND be finishing writing the material.

She has her finger well on the pulse of the busy homeschooling mom.

)

Kathleen

annegirl1919 · Post by **annegirl1919** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 9:07 am

my3sons (or anyone else combining), could you give me some specifics of how your day goes doing two programs? like how much of your day it takes. do you do bills, laundry, etc. in the middle of it, or are you occupied throughout the entire time?

any other points of interest?

oh, and i'm combining lhth and beyond. so i'm curious about those combining, not including lhth.
thanks!

my3sons · Post by **my3sons** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 4:03 pm

annegirl1919 wrote:my3sons (or anyone else combining), could you give me some specifics of how your day goes doing two programs? like how much of your day it takes. do you do bills, laundry, etc. in the middle of it, or are you occupied throughout the entire time?

any other points of interest?

oh, and i'm combining lhth and beyond. so i'm curious about those combining, not including lhth.
thanks!

Hi there! This topic is one of high interest, and there's been some great threads on it that I'll link you to here:

http://www.heartofdakota.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=542

http://www.heartofdakota.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=95

http://www.heartofdakota.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=561

http://www.heartofdakota.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=702

I posted what I did for the year combining LHFHG and Bigger... on these threads. The year before this past year, I combined Beyond... and LHTH. That was the year I was on bedrest pretty much the whole school year, and we still were able to pretty happily do school! So, I know if I can do that, anybody else surely can too!

You asked how the rest of the day went - as far as chores, etc. I had the boys get ready (brush teeth, comb hair, wash hands, get dressed) and do room checks (make bed, pick up, etc.) at 7:30 AM. Then, they did their chores. The 5 yo unloaded the dishwasher, the 8 yo fed the dog, let her out, and grabbed breakfast for the 2 of them. They ate breakfast and played until 9:00 AM then. I used this time to throw in a load of laundry, make phone calls, feed/dress the baby (and myself

) etc. At 9:00 AM we started school. By 12:30 PM or so, I gave the 2 older boys a long "recess" outdoors - if weather permitted - or indoors if it didn't. This let me get lunch ready and feed the baby. I also returned phone calls, folded a load of laundry, checked emails, etc. by 1:15 PM or so, we ate lunch and finished school, usually pretty early in the afternoon. Then, the boys played again, the baby napped, and I did whatever else had to be done to keep up the house, make supper, etc. It was a great year! I will say that during "Teaching Time" with the boys, I did NOT do anything else. That worked because I knew I had the 2 playtime/recess times and the end of the afternoon to do other things. Annegirl - I'm so sure that you could do this happily, that if I were a betting girl, I'd bet the farm!

HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

Post by **Carrie** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 8:26 pm

Ladies,

I just wanted to pop-in and say that we have this same situation at our house with my boys being aged 12, 9, 5, and 2. My kiddos are too far apart to combine well, and what we've actually found with HOD (and their age gaps) is it's easier to keep them in separate programs than it was trying to combine them.

Now, if you have kiddos close together in age, HOD is prime for combining them.

But that is not the situation we have at our house.

We actually run 3 separate programs now, with my oldest and my 9 year and my 5 year old doing different things, and I will be adding a 4th program to the mix when my 2 year old starts LHTH.

So, how will that work? Well, that is why HOD guides move kiddos toward more independence as they grow older. First, because they need to gain those independent skills. Secondly, because they've already had time with you for their K-3 years, and now your little ones will need you to give them the same attention you gave the older ones. Third, the time spent with older kiddos can be reserved for discussions, teachings, training, and digging deeper (rather than you being scheduled to read all of their material to them).

So, don't worry about the long run, as we are going before you to make sure your path is steady.

Blessings,
Carrie

annegirl1919 · Post by **annegirl1919** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 9:37 pm

thanks, all, for your replies. i'm going to be doing 2 this year, but one is lhth. i think, though, that that will help me start down the path of doing two longer ones. and slowly i'll just know how to mesh it all and keep it short enough for our life style.

Post by **Carrie** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 9:02 pm

I agree, annegirl, that the best way to start doing 2 of our programs is with LHTH being one of them! It's like easing yourself into it!

However, many moms don't get the chance to start that way, and honestly after coming to HOD from something else, they still feel like they have less (even running two programs)!

You'll do great!

Blessings,
Carrie