Help with combining students at different levels

[tracyt]

I have a two part question... This fall I will have a 7, 6, and almost 4 year old (& a newborn). After checking the placement chart, it looks like my 7 year old is ready for Beyond, my 6 year old LHFHG, and I really won't do much formally with HOD with my 4 year old. I don't mind running two guides at once with my oldest two this fall, so I guess my concern is for future years. Once my 4 year old starts in a year I would be running three guides (Bigger, Beyond, & LHFHG), not to mention having a toddler, this seems overwhelming to me! In the future I'm interested in letting my oldest two work in the same guide, but what is the best way & when is the best time to combine them?
Secondly, I've heard it's best for the older child to work a "lower" guide & possibly do extensions, but how does that work when he's ready for high school World Geography and he's still in Revival to Revolution? Would we just use Missions to Modern Marvels his freshman year, Geography for sophomore, etc.?
I hope I'm making sense, just trying to work this out in my head! Thanks for your help!

[Jennymommy]

I posted this link on anothe "multiple guide" topic, and it may be helpful for you as well viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2093&start=135&fb_r ... age#p73102

[StephanieU]

First, if you want to combine the older two, the easiest way is to do it from the start, with both in LHFHG. You would do the right level of math, reading, and handwriting for each child. You may need the Beyond guide for those things. If you buy just the guide with LHFHG package from HOD, you can ask to get the package price for Beyond the next year easily. We just bought the Beyond package because money wasn't tight though and it helped save on shipping!
Then I would either do LHTH with the 3Rs from LHFHG with the now 4y when he is 5 OR just do the 3Rs for K. I really prefer LHFHG for older 5yos and 6yos. That will put a year between guides as well, which is nice for you as the mom.

As for high school, there are a few options. First, down the road once they older two get into "independent" guides, the older one may be able to skip a guide. Or, if that doesn't seem like a great idea, you can easily use MtMM for high school with a few modifications. The main one is to add economics because you won't get that half credit in the first three "high school" guides. Other than that, you would want to consider the science and language arts. Depending on your state requirements (as well as those of potential colleges), modification may not be necessary. But, those two areas you would want to research.