Placement, please help

[Aimee]

Hi, I posted something earlier this week and had a nice discussion with another newbie, but I would still love to hear what some of you experienced HOD users would recommend. I am trying to find a program to use next year for my four youngest boys, who will be 6, 9, 9 and 12 - I'll restate what I shared in the earlier post, sorry to be redundant but I have heard such great things about the helpfulness of this board and would love some input. The two middles fit very well into Bigger according to the placement chart - they are reading independently, one using chapter books like the Mouse and the Motorcycle, and the other preferring graded readers like R&S or Pathway. We are about a third of the way through R&S 2nd grade grammar and they are able to complete the exercises in it. We have also used PLL and they are capable of dictation (small chunks), copywork and some independent writing, and they both do narration (mostly oral) regularly. They have not started cursive yet - I was waiting until 3rd grade. It seems they'd be well placed in Bigger (I think they'd be able to do Preparing, but haven't started cursive and I would prefer American history for next year).

My little guy (6) is an emerging reader who can do simple copywork, is continuing to work with phonics and is ready for first grade level work. I think Beyond would be a good fit for him.

It is my older of the four, who will be 12 in November and in 6th grade, who I am having trouble fitting into this equation. He has worked through 2/3 of Intermediate Language Lessons and has great writing and research skills (even if he doesn't love writing). He is does well with narration (doing more written now), dictation and copywork. He is an avid reader whose favorite genre is historical fiction, and he reads well above grade level. I am wondering if the two previously mentioned programs would work together, and if so, what could I do for my older guy? Again, I would like to keep them all on the same page for history - at least the same general time period.

I'm also wondering if it would be ok to skip Preparing the following year and move directly into Creation to Christ, which would be a better fit for my bigger guy, and a good fit for the two middlers as well.
Thanks so much,
Aimee

[WigglesMom]

I don't have children that are as old as yours; but, if I am reading it right, you plan to use Beyond with your 6 yr. old and Bigger with your 9, 9, and 12 year old. My dd will be 9 in July and we plan to do Bigger. She actually placed in Preparing this year and even in CTC in some areas. Even with using his own level of math, language arts, reading/writing program, I think you would have to really tweak Bigger for a 12 year old with science and history. I'm not saying it can't be done, but the most it is recommended to extend to is 11 years old. In the catolog, it describes Bigger as a patriotic 2nd or 3rd grade program. With PHFHG, the extensions are meant to spread it to 5th and 6th grade. So I am assuming in BHFHG the extensions extend it to at most 5th grade.
This is just me, but I wouldn't think BHFHG would be enough for a 12 year old 6th grader. I was nervous about using it for an advanced 4th grader and it being enough. I am actually going to be using BHFHG with the extensions for my 9 year old. I would think that by the time you tweaked BHFHG for you 12 yr old that it wouldn't really resemble BHFHG and he would be doing a lot of separate, independent reading and you would be doing your own thing for the right side anyway to make it his level. PHFHG has several boxes that will be semi-independent and independent as well as teacher directed. If I am wrong about you wanting to do BHFHG with the 12 yr old, then my apologies. Since you think that your 9 yr. olds may could do PHFHG but you want to do American History. Why not do the left side of BHFHG with your 3 older sons for the history and maybe see if someone has some ideas for extra spines for your oldest and do the right side of PHFHG with all 3 of them for math, language arts and poetry (you may want to do the science for PHFHG too)? You would buy the economy package of BHFHG with the history (plus extensions for the oldest), then just buy PHFHG guide (not the economy package just the guide), choose which science adder you want the BHFHG or the PHFHG, then DITHOR for their individual levels (if you will be using it as your reading/writing), math, and english in each of their levels. You can always add in a cursive workbook for the younger 2. A Reason for Handwriting has a transition book that goes from manuscript to learning cursive to cursive writing. I would just expect them to progress to cursive in their daily work as the book progresses from manuscript to cursive. That way if you did do CTC the next year you wouldn't be making a really big jump from BHFHG to CTC which are very different styled guides b/c PHFHG is where the semi-independent and independent boxes start. You will have just skipped world history.
As for your 6 yr old ds, BLHFHG does sound like a good fit. The only thing I can think of that would might be not so fun for you would be that you would be doing BHFHG 2 years in a row if you do BLHFHG this year with your 6 yr old. If that isn't a problem or you wouldn't go batty teaching the same guide 2 yrs in a row, then I would go for it. If you don't think you want to do 2 yrs in a row of BHFHG, LHFHG has 1st grade options. I plan to use it with my 6 and 7 yr. olds and add first language lessons to it. Just a thought. Of course if you only do the history for BHFHG with the older 3 then you won't be burnt out on BHFHG and BLHFHG would be a great fit for both you and your 6 yr. old, but then you would be doing PHFHG 2 yrs in a row. You see the pattern.
Don't know if this will help you or not in your decision, but I hope you find a good fit for HOD and your family.
Val

[WigglesMom]

I'm bumping this up to see if any of ladies and/or gentlemen who have done some of these programs can help you with placement.
Val

[Aimee]

Val, thank you for your input, I do appreciate it. I actually mixed myself (and you) up in my last post - I am planning to have my 6-year-old do LHFHG, not beyond. But I would still like to consider putting the two middles (will be 9) in BHFHG, and try to figure out how to incorporate my 12-year-old in the plan. I would plan to have his math, science and LA completely separate from the guide, and use the program solely for history for him. Even so, I recognize that I'd likely need to find a more advanced spine and plug in more readers at his level, which is something I have been doing for the past few years with Biblioplan, but we are ready for a change.

Thanks and I'd love to hear if anyone has made this sort of arrangement work for their family.
Blessings,
Aimee