Do I need to take break from HOD so kids can b @ same level?

[laurabelle1317]

My son is 4 and I'd really like to start LHTH. He is definitely ready for it now and I don't want to delay on doing LHTH with him. I then have a daughter that is 19months old. So she's not even really ready for LHTH's younger version. We will probably be going half speed anyway, since we will be starting soon so we will probably take all summer and all of next school year to do it. So my daughter will eventually be turning 2 (in October) and might be able to be a bit more involved in it. I'm going to get them each their own set of books and I figure I would go through LHTH with my daughter again when she is 4.

My question is, will they ever be able to be in the same HOD level? There is exactly 2.5 years between them. When my daughter is 5 then my son will be 7.5. So they would both be in the range for LHFHG. She would be at the youngest age and he would be at the older range. But that would mean taking a break from HOD with my son for like 2 school years so they can then be in the same level. And if we love HOD, then I may not want to do that. And if I did take a break with HOD, then what would I do with him for TWO years?!

Or would I move on to LHFHG with him, then do something else for just one year, and then redo LHFHG with him again along with my daughter for the first time?

Any ideas? Ideally they eventually are in the same level. But it will be a little while before that can happen. Who knows, maybe she will be ready for LHFHG at age 4 instead of 5.

Because I am a visual person, here it is sort of laid out:

School Year~~~~Ages~~~~~~~~~~~Rough Plan
2010-11~~~Son 4 Daughter 2~~~doing LHTH, starting this summer (but daughter is only 19mos right now)
2011-12~~~Son 5 Daughter 3~~~not sure what to do for son
2012-13~~~Son 6 Daughter 4~~~thinking of redoing LHTH for my daughter, not sure what to do for son
2013-14~~~Son 7 Daughter 5~~~both will be in LHFHG age range--yay!

[crlacey]

When kids are as little, it's really tough to combine and meet everyone at their level. I have found that at 4 they are ready to work on fine motor skills using a crayon or scissors while at 2 you are trying to keep the crayons out of their mouths.

Here is my experience so take it for what it's worth. My kids are 2.5 years apart and there is no way I could fit them into one manual. My son is 4 and his skills are perfect for LHTH and my daughter is almost 7 and her skills are perfectly fitting in Beyond. If I tried to wait until my son was 5 and my daughter was 7.5 I feel like I would have been doing her a disservice to put her into Little Hearts since by that time she'll be almost ready to move into Bigger. In my kids I've also found that what my daughter was able to do at 3, my son is only now at 4 beginning to be able to do.

Of course you know your kids and your situation best, so maybe you'll be able to combine them sometime in the future. There is always the option of doing manuals at half speed until the younger one catches up.

[countrymom]

I am sure there are many here who have done many things and might have some ideas, but I'll just throw in my 2 cents. This is our first year with HOD and our boys are 19 months apart. I am doing LHTH and LHFHG with them because I just couldn't see how it would work to combine - they are so different. Our youngest (age 3 1/2) will repeat LHTH and our oldest (age 5) will be very ready to do Beyond this fall. I guess a lot depends on the child. I think LHFHG is probably not enough for some 7 yr olds, and just right for others. We started our youngest in LHTH at age 3, and if I had it to do over again I would have waited until he was 3 1/2 and gone 1/2 speed. He really wasn't ready then. Six months makes a huge difference at this age and we are doing fine now. I think it is hard to plan ahead when the kiddos are so young. I can understand your desire to combine. I have tried to figure out how I could combine my children down the road, but right now I just don't see how I can do it without compromising one of them. That is our experience, maybe others will have some different advice for you.

[MamaPajama]

I'm in the same boat. In fact, I just posted about it the other day. My DS (6) will be doing BLHFHG this fall and DD (4) will be doing LHTH. There's just simply NO way I could combine them right now. DS has already covered in MFWK most of what is covered in LHFHG and DD just isn't ready for it! I really don't know how it would work out to combine them later unless DS starts to struggle with his work load and DD just excels. It's really hard to say how things will go in the future, and one thing I've definitely learned in my short time homeschooling is to try try try not to plan too far ahead...though that's hard for me too because I'm definitely a planner!

[billswife]

My girls are 20 months apart in age. There is no way I could combine them. My 7.5 year old is finishing Beyond and is getting ready for Bigger. My just turned 6 year old will be ready to start Little Hearts in the fall. I tried to start Little Hearts last fall when she was 5.5 years old, but she just wasn't ready. Their abilities at the same age are completely different. When my older girl was 5.5-6 yrs. old, she wanted to learn to read and do math. My youngest isn't like that at all. She would rather play!

[mamas4loves]

Hi!

I want to just encourage you to meet each child's needs where they are at and leave combining off the table for now. We are doing 2 guides (CTC and just started Bigger) and my little guy at 5 is doing The Reading Lesson and a Reason for Handwriting K. I have a another little one, 3, who tags along with everything and she is absorbing sooo much. My hope is to someday combine my 5 year old and 3 year old, but......it has been my experience that some children are not combinable. My two oldest are like that and once I separated them, the younger of the two blossomed. However, if you are determined to combine--I would move forward with the oldest and see how your daughter develops over the next two years.
Also, pray,pray,pray!

blessings,
Jess

[krismoose]

I hear you...I just asked the same question the other day...viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5988&p=43924#p43924 I've come to a peace about just getting started with my older dc and finding the right pace for him. My 3 yo dd will likely join in for much of it, but I'm going to plan on doing LHTH or 20 min of something special with her everyday as well. Once she's actually old enough to understand some of the history (and I'd say my son is just there now, at 5.5) I'll see if she can participate meaningfully in whichever program ds is doing. I thought about delaying my ds, as well as stretching Beyond & Bigger out for 2 yrs each to allow dd to get into the age range, but that's 4 consecutive years of American history, which may get tedious for *me* _and_ it may not be a good fit once we get there. God reminded me, "Cease striving and know that I am God" and that, for me, that would have been striving. I believe now that if He wants us to combine into one program when the older 2 are both school-age, then it will not take such a herculean effort HTH, I understand the desire to do it together!

[samara]

Hi! I had also hoped to combine my two middle children who are 14 months apart. However, due to personality differences and maturity levels I came to realize it just wouldn't work. My daughter age 6 is very quick and has a very dominant personality. My son age 5 is much more thoughtful about answering questions and takes his time. If I combined them he probably would never be able to get a question answered before his sister came up with the answer. So I have resigned myself to using LHFHG for my son and Beyond for my daughter. I think they will both be able to blossom with their own programs even if it means a little more work for me.
Sara

[laurabelle1317]

Thank you all for your answers.

It did make me think about how not having them in the same program would allow both of them o blossom individually. I could go at their own pace. If one goes faster and the other slower, that would be okay. No competition between the two of them or one feeling overshadowed by the other.

I will continue on as planned with LHTH for my 4 year old son and see where God leads us in time. We're excited to start soon!