Cindie,
You're exactly right that you would want to use ALL of the boxes on the 2-page spread to teach your child so that they're getting everything they need. But, like Kristen said, as long as you're doing math, reading & writing at your child's level the other "boxes" are much easier to combine over an age spread. The easiest way to use HOD is just to open-and-go as is.

But some families really want their kids together for the majority of their day either because mom has many children to teach or other personal reasons.
You may have also seen that some moms go "half-speed" where they use the right side one day, the left side the next. This is usually when they're starting a new guide (especially the younger guides

) with a child who falls on the youngest end of the age range. This helps the child grow into the work required within the guide, stretches the guide out to take more than a traditional school year, and allows the child to get older before reaching the older guides while still moving forward with their learning. I'm pretty sure that Carrie doesn't reccommend doing this with Preparing and up because a child at that age needs a full school day and all the work required. Here's a thread where moms talked about how they use HOD "half-speed" - there are MANY ways to make the guide work for your family if just using the 2-page spread a day doesn't for some reason or season! And...you can always change as you go and your child matures in what they're capable of.
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5600

Kathleen