Need some help w/ placing 6 kids....

[Missy OH]

I thought I had this planned out......

Last year I tried to do Bigger, LHFHG, LHTH, and MFW for my older three boys. It did not take long for me to burn out.....I really think HOD is perfect for my dc individually, but my brain power and energy level couldn't keep up....Oh yeah, we put our home up for sale and had to move TWICE during the school year. Now that I think about it, I'm sure that was a major part of the problem.

My dh would like me to cut down my schooling time for myself -not the dc. He's a great guy who could care less what the house looks like or what's for dinner, but he would like to come home to a wife who is less "stressed" or tired. I would like to be able to do this. I no longer have any HOD guides so I can't use them to help me w/ my decisions. Would y'all help?

Here are my upcoming school grades: 9th, 8th, 7th, 3rd (turns 9 in NOV), 1st (turns 6 in SEPT), PreK (turned 4 JUNE)

I'm thinking I could make RTR work for the three oldest w/ some tweaking for highschool. They will mostly be independent w/ me overseeing their work. I believe my dh would enjoy doing Boyhood and Beyond w/ them.

This leaves me with the girls who need a lot of my time. They pretty much place in Bigger, LHFHG, and of course LHTH.

My 3rd grader still needs to continue w/ the Emerging readers and will still need to use ETC for the first half of the year. She will be able to begin DITHR the second half. She has just started multiplication in Math. We have been using Saxon, but I did use Singapore w/ all three of my boys. I think switching to Singapore would save me a lot of time, but I don't know where to place or what TM guide I would need. She is not ready for dictation yet, but might be half way through. She has done quite a bit of Beyond, and would not mind doing Beyond again.

My first grader is barely sounding out short vowel words so obviously we will continue working on this. I plan on using ETC and Happy Phonics with her. She can add and subtract, count to 100, etc. She has been listening and enjoying the Little House on the Prairie books. A few months ago she was having trouble w/ Reddy Fox, though.

So would you do any combining w/ the younger three? Or would you keep them all separate? How would you streamline your day? What would you do? How would you make it work? Thanks so much for even taking the time to read this!

Blessings,
Missy

PS. Jennifer, if you read this: try not to laugh too much!

[Mumkins]

I would definitely keep the oldest 3 together. The 3 younger seem a little harder. Would you say the 1st and 3rd or the Pre-K and 1st are closer in skills. Perhaps you could do either Beyond or Bigger with the 1st and 3rd or Little Hearts with the 1st and Pre-K. Either way it leaves one child going solo while the others are paired, so it is a tough call. Or I wonder if you could even do Little Hearts with all 3 and just beef it up for the oldest, maybe buying the Bigger TM now and doing some of the math and LA activites. Once you get to Bigger, Carrie has suggestions in the book already for making it span 5 ages. Hopefully someone has some good advice.

[my3sons]

Hi there! Moves are stressful on anyone, and 2 moves really are stressful. Plus homeschooling 6 dc is stressful. I think you get a pass and some grace here - definitely. I think I would do RTR with the oldest 3. I would do Beyond with the 6 and almost 9 yo, and LHTH with the 4 yo. You can stagger start them to help get going with a routine. Maybe start the 3 in RTR and teach them the order you want them to go in and how to use the teacher's manual as their own. Then after a few weeks of this, you could start the Beyond duo, and take a few weeks training them in routine and content of boxes of plans. Last, you can start the 4 yo in LHTH. This will be an easy add. You can have them take the Singapore Placement test at www.singaporemath.com. Wherever they place, I'd start there. It's pretty accurate - and yes, it should take less time to do. For your 6 and 9 yo, you can have your younger child do phonics, spelling list 1 (or wait on this), and a handwriting book rather than the Beyond copywork if that fits better. For your 9 yo, you can have that child finish out the ERS and then do DITHOR along with your older 3, only do level 2/3 and younger books. She can also do spelling list 2 in Beyond. You can add R & S English 2 doing a lesson a day if you would like for her as well. We have quite a few 9 yo's doing Beyond on this board, so they can be combined with younger siblings happily. What do you think about this? Please let us know, and we'll keep chatting ideas here until you're set.

In Christ,
Julie

[Missy OH]

Thank you Mumkins and Julie. I think I like the idea of putting my 9yo and 6yo together in Beyond. I'm going to talk to my dh about it tonight. I looked over the math placement tests and the scope and sequence in the introductions of the HOD manuals, I'm sure my 9yo will need to start at 2A. Will I need to buy the Bigger TM to get the hands-on math lessons? I'm really thinking this will work.

Will I need to buy an extra student workbook for Middle Ages writing assignments? I'm going to have my 9th grader do Write With the Best vol. 2.


Edited to ask: Should my 9yo do cursive writing and copywork in Beyond?

Thank you so much for the advice!
Blessings,
Missy

[my3sons]

Thank you Mumkins and Julie. I think I like the idea of putting my 9yo and 6yo together in Beyond. I'm going to talk to my dh about it tonight. I looked over the math placement tests and the scope and sequence in the introductions of the HOD manuals, I'm sure my 9yo will need to start at 2A. Will I need to buy the Bigger TM to get the hands-on math lessons? I'm really thinking this will work.

Will I need to buy an extra student workbook for Middle Ages writing assignments? I'm going to have my 9th grader do Write With the Best vol. 2.


Edited to ask: Should my 9yo do cursive writing and copywork in Beyond?

Thank you so much for the advice!
Blessings,
Missy

Well, hooray! Sounds like a plan is coming together nicely. Yes, you would need the Bigger Hearts guide for the hands-on math plans for 2A/2B. There is a schedule using the 2A/2B textbook/workbook in the Appendix of Beyond, but we loved using the hands-on plans instead for that level. (You either use the hands-on plans - in Bigger Hearts - and the workbooks; or, you use the textbook/workbook in the Appendix of Beyond). This is a personal preference though, so I thought I'd share both options. If you got the Bigger Hearts manual, you could use it for some LA things too, like cursive, R & S English 2, and dictation - only if you want though, Beyond would be fine for these things too. I'd just use whichever fits dd best. For copywork, I'd have your dd do the poetry in Beyond, as you'll be enjoying studying that anyway, and it is linked to the history. (Plus, it's nice to keep the copywork within the core guide your doing over the years as it's linked to history quite often.)

For your Medieval History Based Writing Lessons, you can copy the student book for your family's use. You can decide if it's worth doing that or not, depending on time and money. It is quite a few pages to copy, but sometimes it's worth it! HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

[Missy OH]

We are going with this plan. Thank you so much for helping me choose. I really wanted to do HOD. Also, thanks for the tip you gave about staggering the start date for each guide. I think this will really help get things started more smoothly. Those first few weeks are always rough.

Blessings,
Missy