It is such a blessing that your dd is already opening her heart to the Lord and loving learning about Him.
That is one of our priorities in homeschooling, so she'd fit right in at our house too! Boys - well, yes - I have 3 of them, and they typically just take a different approach to learning than girls do.
It's neat to see the difference in God's design for boys and girls, and also even just the difference in His design for each of my boys as they each have their own loves in school that are unique to their interests.
Your family sounds like it is full of fun variety too!
As you contemplate placement within HOD, one thing that I've learned moving from LHTH through RTR over the years is that for my dc to thrive and get the most out of their learning within the
next guide in line, they need to have been able to do everything asked of them from the
previous guide. This building of skills in each academic subject each year that HOD incrementally teaches is very different from other curriculums that may take a more horizontal approach to learning, where each year is quite open-ended, looks relatively the same as the previous year, and therefore a student could be placed within any of the years and do the work asked of him easily - as there are not increased learning guidelines from year to year. Simply increasing the level of read alouds does not increase academic rigor for dc in the same way that teaching them specific skills in each subject area does. The way that HOD so solidly moves dc through required academic skills from year to year is the reason why placement is important within HOD.
It is an incredible blessing that HOD writes guides in this manner, for I can see my dc are increasing in their skills every year and steadily heading toward secondary level material with many integral skills needed already intact.
So, while dd is able to listen well to more difficult reading material, and that is definitely a good thing
, this is less important in placement than these skills noted in the placement chart for dc to be ready to begin all of LHFHG: ready for phonics instruction; ready to learn formal manuscript printing or able to begin writing words, use oral language skills to prepare for grammar study, ready for formal introduction to math concepts with daily hands-on math practice (which includes writing in the workbook each day). Likewise, for ds, these skills noted in the placement chart for dc to be ready to begin all of Beyond: finishing phonics, an emerging reader, or reading independently; knows how to form uppercase and lowercase letters, able to copy sentences, can study and copy spelling words; ready for gentle introduction to the basic parts of speech, mechanics and usage; has had a formal introduction to basic math and is ready for new concepts with hands-on activities. Another somewhat "hidden" needed skill is a student being ready for the length of school each day. The times for doing school begin with very short amounts (i.e. LHTH takes 20-30 minutes), but by Bigger Hearts for His Glory the time begins to lengthen (i.e. BHFHG takes around 3 to 3 1/2 hours).
I'm saying this for your situation as well as for any other ladies reading this thread who are considering placement.
When looking at the placement chart, if dc cannot do the skills noted for beginning a program, they should more than likely do the previous program. Tweaking so writing and reading skills especially are not as rigorous as they are intended to be in a guide seems to work until Bigger Hearts. I say "seems to" because really dc are not receiving the full benefit of the program if they are not learning and using the skills written in the plans. For example, by the end of "Beyond" copying the entire poem, say, for example, prepares them to do notebooking pages in Bigger Hearts. By the end of LHFHG, having been through a formal handwriting program that teaches proper formation of the letters, helps them be ready for the copywork of Beyond. By the end of LHTH, say, for example, knowing their letters, a sound for each, and able to complete the "Count on Me" and "Hide and Seek Letter" pages quite well by using the pencil or a marker themselves, prepares them for doing a handwriting program in LHFHG.
The best way to be sure dc are prepared for the next guide is to complete the previous guide, provided the dc were placed accurately to begin with.
This is why I would finish out LHTH with your dd so she knows her letters, sounds, and has beginning writing skills. Then she will be ready for all of LHFHG. She's only done less than 1/3 of LHFHG anyway, since she started with LHTH. For your ds, he is on the fence between LHFHG and Beyond. Because he is reluctant to do handwriting, and in the beginning stages of phonics nearing the Emerging Reader's Set, I'd be inclined to finish out LHFHG. You could continue to challenge your dd's read aloud comprehension ability by doing the LHFHG Storytime reading with the 2 of them, and focus on the questions in the back, which lead dc to beginning oral narration skills. Then, when ds does Beyond, you could certainly continue to combine them for their read aloud time.
Another option would be to double-time it through LHTH with dd, doing 2 lessons a day, to get in place those skills dd is needing for LHFHG. She could then begin LHFHG totally prepared. Another option for ds would be to begin Beyond half-speed, but I would weigh whether that is really a good idea for him, as you said - he is a boy - and this could get him to Bigger before he's ready. I just want the long term HOD to work for you, and Bigger Hearts is the point at which it becomes obvious if dc have moved through the lower guides too quickly without truly being able to do what's asked of them from year to year. I hope this helps as you consider what you'd like to do.
In Christ,
Julie
So it's possible she'll be picking up the math concepts and be there for the story time, history and science. And who knows where she'll be in her reading skills at that point. I know that she wouldn't be ready for spelling or copywork though.
LHFHG could work, but she has listened to the read-alouds. I am wondering about your ds. What unit is your ds working in within LHFHG? Is he doing all of it? I guess - can you describe his reading, writing, etc. skills a little bit? I am wondering how large the gap between your ds and dd is, and if it's worth slowing down your oldest 
Depending on how she handles the skills area of LHFHG I think I like the idea of stretching Beyond for her vs stretching LHGHG but only by getting in there and actually doing it will I know for sure, I suppose.