Making HOD work for all of my kids together?

[wensuetay]

HI. I am still considering HOD and wondering how it works for you guys when you use two different programs? I would have my 2 boys ages 7(8 in Sept) and just turned 10 yr.old grades 3rd and 5th(at the start of fall) either in Bigger or Preparing(cannot decide which)..So they would be together. Then I have a 5 yr. old who is btwn. K and 1st, knows all his letters and sounds, colors, shapes, can count to 100, but is not yet reading but we are working on phonics and reading right now. So, first..which one would you guys put my youngest son in? And second, I am not sure how I would do two different programs?? We have always done our schooling all together..science, history, read alouds, art, and projects. And we read alot so it seems like my youngest would just continue to listen to my oldest's stories instead of adding on even more from his own program. And continue to do science projects with us..Do any of you keep your young ones with your older kids programs?
Hopefully, I have not confused you too much and would appreciate any thoughts / advice???
Thankyou so much, Wendy and boys:) p.s. Any advice on which I should put my oldest 2 in..Bigger or preparing? And if I choose bigger willl my oldest age 10,grade5 in the fall be able to finish all of the programs before graduating? thanks.

[beverett]

I am assuming that you have already looked over the placement chart and you are really just torn between the two? Then this is what I would do for the will be 8yr old and 10 yr old... since you are new to HOD and you have two boys (which I have all boys), I would probably do Bigger with the extensions for the older son. I am currently doing Bigger with just turned 8 and 10 yr olds or 2nd and 4th grades. They were 7 and 9 when we started. I was also torn between preparing and bigger for my then 9 yr old. I am so glad that we went with bigger for our first year with HOD, it had been just perfect for us, and my children have really been able to grow in so many ways. Have you looked at the amount of writting in each? I would link you to that thread, but I am really not tech savvy There is a big differance in the two. Bigger was a little to much for my 7 year old when we began, so I had to work around that and be patient. He is doing great with it now though! So I think it would be good to consider how much your turning 8 yr old loves to write? Anyway if you went this route (with bigger) it would give them time to work into HOD, not be to hard for the 8 yr old to become frustrted and also be plenty for the 5th grader! But these are just my thoughts

Then for your ds5, do you think he places into Little Hearts For His Glory on the placement chart? When you described him this is the guide I thought of. Oh and it is so doable to work these two guides. If you are not sure, you could even start with the 5 yr old over the summer and then add the 2 bigger kids in the fall? I dont think that LHFHG takes much time, but I cant remember.

Last of all if you did bigger with your 5th grader, no he would not finish all of the guides by highschool, but he would be albe to get into the highschool guides when they a written!! You will have so many options by that time... he could go all the way staight thru and would end up beefing up ctc for 9th and rtr for 10th grades, then do the first two highchool guides or you could skip rev to rev and the next guide and then do all of the highschool guides if they are written, but there will be plenty of time to think on it

[twoxcell]

I would definitely place your 5 year old in LHFHG. It is a wonderful program, and does not take that much time. My dd took a bit to warm up to some of the read alouds, but now she is loving all of it. She also can do all of the things you listed as well as read some, and the K options are perfect for her.

[mom24boys]

My Kindy kid was a new 5 when we started LHFHG. He had started reading and new all his letters/sounds. He is doing great with it. He loves storytime, but it did take him a while to adjust to answering the questions. He has gotten a lot better at it. It takes about 1.5 hours for us.