Using HOD for a 4 day week schedule?

[niamom3]

Hi! I'm new here - planning to begin using Beyond this fall with my 7 year old son. (and very excited!)

Due to a co-op for art/gym/music/drama on Mondays, I only have 4 days a week for lessons at home.

If you've worked with a 4 day week, how have you handled the 5 days of lessons in the book? Obviously it's simply a matter of rearranging some things and maybe skipping some. But I'm wondering if any of you more experienced with HOD have any suggestions - what's worked or not worked for you?

Thanks!

Chris

[Mommamo]

I used both Beyond and Bigger 4 days/week because we have our co-op on the 5th day, and I just always pick up from where I last left off. So the guide stretches a little bit longer, and you're not always starting Monday with day 1, but it hasn't been a big deal at all. We love doing it that way.

[netpea]

I have done different things in different years. Some years I have started school a month earlier than the public schools around here so I have the time built in to do the 4 day weeks as needed and not go over into the summer. Some years we started when the public schools did and just split the 5th days's work over the other four.

[MomtoJGJE]

We school year round, so it isn't a huge deal to us, but when we don't finish a full unit in a consecutive 5 days we just start where we left off. Skipping things is not the best idea because everything is tied to something else. Occasionally I'll combine days, but not too often. If I did it every week my kids would get burnt out very quickly.

[sharonb]

We use a 4 day/week year-round schedule too, so we'll just keep working through the guides until we finish them, which should be right at a calendar year. I agree that doubling up lessons to fit 5 days into 4 could get you burnt out. I think it'd be better to make the guide stretch to more than a school year.

[HollyS]

We also stop and start the week on different days of a unit...occasionally they line up so we start with Day 1 on Monday. We sometimes double up on lessons if it's going to be a week-long break or more between units.

[niamom3]

Thanks for the suggestions! Sounds like it will work best if I just work through the book on the days that we're home, and not worry if we don't get through the whole book in one year. Simple answer, but sometimes it's hard for me to think outside of the box, so I appreciate your input.

[Larissa]

We would often do the entire 5 day unit in 4 days when I did Beyond with my older son. He was 7 yo/2nd grade when we did Beyond. We didn't skip anything and it wasn't overwhelming at all. I actually plan to do the same thing this year when I do Beyond with my 2nd son. My oldest will be doing Preparing, which is a 4 day week, so I want to keep everyone on that schedule - leaving open day 5 for field trips and co-op.

I have a really hard time with Day 1 not being on a Monday. I know it's ridiculous - I've tried to be more flexible and just go with the flow - but it stresses me out. I am way to high strung! If we don't manage to finish the read a-loud portions during those 4 days - I don't hesitate to finish them out at some point during the weekend or on day 5.

[3sweeties]

We also just pick up where we left off! But, we are going through the guides in about 1.5 years rather than one a year, so that eases up the pressure to finish the whole guide in one school year. I have found that my DS actually likes the variety that this brings--i.e., Day 1 is not ALWAYS on Mondays, etc.

[my3sons]

We just pick up where we left off too, and it's worked great! You really don't want to skip things in HOD, as skills build incrementally, and skipping things could mean dc aren't able to do the next level of the skills in the next guide. Welcome to the HOD Board, and I think you'll enjoy your HOD years so much!

In Christ,
Julie