New & struggling to get 2 guides going at same time

[momofjka]

Ok, I don't know if this will be confusing, but I am new to homeschooling and we are starting today. I feel like I'm in over my head. My "schedule" is to do left side of LHFHG with my 6 yr old then left side of Bigger with my 9 yr.old, then right side of Little Hearts, then right side of Bigger. Ok, that probably makes sense. But what does each child do while I'm working with the other one? It was suggested to get my older one doing as much independent work as possible so that he could do it while my younger dd does her work. But homeschooling and this curriculum is so new to us both, I'm not sure he will feel comfortable doing it on his own yet, except for maybe some copywork. So my 2 questions are this:

Although I can see it would take us a little longer, is it that bad to just work for now with each child independently under we all get comfortable with the curriculum, a routine and w/ homeschooling in general? And if I did, should the other child just do some chores, music practice, or playtime while I am working with the other one?

And, does my son have to do ALL his reading outloud to me? He has both storytime and DITHOR that he's using. Can I have him read some of those chapters by himself maybe and then go over them with him after? Or does he have to read them outloud to me. If he doesn't, that might work to give him some ind. time as he could read to himself while I work with my dd.

Thanks!

[countrymom]

I realize this suggestion might now work if you are locked into a tight schedule that you want to keep, but I would suggest starting with one child for a week, then working with just the other child for a week and they would both come together for unit 2 on your 3rd week of schooling. That way you could get the feel of the guides, how the flow will go, and where you could have one working independently while you are working with the other child. Also keep in mind that this will be a busy year for you, as there is not a lot of independent work yet, but it will start to get easier next year. You could also peek at the schedules thread at the top of the board to give you some ideas. Hang in there, it will get easier.

[MelInKansas]

It may be easier on you at first to do one whole side with one child at a time. Once you are able to figure things out, and get used to it, and build some confidence in what your children can do independently, then you could try to create an interweaving schedule where you have one working independently while you work with the other. That will shorten your day a lot.

Definitely if you start off with that approach have things for your other child to do while you are working with each one. Even if there are options, you don't want them coming and bothering you while you're working with one child. I have found that having these plans in place (for example my 2YO, where she is and what she plays with, of course her ability to entertain herself is much shorter than your childrens' will be) really makes the day go smoothly, and also helps keep bad attitudes, boredom, or laziness from taking hold.

I know for LHFHG you will probably be able to complete one side of the guide in 45 minutes to an hour. Of course the other one takes longer. I don't think you would have to have your son read everything TO you, I thought DITHOR was supposed to be independent reading and them doing the work and then you check it over. But I haven't done that yet so I can't say.

[blessedmomof4]

Just to clarify-for Storytime, The parent is supposed to be reading aloud to the students. For DITHOR, at level 2/3 the student is supposed to read aloud to the parent for fluency practice, and this diminished in level 4/5 where they read aloud to the parent sometimes, until by level 6/7/8 it is all independent reading. HTH!

[TNT]

hey friend- I'm in the same boat you are in! doing bigger and LHFHG w my 3 big kiddos while my 2 year old is with us!
i'm a hs newbie
we are only on day 9...

some things that helped me....

look at the sample schedules on this message board and print some out of ones using same guides as you and same ages as your kids...play with the schedule a lot to see what works to make your own. Julie (mythreesons) has some great ones on there that helped me tremendously.

i took note of a couple things :

1) which kiddos i needed to work with first (for me my younger ones- b/c they poop out on me)
2) what are some subjects that are strengths that my older dd can do on her own while i work with the younger 2
3) what are some activities the others can they do on their own when I work with another one (chores, educational video, computer, read or play with baby sister, i hope to put in a work station or typing time too)

i'm happy to share with you my schedule ..it's not fancy..and i'm learning as i go too

it will work out ! keep pressing on

[momofjka]

Hi TNT,

That is really great that you are doing the same programs and are new at this too! I would love a copy of your schedule if you don't mind sharing! I did have a tentative one, but you don't always know what will actually work until you start. We did day 2 today and it went MUCH better than yesterday. But I made a couple of changes:

First, I made up a sheet on the computer that has a list of all the things each child needs to complete (Reading about History, cursive, spelling, math, storytime, etc.) and put 5 boxes next to each (one for each day). The unit number is at the top. This way I could check off as I go what they have finished and can look at a glance at both children to see what they completed that day, and if there is anything we need to finish or catch up on. On the right side I put a box for notes of things I might need to remember that week (field trip, appts., a special project, etc.). It helped me alot and today we finished most everything. So I am hoping it will get even better.

Second, I found that I have to do my oldest first on the right side of the plans. He is most alert and focused for the first 2 hours after breakfast, but I lose him after that. So we saved the lighter things and items that were more hands on for afternoon, and my dd, I didn't start until 10:30, but she breezes through everything well, so it worked great. I felt much more confident today, and it went more smoothly too.

I opted not to start the DITHOR this week, I figured it will not hurt to wait one more week before adding that, and I am also waiting to add music lessons, and preschool with my littlest ds. There is no hurry.

I hope your year continues to go well too! This will be a learning year for us both as new homeschoolers, but I am sure we will reap the rewards!
God bless!

[TNT]

i like your check the box idea with reminders - that is great- i might need that!

just email me....and i will send you my schedule....i haven't taken the time to figure out posting here...not sure i want to bc it's a work in progress! ha!

auburntiger7@netzero.com

[momofjka]

Thanks TNT,

I did send you an email... actually 3 of them...by accident! I sent the first one ok but with the wrong document (I wanted to send you the checklist I made, but instead sent the schedule that shows how long I've alloted for everything in the guides). When I tried to send the right document, I accidentally sent it w/ nothing in the email, hence the 3rd one which hopefully came out alright. I am not very good with computers and only learned this year how to upload pics. Sigh, I will learn more, but thankfully I am married to a very tech savvy man who saves me out of most of my computer woes.

Anyways, my emails should be on their way and sorry there are 3!

Jennifer

[water2wine]

I did this combo my first year of HOD. So I will try to tell you what worked for me. I combined story time so I was only reading that box once for all. I got the Bigger kids working non LA and Math then I read aloud History and Bible with my little ones. Sometimes science as well depending non the time we maybe came back to that. Then I got them started on their LA and Math. I then read history, science and Bible to my older kids and called the little ones when we got to storytime (doing the story time last). Then the Bigger kids did projects, copy work etc. And I finished what I needed to with LHFHG. Also had some work deemed independent for Bigger. That would be handwriting, copywork, and eventually they even did the time line and history before I read and then we connected it by reading together. That last part is a little backwards from the program but we find it actually works well. They get excited about what is about to be read. I was able to finish both easily in 4 hours with six kids and we added some reading of the Bible that was not in HOD as well. Hope that helps!