A little curious

[godssofaithful]

I am new to HOD and am very interested, now i am using My Fathers World. I have a just turned 7 year old, a 4 (going to be 5 in less than a month) and a just turned 3 year old. I was considering doing 3 seperate manuals come September 2012. In september there ages will be 7,5, and 3... all boys. They are all 2 years apart. I was a little iffy on combining my 5 and 3 year old in LHTH. In september it might be ok but come the year after that I wouldn't want my then 6 year old to still be in LHTH. Does anyone do 3 manuals (LHTH, LHFHG, and BLHFHG)? If so how does this work out time wise?

[mom23]

Yes, 3 manuals can definitely be done. You'll probably find some helpful suggestions on the scheduling thread (found toward the top area of the main board.) There is not a whole lot of independent work in BLHFHG, but while your oldest is doing math, or copywork, etc. you could be working with another child. Some find it flows better in their day to set an order for the boxes, and a time frame that they each take; maybe working with one child on a couple of boxes and then sending that child off to do chores, or play with a younger sibling while you work a couple of boxes with the next child. I prefer to kind of run through each of my kids' manuals start to finish before I bounce to another child. You'll be able to gague what is or isn't working for your family once you have a better feel for each program. It can take a couple of weeks for them to fall into a comfortable routine for you. I recommend stagger-starting them-maybe working from the top down, so run Beyond for a couple of weeks or so before you add in Little Hearts, and then work those two together for a few weeks before you throw in Little Hands. Once you get up and running, Beyond takes our family maybe 1-1/2 to 2 hours, Little Hearts between 1 hr. and 1-1/2, and Little Hands 30 mins. That's not to say your school day will be all those times added together-you can have them all work on math at the same time, for example, or combine them for story time. For our family the school day is just over a couple of hours total, when all runs smoothly .

Welcome to HOD, by the way! I should have started out with that . I think you'll find it to be a blessing in your home, and the ladies on this board are immensely helpful and encouraging!

[farmfamily]

Maybe you're not looking for an alternate suggestion, but if I were in your shoes, I'd consider combining the older two in LHFHG, while adding the 3Rs from the Beyond guide for your oldest son. This way you'd be combining them for Bible, History, Storytime, Rhymes, and activities, etc. but doing the other subjects each at their own level. That is what I am currently doing with my two girls who are 7 and 5, and it is working very well for us. (I also add history readings from the Optional Literature Supplements in the appendix for my older daughter). My girls love to do the activities together. Just a thought...

We love HOD here too!

[godssofaithful]

i have a question for farmfamily what will you do next year when your oldest is 8 and your middle child is 6. Will your oldest still be in LHFHG?
Thanks for your time!

[farmfamily]

We will be starting Beyond shortly before my oldest turns 8. My younger daughter will be 6 by then. I see that your son will be turning 8 before the end of the guide if you don't start until September. I hadn't really thought that through before. Perhaps your son would be considered too old for the LHFHG - I don't know. I know that by the time you get to Bigger there will be extensions that could be used. In the meantime you could add optional literature supplements or science biographies as read-alouds to beef it up. Or maybe your original idea of doing Beyond and LHFHG is easier!

[my3sons]

I would not advise doing 3 consecutive guides in a row. While it may seem doable for the younger guides, it will not be as manageable when you are teaching 3 consecutive older guides. Your dc are close enough that 2 guides would be very feasible and enjoyable for all.

I think there are 2 great options here. Option 1, you could combine almost 5 yo and just turned 7 yo in LHFHG, and use the right side of Beyond for your 7 yo's LA and Math. Many, many families are doing this and finding it works well not only for that year, but for the years to come. Extensions are included in each guide starting with Bigger Hearts, so that will be any option for your older ds at that point, should you so desire to have him do them. LHFHG also has a great list of optional supplemental history books in its Appendix you could use if you wanted.

Option 2, you could have your older ds do Beyond. You could then combine your 3 and almost 5 yo in LHTH, and use the right side of LHFHG for your 5 yo's LA and Math. This is also a placement that many, many families are doing and finding it works well through the years. One other thought if you went with this option that you may or may not enjoy - you could do LHFHG, Beyond, and Bigger Hearts with the 2 of them just 4 days a week, and this would stretch these 3 guides out nicely over 4 years, as they are all 5 day a week plans.

Both Options 1 and 2 are good plans, and both will have you truly enjoying your teaching time through the years, as well as have your dc truly enjoying their learning. If your oldest ds seems to just have "taken off" and stretched quite far ahead of your younger 2 sons, I'd be likely to choose Option 2. Likewise, if your 3 and 5 yo seem more closely aligned, I'd choose Option 2. However, if your 5 and 7 yo seem more closely aligned, I'd more than likely choose Option 1. Be sure to check out the first page of the placement chart, circling in the columns for each of your sons where they each fall, as I think this will help make it clearer. I'd love to know what you find out from the placement chart, and also what your thoughts are about these possible options! Please do share when you get the chance!

In Christ,
Julie

[deltagal]

I think you should combine as much as possible at this stage. As they get older, and grow in independence and skills at different rates you will begin to see opportunities to move one child ahead into a separate guide. I did this with 2 of my sons, combined them for a season and then transitioned the older one into his own guide. It has worked well.

[amysconfections]

Alot of your options depends on where your children place on the placement chart. If you oldest fits into Beyond then you need to decide which two you prefer to combine. If it were me, I would start the 7 yr old in Beyond. Do LHTH with 5 and 3 yr old. Add in phonics for 5 yr old, math and the Rod and staff workbooks suggested in LHFHG along with the handwriting. The following year you would then have your oldest in Bigger, middle in LHFHG and younger repeating LHTH or just listening in to LHFHG.

The placement chart will really tell you what is best. Then decide what will work best for your family. I would even use something else for younger ones if needed until you could combine them. It's just easier when they are only 2 years apart to combine, in my opinion.

[edsnyder]

We are doing two guides LHFHG and Beyond this year for my ds5 and ds7 almost 8 - with their levels there wasn't a way I could combine them and next year we will add a third guide so we will be in LHTH for dd2.5, beyond ds6, bigger ds8.