To Combine or Not?

[Tori]

Hi Everyone!

This is my first post here and I have some questions about what guide(s) to place my kiddos in. My two school-age kids are a soon-to-be 6 year old DD, finishing up Kindergarten and a soon-to-be 8 year old DS, finishing up second grade. I also have a 22 month old DD who demands a lot of attention and baby #4 is due in early July.
Up until now DS and DD have always done all of their school together, with the exception of math. They learned to read at the same time, are at the same level for spelling, LA, etc. Both kids are great readers and can easily read past the 5/6th grade level and they both have wonderful comprehension. DD has done first grade math this year and second grade spelling and LA with DS. DS is a year ahead in math (we use a non-HOD program) and, like I said, is an excellent reader but I would consider him to be otherwise a pretty "typical" second grader.
After looking at the placement chart I can see that Little Hearts would be way too easy for both of them. DD seems to place well in to Beyond and DS into Bigger, but I'm certain that DD could handle the work in Bigger as well. I just don't want to push DD too hard because all though she is academically advanced she is still very much a little girl and I want school time to be fun for her. I've also noticed that DS and DD are becoming more competetive during school time about who can answer questions first etc. and I feel like DD sometimes feels dragged along.
Up until now we've used Five in a Row so we have touched on a variety of social studies and science topics but haven't studied any chronological history yet.
My question is: should I do Beyond with DD and Bigger with DS? Or Beyond with both kids or Bigger with both? I plan to use DITHOR with both kids doing their own book packs no matter which way I go. I'm concerned about trying to fit it all in if I decide to put them in separate guides for the first time with a toddler and a newborn at home. Maybe I should keep them together for this year and separate them next?
Thoughts?

[blessedmomof4]

Hello! Taking into account your whole situation,I think Beyond would be a good place to combine them. You can easily add the Rod and Staff Grammar 2 for the older child and DITHOR, and even add DITHOR for the younger child if she needed it. Math of course would be done at their individual levels, and you can have them take Singapore Math's free placement test from their website to be sure where to start them. I believe Beyond also has additonal Storytime books listed in the appendix which you can use for additional reading. When combining with HOD, it is easier to beef up for the older rather than "drag along" the younger. Each guide builds on the skills of the previous one, and if a child is not really up to the level, then they will miss the benefits and will find the subsequent guides even more difficult. Plus, with the toddler at home and the new baby on the way, Beyond would probably be a more doable guide for your situation. And congratularions on the baby

[farmfamily]

I would definitely suggest combining in Beyond. That's what I'm doing with my two girls, who are turning 6 and 8 this summer. While my 6-year-old is not as advanced as yours, my older one sounds fairly similar to your son. We tried Bigger at the beginning of this year with just my older one, who was 7 at the time. She could do everything in the guide, but it just took her forever to get her notebooking pages done, and the writing was really a lot for her at the time. There is really a significant amount of writing in Bigger, compared with Beyond... We stopped the guide because our day was just going way too long.

Right now both my girls are in Beyond - we just started 3 weeks ago, and it's working very well. Yes, I do have the problem you mentioned about being competitive answering questions. Here's how I deal with it: The first question is for one child, and the next is for the other - and they are not allowed to answer each other's questions, even if the other is unable to answer it (I will help the student - usually the younger one - come to the answer). If there is a narration, I read half the story and let one narrate, then I read the balance for the other to narrate (I got this idea from someone on the board).

I like the PPs suggestion about adding R&S grammar for the older one. You can also add dictation from the Bigger manual if he's ready for it. Actually in about 3 months my older daughter will move to the dictation from Preparing and R&S English 3. DITHOR is very adaptable - you can choose to use more difficult books, even if you are using the Level 2/3 student book, and it's up to you how much they read in a day.