Placement for 6 and 8 yr old

[new2hs]

This will be my first year to hs. I love everything I have learned about HOD. I am struggling with which program to choose for my 2 girls, 6 yrs and 8yrs (1st and 3rd grade). They have been attending a private school and do very well. From the placement chart it seems my 8 yr old would place in PHFHG, which seems strange since most posts I've read seem to say it is designed for older students but by the placement chart it seems to fit. (maybe I'm thinking wrong)
My 6yr old would seem to fit in BLHFHG (beyond) or BHFHG (bigger). I would like to combine them in one program because I think I might get overwhelmed by trying to do two different ones since this is my first year and I have a 4yr old son who is very busy. Does it seem like I could do BHFHG for both? I'm wondering if my 8yr old will be challenged enough and I really don't want it to be too hard for my 6yr old. My 6yr old can read very well but seems a little behind (in the placement chart for BHFHG) in Grammer and writing just because she hasn't covered that yet in school. Can I add something for my 8 yr old to make sure she is being challenged? Please help. I'm really excited to use HOD but I want to make sure i am setting them both up for success and I don't waste money and time. Thanks.

[countrymom]

Welcome to HOD! Placement is key and one thing to keep in mind with HOD is proper placement can make your life so much easier Generally if a child places between two guides you would want to go down, not up in order to ensure your child will flourish and succeed. I would especially advise this if just starting with HOD and the cm style. Bigger is geared for 7-9 yr olds and although I understand you wanting to combine, I would be hesitant to place your 6 yr old in Bigger. There is a lot of writing in Bigger and it is a full, solid program. As for your 8 yr old, Preparing is geared for 8-10, so if your daughter solidly places there she may be fine. However, with this being her first year with HOD it could be wise to place her in Bigger and possibly add extensions if you think she will need more challenge. That would place you in guides back to back, which some on the board prefer not to do so a guide can be a little fresher when they go through it with each child. Those are thoughts I would think about when making your decision. If you are still uncomfortable with separate guides one more option might be to place them both in Beyond with your older daughter doing the right side of Bigger (math, English, copywork, spelling, storytime). Those are options I can think of right now.

[mom23]

We came to HOD in the exact same spot as you-with our kids being 6 and 8, in 1st and 3rd grades, and a nearly 4 yo running around the house as well . I also felt like placing them together would be best because I was really afraid of being overwhelmed. (I had also homeschooled our oldest in K with a completely different approach; that was such a complete failure and I could not wait to get her in public school !) When we were faced with having to bring them home a couple of years later, I was really afraid of failing again, and very conciously trying not to bite off more than I could chew! I placed them both in Beyond with my older one doing the right side of Bigger.

Here's the result for us- my older one was bored and unchallenged-both because she was under placed, and because she was always waiting for her younger brother to catch up. My younger one was so frustrated we had tears on a regular basis because things were too hard for him, he was bored with the things we were reading aloud because they were over his head. Although they had their own levels in reading and math, those things were stressful as well for my younger one because he gained the overall attitude that "school is too hard, and I can't do this, so I'm not going to try." I pulled my younger one back a guide two months later, and he began to thrive. (I waited over a year to bump my older one up to the level she should have been and in hindsight wish I'd done that immediately as well.) They thrive when they are correctly placed, and school is really much easier for me when the are placed correctly as well! I know it doesn't make sense on paper, but our days were not any longer, and some days were shorter running two guides than teaching them both from one.

So, all of this is in no way to scare you off from an approach that my very well work better for your family than it did for ours! Each situation is unique and you'll know your kids best There are lots and lots of HOD families that combie successfully, however, your situation sounded much like ours. I think from hearing about your girls that I would try to put your younger one into Beyond, and the older one in Preparing (unless you're unsure of that placement and think Bigger? If you're wondering on that one, be sure to come back here and describe more fully what her abilities are.)

Welcome to HOD, though! (Should have started with that ) It really is such a blessing to our home-I cannot imagine ever quitting homeschool now! We love HOD!!!!

[my3sons]

Thanks for sharing about each of your dc! I would be reluctant to place a 6 yo in Bigger Hearts. It is a meaty program, and I'd not do it with someone under 7 yo. Beyond Little Hearts sounds like a super fit for your 6 yo! For your 8 yo, PHFHG sounds like a great fit! We did PHFHG with our 8 yo dc, each of them at different times when they were 8 yo, and LOVED it! It fit them well according to the placement chart, and it fit them well for their school year. HOD has age ranges because what dc need at a particular age varies according to their skills. PHFHG does work well for some 8 yo, for some 9 yo, for some 10 yo, and for some dc who are older along with the extensions. If your 8 yo child places in PHFHG according to the placement chart, that is the program you should use. It is not hard to do 2 programs when dc are appropriately placed. In fact, we have found doing 3 programs to be easier than attempting to combine our dc that are worlds apart in skills. What other questions do you have? I think you would enjoy HOD with your dc so much! And Beyond and PHFHG are not hard to teach at the same time. You can just pick 1 Storytime to do with the 2 of them. What are your thoughts though?

In Christ,
Julie

[new2hs]

Thank you so much for your comments!!! It helps me a lot. I have been looking through Beyond and feel like it will be too easy for my 8yo. She's so sweet and agreeable that she would do all the activities and probably love it (she's easy to please) but at the end of the day she won't be challenged. She needs a challenge and has areas where she needs to mature and I think I would be holding her back. I will look at the placement for preparing some more and maybe do the singapore placement test to make a final decision for her. It seems she should be in Bigger or Preparing. I think my 6yo will do great in Beyond. She will love it!! Thanks again for your comments. They have been very helpful!!

Mom23 - thank you for sharing your experience. I also attempted hs for 1st grade for my oldest and completed about 3 mos and sent her back to Christian school. I am afraid to fail again. I used Abeka because that is what she used at school. It was fine but the teacher guide was confusing to me. Abeka gets the job done but can be boring, in my opinion. Plus, I had a crazy 2 yo boy running around screaming all the time. I was pulling my hair out.
When my SIL told me about HOD and I started looking into it I thought it looked so interesting ( I want to learn some of this stuff myself ) and easy to follow that I decided to consider hs again. Private school will eventually get too expensive for us as we will have 4 children needing to be educated. HOD seems to be the answer to my prayers. We will see...
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

[my3sons]

I do think HOD would be an answer to your prayers - it has been to mine! It would be such a breath of fresh air after doing Abeka - HOD is full of life! In comparing Bigger and PHFHG, I thought this thread may help, as it compares the writing skills in each (which IMO is a helpful consideration in placement)...

Amount of writing in Bigger vs. PHFHG:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3602

Both are excellent programs, so you can't go wrong with either - whichever placement seems best, that's the one to choose! HTH!
In Christ,
Julie