Combining Question

[Dustybug]

My DD who is finishing up her K year with LHFHG right now was all set to go in Beyond in September when we plan to start our new year (we go year round).

But...

After much thinking and discussion with DH and other homeschoolers, I'd really like to get my DD and my DS combined. They are only 22 months apart and I think it would be the best for our family. My personality freaks out when I think about running three guides later on, but I could probably handle two. Now here's my dilemma. My DD places perfectly in Beyond. My DS has completed LHTH and is wrapping up the Animal Play curriculum from Teach Me Joy right now. I hadn't planned on using LHFHG with him this fall because of various reasons, but I was going to use it the next year for his 1st grade year. He will be 5 in December.

If I can find some way to combine them this year using something else, than I could feasibly put them in Beyond together the next year. Or if I continue my plan with DS and do something else with DD this year....But what about LHFHG? Do I just skip it with my DS? Do I try to do it with him this year? (I really didn't want to do it back to back).

What do I do with DD this year instead?

I hope this was at least a little coherent. I've been thinking about this so much my brain feels fried.

[netpea]

Not sure the best way to go about this, but I definitely wouldn't skip LHFHG with your son.

[mom23]

LHFHG is a really good preparation for Beyond...could you do Beyond half speed with your dd, allowing your ds time to catch up by doing LHFHG and into Beyond full speed until they are together? I know that's not going to put them at the same spot today, but...I think there would be a concern with coming back to Beyond in a year, after doing something different, and having your ds be ready to handle Beyond as a young 1st grader.

What were your reasons for not doing LHFHG now with ds? Is he not ready to place there?

[Dustybug]

LHFHG is a really good preparation for Beyond...could you do Beyond half speed with your dd, allowing your ds time to catch up by doing LHFHG and into Beyond full speed until they are together? I know that's not going to put them at the same spot today, but...I think there would be a concern with coming back to Beyond in a year, after doing something different, and having your ds be ready to handle Beyond as a young 1st grader.

What were your reasons for not doing LHFHG now with ds? Is he not ready to place there?

He places in LHFHG for most things, but he's not so good about sitting still and listening to lengthy read alouds outside of picture books. Even then, sometimes he is off in another world. Many times, if I ask him questions about our brief Bible story book readings now, he can't answer them without a ton of coaching because he will hum or sing or get distracted by any little thing around him while I"m reading. That is my biggest concern about using LHFHG with him now. I think the history and storytime readings would be asking too much of him right now. The rest of it, I think he places fine. My original plan was to use Teach Me Joy's Fruit for Tender Hearts program for him this year. It's a 36 week, 4 day a week program and if I did it 5 days a week, he could complete it in 21-22 weeks (I think, if my math is correct ) and then I could move him into LHFHG. That will have given him an additional 5-6 months to mature before starting and might be helpful. At this age, 6 months can be a large jump in developmental abilities!

[mom23]

You're probably wise to hold off on LHFHG, then. You're right-a few months can make a huge difference, and you probably don't want to push it. I'm not sure how to help you with combining. Maybe someone else will jump in if you're really needing to do that.

If it doesn't end up working out to combine, I can tell you that running seperate guides is not as intimidating as it sounds . For us, seperating the kids made our day go smoother than when they were combined in a manual that didn't properly fit their abilities (mine are 24 mos apart).

[my3sons]

Age is really just one small piece of the puzzle in proper placement. If your ds is not ready for LHFHG this year, I don't think he'd be ready for Beyond next year even though he would be almost 6 yo, especially if he is doing something else this year. Likewise, I think your dd would not be moving forward in her skills if she does something else for a year. So many times families come back to HOD after a year away and find that their dc place in the HOD guide they would have been doing had they not switched. The continuity of skill progression from HOD guide to guide makes a big difference in dc moving along in their learning in a sequential way. If your ds placed in LHFHG solidly now, I'd say do that full-speed with him, and do the extra history reading material from the back of LHFHG with dd along with 1st grade LHFHG science and other LHFHG Bible choice, as well as the right side (LA/math) of Beyond. Then, the following year, they could be combined in Beyond, with older dd doing the right side of Bigger Hearts - though you would more than likely want to begin half-speed as ds would still not quite be 6 yo even. However, if ds is not well placed in LHFHG now, then that would not work, in which case, it honestly would probably be better not to combine. It is not hard to teach several HOD guides - I really do enjoy it! But I do think if you want to combine the ticket is to move ds forward within HOD as steadily as possible, so he can start to bridge the gap between he and big sister. This will make for a happier combining situation all the way through! HTH as you ponder what is right for each of your dc!

In Christ,
Julie