Teaching diff guides ... how do you bring kids together?

[erin.kate]

Okay ... I'm sure you are all tiring of my seemingly endless questions about HOD. We've used another curriculum for K and 1 and we have been very, very happy, no complaints. This upcoming year is sort of a transition year, well, actually the next two years are for my oldest who will be in second grade. My middle two will be in K next year with another curriculum (also for first the following year). So I have two more years where my older three children would not be able to be combined even if I wanted them to be together.

Looking ahead, if you know that you will always be teaching three guides each year, how do you make part of your HOD day inclusive for your children to bring them together? I've read about the merits to both individual guides for each child, as with HOD, and also the merits to grouping children together for family learning for history, Bible, art, music, and some science, while of course teaching the 3Rs separately.

I guess my question is more about how and when do you bring your children together for learning? Part of why we homeschool is so that our children not only get to be together at home, but also get to learn lessons together and experience Jesus, family, and school inseparably. How does this look with HOD when you have several guides each year?

Utterly thankful.

[abrightmom]

Erin Kate,

I've been pondering these same questions lately as we're transitioning to HOD also. My oldest 3 children have only 3.5 years between them. Right now, that is a big leap developmentally but I anticipate it closing somewhat in the next 3 years. When my kiddos are 5th, 3rd, and 2nd I suspect I will have some desires for multi teaching. HOWEVER, time and time again my dear husband and I talk about the whys behind our decision to move over to HOD. They are big and they are really important...HOD enables us to nurture each kiddo in the way we want (via Christ centered learning, excellent literature, resources I'd choose if I was planning the curriculum, age/skill level appropriate, etc.). I have a few thoughts but nothing profound or based on experience as we're on the cusp of starting our HOD journey (on Monday, Lord willing). My kids spend a lot of time playing together. We spend time in the Word as a family. We eat meals and chat together. We take walks together. We do "extras" together: story times, science kits, projects, etc. I can even see that at some point it may be in everybody's best interest to enjoy a Bible Study from one of the guides in a group situation. I am going to play that one by ear and take it a guide/year/family dynamic at a time. Quite honestly, I think HOD is worth it. Multi-teaching can be a great blessing but there are dynamics in which that isn't ideal (spine texts being too advanced or not challenging enough; there is still a need to adjust/adapt assignments to fit different learning levels). I am going to take this HOD journey one year at a time (my plan is to definitely give it two full years which will enable me to use four HOD guides, re-evaluating after my oldest completes Preparing). Though plans are always subject to change I do not anticipate leaving HOD. I hope and pray that we're "lifers"

I am all ears...hoping to hear from the more experienced.

[holyhart]

Right now I have a dd7 in Bigger and a ds5 in LHFHG. Developmentally, if I tried to include my ds into the history/science readings with my dd, he would be lost. The longer readings and older language would be over his head at this point. He still needs to grow into that. Nor would I want to hold my dd back. We do prayer/bible together, dd always joins in on ds's rhyme in motion (as well as my dd2! ) and they often join in each others craft/experiment/activity. I also have them do flash cards with each other. My dd helps ds with phonics flash cards and he in turn helps her with math flash cards (the answer is on the back ). They also join in each other's read alouds. We do character training as a family, cooking/baking/cleaning is often done as a family. And being home all day, they play together all day! Well, when we are not doing school or chores. But they are each other's primary playmates. The 2 year old is starting to be able to "play" with them, (but that still often ends is frustration on someone's part but that will ease as she gets a little older).

I think that while we are doing 2 seperate guides, they are very much brought together.

[erin.kate]

Right now I have a dd7 in Bigger and a ds5 in LHFHG. Developmentally, if I tried to include my ds into the history/science readings with my dd, he would be lost. The longer readings and older language would be over his head at this point. He still needs to grow into that. Nor would I want to hold my dd back. We do prayer/bible together, dd always joins in on ds's rhyme in motion (as well as my dd2! ) and they often join in each others craft/experiment/activity. I also have them do flash cards with each other. My dd helps ds with phonics flash cards and he in turn helps her with math flash cards (the answer is on the back ). They also join in each other's read alouds. We do character training as a family, cooking/baking/cleaning is often done as a family. And being home all day, they play together all day! Well, when we are not doing school or chores. But they are each other's primary playmates. The 2 year old is starting to be able to "play" with them, (but that still often ends is frustration on someone's part but that will ease as she gets a little older).

I think that while we are doing 2 seperate guides, they are very much brought together.

Gosh, when I read this a HUGE lightbulb goes off, or on, for me. YES. All very true and thank you for the reminder. Maybe thinking about combining them might come down the road, if at all. That part is a huge departure of thought for me, but I'm trying to be open to such changes. Thanks again. You've been an awesome gift today.

[holyhart]

Thanks again. You've been an awesome gift today.

You're very welcome!

I too plan to (or hope to) combine in some subjects. My oldest 2 are 2.5 years apart and my youngest 2 are 2 years apart so I think that eventually that will be a good fit for us so we are not doing 4 seperate guides at a time, but honestly that will be more for the sack of sanity and time than for "togetherness". I know others may have different views or opinions on this, but I feel that since we are home and together all day, we just naturally have togetherness.

Oh , and I just thought of another fun thing we do "together" school-ish wise. For any holiday that we will have a family get together dinner, my older 2 (and the 2 year old does her best to keep up), learn and memorize an appropriate poem to recite for our family members after our dinner. The grandparents, aunts & uncles, great grandparents and great aunts & uncles have truly come to look forward to this. Recitation is a skill that many children no longer have. I have also noticed that it has helped my dd7 with her shyness a bit and has given her some self confidence.

[water2wine]

I have six doing three different guides. We do our story time together as a family as much as possible. Also there is prayer together and we study the Bible together. That is something we would do no matter what we were using. The rest of our day is together. Sometimes my little ones get the older kids to do spelling or dictation with them. I have them all read aloud to me daily and sometimes they do that together, meaning to an older child rather than to me. Often my older kids will go and watch the younger kids do projects that they loved previously in HOD. They have a room where they all do their independent work separately but always in each others company.

Outside of HOD, we cook and bake together. Recently, I am focusing a lot on teaching them life skills lately and that is done pretty much together or in groups that are different than the HOD guides have them fall. We also play games together. Just some ideas.

To me the most important thing to do together is to read the Bible and to pray. It can be a book of the Bible you go through together, reading chronologically, or a Proverbs a day. And then taking that time to pray. That is the best together and bonding time you can spend. It does not take long to do. If you just added that 15 minutes or so a day in and perhaps did story time together as well, I think you would never feel like you were missing anything.

Anyway just some ideas. We do three guides and will always do three guides from here on out. I've had them all together before and I have done two HOD guides. Having them in HOD where they place best (in three guides) has really been the best for us and we still very much feel like we are together. I think the thinking about it feels more separate than the actually doing it. Hope something here helps.

[erin.kate]

For any holiday that we will have a family get together dinner, my older 2 (and the 2 year old does her best to keep up), learn and memorize an appropriate poem to recite for our family members after our dinner. The grandparents, aunts & uncles, great grandparents and great aunts & uncles have truly come to look forward to this. Recitation is a skill that many children no longer have. I have also noticed that it has helped my dd7 with her shyness a bit and has given her some self confidence.

Thanks so much for your ideas ... I so wish we had these opportunities, but we live in Maine (as of last October) and we are from Colorado and California, so our family is very far away. Gets me thinking though. Thank you!