would I be out of my mind...

[leimarie]

Would I be off my rocker to think of running 3 guides at once my first year with HoD. I originally thought I would combine ds7(turning 8 this summer) and dd6 in Beyond, but I think it might be a tad further than where she is right now so I am thinking LHFG would be perfect for her (she is finishing K this year) with the added bonus of letting dd4 tag along at half speed since she is chomping at the bit to start school and picked up way more than I expected this past year without me addressing her needs formally. Ds9 places fairly well in Preparing but I am thinking I may be putting him in Bigger after all to really get him acclimated to the CM methods used (which will be new to him). I may be able to combine both boys into Bigger, but it would definitely be a challenge for ds7, so we'd likely start at half-pace (as opposed to putting him in Beyond) for him while letting ds9 go full speed since it is slightly below his skill level.

I'm also trying to keep the family/sibling dynamics in mind with their placement. It is my tendency to look at my 7yo as much younger than the brother that is only 21 months older because of the different rate they've progresses academically. Does he need to be treated as more capable than I've been doing. Maybe. Just yesterday I sat to do a science lesson with them all (seed identification) and there was much frustration for ds7 because he felt he was in a race with the others and felt really down about his younger sister finishing before him. It was an eye-opener to me as I was totally planning on combining the two of them but now after talking it over with DH we are seriously questioning the wisdom in that. I want to build his confidence, not set him up to compete with his little sister.

Am I making much sense or just rambling here? Is it doable without making me crash and burn? The advice of the ladies here has been so helpful for all my questions so far. I appreciate your input (especially moms of many ages and skill levels).

[Mercy]

Hi there,
I think it is really wise to keep personalities in mind while thinking of placement. My little girl has been so blessed to be placed all by herself, just her and mommy. I would not have even known were it not for hod. The thing also to keep in mind with hod placement is, you begin with the younger student in mind, placing them, then you would beef up the program to fit your older.

Mercy

[leimarie]

any other Mommas with alternative combining options?

[MomtoJGJE]

I don't think you'd be out of your mind.... the thing to consider would be that you are talking about doing guides back to back to back (LHFHG, Beyond, and Bigger) that could get old doing the same guide 3 years in a row.... I don't know what to tell you though

Hmm... MAYBE you could do it like you've said but maybe do Beyond half speed with your middle? Full speed with everyone else. Then you wouldn't CONSTANTLY be doing back to back guides.... eventually your two littles would be combined... maybe it would allow your 7yo to blossom enough that he wouldn't feel bad being combined with his sister? (I think I got that right ) And then he could do extensions in Bigger while she just did the regular program?

I guess it has been said not to do an older guide half speed for the full time of the guide... so I guess it would be better to do half speed for half of Beyond with him, full speed with the rest of it, half speed with the first half of Bigger and then full speed for the second half. They'd be combined by the time they were in the second half of Bigger... and your older one would be (if you started him in Bigger) in CTC I think? SO you wouldn't have back to back guides any more...

Did that help any? I think I got all the time frames right....

[leimarie]

thanks for thinking it out with me, I understand what you're saying and it make a lot of sense. As a momma who had planned to combine my children whenever possible this new found freedom of catering to the individual has me spinning some circles. I appreciate your input! Will continue to pray about this for sure.

[pjdobro]

Here's a thought. What if you put your oldest ds in Preparing where he places. Perhaps start him first so that you can get him up and running being independent in the areas that he will be doing independently. That could take several weeks. Then start your second ds in Beyond. Let him go full pace. Then start your dd along with your youngest dd4 in LHFHG. Could you possibly do this guide half-speed over 2 years combining the two youngest but keep the 3Rs at full-speed for your older dd. Then the next year your oldest ds would be in CTC and fairly independent, your second ds would be entering Bigger (your biggest teaching time guide), then your youngest two would be finishing LHFHG. The year after that you would have RTR, Preparing, and Beyond (which you could do at full-speed). That way you would not be doing back to back guides and you only have one intense teaching guide in a year. I don't know if that would be too slow for your dd6 or too much for you dd4, but that would be a way that you could combine them and keep everyone at least 2 guides apart. It sounds like from what you shared that your middle ds might need his own guide just with Mommy so that he can blossom and not feel the competition from his siblings. I don't know if this will work, but it's an idea to ponder.

[leimarie]

Patty, that makes good sense! Will talk to my husband about this option.

[Carrie]

Lisa,

The ladies are doing such a good job of talking through possible options with you, and they are all viable. It is just a matter of finding what fits your family best. One thing that I'm not quite sure of is where each of your children place as individuals on the first page only of the placement chart. If you get a chance to look at the chart one more time, and focus on each child individually with all thoughts of combining any of them aside for now, and then share with us what you discover about each child's individual placement that will help so much as we discuss options. Really ponder only the first page of the chart.

Whether your older child fits better in Bigger or Preparing will make a big difference first of all. The amount of independence, reading level, and the amount of written work will be considerably more in Preparing than in Bigger. Next, the difference in listening level, reading, spelling, grammar, and written work will be the main differences in LHFHG and Beyond. if we know where your next children kiddos place all by themselves that will help so much too as correct placement makes so much difference.

From what you've shared so far, I'd lean toward Patty's recommendations as a possible plan.

Blessings,
Carrie

[leimarie]

Thanks Carrie for your time in responding. My three school-aged children place solidly in three different levels skill-wise. When looking at the placement chart (specifically the first page) My 9yo is ready for Preparing, my 7yo(turning 8 this summer) places squarely in Beyond and my 6yo is best suited for Little Hearts, while with a bit of a stretch she could possibly have combined with her brother in Beyond my husband and I feel that separating them out is really best for all of them for preserving family unity.

I wasn't able to make it up to CHAP but a friend of mine did and was able to purchase the three guides (and a couple of other items, 2 that are being shipped) for me, not sure if she spoke with you or Julie, she couldn't remember either. I just received them and have been pouring through Preparing since that will be the first to be implemented. I am even more sure now that it is the right guide for my oldest! While I was a little worried about the narration and dictation (since those are the new skills for him) the pacing is perfect and I think he will adjust very well, it's just the challenge he needs without looking too overwhelming!!!

We're looking forward to getting started the first week of June. I'm looking forward to a mommy-date with my oldest to go and purchase some of his new supplies and talk about the coming year. For now we are planning on staggering the start time for each of them by a few weeks so that I am not trying to juggle all three from the starting point.

Thanks for all the help and encouragement!

[my3sons]

I am not sure which of us your friend spoke with, but I am so glad you were able to get your guides! It sounds like you have had such a fun time going through your PHFHG guide and seeing what your oldest ds will be doing. I have been thinking about what you shared here for your 6 and 7 yo dc's placement and needs, and wondering what you thought about each of them when looking at the guides you have in hand now? Does it seem to make clearer if they each are best placed in Beyond and LHFHG? This sentence of yours has me thinking that doing them separately in different guides (if that's where you feel they best place now after perusing those guides) may be a breath of fresh air...

...while with a bit of a stretch she could possibly have combined with her brother in Beyond my husband and I feel that separating them out is really best for all of them for preserving family unity...

This is also an important consideration. I wondered if maybe you could do a 4 day school week, and take a little longer for your 2 younger dc to complete their guides? Or, you could also go half-speed for awhile with the LHFHG 6 yo child to ease into it. I like your idea of stagger starting the guides. Having a plan for teaching multiple guides has really helped in our home. It's become a routine more than a schedule, but it has made teaching 3 guides very enjoyable and completely manageable. Starting with the oldest, who has the most to do, and having teaching blocks of time for each child has helped me balance my teaching time so each child has me for what they need. I think this is doable, but taking some time to plan out the flow of your day before beginning will really help. Here is a link to an awesome thread about scheduling that may help...
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2093

Also here is a link to my schedule with teaching blocks of time, so you can see how that works in case that may help...
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2093&p=67941#p67941

I think you are well on your way to a wonderful year with HOD! I hope something here helps.
In Christ,
Julie

[leimarie]

Julie, I am more and more excited after going through all three guides last night. Separating them out was absolutely the best idea! God is so good in how He (sometimes) gently leads us where we need to go even when we want to dig our heels in.

After going through Little Hearts I am confident that my 4yo dd will be able to tag along quite well with my 6yo! I am going to try and go full speed since the 6yo doesn't really need to be slowed down and I will be adding in spelling list 1 from Beyond for her to bulk it a bit since she is ready for a little more challenge (I'll be looking to see what else she needs after we work through a couple of weeks). I think skill-wise after looking through Beyond she would certainly have been able to handle the pacing but the relationship between her and her brother is much more important to me than pushing her forward academically at this stage. <3 Since Little Hearts is the final guide we'll be implementing I have a bit of time to play with the planning and pacing of it. My girls are quite content with just about any "school work" I put in front of them and reading through the guide last night my husband and I just smiled realizing how much they'll devour the activities and lessons in Little Hearts.

Thanks for sharing your block schedule again. I will be working over the next week or so to make our block schedule since I really do think that will work well for us and help me foster responsibility with my older children to help care for/entertain the littlest ones when needed. I know that are days will run longer than some families, but with 6 children a longer day at a comfortable pace is much better than trying to get it all knocked out before lunch.

We're all looking forward to moving on with HoD as our guides, this past year was quite an adjustment for us as we transitioned from a public-schooling family to a homeschooling family and now we're just ready to settle into a solid routine (especially before the baby shakes things up, LOL).

Thanks for all the great council from you, Carrie and all the great Mommas on this board.