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Hello.

We are just finishing up our first year of hs and both my ds (9) and dd (7) both agree that they don't want to go back to ps. My ds has decided that he would like to be hs for the rest of his life, including college . I'm not sure about the college part, but my dh and I both feel that the Lord is calling us to continue on this journey (yeah!). That decided -- now I'm starting to try to figure out how the sequence will work for us and am looking for some advice.

(I'm including some background information, in case that would help, but if you want to skip that, my actual question is at the bottom)

We started doing Bigger in August doing 1/2 speed for 2 weeks. We then switched to full speed. Shortly thereafter, our schedule starting going crazy. The big problem was that I started physical therapy 3 days a week in the mornings. My dc, who were most patient, had to accompany me on every visit. At the same time, the 3 of us were trying to adjust to homeschooling. My ds had a tough year in 2nd grade and his confidence was very low (he is a perfectionist and is very hard on himself). I thought that with homeschooling I could "fix" everything right away. The Lord showed my how wrong I was. Our day would often run extra long due to issues with math, timeouts, attitude issues (mine and my dc's), etc. Finally, around Nov., I felt like something had to change. I was stressing because we weren't getting everything done in the time that I thought it should get done. The kids were stressed because of the jump in my expectations as well as the sudden change in having to be "on" all the time -- gone were the days of "centers". After some prayer, I decided to go back to 1/2 speed. That worked. I relaxed and so did the kids. It also allowed them some time to investigate some other areas of interest. We were still having some problems, but our days were no longer running until 4:00 (after starting at 8:30).

Now, fast forward to today. Last week, I realized that we were finishing school much, much earlier than usual and my ds and I have been going through math and LA without any issues (for which I'm very thankful) . So, I thought I would just try one day at full-speed and we were able to do it Now, we plan to continue full speed for the rest of the year now. That will put us at exactly the half way point.

Now, here is my question... Will the fact that we won't be finishing Bigger until sometime in the fall put my ds behind for future guides? Will we at some point need to skip ahead? My dd, though doing well, is at the lower end of the age range for Bigger, so I wouldn't want her to skip ahead any faster.

Thank you in advance for your help (and for reading this)!

Jen

It doesn't matter The big thing is that they are progressing

FWIW, we school year round, taking shorter breaks more frequently throughout the year. If everything goes as planned right now (and I know it won't, so this actually has some leeway built in ) DD1 will start a new guide sometime around January, DD2 will start a new guide in October, DD3 will start going full speed LHFHG in about 2 months, which means she'll likely be starting a new guide in probably March (because I probably won't get around to starting her full speed until end of August ) and DD4 will start LHTH again at the beginning in April/May. When they start DD1 will go half speed for a month or so, DD2 will go half speed for a couple of weeks (because I've done the guide before, it'll just be her having to learn it), DD3 will be going half speed for about 10-12 units (or until DD2 finishes Bigger) and then 4 days per week, and DD4 will be full speed from the beginning.

I figure at some point I might actually have all of them starting a new guide in the same calendar year But for now I'll settle for getting to the point a guide doesn't take us more than 12 months to complete

Oh, and I didn't even calculate based on 2-3 day weeks in the fall because we have co-op on Thursdays and will be going out of town a lot for long weekends. And the fact that a baby will be coming sometime at the end of October (I did count for that, but who knows what will REALLY happen)

No worries. Just keep moving along.

MomtoJGJE -- Thank you for your reply. It sounds like you will have a very busy year!

netpea -- Thank you also. I try not to worry (that's a struggle of mine:)). I wasn't concerned about now as much as I was thinking of middle school and high school. Probably a little early to be thinking that far ahead, right? But... Would we be missing out on some credits by being 6 months behind? If so, would it be easier to try to fix it now or easier to add additional material in when the time comes to make up those credits?

Thank you so much!
Jen

Oh -- I just noticed the thread on Beefing up for middle school and high school. That might help

Also I was going to mention that you could easily "catch up" by the time for HS if that's a concern. Simply go a few extra weeks each year and over the course of 6-7 years you'll be easily caught up!!

Just keep moving along...if you take a summer break, just pick up again where you left off. If your kids are within the age range for the guide being used, then you're not really "behind" anyway. If it gets to the point that you are in a guide where your older child is above the recommended age range then you can add in extensions for him.

Stephanie

I have therapies for my kids too. I don't worry about completing a guide in a school year. I just take one day at a time. When the guide is completed, I move on to the next one. That's the beauty of homeschooling. : )

We also school year round, but we do a half speed schedule in the summer. I do this in the hope of "making up" for some of what we miss during the year due to therapies and appointments.

We have many, many families who will not complete every single HOD guide written. These students are still progressing beautifully, growing in their faith, learning what they need to know, and enjoying homeschooling along the way. Bigger Hearts for HIs Glory has a target age range of 7-9 yo, with extensions for 10-11 yo. Your ds at any point can do the extensions if he moves into that extension age set, and if he needs that challenge. As you mentioned, we already have multiple threads on the board for how to count credits when needed. It sounds like your dc are placed well and doing very well. I would continue to enjoy that placement and move forward systematically, one guide at a time. The guides build incrementally upon one another, so skipping ahead is not a good idea. Many times, skipping just causes problems, and going back and reteaching missed skills adds more time anyway. So, enjoy the journey, you can be so happy with the transformation you have already seen - celebrate mama, you are doing a super job!

In Christ,
Julie

Julie -- thank you for the reply and the encouraging words. I had just come from our CHAP convention and was feeling a little overwhelmed. I was afraid that my ds would be missing out by not completing all the guides. I feel better knowing that our situation is not unusual. I've enjoyed our experience so far with Bigger and am really looking forward to Preparing!

Thank you again for your encouragement!
Jen