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I've posted a number of times for placement help and we have that now ironed out. My ds places in Preparing with R&S 4 and DITHOR 2/3. We haven't done literature analysis before. He will be in Singapore 4a as well. DD places in Beyond with Emerging Readers and Singapore 2a. I understand that Preparing takes around 4 hours and Beyond about 1.5 hours. How much of this is teacher intensive/teacher time? I will say I am hesitant to purchase the 2 guides and required resources, for fear it will take too much time and the history and science will get dropped. This has happened in to me in the past and I would rather be a good steward of our resources (of course they were probably dropped due to myself more than anything else).

Thanks
Sarah

Hi,

I have done both Preparing and Beyond. I did preparing a few years ago with my oldest and I remember it taking us no more than 3 hours, sometimes less. As for Beyond, I believe we did most of that within an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes. I am gearing up to do Preparing again with our second dd this fall. She is a bit of a day-dreamer so our time with Preparing could vary, but it is also a great opportunity for teaching about doing work in a timely fashion. I have been teaching two guides simultaneously for the last three years and we are done with school by lunch time. This year, our ds began reading, math , and handwriting.

I do think that there is enough independent work in Preparing that you could easily be teaching Beyond, while your older one is working in Preparing. The key is really taking the time at the beginning of the school year to teach how to use the guide and what is expected of them. So, school days may take longer in the beginning, but it is worth it later!

Hope this helps and blessings on you today,
Jess

So would you suggest I stagger start them. I'm guessing start the oldest first and have him get used to Preparing then once we have a routine with that start dd on Beyond?

I have done Beyond before, but haven't done Preparing. However, I will be doing both Preparing and Beyond as well as a modified LHFHG this fall. I wouldn't stagger their start times. It may take a couple weeks to get a good routine going, but you will figure out quickly how to schedule your day so that you can run both guides at the same time. I, typically, will get my oldest started on something he can do independently, while I am getting my next child to a point where he can do something independently, then I go back to my older one while my younger one is doing something independently. (like copywork, or his math workbook)

You will figure out what works for you and your children. If it were me, I would start them the same week, knowing that for the first couple of weeks you may not be able to finish by lunchtime. However, once you work out all the kinks ... you'll get a good flow going and be able to get every single box done with each child with no problems.

I know this wasn't my post, but thank you for the replies. I have been mapping out my teaching time in blocks for my 3 children (1 Preparing, 1 Beyond, and 1 Little Hands). Starting with 3 guides could make me really nervous, but I am so happy knowing the solid education they will receive.

Blessings.
Deb

Hi there,

I am doing Beyond and Preparing this year with my dc....it is very doable without dropping anything! I start with my Preparing dd and get her readings done (History, storytime, and usually grammar) and then she goes off and does all her related activities. While I am reading with her, my ds who does Beyond does his independent math and handwriting and then we swap and I basically spend the next hour doing the Beyond program with him as my dd works through Preparing. When my dd is finished all her independent work, we come together again and look over everything and we do anything else she needs me for eg. bible study, narrations for science, math instruction and then we are done! All done before lunch time if we start by 8:30am....
Don't be tempted to drop science and history!! They are very essential cores to HOD and the skills they develop and so fun and enjoyable for the kids! Because everything is so interconnected in HOD, leaving these out would only really leave Math, Grammar and Poetry to study.
You will have a great time....enjoy!
Blessings,
Corrie

Here's a couple posts that may help.

If you click on the pictures you'll see my tentative schedule for fall with 4 kids-- PHFHG w/ext, 1/2 speed BHFHG, LHTH with some other preschool stuff, and an almost 2yo.
viewtopic.php?p=67884#p67884

On this one, this shows the time per box for PHFHG that I got from an old post of Carrie or Julie's.
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=9297

I do stagger the start times for my children because of different wakings/energy levels, especially of my second dd. She runs a bit slower pace than everyone else. I also like the stagger start time because there are scheduled 'play-times' for the younger ones with the older ones and then scheduled alone 'play-times' for the younger ones where I bounce back and forth between the two older ones. When I did the Preparing/Beyond combo, I started my Preparing child first while my Beyond child played with the younger ones. It all depends so much on what personalities/drives you have in your home and if there are younger ones involved. I really appreciate my olders learning to play with the youngers and they are creating great memories as well. I hope you can find a workable rhythm for your school day. I should dig around and try and find our old rhythm and check the order of boxes!

Enjoy this journey!

Jess