Hi there. I am new to this forum, but not new to homeschooling! We are finishing up our 6th year - and I am feeling disheveled. My daughter (10) is very, very bright, has been using Heart of Dakota for years, and she has done really well with it. HOD is truly a wonderful curriculum; I have no complaints about anything that she has learned, and I enjoyed learning along with her in the earlier guides. However, I have two other children that are throwing my perfect HOD world upside down and into a tailspin. My middle son (9) is just a year younger than my daughter, but he has dyslexia. While he struggles with reading/spelling/writing his struggles do not take away his interest in learning - and my kiddos want to "learn" together. HOD does not lend itself to my children learning anything together. I completely understand the reasoning behind the separate guides, keeping them "on level," and as a former PS middle school teacher this all makes sense to my head. But it doesn't make sense to my Mama's heart. Next year, my daughter is scheduled to be in Resurrection to Reformation and will be learning about the Middle Ages. I already know how next year will go: my middle son will be longingly listening in to her readings, looking at her projects, etc. b/c this time period is just so engaging and interesting. ((I also have a 5 year old boy who would love to "do school" with his older siblings!)) I feel that my only two options are: 1) Run 3 separate guides with HOD (Little Hearts, Preparing, and Res to Ref) 2) Find something else Both options are terrifying to me! I know there are moms out there who run 4+ guides, and my hat is off to them. But my personality just doesn't fit that. I *want* to learn with my children. My daughter has had so much independent work this year, that I honestly don't know half of what she has learned. While I trust HOD, it makes me feel disconnected from my daughter. (I know that independence is a fantastic and necessary skill, but to learn so much on your own at 10 years old seems very young to me.) My daughter has also felt the weight of it this year. She has shed many tears b/c we don't do much together any more. When our "box day" arrived a couple of weeks ago, we were going through everything together. I was oohing and aaahing over it all and she says, "I'd be excited, too, if I didn't have to teach myself." Knife in the heart. :( She can do it, but being so isolated hurts her spirit. I purchased MOH vol.2 to study and see if it would be something that we could do together. Just looking through it overwhelms me b/c it is very different than what we've become used to with HOD. I already have Apologia's Astronomy that came with Res to Ref, so that is also an option for combining them in science. We tried MFW a few years ago, but it was too "text-booky" for us. But I've been looking at it again b/c of the family cycle. I guess I'm just looking for advice! Do we stick with HOD, continuing to separate my kiddos? Or do we move to a family learning style? And if we do change things....gulp....where do I start?