Would you combine?

[Tasia]

I'm planning on combining my 3rd and 4th graders for a few subjects next year and all four boys for some History activities. But, I'm not so sure about combining my oldest two. If I did, it would be for Science, History and possibly Literature/Writing.

 

Both boys were labeled "gifted" when they were younger, but my (will be) 8th grader is now really a slightly above-average student. He's a good writer and reads above grade level, but he doesn't really love school. He's a people-pleaser and does his work with a good attitude, but he doesn't like things to be too challenging. On the other hand, my 11 year old is definitely advanced for his age and stronger than my oldest in some areas. He's a voracious reader and really loves to learn and work hard.

 

My oldest has had poor self-esteem in the past, but it's really gotten better since we started homeschooling last fall and I'd hate to do anything to damage that. I'm worried that being in the same "level" as his younger brother and possibly even doing worse than him could hurt the confidence he's built this year.

 

They get along great, but I think it helps that they're so rarely compared to each other. They don't do any of the same activities except piano, where my oldest is much stronger, and haven't gone to the same school since they were in 2nd and 4th.

 

Of course, combining them for at least one subject would be easier for me. This will be my first year homeschooling all four, so two Science curricula sounds a lot easier than three and having them reading the same books would be a lot easier than keeping up with two different booklists.

 

So would you combine them for any or all of these subjects? Keep them completely separate? Is there a way to combine them but still make it seem like my oldest is "ahead" of his brother?

 

Thank you. :001_smile:

[MomatHWTK]

I combine the teaching portion for most subjects and scale the assignments to the child's age and skill level. The oldest will listen in on the easier subjects I teach to the youngers, but maybe not have an assignment. The youngers will watch the oldest one's science lesson online but not do the exercises. Sometimes I will allow the child who the lesson isn't specifically for to have a break (i.e. The youngers didn't watch the full DNA tutorial, the oldest doesn't have to pay attention during the addition lesson.)

[Ellie]

I'd be more inclined to do the oldest on his own, and the younger ones together when possible.

[Tasia]

Thanks for explaining that, MomatHWTK. :) I think something along those lines will work for History - having the older boys do extra reading and some writing assignments, but not making them do the activities I'll do with the younger ones.

 

Thanks Ellie. :001_smile: That does seem to make the most sense, except I'm pretty sure my 11 year old could teach the Science I have picked out for the younger boys. :glare: I'll have a look around for something all three of them could use.

[MomatHWTK]

Thanks Ellie. :001_smile: That does seem to make the most sense, except I'm pretty sure my 11 year old could teach the Science I have picked out for the younger boys. :glare: I'll have a look around for something all three of them could use.

 

My 11 y.o. often does take over the teaching. LOL! Sometimes I have to tell him to pipe down so I can get my piece said.

 

Often your lower level science will cover a topic that can go more in-depth. For instance, if we use BFSU to discuss the "particles" in matter, I can give my oldest more detail about molecules and atoms. I usually rely on a free power point or other resources found online to add content.

[Spock]

I would (and did) combine the older two in that situation as far as what books they read for history/science. To prevent comparisons, I would give different writing assignments about the material to each boy, or ask each one to focus on a different topic (for example, one boy writes about the military aspects of a time period, while the other writes about how the people were governed or trade or compares this society to a previous one).

 

If you are using material with pre-written tests it might be more difficult, since they would be compared more directly. I didn't combine my older two on that type of material until high school.

 

What you might be able to do if that is the type of material you have chosen--have one boy use the pre-written tests and have the other boy answer 2-3 essay questions on the material, or write a paper about the chapter. You could even alternate which boy did which--on even chapters boy A writes essays/a report and boy B takes the test, while on odd chapters it is the other way around.

 

By high school my boys accepted that their strengths were different, and didn't feel competitive at all. (One was strong in history/language but weak in math and science, while the other was very strong in math/science while weaker in writing.)