Pros/Cons of Combining Children

[bethanyjoy]

I'm trying to decide if I want to combine my children. If we do, we will use Truthquest History and Noeo Science. If we separate them, we will probably use HOD. (They will be in Kindergarten and 2nd grade in the fall.)

 

What are the advantages and disadvantages of each way? What has been your experience?

 

Thanks,

Bethany

[mumto2]

I think it depends on the definition of combining. :) We have always combined the basics for most subjects other than math. Writing assignments are never the same although the information taught is the same. When they were your children's ages they both did SL but dd also did a substantial portion of VP because she adored seatwork and her wiggly little brother was doing great if he listened to all the SL. ;)

 

I still tweak their assignments in together courses. The advantages of doing coursework together are great imo. First they have someone else doing the same thing -- a bit of family solidarity. We get to spend more time on things like field trips because they benefit both children. The same thing with documentaries and movies relating to classes, everyone can enjoy them together.

 

Some topics both children do not enjoy so they work individually. Dd loves languages. Actively working on four currently. Two years of one foreign language with Ds will be a struggle. Ds love computers and programming dd does not.

 

The most important thing to remember when combining is to remember they are two different students and will do things very differently. Obviously my dc's are much older but when combining dd has always needed more rigorous assignments.

[Tenaj]

I used a combined curriculum for a few years but then separated my kids into separate HOD guides.

 

The advantages I've seen by separating is that each child is working at their own skill level and I can see the progress they are making. I have one especially enthusiastic kid that overwhelms any group discussion allowing my quieter children to coast along and hide very easily. I was aware of the problem but still couldn't quite get a handle on it when we were combining many subjects. Now that they are working on separate guides, that problem has disappeared.

 

Disadvantages of separating are the time commitment required. I have adjusted the HOD guides in a few ways to make this work but there is still a lot of school time that requires my direct attention.

[Starr]

We liked combining as much as possible. We listened to the same related books in the car, projects together, same current frame of reference. You know, it was all Egypt all the time. Each child had their own age appropriate work to complete. It was never a problem for us.

[Mommy22alyns]

With just a 2 year age spread, combining is so nice. They get their own LA and math and do content subjects together. My plan is to keep it this way until Rebecca enters high school years.

[Amy Jo]

I'm not good at combining. I find I spend to much time trying to redirect attention. I do combine in some things - we do hymns & folksongs together, I make a point to read literature & outdoor adventure books to them all, we memorize somethings together, I've combined my 10yo with my 9yo for some books I don't want him to miss. I plan to start a more formal morning basket / circle time this summer, just a bit at a time. Because I think learning together is important, it just doesn't fit as the primary method for me / my kids.

 

On the positive side, not combining lets me challenge each kid and tailor their education to them (which is the big advantage of homeschooling). It also cuts down on comparisons (my 9yo tends to do this). It also gives my kids more independence - they aren't waiting on me.

 

I personally don't think there is a wrong answer here. You just have to find what works for you. Before spending money, why not pick a few books and do a trial - how well do they learn together? How do you prefer to teach? Is it really faster & easier? Will your younger be upset if the older is always "better" at answering? Or vice versa, especially if your eldest has any learning issues?

 

And it's not all or nothing. You can combine for just a few subjects, or semi-combine by keeping the same history or science topic with one spine, but different supplemental books or experiments.

[MinivanMom]

My kids all have 2-yr gaps, so it has been easy for us to combine. We combine history, science, and literature read-alouds at the elementary level. Combining has allowed us to pursue a single topic as a family. We read-aloud together, discuss things has a group, do experiments together, and take field trips related to what we are learning. It has also allowed me to choose curriculum that is more hands-on and requires more parent involvement. I don't know that I would have been able to do that if everyone was following their own course of study. My kids work at their own levels in math, reading, writing, French, and art.

 

It has worked for us, because of small gaps. Dd9 and ds7 are so close in age that it's been easy. At this point, though, dd5 will be joining us in about a year. I don't think I can combine all three of them. I feel like a 4-yr gap (between dd9 & dd5) is too big a gap to meet the needs of the oldest or the youngest. I plan to have dd9 start working more independently at that point, so it will be ds7 and dd5 who are combined.

[Five More Minutes]

I've combined my Gr. 2 & K daughters in content subjects (science, history, French, and, to a degree, Latin), but have separated them for language arts and math.

 

In the subjects where they're separated, I've done so because their skill levels are so different and I can't easily modify lessons or assignments to allow for those differences.

 

In those subjects that we've combined, we tend to work together for the lesson part (which may be reading a book together, singing a song, watching a DVD, doing a demonstration). When it comes to output, I modify expectations. My younger dd narrates a 2-3 sentence summary of the chapter that we've read in history, while my elder daughter writes her own 2-3 sentence summary. My elder daughter reads different supplemental books.

 

The benefits of combining these content subjects (apart from the fact that I don't need to clone myself!) is that we can include more discussions into our lessons, can enjoy the same educational field trips, and do more hands-on activities together. The disadvantage is that sometimes one is interested in diving into a specific topic longer than the other is; I simply do my best to be fair.

[texasmama]

For us, combining content area subjects has worked very well. It is efficient, and we rely a great deal on read alouds in history and literature so combining leads to more interesting discussions. My older two students are combined in all subjects except math, grammar and writing. They even do the same spelling. My little dd listens in to most of the read alouds, as well. Besides efficiency, the main benefit for us has been the enriched discussion/learning which takes place with multiple students as they learn from the other ones' questions/viewpoints.

[Crimson Wife]

My kids are too widely spaced to combine by using the same materials, but I stick to the same topics in history and science. It would be far too difficult to me to have one child studying topic X and the other child studying topic Y. DD likes listening in when I read aloud DS' "spine" even if it's too simplistic for her. DS likes watching when DD does her experiments even if he doesn't have the motor skills to be able to attempt them himself.

[RootAnn]

The benefit of combining for me is so we have more time to do other things. One negative is that it doesn't always work well. (My kids, so far, always study the same time frame in history & the same topic in science even if they are using different materials. We are getting to the point where that won't always be possible.)

 

Combining my two oldest worked for awhile. They are only about 1 1/2 yrs apart in age. But at some point last year (2011-2012 school year), dd#1 pulled so far ahead that dd#2 was overshadowed and dd#1 was being "slowed down" in some of the combined subjects.

 

I combined dd#2 & dd#3 this school year (2012-2013) even though they are 2 1/2 yrs apart. They are so close in spelling ability that I was able to go over the same lists (starting way too easy for dd#2 and ending in what should have been 'too difficult' words for dd#3). This saved me hours each week. While dd#2 didn't advance in spelling ability like she *might* have if I'd started with lists that were closer to her grade level, she needed the review of the easier words.

 

It really depends on the individual kids and that particular year's work. Some years it might work & some it might not. You have to be flexible if you combine. But it does save quite a bit of time.

[Holly]

Combining works really well here. I even combine some of their 3Rs. :leaving:

 

For us, it's about being consistent in getting things done. If I keep it simple, it gets done. If everyone is doing their own thing, I can't keep everyone on task which leaves me totally stressed out and it doesn't get done. I spent last summer trying to get school as efficient as possible and this has been our best year ever. I think each family varies so much...there are moms that can handle running 4+ levels of curriculum. I'm not one of those moms, so I have to make adjustments. I imagine I will be splitting them up more, especially for high school, but by then they will (hopefully) be much more independent. If I only had 2 or 3 DC, I could probably separate them a bit more, but we currently have 4 (and would love more).

[Wheres Toto]

We combine for everything except math and language arts. Even though there's only 2 years between mine, ds is advanced and dd is right on grade level. So for the skill subjects, they are actually working 3 or 4 years apart.

 

We combine for science and history but I'm not sure I'm going to be able to continue. I'm finding that it's not challenging enough for ds, while dd is barely paying attention. I'm not sure what to do about it.

[SilverMoon]

K and 2 are fun to combine. Though I don't require any science or history from my K age kidlets. Teach directly to the second grader's level, and let the little one tag-a-long wherever it's feasible and/or they're interested.

 

My little ones will be in 5, 3, and K this year. The 5 and 3 have been combined for science in the past, but are going their own ways this year. The 5 wants architecture, which the 3 couldn't give a whit about. The 3 will do nature science instead, and the K will tag-a-long with 3 where she can.