Preparing vs. Bigger...can you help me decide

[Three Little Ladies]

I'm going to be switching to HOD next year and need to decide (after pondering for 2 months already) if I'm using Preparing or Bigger with the extension package. DD9 will be 10 in October, and dd7 will be 8 in October. We start our new school year the 1st of August.

The reason why I want to do Preparing is because by doing the 1-year world history next year, dd9 will get the remaining 4 year cycles twice by her senior year. If we go with Bigger, she'll miss the last year of the 4-year cycle altogether. I want to combine them, since dd4 is coming up behind them and has to do a separate package anyway.

This year we're doing Adventures in MFW. MFW is just lacking something for me. I find it very dry and cold. DD7 is joining us for Adventures history, but does the 1st grade, too. Since we haven't done any spelling or English or much writing, she isn't a proficient writer yet. She is doing Explode the Code book 5 and is reading pretty well, but does need help with some words and isn't a fast reader yet. She's doing 2nd grade math u see, but I guess that really isn't the determining factor. Can I water down Preparing for her needs? It really is the history spine I want to do!

Any thoughts?

Christa

[Carrie]

Three Little Ladies,

If I haven't already welcomed you, welcome to the board! We're glad you're here. I'm thinking from what you've shared that it sounds like your younger child would fit best within Beyond Little Hearts or Bigger Hearts. Without knowing more than your oldest child's age, I'd say that particular child would fit best in Preparing Hearts or Creation to Christ.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on where you think each child fits best (all combining scenarios aside) after looking over the first page of the chart. Here's the link: http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

Once we know where your kiddos fit best individually on the placement chart, then we can chime in with possible combining options and help you talk through things to find the best fit for your particular family.

Blessings,
Carrie

[Three Little Ladies]

I had already looked at the placement chart, and have decided that younger dd7 is best suited for Bigger and dd9 for Preparing. However, I want to combine them since I have 3 dd's and I cannot use HOD if I have to use 3 separate spines. I am a working mother, and my time is extremely limited. DD9 is not very independent, either.

Just wondering if I can still use Preparing with dd7 (afterall, she will be turning 8 in October, and the program states it is for 8-10's). I guess there's no way to decide without ordering both and sending back one?

Christa

[Carrie]

Christa,

I'm thinking that if your younger child fits better in Bigger Hearts, then it may actually be easier for you to place both kiddos in Bigger, adding the Extension Pack for your older child. That way both kiddos would fit within the target age ranges for Bigger (ages 7-9 with extensions for ages 10-11) and your younger child wouldn't feel pulled along with your older child.

While another option would be to put both kiddos in Preparing Hearts (due to the target age range being 8-10 with extensions for ages 11-12), we've found that it is often harder to water down a difficult program than it is to beef up an easier program. So, it may be difficult to pull back enough for your younger child to be successful in Preparing Hearts. Right now our third son (who is a very strong learner) is using Preparing in the middle age range of the guide, and we're finding it to be a good fit for him. He did Bigger Hearts as a third grader last year.

You would certainly know your kiddos best and would be in a better position than me to determine what would fit your family best. I just wanted to give you some possible options to consider.

Often, it takes a bit of time to explore the best possible HOD fit for your family, as we're not a one-size-fits all type curriculum. It's well worth pondering various options though to find the fit for you.

Blessings,
Carrie

[HollyinNNV]

The reason why I want to do Preparing is because by doing the 1-year world history next year, dd9 will get the remaining 4 year cycles twice by her senior year. If we go with Bigger, she'll miss the last year of the 4-year cycle altogether.
Any thoughts?

Christa

Hi Christa,
I just wanted to mention that there is a big perk to having a senior studying the 3rd year of the 4 year history cycle. Depending upon the curriculum you use, the 3rd year often covers the heart of American government: the Declaration, Bill of Rights and Constitution. It is actually pretty nice to be at that point in high school as a senior. That is the year that many students traditionally study government and economics so it does fit right in. The 18th and 19th century includes the Enlightenment, American Revolution, French Revolution, Napoleon, Industrial Revolution, Industrialization, Romantic Literature, Nationalism, Marxism and Realism.

Speaking from a literature perspective, I prefer to teach older students (juniors & seniors) about romantic literature. The great poets-Blake, Shelley, Coleridge-are all challenging to understand. I think my older students "get" these poets much more comfortably than the younger ones. And this doesn't mean that I don't introduce younger students to the Romantics at all. I just see that the older ones get more from the Romantics than the younger high schoolers.

The other challenging year is the first year of the 4 year history cycle. For literature especially, it is nice to teach seniors the ancients. Seniors are better equipped to deal with Plato, Socrates and Virgil.

Are years 2 & 4 challenging years as well? Yes. For me, I see year 1 & 3 as more challenging, personally. But, my overall message is that you should do what you think is right for your kids this year and try not to worry so much about the bigger picture. There are lots of ways to be successful! (More than one way to skin a cat-KWIM?)
Holly

[my3sons]

Welcome to the HOD Boards, Christa! I am on the tail-end of PHFHG, and it is a wonderful program. But, we also did Bigger Hearts last year, and enjoyed immensely as well. I think placement-wise, the best placement for your 2 together overall would be Bigger Hearts. It's hard to say that - because I know you are dreaming of PHFHG - but I do think Bigger Hearts is the better fit. PHFHG builds on much that is learned in Bigger, and PHFHG has a LOT more writing. Bigger Hearts will still stretch your 8 yo, and the extensions will be more than enough for your 10 yo. Another option would be to do Beyond with your 8 yo and PHFHG with your 10 yo. We're doing Beyond and PHFHG both right now and finishing by 12:30 PM or so (we start school around 8:15 AM). So, it is very doable if you are open to that. You will know what is best here, but I feel in my heart that this is the best advice to give from what you've shared. I will pray that you know what to do and are lead to the decision the Lord would have you make for your family.

In Christ,
Julie

[Three Little Ladies]

Thanks for the great advice. I truly cannot image doing 3 separate packages once dd5 enters the mix, so I will go ahead and do Bigger with the extension package. 2 years of American Hx is probably good anyway. Looking forward to using this wonderful curriculum!

Christa

[my3sons]

Thanks for the great advice. I truly cannot image doing 3 separate packages once dd5 enters the mix, so I will go ahead and do Bigger with the extension package. 2 years of American Hx is probably good anyway. Looking forward to using this wonderful curriculum!

Christa

Oh, that's great to hear, Christa! I'm actually really glad you'll get to do Bigger Hearts. It is a wonderful program, and I do think it will be a really nice way to combine your dc, for both now and in the future. You'll have a very nice plan going for using HOD. Now, you'll just have to share your "box day" with us! It's a bit of a tradition I personally love here at HOD. Thanks for sharing how you turned out with this - it helps us know how to pray and gives us a chance to celebrate your decision with you!

In Christ,
Julie

[mamanlait]

I'm following this thread carefully. We, too, did MFW Adventures this year and although I really appreciated the schedule, it was not exactly what we were looking for. I have an 8 y.o. soon to be 3rd grader and am struggling as you are between Bigger and Preparing. Because MFW Adventures is American History, I was really hoping to move on to Preparing but now it seems as though that would really be a stretch with all the writing. She does do copywork and daily writing but I'm not sure she really enjoys it like she may need to as not to get burned out in Preparing. My dd is an avid reader but only midway through Singapore 2A (and MathUSee Beta)- which made me initially consider Bigger. We did First Lang. Lessons this year and had planned to do Growing with Grammar for 3rd but am rethinking that and looking at R & S 3, now. It's tough to switch I'm not meaning to sound selfish but I'm not sure I can enjoy another American Hx year even if Bigger is the best overall fit.

Perhaps I should move on to MFW ECC for the "History" section (although it's really geography) and doing everything else Bigger. Will this work? Is it possible to separate out the areas like that or do some areas of the guide rely on the history reading. I am doing Drawn into the Heart of Reading as well by the way. Oh, what a mess I feel I'm in. I probably should just bite the bullet and do Bigger.

Thanks for listening

[my3sons]

I'm following this thread carefully. We, too, did MFW Adventures this year and although I really appreciated the schedule, it was not exactly what we were looking for. I have an 8 y.o. soon to be 3rd grader and am struggling as you are between Bigger and Preparing. Because MFW Adventures is American History, I was really hoping to move on to Preparing but now it seems as though that would really be a stretch with all the writing. She does do copywork and daily writing but I'm not sure she really enjoys it like she may need to as not to get burned out in Preparing. My dd is an avid reader but only midway through Singapore 2A (and MathUSee Beta)- which made me initially consider Bigger. We did First Lang. Lessons this year and had planned to do Growing with Grammar for 3rd but am rethinking that and looking at R & S 3, now. It's tough to switch I'm not meaning to sound selfish but I'm not sure I can enjoy another American Hx year even if Bigger is the best overall fit.

Perhaps I should move on to MFW ECC for the "History" section (although it's really geography) and doing everything else Bigger. Will this work? Is it possible to separate out the areas like that or do some areas of the guide rely on the history reading. I am doing Drawn into the Heart of Reading as well by the way. Oh, what a mess I feel I'm in. I probably should just bite the bullet and do Bigger.

Thanks for listening

Welcome to the HOD Boards! I think we would all love to help you with this, mamanlait, but I would love a bit more information. So far, we know your dd is 8 and soon to be in third grade. She does copywork and daily writing now, but doesn't love it all so much. Could you please share how much writing she's been doing? Is it a few sentences, paragraphs, etc.? Also, you shared she's an avid reader (which is great ). Could you please share some books she's been reading, and if she has had any experience orally narrating? Also, how would you say her reading comprehension is? You said she's midway through Singapore 2A. I don't think that this is necessarily a determining factor between BHFHG and PHFHG. She's had First Language Lessons - and you're considering R & S 3 - that would work fine with either guide. One last thing - how independently can she work? Can she follow straight-forward written directions (like 5 sentences or so) and complete a notebooking assignment or a simple history project?

My ds began PHFHG this year at 8 yo, doing R & S 3, and Singapore 2B/3A. He's had an awesome year! So, your dd may do just fine with PHFHG. Could you please share a bit more about her, and then everyone will chime in? I wanted to say that the advice we all gave to Christa may be different from the advice given to you because you are not trying to combine. Combining made BHFHG a super fit for Christa, but since you are not trying to combine, PHFHG could be a good fit for your dd.

In Christ,
Julie

[mamanlait]

Julie,
I'd love to share with you...

Books she has read recently: the new Wanda Brunstetter Amish series (Rachel Yoder series) -- she loves these, by the way. She read these books in a weeks time (so about one a day last week). She reads the A-Z Mysteries and all of the SL Core 2 Advanced readers. We take weekly trips to the library for her chapter books. I don't make her narrate (officially, anyway) but I do ask her about her favorite parts and what she likes about the books and she can dialogue for quite some time so I think she's understanding well. She loves to read and I think I can put pretty much anything in front of her (this is her strong suit for sure). She loves art and will do projects independently all day long if I allowed her to.

Writing: She hasn't been required to write much but she often writes letters to penpals (friends from our old home town). She's a good speller and we did R & S spelling 2 this year but she finished early because she tested out of the lessons before starting (pre-tests). I think she's language oriented. She copies Bible verses easily and quickly. I wish her manuscript was better and that's why I've kept her from moving forward much with more independent writing; in fact, that is our focus this summer...to get her writing in order. She really wants to do cursive but I'm stressing about her writing looking worse than her fathers, and that's really saying something.

She is really an ideal learner (she works independently and can follow directions with ease). My concern with Preparing is that I will be asking her to do more than I should. She's my first and I've been guilty of expecting too much in the past and I want to make sure I don't do this again. That said, she probably is capable of doing Preparing.

Thank you so much for your input. By the way, Julie, did you do R & S 2 before 3? I'm wondering if I should start at R & S 2 and work through that one at a faster pace before starting 3. It's nice to hear you did PHFHG with your 8 yo and enjoyed the year (I'm encouraged!). My gut tells me to go for it, especially since we are both burned out on American History and maybe start a little early and do it at half pace.

Amy

[Carrie]

Amy,

I apologize for chiming in here late, as I'm sure Julie will get back to you. It does sound like your daughter could do Preparing Hearts if that is where you feel the Lord is leading you. Since your daughter is reading well enough to do the Deluxe Package, has had a good strong start in grammar, can copy Bible verses easily, follows directions well, and can work independently if needed she could honestly do either Bigger Hearts or Preparing Hearts.

Normally, we would lean toward recommending Bigger Hearts, however with your previous coverage of American history and your desire for something different, you may find Preparing Hearts to be a better fit. I agree that you could slow down if needed and could ease into some of the upped level of writing as well. You could start by doing the left side of the Preparing plans one day and the right side the next until you settle in to the program, and then bump up to full-speed once you've hit your stride. We did Bigger Hearts last year and are just finishing up Preparing Hearts this year. We have thoroughly enjoyed both years!

As far as grammar goes, you could either go the Rod and Staff 2 or 3 route, after finishing FLL 1/2. It depends on whether you are looking for a rigorous grammar path (English 3), or for a solid overview (English 2). At HOD, we recommend completing Rod and Staff English 6 by the end of grade 8 for thorough grammar coverage, however your personal family goals may vary from ours.

I'd love to hear your thoughts if you get a chance to pop back in.

Blessings,
Carrie

[Kathleen]

Amy,

I just wanted to pop in here and welcome you! I'm sure that if Carrie and Julie say you could do Preparing, that it is a good option for you, but I just wanted to share that if I were you I'd lean towards doing Bigger. I really think that you'd find the history in Bigger much different than in MFW Adventures. (One of my best friends has been doing Adventures this year while I've been doing Bigger. ) In Bigger the focus is on the different people that made history happen through the years. It's more like we're welcoming all these heroes into our home and letting them inspire us each week. I love the character quality focus that we have each week, too. The different heroes and the character qualities really flow together well.

I chose to start with Bigger for my 8 yo this year as we started HOD. While I think he could have done Preparing, I'm so glad that we did Bigger instead. I would also say that I've been guilty of pushing him because academics come easy for him...but it kinda sucks the joy out of learning if I do that. I wanted to really focus on enjoying our learning this year, and we have! Bigger has had plenty to inspire and challenge him, but it's also proved to be just enough...not too much, and kept me from pushing him too much.

I'm confident that Bigger would be enough for your daughter especially with DITHOR, reading books at her level. But, if you can't handle American history again, I'm sure you'd still be fine with Preparing. I just had to share the thoughts that I considered last year at this time, because we were in such a similar spot. Bigger has been a huge blessing to us this year! If I had to choose all over again, I'd do exactly what we did!

Kathleen

[mamanlait]

Carrie, Kathleen, and Julie,

Thank you all for taking the time to post. After a time of sincere contemplation (yes, it that's serious for me of my curriculum choice for the year and reading and praying and reading some more. I feel at peace with choosing Preparing. I do think Bigger would be an ideal fit for the right side of the page but I can't bring myself to more American history. We will plan on starting slowly at half pace and if it's a flop I'll set it aside and do Bigger instead. I at least need to try it for my own sanity I love learning about cultures and countries and world history and only can endure so much of American history. I desperately want to redeem my own education in this process of home educating and I'm really excited to start Preparing (that's probably reason enough to give it a try, right?!). God calls us to certain curriculums by our own interests and excitement I think. I know we will learn great things this year!

Thanks to everyone for their responses. We'll start with R & S 2 and move into R & S 3 mid year or late in the year.

I'll be sure and let you all know how things go.

Amy

[my3sons]

Carrie, Kathleen, and Julie,

Thank you all for taking the time to post. After a time of sincere contemplation (yes, it that's serious for me of my curriculum choice for the year and reading and praying and reading some more. I feel at peace with choosing Preparing. I do think Bigger would be an ideal fit for the right side of the page but I can't bring myself to more American history. We will plan on starting slowly at half pace and if it's a flop I'll set it aside and do Bigger instead. I at least need to try it for my own sanity I love learning about cultures and countries and world history and only can endure so much of American history. I desperately want to redeem my own education in this process of home educating and I'm really excited to start Preparing (that's probably reason enough to give it a try, right?!). God calls us to certain curriculums by our own interests and excitement I think. I know we will learn great things this year!

Thanks to everyone for their responses. We'll start with R & S 2 and move into R & S 3 mid year or late in the year.

I'll be sure and let you all know how things go.

Amy

Amy - I'm so sorry I am just getting back to you now, but you have come up with a wonderful plan already anyway!!! I would have said to do exactly what you are choosing to do - PHFHG and R & S 2. I think it would be nice to start half-speed for the first few weeks or longer if you've got the time. We're just finishing PHFHG, and I think you will love the way history is done - we've enjoyed the year so much!

In Christ,
Julie