Creation to Christ with Sensitive 7th Grader

[Tiffini]

It's been a long time since I've posted as we've been in the middle of an adoption - and I'm very pleased to say that our two boys from Ethiopia are now home with us! I'm finally getting around to starting to plan for next year. We LOVED Preparing last year and can't wait to do CTC this year!!

My oldest will be in 7th grade and she is very sensitive. I'm wondering if she could use the History Interest Set as her Extension reading instead of the Extension Pack. Can anyone tell me if History Set is a little less graphic with the violence than the Extension books? She has done Extensions with Bigger Hearts and Preparing, but I'm concerned about this one due to her very sensitive nature. Can anyone help me out? Thank you!!

[Kathleen]

Tiffani,

I have to pop in here and praise the Lord with you for your adoption of these 2 little ones!!! How EXCITING! I had peeked at your blog while you were in the process last year. I'm sure that God will use them to bless your family...just as He's using you to bless their lives.

I'm not really any help for your question as we're about to dive into CTC with you this fall. But, from what the catalog says, I sure think that opting for the history set of read-alouds would be a good option for extending her learning. (And it will work with the other 2 as well. )

Kathleen

[my3sons]

Congratulations, Tiffini! That is exciting news indeed. We did CTC last year, and the History Interest Read-aloud Set would be a perfect substitution for the extension set to extend the learning for a sensitive child. We read it aloud last year, and it was wonderful! She should be fine with the content, and if you want you can still do the rotation of responses to the reading as suggested at the beginning of the Extension Set in the Appendix, as the responses are open-ended. Otherwise, we really loved doing the follow-up things in the Storytime box together. They were short but kept me in the loop. As my teaching time was shorter in CTC, I really enjoyed those times together. (I also enjoyed the shorter teaching time - don't get me wrong. It just made the Storytime follow-ups that more special.)

In Christ,
Julie

[Carrie]

Tiffini,

Congratulations! It's wonderful that you have your little boys home and are settling in as a family! I'm so glad that you enjoyed Preparing Hearts last year and pray you will enjoy CTC as well.

The ladies have already done a terrific job of talking through options with you, so I'll just a add a couple of things for you to ponder. When doing CTC it's important for an older child to either listen to the History Interest as your storytime set of read-alouds, or read the Extension Pack, or do both. The History Interest read-aloud set would still function best as a read-aloud, even if you have an older child. The books in that set were chosen for their read-alouds quality and for their purposeful way of leading to discussion with the parent as you read to your student.

The Golden Bull and God King are books in that set to to be aware of for sensitive students. Yet, when paired with the rest of the CTC readings, those books give an excellent historical background of the time period and an accurate portrayal of the devestation and hopelessness that comes from worshipping other gods. Even if your child is older, as long as you either do the History Read-Aloud set, or do the extension set you will be fine! Just a little heads-up as you're thinking through your options.

Blessings,
Carrie

[Tiffini]

Thanks for the responses. Carrie, I'm wanting my 12 yo dd to be doing extra reading on her own as she is certainly capable of it - she is a very strong reader and narrater. However, she is worried already about having to read about violence, which is why I thought maybe the History Interest Set would be a little milder for her to do as her Extension books. I realize that they would work best as read-alouds, but do you still think it would be sufficient for her to read them on her own? I will have very limited time this year, but I still want her to be challenged and not miss out on the further learning from this time period. I will be reading aloud to all the kids, but wanted to use some of the Girl and Boy Sets for the read-alouds to the whole gang since that would be most appropriate for all my ages.

And I'm super excited to be using Little Hands with my new preschooler! Never thought I would get to use your earlier programs, and now I get to!

[Carrie]

Tiffini,

I can understand what you're sharing and your busy upcoming schedule for the year. So, with that in mind, I think your daughter could read the History Interest Set on her own, as long as you watch over the two books I mentioned previously. The rest of the books will be fine. Watch for the content warnings in the guide as well, as they will give you a heads-up of anything to be skipped or modified.

Blessings,
Carrie