Bigger For 2nd Grade?

[ninipelley]

Does/Has anyone used Bigger for 2nd grade?
DD is placing here- is it okay to skip Beyond? New to HOD and isn't Bigger the same history time frame approximately, in more detail?

[lmercon]

I used Bigger for my ds's second grade year, although he was a summer birthday and on the older side of second grade. I can tell you that Beyond is an absolutely WONDERFUL program, so if you are unsure about the two and she could place there, I'd say go with Beyond. Are you new to the CM (Charlotte Mason) philosophy of education? HOD uses many of this 19th century educator's theories and practices. Beyond is a really great way for a child to learn these skills - listening to longer texts, narrating the text back in a variety of ways, notebooking (copying of maps, pictures, diagrams and adding text), dictation, etc. Bigger is quite a jump in those skills, so if you think she would benefit from a year of skill building, it might be good to start with Beyond.

Both programs cover American history. Beyond uses wonderful stories of children and their experiences throughout US history. It spends a great deal of time with the pilgrims and early settlers. Bigger uses a biographical approach to US history, focusing on key people who helped shape our country. Both are truly fantastic programs. We loved our two years of American history!

If your dd fits well within Bigger, and you feel confident of her abilities to listen for longer periods and handle an increase in writing and drawing, then feel good about going with Bigger. If you are on the fence, or she is on the younger side of second grade, I'd strongly suggest Beyond.

hth,
Laura

[my3sons]

We did use Bigger Hearts for 2nd grade for my ds, and it went great, but we did Beyond the year before. This is a tough one. It sounds like you've already looked at the placement chart, but you may want to revisit it just to be sure. A child needs to be reading and writing quite well, able to listen to more "classic" sounding books with fairly good comprehension, and be ready for oral narration/grammar skills to really develop to do Bigger Hearts. I would look at the first week's plans for each of the guides and see how your little sweetie would do with them. Here are a few more posts that can help you compare the two:
BHFHG time it takes:
viewtopic.php?f=12&t=702
Beyond, time it takes:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4390&p=32417

Amount of writing in each:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3005
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1516&p=11829

Many books /educational materials are labeled K-2, or 3-5 to show the step up in skills in the 3-5 level. Similarly, books are labeled 6-8, to show another step up in skills. These are just natural breaking points in education materials. I'd characterize Bigger Hearts as fitting more in the 3-5 category than the K-2 one. However, the HOD placement chart is very accurate. My second grader placed in Bigger, and it was the right fit for him - though it took him about a month to get into a rhythm with it. If you are feeling your dd places best in BHFHG after comparing the two carefully, then yes, I would say go with Bigger Hearts. It is a wonderful program! It just makes a difference if dc are ready for it (which is true of any program really). HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

[jenntracy]

We are going to use Beyond for 1st grade and then Bigger for 2nd grade. I know some have used Beyond for 2nd grade. I'd say really look at the placement chart and if you feel like they fit mostly there, then it would be fine to use for 2nd grade. That is our plan.

Jenn

[3sweeties]

Last year was our first year using HOD and we used Bigger for the majority of 2nd grade. He turned 8 in March. We did Bigger half-speed by doing it four days a week rather than 5 and that worked out really well for him! We have 4 units left that we will do at the beginning of his 3rd grade year. I will say that he did MUCH better with Bigger and the amount of writing, comprehension and narration in it in the spring of 2nd grade rather than the fall. I probably could have sped it up then, but I didn't want him jumping into Preparing too soon. I think by the time we start Preparing (sometime in October of this year), his independent learning skills/abilities will have increased even more. I am fine with him taking Preparing into 4th grade if that is what we need to do. I would say it really depends on your child and what you think they can handle. Be prepared to slow Bigger down if you need to though!

[water2wine]

I am using Bigger for second grade. She is actually a year ahead age wise too. I think it completely depends on where they place on the placement chart and they are ready with the skills needed. I am prepared to slow things down if we need to do that but she has done really well with Beyond and I feel like she will do great with Bigger as well. I think as long as you take a good hard look at the placement chart and you are not skipping skills you will be great! It can be slowed down if you need to a bit. Enjoy Bigger! We'll be doing ti for the second time this year. I am really excited to do it again. It's a great program.