Bigger and LA question

Tiffini · Post by **Tiffini** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 8:04 pm

Ok, help me out here... I am going over what Bigger entails and comparing it to what I am currently doing for LA. Our day can get somewhat long right now and the thought of a shorter day is appealing.

First, let me tell what I am using. It is an all in one program that includes copywork, vocabulary, dictation, spelling, and writing. All of these components are based on a passage that is used for one week's worth of LA activities and is based on a particular character quality.

It sounds to me like copywork, dictation, and writing are included in the daily work of Bigger - not necessarily the LA portion - just part of what you are doing with the history, science and Bible portions.

So, if that is the case, would I be just repeating things (doing dictation, copywork, etc., again) if I continued with my current LA program, and thus just adding to the time of our day?

I have used R&S LA in the past and really liked it. I switched because I wanted a program that included all the other components while also including some character study and good quality passages which this program does. However, if these things are all included in Bigger and I could just add R&S back in for grammar, I would prefer to do it that way since it does seem less time-consuming. What do you think?

Just wrestling with these thoughts....does this make any sense at all??

Post by **Carrie** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 8:22 am

HappyatHome,

I know how you're feeling! Here's a peak into our philosophy on language arts. I think you'll find we're similar! Link:
http://www.heartofdakota.com/subject-ar ... guage_Arts

Yes, all of the language arts pieces you listed are included within the scope of "Bigger..". It has scheduled daily copywork of poetry and copying of a weekly Bible verse (that was memorized) and copying a verse for science notebooking. There is also copywork integrated into the history notebooking.

"Bigger..." contains a weekly vocabulary exercise using the dictionary, contextual clues, and using the new word(s) in a sentence. There is also poetry.

Three times a week there are scheduled dictation passages, and daily Rod and Staff English is scheduled.

The Bible study portion of "Bigger.." is a study of character qualities using Proverbs.

So, you would be repeating everything that is in "Bigger..." in your CQLA program. If you are doing "Bigger..." and "Rod and Staff", then there would be no reason to duplicate with another Language Arts program (unless you truly loved it and preferred it)!

Hope that helps!

Blessings,
Carrie

Tiffini · Post by **Tiffini** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 11:19 am

Thanks, Carrie - that does help a lot.

I think I could figure that out by looking at the samples, (which I have done plenty of

), but I wanted someone else to tell me that my thoughts were correct. I really want to use the LA in Bigger, but I also like what CQLA offers. Since Bigger includes those components, I see no reason to torture myself!!

One more question - I noticed in the sample week plans, that it says to do Spelling OR Dictation 3x/week. How do you choose which to do and does that mean that you only do spelling and not dictation or dictation and not spelling?

inHistiming · Post by **inHistiming** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 11:23 am

The way I understand it is that the child who has already mastered all of the spelling words on the list would just do dictation. If not, stick with the spelling list.?

my3sons · Post by **my3sons** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 1:32 pm

inHistiming wrote:The way I understand it is that the child who has already mastered all of the spelling words on the list would just do dictation. If not, stick with the spelling list.?

That's exactly right! If your child already can do the spelling list, only the dictation is needed. We've done the dictation from the beginning this year, and it's been just right for my son. I think it's done wonders for his spelling and writing abilities. I wasn't sure about what dictation would be like long-term, but it has really made a big difference for my my son.

You can start anywhere in the spelling lists though. So if the middle of the spelling lists is where your dc seems to be, you can just start there, and then begin dictation after completing the last spelling list.

In Christ,
Julie

Tiffini · Post by **Tiffini** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 3:22 pm

OK, I think I get it. Thanks! So, if my child needs to do all of the spelling lists, is there a point in time when they will get to dictation during the year or does the spelling portion go throughout the year? If so, are there other places where you do dictation?

Post by **Carrie** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 9:55 am

HappyatHome,

There is a spelling list for each week of the year in "Bigger..". There are also dictation passages for the whole year in "Bigger..." too. So, you choose whichever suits your kiddo best. If you don't get to dictation in "Bigger...", there will be 2 levels of dictation passages in "Preparing...". So, your little honey will still get dictation eventually.

We will continue on with dictation in our guides as they go up through the levels. It is such a needed skill for learning to spell correctly by visualizing words in context. Dictation is a method where you really see progress over time. It is not a one-shot deal!

Blessings,
Carrie