Re-thinking Bigger for my 8.5 yr. old...

[Homeschooln2qts]

Well, we are about 3 weeks into BHFHG and I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt that Bigger is the PERFECT level for my 10 yr. old ds. I'm talk'n PERFECT and RIGHT-ON-TARGET for him I almost started both of my kiddos in Preparing. Boy, am I glad I took Julie's advice to study that placement chart. However, I'm now having some second thoughts about it being the right level for my 8.5 yr. old dd. Both of my kids are new to the Charlotte Mason style of learning -in fact, I'm still trying to understand it myself so that may be part of the problem here. DD is just not able to grasp or understand the readings from books like "A First Book in American History". I think it's style of language is just over her head and she has a near to impossible time narrating from it --even if I break the reading up into smaller readings. When it's time for her to narrate, it goes something like this...

"Um.......ummmmm....there was this guy....um, I can't remember his name....and he....um....he wanted to get to....um...(looooong pause)...he wanted to try to get to....(frustrated sigh)...I can't remember!!!" Yeah, it's just not working...

I feel so sad for her because she truly wants to do Bigger with big brother and she is so enthusiastic about trying. But, I really think I am going to have to bite the bullet and get Beyond for her. This has me feeling some anxiety though (prob. for no reason) because it looks like Beyond is geared for 1-2 graders; is that correct? She is technically in 3rd. I know the age/grade thing shouldn't matter...I think what I'm really asking for is for someone...ANYONE to ease my mind about putting her in this level.

Thanks in advance

[naturalhomestead]

We are in week 2 in Beyond with our 7.5 year old and almost 9 year old boys. We too are new to HOD and the Charlotte Mason way so after buying Bigger and pouring through it all and studying it over a month I was not peaceful about putting my oldest in Beyond. My middle son fit squarely in Beyond but we were going to put him with his younger sister until we decided to combine the two boys in Beyond. I cannot tell you how much we are in love with Beyond. It is just right for my almost 9 year old boy and it is a bit of a challenge for our 7.5 year old but it is just right, not to much. We just add R&S 2, spelling list 2 or dictation, and his own math level, and he does a bit more writing then his brother in things. I to had a hard time at first with putting our oldest in a younger guide but like Carrie and Julie and all the other women on this board will tell you, you don't need to worry about the grade level, you just need to make sure that they fit correctly on the guide from the placement. If you push them into something that they have not covered it will be a challenge and it will not be fun. Our boys are literally jumping for JOY with HOD. They love school and that makes a happy mama too.
I'm just a newbie but that is what we have discovered already. I'm sure other mom's will chime in as well.

[Homeschooln2qts]

Thank you, Jennie. Your example has been so very encouraging to me

[mamas4bugs]

I think it is completely fine for her to be in Beyond if that's where she's properly placed. Especially since you are all new to the CM method. You will have so much fun if she's placed correctly!

We had a similar situation at our house this year. My youngest son had done the programs leading up to Bigger, then we did something else for a year (which would have been his Bigger year), and so when we came back to HOD, I expected to put him in Preparing. But the more we looked at the reading and writing required, the more we realized that Bigger was a better fit, even though he will technically be in 4th grade. Then we printed off the first week of Bigger, and we have had so much fun with it this week!

Success in future guides depends on proper placement. My fear if you leave her in Bigger is that as each guide gets progressively more challenging, she will get left further behind.

I know you said she wants to do the guide with her brother, but Beyond is a great guide, and I think she will enjoy it thoroughly. Mine did. And they will at least still be studying the same time period.

[Homeschooln2qts]

Success in future guides depends on proper placement. My fear if you leave her in Bigger is that as each guide gets progressively more challenging, she will get left further behind.

I did not think about this --thank you for bringing this to my attention This is such a good point.

I know you said she wants to do the guide with her brother, but Beyond is a great guide, and I think she will enjoy it thoroughly. Mine did. And they will at least still be studying the same time period.

This is what I was thinking, EXACTLY. The fact that Beyond seems to cover about the same time period as Bigger, but would be more fitting for her level...This makes me feel such peace!!! I can not thank you enough for taking the time to give your thoughts

[BrooklynsMom03]

We are using Beyond with our 8 yr old daughter...we are new to home schooling and to CM style of learning! I really struggled because at first I felt my daughter should be in Bigger....I still had that total ps mindset...and wanted to push her and make her fit in the square I thought she should fit in....well when others here lovingly chimed in....and encouraged me to consider Beyond.....I looked at it and could see it was probably be better for her...We are now 1/2 way thru....and it has been the perfect fit...I will confess when I first got it ...I did struggle with thinking this is way too easy....and you know what....it wasnt! I have added R & S 2 for language because her mind has become so open and free she is learning so much quicker now! She is doing wonderful with that addition....and math is clicking for her where it wasnt so much before....

I am so glad I placed her right where she needed to be because she has grown so much and even if she could have done Bigger...she would have struggled and not enjoyed it....we needed this year to just relax with learning and I needed to change my mind set...and see the blessing starting her in Beyond was....she always felt like she was achieving....something...and was having a positive experience instead of struggling just trying to keep up.....so for us...having her start out slow and easy....as worked beautifully!

I think it is awesome you are so in tune with your daughter and are open to changing it up if you need to!!

Beth in Idaho

[Tree House Academy]

Proper placing is very key to getting the most out of HOD. My younger son started Beyond at the age of 6 (1st grade). Within 8 weeks, it was obvious that we needed to drop back to Little Hearts. We did that and had a wonderful year. By the time we finished Little Hearts and started Beyond this year, he was more than ready (at not quite 7 yet, but 2nd grade). Now he will be turning 8 and in 3rd grade and we are more than ready for Bigger. These guides really build on themselves, so I would never recommend "toughing it out" because you hope the next year will be better.

That said, is the narration the only thing she is struggling with? If so, that is very common and NORMAL when you start HOD. If your child is not used to orally narrating, it can be quite a challenge even for as long as the first half year or so. My older son narrates beautifully while my younger son still struggles some after 2 years of doing it. However, he is improving steadily. My point to this is that I would not drop back a level to Beyond unless your child is having difficulty with other parts of Bigger too. I would also give it more than a few weeks - 8 weeks is about the norm to truly evaluate it and givee your kids time to settle in and show their best once they have the "hang of it."

That said, if she is having trouble across the board with Bigger and she fits better in Beyond, then dont' hesitate to drop her back. In that situation, the less time you spend with her "lost," the better.

Hope this helps and doesn't just confuse you more!

[Homeschooln2qts]

Thank you so much, Beth and Rebecca Gosh, I love this board! There is such a warm and loving feeling of sister-hood here. I always leave feeling so refreshed. Thank you all for the time and care you took into considering my personal situation and for sharing your own personal experiences as to help give me some perspective. It has been tremendously helpful!

Rebecca, you did not confuse me AT ALL. You have really helped me to fine-tune exactly what the heart of the issue is...

That said, is the narration the only thing she is struggling with? If so, that is very common and NORMAL when you start HOD. If your child is not used to orally narrating, it can be quite a challenge even for as long as the first half year or so. My older son narrates beautifully while my younger son still struggles some after 2 years of doing it. However, he is improving steadily. My point to this is that I would not drop back a level to Beyond unless your child is having difficulty with other parts of Bigger too. I would also give it more than a few weeks - 8 weeks is about the norm to truly evaluate it and givee your kids time to settle in and show their best once they have the "hang of it."

That said, if she is having trouble across the board with Bigger and she fits better in Beyond, then dont' hesitate to drop her back. In that situation, the less time you spend with her "lost," the better.

Upon thinking about this for a lttle while, I really think it's her over-all comprehension of the readings that she's struggling with. I'm thinking that the wording is just a tad advanced for her and that if she could follow the readings better she would have better success with narrating. So far, she seems to struggle with following ALL of the read-aloud books in Bigger. When I glance at her during a reading she has this lost look on her face. Your statement above helped me see this more clearly

So, I went ahead and ordered Beyond last night and already feel peace about it. Thank you all again, so much for helping me sort through this

[psreit]

Since you have had much good advice and made up your mind to go back to Beyond, I will just add that I think you will be glad you did. My dd was 7 and 1st grade starting HOD last fall. I was going to start in Beyond. Before we even started the school year, because of what I was reading on the board and knowing my dd's struggles, I decided to go with Little Hearts. I am so glad I did. The readings were just the right fit for her. I think it gave dd a good start to HOD's style. She just turned 8, and I really believe Bigger would have been too much for her even this fall. So, we will be doing Beyond at 8 for 2nd grade as well. I trust you will find Beyond fits your needs. Have a good year.