Ok to do Bigger without extensions?

[Laura O.]

I have finally figured out where each of my of my dc place I think But I am a little unsure about ds8's. I had/have pretty much decided to put him in Bigger. I was thinking it would be a good start for him since we are just starting HOD. Currently, he is finishing up 4th grade in our homeschooling (oh, btw, in Japan our school year doesn't start in September, so our timing is a little different ).He does/did fine...He is artsy, loves to draw and is easily distracted He reads fine, but comprehension is what I think needs working on. I want him to stay on track...would it be like I was pulling him back to 3rd grade if I didn't add the extensions It seems like HOD will have plenty of work to do as it is and I don't really think he would enjoy THAT much more reading. Any thoughts? Oh... and for the placing chart.... he actually placed in Preparing for reading(was planning DITHOR), writing, grammar and math...although we have done no dictation or narratives yet. ok, now that I am looking at his placement, would you recommend going with Preparing? He can write cursive. I am really unsure Does anyone have some more advice or experience to share? (At the moment, he really doesn't enjoy most of his school, and always finishes last, even after his sister doing 6th grade, if that also helps to understand his situation more? He is one of the reasons I started looking for a new curriculum in the first place.)

Sorry to keep posting about placement I'm feeling a little lost

Laura in Japan

[pjdobro]

I only have a minute right now so I'll just give you this link to take a look at: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3602 That will give you an idea of the amount of writing between Bigger and Preparing. I'll will say that Preparing is another step up in the amount of work and level of independence over Bigger. Bigger is a great guide for training dc how to do oral narrations and beginning independence. Preparing just continues that with training dc how to do written narrations and assuming more independence in subjects having an independent history portion and doing the science independently. I would think about the amount of work overall and the level of independence difference between the two guides as well when considering in which guide to place him.

[mamas4bugs]

My son is in 4th this year, and we are doing Bigger without extensions. We find there is plenty of work (especially if you are using DITHR). Part of our decision, though, was because he is reading a bit below 4th grade level, and I really wanted him to use the Deluxe package with Preparing like his brother did. We had so much fun with that.

On the one hand, if your ds places in Preparing, that might be the way to go. The right placement is key. On the other hand, using Bigger might be a good way to get him excited about school again because it will not stretch him quite as much, especially since you are all new to HOD. It is plenty of work, and a different style that takes a little getting used to. You could always add in a few of the extension books to Bigger as you go if you felt he needed a bit more.

Well, that wasn't helpful at all.

I'm sure someone with better advice (or at least who's had more coffee this morning ) will chime in soon.

[beverett]

Patty is right, I would really consider the amount of writing and whether he would be able to fully do a lesson each week in history and science independently? As it is a jump from Bigger to Preparing... I did Bigger with no extensions with my son who was fourth grade and and 9yrs old (the extensions are really intented for 10 to 11 yr olds, i think). I really feel that worked well for us. He could have done them but it would have added a lot to our day. This year he is doing Preparing for the 5th grade and we added the extensions and it is going very well also! I really think by starting him in bigger with his brother who was doing it for 2nd grade we gained so much. When we started with HOD last year we had all really just lost our love for leaning (even me! ). What I am trying to say is that your son could probably do preparing, but if you look at the thread on writing and decide it may be too much for him to do the writing in Preparing then I would do Bigger as is(In My Opinion). I would take a gentle approach to this school year and really start to gain back his love for learning. Bigger really is plenty, there is a lot to it. For us Dithor also made a huge difference. When we started, my 4th grader was not really excited about "all" of the reading or any reading at all. By the end of the year he was beeeeeggginnng me to do more Dithor and asking what his books would be for next year?! Thank you so much, Carrie!!!

On the other hand if you look at that thread and feel he would not mind the amount of writing in Preparing, then have him start Preparing and see how it goes. If at anytime you feel it is too much for him, then you could easily cut it back to half speed? It is okay to start dictation at the beginning with him and as for written narrations, she starts with a very gentle approach to get the kiddos going.

Soo, if I were you I would take a look at the writing in each and go from there! Let us know what you think!

[pjdobro]

Mamas4bugs, I think that was helpful. I was thinking the same thing. Even though he could probably do Preparing, Bigger might be the better choice to make his day a bit lighter since he doesn't seem to be enjoying school right now and his day is currently going long. Here is a link to the time that each program takes: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2093&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=135 It's on page 10. Hopefully that link will put you on page 10, but if doesn't just click over to page 10 and you can see the times that each program takes. Bigger takes about 2 1/2 to 3 hours and Preparing takes more like 3 1/2 to 4. Last year by the end of the year, Bigger was taking us about 2 1/2 hours. For us this year (we're on week 7), it's taking us right at 4 hours each day for Preparing. Only about 1/2 of that is my teaching time, but there are plenty of independent tasks to take my dc's day up to about 4 hours of solid effort.

Another thing to consider is the amount of independence involved in Preparing. Is your ds ready to start reading his science on his own, doing notebook pages, and experiments independently? Is he ready to start reading some of his own history, following directions to draw pictures and do copywork? We did Bigger last year when my twins were 8, and it was a great fit. Though I think they could have done Preparing, the amount of writing and the level of independence would have been a stretch for them.

You could go either way, but I would take into consideration the amount of writing, the amount of independent tasks, and how much time you feel he can devote to the program to figure out placement. I would make sure to do the math and grammar at his level no matter which guide you choose. If you do choose Bigger, I think you would be fine not to add the extensions. You could always use the extension books as read alouds for your storytime or as selections for him to read with DITHOR. I especially recommend Ben and Me, Guns for General Washington, Tolliver's Secret, and By the Great Horn Spoon. We used several of those as our read alouds for storytime and the other for DITHOR. They go along with the history period wonderfully and are excellent books.

I hope that doesn't confuse you more. I wanted to share some of my thoughts and experiences between Bigger and Preparing in the hopes of helping you understand them better. They are fresh in my mind since we just finished Bigger in May and we're in the thick of Preparing now. The placement chart is a great place to start when placing your dc though so don't discount that at all. I think your situation is a bit different than mine and most. I consider my 9 year olds as 4th grade now (and most of their friends their age are 4th also) and your ds is already finishing 4th grade at 8, so there might be a big difference in what he has covered. It sounds like you are ahead grade wise over there in Japan. Even though he is ahead grade wise, usually motor skills and other maturity issues are more consistent with age so that might make a difference with where you want to place him since academics aren't the only things to consider. You'll know best where he fits. If you have any more specific questions about the differences between Bigger and Preparing feel free to ask. I'll try my best to help.

[Laura O.]

Thank you SO MUCH ladies, for taking the time to help me out and explain things even more That is exactly the kind of information I was hoping for! I *think*, that he could do the work in Preparing, but I do think it might be tougher for him. I really did want this year to be more about finding the joy of learning again I feel the same way, right now it is more of a stress than anything enjoyable at all So, I think to help him enjoy it more and feel like he "is good at HOD", I'll go with the Bigger.DD always handled things no problem, so I kept them on the same track, but I really think he would do better taking things a little slower. And this would be a great opportunity to do that. Oh, and thanks for the link to the amount of writing--so helpful to actually *see* the differences. I think I'll look into the extensions, if even for Story time, but not plan on doing them for him to read alone yet And since he is easily distracted, I think having another year before he has to do his science etc independently might be good.

Again, I can't thank you all enough for you help!! I am finally excited about school again