If you were struggling with deciding which program to use...

[we6rblessed]

Which would you choose?

I have a bright 7yo dd, independent reader. Have not done cursive
10 yo ds, struggling reader, but indedpendent. Have not done cusive
15yo dd, with processing issues, reads comfy on 6th grade level.
We do "other" math and I am not sure if I will do other LA, I need to see the teaching manual before I make that decision.

I desire to place us all in either "Bigger" or "Preparing." I will do extensions and addtions as per Carrie's suggestions.
I have no problem starting with Bigger, as this literature base is new to us, but at the same time wonder if I shoud begin with Preparing?
Being that some of you have used Bigger, why or why not start with one over the other?

Thank you so much for your advice!
~Linda

[netpea]

You might consider Beyond for the 7yo and Preparing for the older two? Have you checked the placement chart for each child?

http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

[granolamom6]

I am currently using Bigger with my 7 yo dd, 10 yo dd and 12 yo ds. (I am also using Little Hands with my 4 yo dd.) I had been trying to do Beyond with my 7 yo and then Bigger with the olders, but trying to do three programs was just too much.

We have been doing Bigger all together for a couple of weeks now and it is really going well. It is so much easier on me and I really enjoy having the kids learning together.

We will move on to Preparing when we are finished with Bigger (we stared all this in March, so we have a ways to go yet in Bigger...).

HOD is very flexible and the women here on this board are very helpful. I am certain you will find the help you need.

[my3sons]

Which would you choose?

I have a bright 7yo dd, independent reader. Have not done cursive
10 yo ds, struggling reader, but indedpendent. Have not done cusive
15yo dd, with processing issues, reads comfy on 6th grade level.
We do "other" math and I am not sure if I will do other LA, I need to see the teaching manual before I make that decision.

I desire to place us all in either "Bigger" or "Preparing." I will do extensions and addtions as per Carrie's suggestions.
I have no problem starting with Bigger, as this literature base is new to us, but at the same time wonder if I shoud begin with Preparing?
Being that some of you have used Bigger, why or why not start with one over the other?

Thank you so much for your advice!
~Linda

Welcome to the HOD boards, Linda! We're finishing Bigger... tomorrow, and we're doing Preparing... next year. Bigger... was an excellent program, and I know Preparing... will be too. I'm not making your decision any easier by telling you that though, am I?!?

Bigger... is targeted for ages 7-9, with extensions in coordinating history and science that are at a reading level of mid-fourth to upper sixth grade levels. Bigger... has a Deluxe Package of Storytime read-alouds that cover each of the genres (adventure, historical fiction, nonfiction, folk tales, etc.). These read-alouds aren't history linked.

Preparing... is targeted for ages 8-10, with extensions in coordinating history and science that are at a reading level of mid-fifth to upper seventh grade reading level. Preparing... has 12 books in its Deluxe Package that are meant for your ages 8-10 children to read independently with self-study plans. Preparing... also has read-alouds that are history theme linked.

You could DITHR for reading with all of your children. The 7 yo could do Level 2/3, your 10 yo could do Level 2/3 OR Level 4/5, and your 15 yo could do Level 6/7/8. You could just choose whatever R & S English levels you wanted. Cursive would not be a concern. You could just do Cheerful Cursive with either Bigger... or Preparing... There is one level of spelling and one level of dictation in Bigger... (the dictation is the harder of the two). There will be 3 levels of dictation in Preparing...

If you are doing your math, that will work just fine.

Bigger... does a nice job of getting children ready for Preparing..., especially in the areas of notebooking, narrating orally, experiments/lab notebooking, vocabulary - to name a few off the top of my head.

So, I'm not sure which to recommend to you yet! Could you please share any more thoughts you have after reading this? And also if you haven't gotten a chance to look at the placement chart, you could do that and share any other thoughts you have about that too.

Here's a link for the placement chart:
http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

The good news is, you're going to have a great HOD program to do with either decision. So, keep with it until you get to the bottom of it! Glad you are here!

In Christ,
Julie

[we6rblessed]

Thanks, Julie.

I am leaning towards Preparing. I desire to get on target with the 4 year cycle as my children need to stay on that track. I am a little concerned that if I skip Bigger, that we will not be prepared for the narration, etc, that the change in curriculum will bring. Maybe I am fearful of something that will not be an issue?? I don't want to stress out my youngest, but want it to fit nicely. On the "charts" we could go with either of these programs. Maybe being able to see the dictation levels would help me decide? It is so difficult to pick one level over the other because they both have such great book lists...
Well, I appreciate anything else you might be able to help me with.

PS:
LOVED the pictures of your week with all those great little men!

~Linda

[my3sons]

Thanks, Julie.

I am leaning towards Preparing. I desire to get on target with the 4 year cycle as my children need to stay on that track. I am a little concerned that if I skip Bigger, that we will not be prepared for the narration, etc, that the change in curriculum will bring. Maybe I am fearful of something that will not be an issue?? I don't want to stress out my youngest, but want it to fit nicely. On the "charts" we could go with either of these programs. Maybe being able to see the dictation levels would help me decide? It is so difficult to pick one level over the other because they both have such great book lists...
Well, I appreciate anything else you might be able to help me with.

PS:
LOVED the pictures of your week with all those great little men!

~Linda

Thanks, Linda! I do love all those great little men - I always tell them that "seven" is a "heavenly" number, and God is certainly raising up a band of young Godly men in blessing Carrie and I with 7 boys!

After reading your post, I have a few questions. Have your children done oral narration before, and if so, are they pretty comfortable with it overall? If it's the written narrations you are a bit concerned about, don't be, because they are introduced in a very simple, manageable way in Preparing...

As far as the dictation, I'm actually doing the typing of that for Preparing, so I'll give you examples from each level. Level 2 is in Bigger..., and Levels 2, 3, and 4 will be in Preparing... Please keep in mind you can start any place in the dictation. So, if the middle of Level 2 looks like an appropriate level for your child, just start there, and in the middle of your school year, when you finish Level 2, just start at the beginning of Level 3. The spacing of the dictation is not exactly the same as in this post, since it didn't copy exactly the same, but I tried to copy some from the beginning, middle, and end of each level of dictation. The number of the dictation exercise is noted at the top of each one. HTH!

LEVEL 2 DICTATION SAMPLES:
2
Sue can sing and play.
Sam does not like to sing.
cot got jot pot
dot hot lot rot

65
My thick coat is made of
wool. We get wool from
the sheep.
deep peep brick click
keep weep chick stick

101
How much money do you
have? I have ten dollars,
five cents, and a dime.
lime time honey



LEVEL 3 DICTATION SAMPLES:

1
The children who did not study
their lessons last year are sorry
now. Are you one of these lazy
children?


2
Do you want a flower in the schoolroom?
If you have none, you must plant some seeds
in a pot of earth.


96
Buffaloes feed on grass and chew
a cud like the cow. They always seek a
valley near the edge of some stream so that
the herd may get both food and drink.

100
Agnes has a small place in her garden
where she is raising tomatoes. We all like
them much better than those we buy in
the market.

LEVEL 4 DICTATION SAMPLES:

6
Last Wednesday we went to Coney Island
by boat. It’s only a short sail from New York,
but the ship was loaded with people, and we
had a very rough trip.

62
Last June I was the guest of Dr. Frank’s
nephew, whose cottage stands near the margin
of a large lake. We had great fun playing
in the water. Each little wave seemed to
murmur, “Catch me if you can.”


100
A passing traveler had once mended the
rope of the bell with a vine growing against a
neighboring wall. The horse seeing the vines
rapidly ate them, with the result that the bell
began to ring. A group of people gathered, and
for the honor of the town forced the owner to
care for his horse.

If you are leaning toward Preparing, but feel you might be stretching your youngest, perhaps just keep that thought in mind as you are teaching, and give yourself permission to modify the assignments for your youngest as necessary. You can always have a back-up plan of ordering a different level of an HOD guide for your youngest if it proves to be too much. We've done several HOD guides for the last several years, and it's manageable... even enjoyable!

HTH, and keep on posting here!

In Christ,
Julie