It looks like the ladies are doing a terrific job of talking through possible options with you.
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While it is possible that your 3rd grader could do Preparing Hearts this year, in looking ahead to CTC the following year, I'm worried that it will be far too much for a child who hasn't had the incremental skill-building that Bigger Hearts (or its equivalent) provides. The jump from Beyond to Preparing is very large, which could leave you really adjusting things for your 3rd grader. The step up from Preparing to CTC is also very large, which could result in much more tweaking and adjusting. So, I'm wondering whether your 3rd grader may end up at the end of Preparing not quite ready for CTC.
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If your 3rd grader is a very strong reader, copies fairly lengthy passages well and without complaint, writes easily in DITHR/grammar/science related tasks (with multiple writing tasks within a single day), can use the dictionary to look up vocabulary words, copy definitions, use the words in sentences, is ready for formal writing lessons, can fill out a science lab sheet easily, is able to draw/color/label notebook pages, has had a formal introduction to poetry and poetic devices, can look up Scripture verses in the Bible and copy from the Bible, is ready to memorize entire chapters of Scripture, is working at least at a third grade level in math, has listened to challenging material such as Eggleston read aloud, and is ready for independent work through reading and following a series of written directions on his own, then you could head into Preparing with him without first doing Bigger Hearts. If not, I'd lean toward Bigger Hearts.
Your 4th grader could also do Bigger Hearts with extensions. Since the jump from Beyond to Bigger is fairly large, you wouldn't need to jump your 4th grader all the way up to Preparing to find more rigor. I believe you'd find it in Bigger with extensions.
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The other thought I had was taking into account the other thread you have running on the board right now about your 3 and 5 year old. With this in mind, I'm wondering how your 1st grader is doing in Beyond? Is it a great fit for him overall?
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
Blessings,
Carrie