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My sister is looking at doing HOD "Preparing" with her 10 year old and 12 year old (adding the extension package for her). This is only her second year homeschooling and she is excited about what she has seen and read about this cirriculum but is wondering about which book package - the basic or deluxe she should order. Does the teacher's guide cover all the books in both the basic and the deluxe packages? Or do you pick one or the other? It seems like alot of reading especially when you combine it with the Heart of Reading Program. Thanks for addressing these concerns!

Preparing Economy Package-includes HOD teacher guide and history spines scheduled in HOD guide, the parent reads to the students-NECESSARY, it is the backbone of the curriculum
Preparing Scence Adder-includes all science books scheduled in HOD guide, the students read independently and do activities independently-NECESSARY unless you have a different science program
Preparing Basic Package-Storytime read-alouds scheduled in HOD guide for parent to read to children-OPTIONAL but highly recommended!
Preparing Deluxe Package-Scheduled in the Preparing Independent History Study box of the plans-for the 3rd or 4th grader to read independently with follow-up activities-OPTIONAL but great at buildings skills needed for the next guide, also highly recommended unless money is an issue-if it's in the budget, get it!
Preparing Extension Package-Scheduled in the Preparing appendix with follow-up activities-for the 5th or 6th grader to read independently INSTEAD of the Deluxe package.
DITHOR is the reading comprehension program, and the children read the books.
It is a lot of WONDERFUL books-I did this with my dd at age 10 and she loved it-we used everything except the extensions. It can seem daunting, but let your sister know the organization and planning done in the HOD guides is amazing, and it all gets done-in about 4.5 hours a day (longer if you use a different grammar and math than recommended), 4 days a week

Ah ... this is new information for me. We are planning on doing Preparing next year, when my son is in 5th grade and my daughter is in 3rd grade. I didn't realize that my 5th grader should just do the Extensions and NOT the Deluxe package. Can someone else confirm this for me? I guess I was originally thinking that he would do both, since he will be 11; and that my daughter would just do the Deluxe (along with the rest of the regular Preparing program, of course!)

(I hope it's okay that I've asked a question on your thread!)

My understanding is that the extension package is used for older students in addition to the deluxe package, not instead of. The deluxe package is scheduled as part of the daily boxes. The extension package is scheduled in the appendix for those students who need extra reading for advanced/older students.

In Bigger Hearts, the Extension package is definitely used in addition to, not instead of, the rest of the program (since there is no "deluxe package" for independent study in Bigger). In Preparing on up, Extensions can be instead of the "Deluxe Package" for your older child, but if your older child just LOVES extra reading, there is no reason you can't do both. Many people using Preparing on up use both Deluxe and Extensions for their older child

ContemplatorMom wrote:Does the teacher's guide cover all the books in both the basic and the deluxe packages?

Yes the Guide covers everything in both packages and an appendix in the back has the extension schedule.

ContemplatorMom wrote:It seems like alot of reading especially when you combine it with the Heart of Reading Program. Thanks for addressing these concerns!

I think it is a full day. But the reading is in manageable chunks. We are doing the deluxe package right now. My dd will be ten in a few weeks.

If she is new to homeschooling, she might want to slow it down and do half speed to get started for the first month or so. That might help her to get the feel of the program. I highly recommend the deluxe package!

We are loving PHFHG!

Edie