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My son is 7, will be 8 in March. We are doing Bigger, but I am finding as we go along, that he is struggling with retaining facts, and the history reading. The science read alouds are also a little advanced for him, but if I paraphrase and teach it differently he seems to do better. I do all the reading, but he can't seem to pay attention and follow along. Could I keep doing the basics at full speed and slow down the history and science? Has anyone done this before?

Assuming you haven't done Beyond, have you thought about putting him back in that guide? My dd is doing Beyond, and she will be 9 in May. This is our second year with HOD. I had intended to begin with Beyond last year, but after reading posts about the jump from Beyond to Bigger, I felt she would not be ready for Bigger this year. I am so glad I waited. She is progressing at a nice pace that does not overwhelm her, and the history and science are on a good level for her. She is enjoying the history readings. There are many who have started with a certain guide and then decided they needed to go back a guide. You can still do whatever level of Math and language he is on, but you will do different science and history. Maybe someone else could explain it better. But, it is an option.

I have thought about that, but I am doing LHFHG with my kindergartner and I thought about doing the history lessons in it together 2 days and week and then doing the history and science in Bigger 2 days a week. So we going at half speed. I just think he struggles with how in depth it is. I don't know how that would work. I was thinking it would make school more fun, cause he does enjoy the games and bible activities in LHFHG.

Just a suggestion, because I think my kids are about the same age as yours. I have 2 in LHFHG for Kindergarten and I've scheduled it so that they will be doing that for Kindergarten and 1st. I'm doing Beyond with my 7 will be 8 in June ds. It is a perfect fit, but my ds did LHFHG for 1st grade, and so he was used to the format and was listening much better this year. If you combined the two, would your little one be ready for Beyond in 1st grade?


HTH,
Tracy

I am wondering what unit you are on in Bigger? You most definitely could slow it down to half-speed for your DS if you think he will do better with that. I started out my DS (who was the same age as yours at the time) at half-speed in Bigger and then sped it up to full-speed when he was ready. It took us 1.5 years to go through b/c of that, but that was perfect for him b/c he is on the younger end of the age range for the guides.

AmandaNicole wrote:My son is 7, will be 8 in March. We are doing Bigger, but I am finding as we go along, that he is struggling with retaining facts, and the history reading. The science read alouds are also a little advanced for him, but if I paraphrase and teach it differently he seems to do better. I do all the reading, but he can't seem to pay attention and follow along. Could I keep doing the basics at full speed and slow down the history and science? Has anyone done this before?

You could slow it down, and maybe that is the pace that would be best, but maybe ds is just showing he needs to continue working on some skills throughout the year with BHFHG - dc are not meant to do everything well right away. For my dc, learning to listen carefully, learning to understand more higher level books, and learning to pay attention, were all skills they needed real time to develop. The follow-up activities and assignments in each of the boxes on the left side of Bigger Hearts are meant to reinforce what was read in the Reading about History box. The follow-ups do an excellent job of touching upon each of the learning styles dc have. The Bigger Hearts readings are narrative, and they also are somewhat "old-style" sounding (which is a good thing ). Charlotte Mason said it is important not to change the wording or elaborate on it in our own terms, as the flow of the reading and the author's style of writing is lost, so I'd not stop and rephrase things, as comprehending living books like this is a skill dc need to learn. It takes some time, and retaining certain facts is far less important than retaining a general understanding and feel for the time period, people, and events. You will be surprised how much ds is really learning down the road! I cannot believe what my 2 older dc remember about Bigger Hearts, and often their retention is rooted in the follow-ups to the history readings, as hands-on activities, discussions, written work, and oral narrations all work together to make an impact. So, you can definitely go half-speed, but it may be that your ds is just needing to continue working through the assignments in the guide for continuity in order to keep building the very skills Bigger Hearts is intending he learn step by step throughout the year. Whether you go half-speed or full-speed, I'd not add more questions, tips, discussions, etc. to the day to make sure he is remembering certain facts, but rather keep the day moving along doing each of the boxes in the short lesson format they were written in, to enjoy that Charlotte Mason style of learning. We've found this type of learning helps our dc make small steps that achieve great big results across the span of a year of learning. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

I am new CM so thanks Julie for your response. I will continue at the pace we are going, and stop rephrasing. What you said, make complete sense to me, and I think I was just worrying over nothing really!