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I have a 9, 8, and 5 year old whom I'm trying to plan for next year. Next school year is probably not when I will start though after all this looking at and researching I have been doing. I want to start NOW. My children are currently doing SOTW Ancients for History and if I hear one more moan when I say its time for history, I might just pull all my hair out! We are almost to the end anyway so I don't see a problem with starting very soon. Anyway, I did look at the placement chart. It looks as though my 8 and 9 year old would place into Bigger, although I am still questioning some things as far as how the placement actually works. It states that to place into Preparing that the child needs to know how to form capital and lowercase letters in cursive. My 9 year old (10 in Sept) could probably handle Preparing as she has done HWOT Cursive 2 years in a row. She still doesn't feel confident though if she had to write a whole paragraph in cursive and I know would get frustrated having to do this frequently. I am afraid to push her to Preparing. I also read that there is quite a bit more writing in Preparing as well as more independence. She currently does math and spelling independently and gets a lot of guidance from me for writing and grammar. I am not sure she is ready for that much independence. Should I be determining her level of HOD this way or am I completely wrong? My DD has already done some creative writing this year using Winning with Writing, although, what she has learned is extremely basic such as doing an outline with a topic sentence, 3 details, and an ending. She has learned to put them into a paragraph, add strong verbs, adjectives, and form a finalized copy. Like I said, she does get MUCH of my help with it still.

My DS who just turned 8 still struggles with writing. We are currently using Apologia Botany for Science and just today he struggled having to write a few lines for his notebooking on what he remembered about trees. He wants me to spell out everything (which I won't because I know he can figure it out) and refuses to try and sound things out. I don't want to have to tweak HOD for either of them. I have read that children get the most out of this program used as written. The only thing I want to tweak is the math (we will continue with CLE). For my 9 yr old DD, I will also tweak the writing/grammar and not use R&S because she will be taking an outside class starting in August. Also, my son will start learning cursive in 3rd grade (this coming school year). He hasn't had any practice with it yet other then trying to mimic what his sister does.

As far as math goes, both my 8 and 9 year old are in the exact same place. They both just started 3rd grade math in CLE. I have tried Singapore and it has worked well with my DS, but my DD has strugged with it. I just don't want to switch math programs again until 7th grade. As far as grammar goes, both of them know the basic parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, direct objects). My 9 year old has been working on diagramming, but my 8 year old DS has not.

I am honestly so stuck about where to place them that I was going to drive 2 hours to the convention this Saturday just to look at the curriculum and talk to Carrie. If I can avoid having to do that and save money that I can spend on buying more books right now instead of waiting, I would love to!

I am also stuck as to whether I should start DITHOR with either of them. I honestly don't think my DS8 is ready for it. Right, now he still can't read more then just the emerging readers. My DD9 is probably ready though. If it is going to end up being more work to keep them together when they don't belong together in the same level then I'd rather not, but I don't want to run 3 guides. I don't think i have it in me to do that. If my 8 and 9 year old are to place in different guides, then I will probably end up being more relaxed with my 5 year old and just concentrate on getting him to read and learn the math basics.

Ok, so who is willing to help me here and save me a trip to the convention??

From what you describe, Bigger sounds like a great placement for your older two kids. You already have grammar/english covered for your oldest dd 9 with the outside class, your ds 8 could use the Rod and Staff English 2 orally or mostly orally and use the emerging readers instead of DITHOR. The appendix of Bigger has a schedule, instructions, and comprehension questions for the emerging readers. You can do DITHOR workbook 2/3 for your dd, with 4/5 books if her reading skills are higher, so that she is not overwhelmed with writing. If she needs it, there are extension books in the area of history and science, but I would just start with Bigger for both of them to see how it goes. Where do you feel your 5 year old places?

Thank you so much for the suggestion. So even though my DD has done cursive 2 years in a row and is still not comfortable, its okay to place her in Bigger with my DS? I am pretty sure my DS5 would place in Little Hearts. We are working on his letter sounds and he knows 3/4 of the alphabet (he has had a hard time and has taken a lot longer than my other children). He is already using Singapore Math K and has completed the first half of Essentials Book A. He can read the first 4 Bob books as well. I would definitely start him in Little Hearts.

Sounds perfect for your 5 year old. Yes, I think Bigger would be a great start for your dd, based on the info you gave. As she will be doing outside language arts and you have math covered, it would be a good place to combine with your 8 yo and have them both get a lot out of it. If you wanted she could do the history readings and science readings herself, since she is older. You can add the extensions if she needs a greater challenge, as they are intended for 4th to 5th graders, but she still falls in the target age range for Bigger which is 7 to 9, so it may be enough as is. I think your instincts are right

You've received sound advice here - and I totally agree with blessedmomof4's wise words! I would not worry about the cursive. There are small portions of PHFHG that note in the plans for dc to write in cursive. They are usually copywork type things, so if need be, you can easily write those portions in cursive on a markerboard for dd to ease into them, as copywork of cursive is easier than just writing cursive independently. We really enjoyed "Cheerful Cursive", if you are looking for a solid cursive program for your ds. I think you will really enjoy Bigger Hearts and LHFHG with your dc! Bigger Hearts is a training year, where dc learn so much. It is my teacher year I really put my heart and soul into, and then starting the following year with PHFHG, and then on up, dc have learned the skills needed to take on more responsibility for their learning themselves successfully. I think you are going to have a great year ahead of you - you'll have to share it here with us!

In Christ,
Julie