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Just wondering if anyone has used Preparing with an Emerging Reader?
My dd9 is about to finish Bigger. She has done very well this year and grown in so many areas.
Her only struggle at this moment is that she is not quite an "independent reader" yet.
She is getting closer every day, and I am hoping by August she has her "take off" with reading, but I am a little nervous that she will not quite be there yet.
I can totally see her as an independent reader by the end of next year, and hopefully sooner.
Just wondering if anyone else had this situation in the past.
I have three other children, dd12 who is finishing Res. to Ref., dd6 that is at the beginning of Beyond and ds3 that is our big distraction .
I am also a little nervous about how much time Preparing could take if my sweet dd9 needs me to sit with her with all of her books next year.
The oldest is pretty independent now, needing me much less. But the littles need me a lot.
Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Nicole

By an emerging reader, do you mean that she will be beginning the emerging readers set? Or has she completed them?



I used Preparing with my 10yo (he turned 10 in October of the school year) for fourth grade this year. He went through the emerging readers during his second grade year and did level 2/3 of DITHOR for his third grade year. For Preparing, depending on the length of the Independent History study reading, we would often take turns reading some pages. That continued somewhat through to the end of the year, though there were days he did the entire reading on his own. We worked on increasing his independence with science gradually. By about 1/2 way through the guide (maybe a little earlier), he was doing it completely on his own. We worked through the DITHOR 2/3 book. Because I didn't trust him to read on his own, I did have him read orally to me til about halfway through the year. It was a good year for us; we both thoroughly enjoyed it! I also read the extension readings as read alouds just b/c we enjoyed the time together so much. All that said, it wasn't uncommon for me to spend two full hours (not consecutive) with him each morning. Sometimes we did put things off for Friday b/c of time constraints. It's nice that Preparing is written with 4 day weeks to make that so feasible.


I also had a sixth grade daughter doing the RTR guide, a second grader doing Beyond, a kindergartener doing Sonlight PreK Core, a preschooler, and a 2yo. My days were very full, with lots of demands, but I'll also say that it was my favorite year of homeschooling yet.


My second son, who did Beyond this year, has only read the Early Reader's Bible out of the Emerging Set so far. Right now he's reading to me from the Beginner's Bible. We do intersperse some Berenstein Bears books and other lighter/fun titles once in awhile. I don't know that he'll be able to do as well as my older boy did this year once he gets to Preparing, but I'll cross that bridge when we get there. We'll still have this coming school year with Bigger to give him time to improve his reading ability.

She is finishing the Emerging Readers. We started them at the end of last year, and I have added other books throughout the year to give her more practice.
Hopefully we will finish them this summer.
I can see her doing better and better every day. I feel like she is finally at the point that she "gets" reading, she just needs to practice, practice, practice.
I appreciate you sharing your experience. That is kind of what I imagine for us next year. Academically, she is so ready for Preparing, it's only the reading part that has been a challenge. I imagine that I would do the same as you did, reading the assignments together. It may take us the whole year. I may even have to continue in CTC at the beginning with the history. I know that history reader was pretty tough for my oldest and she's been reading since she was 4.
You encouraged me to see that it is doable as my sweet dd continues to gain skill in her reading. It is encouraging too to see that you had children about the same years that I have.
I am little nervous about the amount of time that she will need me next year, but I do remember Carrie telling me last year in a different topic, that each year she would typically focus on a different child to help them grow. This year, I focused on my oldest with her independence. I think she has made great strides in that area and will do well next year ! Praise God! That will be a help to me so that I can spend more time with dd9 in Preparing. My 2nd grader to be is doing just fine. I know if I lay out a good schedule, I will have the time to spend with her too. And then my sweet ds, soon to be three, will surely keep us on our toes, but I imagine he will continue in his play and he loves to be involved in school anyway he can, so he does try to cooperate -- the best a little boy can. I would so appreciate your prayers if you think of us, that I would trust the Lord as He leads me to manage our home next year and that I would have a willing heart to invest in my children.
Thanks again for your encouragement.
Nicole

It sounds like dd has made great gains, Nicole! Way to go! I find that a different child seems to need more of me each year too. This will probably be the year dd needs you more. You may want to start PHFHG half-speed, and ease into DITHOR 2/3 too. Actually, spreading out PHFHG and CTC over 3 years would be really nice. It would give dd time to grow in her reading skills, and she would still be within the target age range of each guide (ages 8-10 yo for PHFHG, and ages 9-11 yo for CTC). Starting PHFHG half-speed for awhile, and then switching to full-speed; and likewise, starting CTC half-speed, and then switching to full-speed, may be a wonderful pacing both for dd and for you as the teacher of multiple dc. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

Thanks for your encouragement Julie. It sounds like a good idea to start slow. I imagine that is what we will do.
God Bless!
Nicole