we6rblessed wrote:Thanks, Julie.
I am leaning towards Preparing. I desire to get on target with the 4 year cycle as my children need to stay on that track. I am a little concerned that if I skip Bigger, that we will not be prepared for the narration, etc, that the change in curriculum will bring. Maybe I am fearful of something that will not be an issue?? I don't want to stress out my youngest, but want it to fit nicely. On the "charts" we could go with either of these programs. Maybe being able to see the dictation levels would help me decide? It is so difficult to pick one level over the other because they both have such great book lists...
Well, I appreciate anything else you might be able to help me with.
PS:
LOVED the pictures of your week with all those great little men!
~Linda
Thanks, Linda! I do love all those great little men - I always tell them that "seven" is a "heavenly" number, and God is certainly raising up a band of young Godly men in blessing Carrie and I with 7 boys!
After reading your post, I have a few questions. Have your children done oral narration before, and if so, are they pretty comfortable with it overall? If it's the written narrations you are a bit concerned about, don't be, because they are introduced in a very simple, manageable way in Preparing...
As far as the dictation, I'm actually doing the typing of that for Preparing, so I'll give you examples from each level. Level 2 is in Bigger..., and Levels 2, 3, and 4 will be in Preparing... Please keep in mind you can start any place in the dictation. So, if the middle of Level 2 looks like an appropriate level for your child, just start there, and in the middle of your school year, when you finish Level 2, just start at the beginning of Level 3. The spacing of the dictation is not exactly the same as in this post, since it didn't copy exactly the same, but I tried to copy some from the beginning, middle, and end of each level of dictation. The number of the dictation exercise is noted at the top of each one. HTH!
LEVEL 2 DICTATION SAMPLES:
2
Sue can sing and play.
Sam does not like to sing.
cot got jot pot
dot hot lot rot
65
My thick coat is made of
wool. We get wool from
the sheep.
deep peep brick click
keep weep chick stick
101
How much money do you
have? I have ten dollars,
five cents, and a dime.
lime time honey
LEVEL 3 DICTATION SAMPLES:
1
The children who did not study
their lessons last year are sorry
now. Are you one of these lazy
children?
2
Do you want a flower in the schoolroom?
If you have none, you must plant some seeds
in a pot of earth.
96
Buffaloes feed on grass and chew
a cud like the cow. They always seek a
valley near the edge of some stream so that
the herd may get both food and drink.
100
Agnes has a small place in her garden
where she is raising tomatoes. We all like
them much better than those we buy in
the market.
LEVEL 4 DICTATION SAMPLES:
6
Last Wednesday we went to Coney Island
by boat. It’s only a short sail from New York,
but the ship was loaded with people, and we
had a very rough trip.
62
Last June I was the guest of Dr. Frank’s
nephew, whose cottage stands near the margin
of a large lake. We had great fun playing
in the water. Each little wave seemed to
murmur, “Catch me if you can.”
100
A passing traveler had once mended the
rope of the bell with a vine growing against a
neighboring wall. The horse seeing the vines
rapidly ate them, with the result that the bell
began to ring. A group of people gathered, and
for the honor of the town forced the owner to
care for his horse.
If you are leaning toward Preparing, but feel you might be stretching your youngest, perhaps just keep that thought in mind as you are teaching, and give yourself permission to modify the assignments for your youngest as necessary. You can always have a back-up plan of ordering a different level of an HOD guide for your youngest if it proves to be too much. We've done several HOD guides for the last several years, and it's manageable... even enjoyable!
HTH, and keep on posting here!
In Christ,
Julie
