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Hi Ladies,

I'm new to the boards and I've really enjoyed reading so many positive posts here! We have used HOD going on year two now. We like it a lot. My son (7) is in Bigger and we are enjoying it. We just recently started Bigger so we're not too far into it just yet. He is doing well with everything in the guide and I feel as the year progresses he will only get more confident.

My question is with Preparing. I know we are only in Bigger right now, but I'm thinking ahead a little bit to next year. Have any of you used Preparing with an 8 year old boy? I'm a little nervous wondering if my son will be able to handle the "independent" boxes in Preparing at age 8 (next school year). With my son being on the younger end, I'm concerned that he may not be able to do the independent boxes properly...maybe?

My husband tells me to keep going full-speed with Bigger since our son is doing well. Then re-evaluate next year when starting Preparing. If we need to go half-speed next year in Preparing then we will.

It seems like I've read something on the boards that if the child has done well with a previous guide then they should fit nicely in the next guide down the line. Anyone found this to be true?

I'd be so grateful to hear any success stories with a younger child in Preparing and how they are doing/did with the guide...specifically written narrations, R&S 3 and the independent readings, activities included in Preparing. I keep hearing/reading that it's a HUGE jump from Bigger to Preparing. It's making me a nervous!

Thank you so much. This board has been such a help to me on this homeschooling journey!

My 8 year old is in Preparing. Granted, he will be 9 in Sept. But it is doable. He does NOT do everything that is "supposed" to be independent independently. We are working up to it. So, you can always customize!

mama247 wrote:
My husband tells me to keep going full-speed with Bigger since our son is doing well. Then re-evaluate next year when starting Preparing. If we need to go half-speed next year in Preparing then we will.

I would agree with your husband. Keep working at Bigger and then re-evaluate when he starts Preparing. He may need time to learn how to do each box well independently - taking it half-speed would be fine for him to make the adjustments confidently. There is a jump from Bigger to Preparing but if you do the guide as written you will be well prepared for what's ahead. Just be prepared to slow it down for him if needed to learn the new skills.

Stephanie

I totally agree with your dh. My dd did Bigger when 7 and she turned 8 in July and we just finished our second week of Preparing. She loves it!!! I'll be honest and say that she doesn't love the Draw Thru History book, but even after 2 weeks is doing better. The funny thing is though that sometimes even though she struggles with it her pictures sometimes look better than her older brother's pictures. I think she's trying to be too "perfect" when drawing them and gets frustrated. The only other snag is she hasn't been able to get 3 vocabulary words done in the estimated 20 min given for it. She's been able to do everything else with no problem and we all love Preparing.

Sometimes I fear what CTC will be like next year for her as everyone talks about how hard the history readings are, but then I tell myself I am going to believe what the experts at HOD say that one manual truly prepares you for the next and I honestly have seen that with Preparing being our 3rd HOD manual we've used.

Oh, and as far as a jump between Bigger and Preparing, I honestly felt that the jump from Beyond to Bigger was a bigger jump.