heartofdakota.com

I've decided to wait and start Bigger in August or September when my ds will technically be in 4th grade. He will be at the higher end of the guide at 9 years old through the entire guide if we finish in a year. How does the science in Bigger compare to a 4th grade science curriculum? He is definitely more of a math and science kid than anything else. I love the idea of "living books" for science, but I'm noticing that in certain areas, my ds is able to retain more when I do a combination of "living books" with a traditional text book approach. I know that most people use Bigger for a 3rd grade curriculum, so I was wondering if I needed to more for science, because he will technically be in 4th grade.


Thanks,
Tracy

My dd will be doing the last half of Bigger next year for 4th grade and she will be more than 10.5 when she finishes. She has some learning difficulties, so I am not adding anything. I believe the choice is up to you.

I used Bigger for my ds in his 4th grade year. His b-day is in July, so he was 9 the whole time, it that matters to you. My ds is more math and science minded as well. We test every year in our state and his scores were completely fine. Not that I think it necessary but we have science videos from AIG, Moody, etc. Just an idea if you're worried.

For our science minded ds, the inclusion of living books, especially in the area of biographies of scientists through the years, has done more to stimulate his science abilities than anything else. He will often apply the methods scientists described using in their own words - or from their biographies - to life situations of his own. The books are inspirational, and an encouragement to try until you succeed, even if that means many failed attempts came first. The labs with scientific methods have also been so beneficial and aid to further understanding of a true scientist's life's work. Textbooks can be useful for factual information in a research capacity, but when it comes to truly thinking like and working like a scientist - nothing but living books comes close. One thing you can do is add a textbook on the topic for him to read at leisure. Another option would be to have ds do the science from PHFHG. still another option (if he can hang with the reading level) would be to get the science books from BHFHG's extension package for him to read through. Either way, I'd not let him miss out on truly getting to know the scientists from the living books. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

Thank you all for your help. I really don't want to miss the living books in Bigger for Science, so I think we will stick with those. DS' reading level will just barely be at the Emerging Readers level, so I don't think we should move into Preparing for Science.