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I'm in need of some advice dear ladies. I used Beyond 2 years ago with my then K son and 2nd Grade daughter. This past year we went to MFW ECC b/c I really wanted to do a nice overview of geography for the kids. Now I'd like to come back to HOD. I'm just not sure if Bigger or Preparing would be the best fit. My 2nd grade boy will turn 8 in Oct and my 4th grade daughter will turn 10 in Jan. My daughter is easy to school and picks up on most things easily, comprehends well, can work independently, etc. My son, who will be 2nd grade, does not have the attention span or comprehension she does. He is an emerging reader and can work independently for short periods. He loves math and science and tolerates L/A : ) However, he would much rather be kicking a ball around in the backyard than listening to me read/teach. Nonetheless, he is learning. He just gets lots of short breaks throughout the day : ) I've looked at the guidelines as well as sample lessons and though it appears my kids could go either way, I am leaning toward Preparing. If I go with Preparing I just won't require all of the assignments of my son. Is there a big difference in required reading/daily time commitment between the two curricula? Has anyone else had experience with a son such as mine with this curriculum? I've wondered if perhaps I shouldn't use HOD b/c perhaps his learning style isn't one that is well suited for it. On the other hand, perhaps he's a typical boy who will mature and learn to pay attention as the years go on. I love to be able to teach the kids at the same time for the main subjects. (Note: I have an almost 3 year old also). Any comments/suggestions are appreciated. Also, is DITHOR necessary/helpful for my 4th grader or should I wait another year or two? Thank you ladies!!

Hi. I am sure others can help you better than I can, but this is my thinking from what you have shared. I know you'd like to keep you dc together in guides. IMO, if you do that, you would probably be better going with Bigger and use extensions for your dd. From what you said about your ds, I think Preparing would be pushing it. We aren't into Preparing yet, but from what i understand there is a significant transition from Bigger to Preparing. It sounds like your ds could use some maturing in his attention before you put him into a guide where they are transitioning into more independent work. Otherwise, you should probably put them in separate guides.

If your ds is an emerging reader, Bigger still lists the ER books, so you could use those for his reading. Most people using HOD use DITHOR for the reading once their dc are finished with the ER books, so you would want to consider that for your dd. HTH

I can't help you much on which guide to use because this is our first year to use HOD and we are using LHFHG. I have read though that it is better to place your youngest and add extensions for your older. I did want to say that I have a 7 yo boy that much rather be playing then doing school, but HOD has really helped him enjoy school and he is getting to the point that school isn't all bad and that he can take the time out of playing to do HOD. That's saying a lot for him and HOD! Sorry, I wasn't much help.

I PMed you about something else. Thanks!