Preparing for 2nd (8 in Aug) and 4th (10 in Jan) Grader

[AmyHall]

Has anyone used Preparing for a 2nd grader (age ? He is an emerging reader and does not know cursive so I realize I'll have to make some adjustments to the curriculum but I am also schooling a 4th grader at the same time and just really love the looks/idea of using Preparing with them. Just wondering what others' experience may have been. I have looked at the placement guides and we could really go with either Bigger or Preparing. My son is on the low end of Preparing but I think we could make it work. Just looking for others who may have walked this road before. Thank you!

[jen_good]

Hello,

We just finished Bigger and started Preparing this past week with my ds, who was 10 in Sept. (4th grade), and my dd who was 8 in Nov. (2nd grade). My dd did cursive in 1st grade. She just finished Emerging Readers and is starting DITHOR. So far so good . Just from our very limited experience, I think our challenging areas will be getting used to the Independent boxes and doing written narrations instead of oral ones. I'm sure there will be other challenges that come up as the year progresses :

It will be interesting to hear from others with more experience!

Blessings,
Jen

[LynnH]

If you know you will have to make adjustments for the 8 year old then I would not use Preparing. I would use Bigger and then use the extensions for the 10 year old. You want to think about the guides following Preparing and if you have to adjust for Preparing then you certainly will have to really adjust for CTC. There is a huge jump in skill level from Preparing to CTC. It really is best if you can place them according to skill level. It is also easier to beef up a guide than to simplify it. The skills from one guide to another are carefully planned to build on each other. This makes it unique from other curriculum's that are similar to HOD. You really want the child to be able to do any boxes labeled I, independently. That is one of the wonderful things about HOD is is slowly teaches the child to become independent with certain things.

[AmyHall]

Thank you for the response!! If anyone else has experience with younger ones in Preparing we'd love to hear your feedback!!

[Mom2Monkeys]

Just agreeing with LynnH. Ive used HOD since 2008, including all the guides from Preparing and down. I suggest placing the younger and adding the already planned extemsions for the older. If there is any struggle or adjustments needed made theough PHFHG for the younger, you will he forever tweaking and that child will likely need you more and more through each guide, making for loooooong school days later and a heavy teacher burden. If the 8yo places solidly into the skills of PHFHG, that is fine. You might also find if yiunger struggles, older will feel slowed down amd held back as he waits for her to finish up so they can move on. Days might drag. They could both be affected! If placed properly and both move along at a steady pace even at a lower level (BHFHG) then they will feel steady progress amd have smoother days!! (ive been there done that with my oldest two at 8&10...now 9&11 doing PHFHG and Rev2Rev)

[AmyHall]

Thank you for your response. You said, "Been there done that" with your 8 and 10. What did you mean? You placed them in too old of a book and they both struggled keeping on pace with one another? What book did you use for 8/10?

[mom23]

I placed a 6 yo too high when I first started HOD, and it was a difficult and frustrating couple of months until I pulled him back to a lower level guide...It wasn't Preparing, but I do wholeheartedly agree with others who suggested Bigger with extensions. Preparing is a great guide, and when you have to make lots of adjustments you lose underlying skills that are built in and are not getting out of it everything that you could if you use it when your kids can both handle it better.

*ETA: I do know someone who did Preparing a few years ago, combining her older child (who was Preparing level) and 3 younger children in the same guide. They ended up leaving HOD because it was so far above-not only in skills, but in content-where most of the kids needed to be. HOD really does work much better (when combining) to place the younger child correctly and then beef things up from there.

[lucsch]

I've been posting on your other thread about Bigger, and I didn't realize you want to combine a 2nd grader into Preparing with your 4th grader. While I think your 4th grader could handle Preparing, I really would not encourage you to put a 2nd grader into Preparing. If you do not want to do two separate guides, I would put them into Bigger, using the extensions with the older child. You may have to bump up some of the reading, LA and math for your 4th grader; but in the long run it will work out better. I cannot imagine putting a new 3rd grader into CTC next year!

[Tree House Academy]

Placing a child too high in the guides can really cause frustration...I had first hand experience during our first year with HOD. I agree with the others that I would do Bigger with extensions OR do each child in his own guide. My youngest son is finishing Preparing right now...and there is a lot of writing required and toward the middle of the guide, he started reading books to himself for the Independent History section. The books aren't hard, but they are not "Emerging reader" level. You will likely have to make so many changes that the program won't look much like HOD when you are finished. Also, you said your older son barely fits into Preparing which is another reason to go back a guide.

My biggest worry would not even be for the 2nd grader doing Preparing as much as it would for him, as a 3rd grader, trying to do CTC. No way!

P.S. We have used HOD since Fall of 2009

[Mom2Monkeys]

Thank you for your response. You said, "Been there done that" with your 8 and 10. What did you mean? You placed them in too old of a book and they both struggled keeping on pace with one another? What book did you use for 8/10?

I placed trying to combine my kids, and one was needing tweaking and was not quite ready and then the other was underplaced and ready to move on ahead. It was really discouraging to them both and didn't work well at all...it took way longer than school should take and more time than putting them each in their own level. This was with PHFHG.

[raceNzanesmom]

I agree with placing your younger and adding extensions for your older. The guides are written to use that way. We're using Bigger this year and it really is a great guide!

Or, let your 4th grader use Preparing and place your 2nd grader in Beyond. The left side of Beyond doesn't take long and since the right side (reading, math, LA) would be separate anyway (if both were in Preparing) you wouldn't be adding that much extra time. Your older child could work on independent studies while you work with your 2nd grader.

I have not BTDT, but I have read many times where other moms say how hard it is when a child is placed in the wrong level and how right it is when they're placed correctly. My ds will use Preparing for the second half of 4th grade and, honestly, I can't imagine he would have been remotely ready for it in 2nd.

Best wishes!

[AmyHall]

Thank you for all the ideas ladies!! After much praying, reading, and studying all your feedback I believe I"m going to go with Bigger as many of you recommended and add additional readers to my daughter's science/history curriculum if necessary. I read some mixed reviews on A Child's Story of America online... if you've added this with older kids did it work for you or did you have problems with it? Also, for Journey's in Time and the Science/History readers (Small Square, Audubon, Pioneer Sampler, Edison), did you work through those all at once (in which case I could check them out from library) or do you refer to them at different times throughout the year in which case it's really worth the purchase? Thank you again for your time. So kind of you to take time out of your busy schedules to help!! One last thing, any suggestions for Writing Process for my 4th grader would be beneficial. We've been using Writing Strands this year, but I'm always open to recommendations!

[lucsch]

Thank you for all the ideas ladies!! After much praying, reading, and studying all your feedback I believe I"m going to go with Bigger as many of you recommended and add additional readers to my daughter's science/history curriculum if necessary. I read some mixed reviews on A Child's Story of America online... if you've added this with older kids did it work for you or did you have problems with it? Also, for Journey's in Time and the Science/History readers (Small Square, Audubon, Pioneer Sampler, Edison), did you work through those all at once (in which case I could check them out from library) or do you refer to them at different times throughout the year in which case it's really worth the purchase? Thank you again for your time. So kind of you to take time out of your busy schedules to help!! One last thing, any suggestions for Writing Process for my 4th grader would be beneficial. We've been using Writing Strands this year, but I'm always open to recommendations!

I personally did not care for A Child's Story of America, and we ended up not using it. As my daughter was not really in the extension age range (she just turned ten and we have 4 units to go), anyway, I wasn't too concerned about using it.

The science books are used over some time. The Pioneer Sampler is used for the whole 2nd half of the year. The One Small Square book is used sporadically throughout the year. Audubon and Edison are used in such a way that you probably could check those out of the library.

[my3sons]

I'm so glad you are to the point of just ironing out a few details for your dc's placement! That is a great place to be because it means you are getting close to being able to start! The different science books are referred to throughout the year for notebooking assignments, as well as used for differing amounts of time. They are terrific books and the spine of the science, so I would try to order those. The package price from HOD saves you a chunk of money off the top, so that will help. You could easily use your library for the Storytime books though, as well as your "Drawn into the Heart of Reading" books. Each of these books is used 1 month at a time, and the books are far more common to libraries than the science books are. BHFHG's extension package has a well-rounded selection of books, and it includes science as well. Though our ds did not use the extension package when doing BHFHG, we did get the books for him later, just because I thought they were excellent book choices, and he loves history (thanks to HOD)!!! Some of his favorite books are part of that package, and he has read and reread them through the years just for enjoyment. I think your dd would enjoy those books! Here are some great comments Carrie had from a previous thread that I think are so helpful in regard to the book you mentioned...

A Child's Story of America is a reprint of an older text which was updated in its wording and to include some additional content by Christian Liberty Press. It is mainly the end section of the book that we feel goes into material that is better left to discuss at a later date with your kiddos, especially the mention of Bill Clinton's infidelity. We do omit these final pages and note that you will want to use your own discretion when deciding whether to use the end pages (as they are not scheduled within our guide). It is also important to note that for this reason this text is not used as the spine or core of our program but rather is used as an extension.

We chose this text for the Extension Pack because it serves the purpose of presenting the other side of American history that is rarely told within most secular history texts. It strives to provide a conservative, Godly perspective of American history (that is readable by 4th and 5th graders) without going overboard in its providential slant.

It's important to remember that all texts have a bias, and all interpretations of a text are subject to our own bias as we read them. This is good to bear in mind when weighing the opinion's of others. The only truly perfect book is God's word! With that being said, this particular text has been distinguished through many excellent homeschool reviews. Cathy Duffy reviews this particular book highly on her website linked here: http://cathyduffyreviews.com/history-ge ... merica.htm

While I could list multiple other positive reviews of this book from other homeschool reviewers, the only true opinion that matters for your family is your own as you seek to follow God's call within your own home. So, if this particular text does not suit YOUR family, you can easily choose not to use it without affecting the flow of the program.

There was a discussion on the board at one point about A Child's Story of America, which was a very well thought out discussion among our board members, until it took a less than Christ-centered turn in its tone. The thread had to be removed when it left no Christian way for us, or anyone else, to respond further. A post was made on the board explaining our reasons for removal of the thread, as this is something we don't usually do.

I agree that it's a good idea to read through the text and see what your feelings about it may be, however keep in mind that we schedule it in conjunction with the Eggleston books and the other Extension Pack books (in order to provide a more balanced approach to history). We would not schedule this book to be used without other resources.

It is also not meant to be an exhaustive history (but it works well when paired with Eggleston and our other Extension Pack books to provide more information on what the kiddos are studying). The book sometimes slides into the category of not always being politically correct (as it has its origins in a much older text). My husband and I had some excellent discussions about it, as we'd never had anything but a secularized, sanitized version of American history prior to this.

As far as a writing program, I think your 10 yo dd would enjoy "Igniting Your Writing." HOD carries it, and it is a solid writing program that is a lot of fun to teach and to do. You can read more about it here...
http://www.heartofdakota.com/drawn-into ... p#igniting

HTH!
In Christ,
Julie

[TrueGRIT]

Really great post by my3sons!

My child has not been in the extension range of BIGGER, however we got the History portion, and use it when we have time.
We do this because my ds loves history and begs for more! My ds is also quite mature in this area. (due to his dad)

I carefully went over the book A Child's History of America, and the extension lesson plans in the back of the book,
and felt Carrie had done an excellent job on planning in what is relevant. It adds a lot to follow her plan - if needed.

That being said, it it also up to the the individual family, as stated in the previous post, as to if you want to do this book with your child.

I know you'll find a good balance for your family, and I am excited for your journey to begin. You'll absolutely love it!