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Hi there! I'd love some advice on placement for my 2 boys going into grade 1 and 3. The youngest is learning to read now, and the older is a good reader. We will be sticking with Math Mammoth as it works really well for us We are Canadian, and so I thought one year in American history would be adequate for us, before heading into world history, so I was thinking of starting with Bigger? Do you think that would be a good choice? I feel like Beyond would be too young for my boy in Grade 3, and would rather try to make Bigger work for them, but what do you think? Would it be doable for a grade 1 to do Bigger, if I ordered the right book selections, etc for a grade 1 student??

Did you check the placement chart.
http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.com
That is the best place to begin.

That being said, if you want to combine it is easier to place the youngest where they need to be skill wise. Then you would bump the older up in English, Math, handwriting, etc.

If you are searching out for the fall, I would also recommend waiting until summer to see where they fit best before you make a final selection. Children can mature and learn a lot over a few short months.

Are you set on combining them? One option would be to do Bigger with the older one and then LHFHG with the younger one. BIgger is really a 3rd grade guide, which can also be used for advanced 2nd graders, typical 4th graders, and extended for 5th and 6th grades. I wouldn't put a 1st grader in Bigger personally. Then, the next year you could do Bigger half speed with the younger one and Preparing with the older. There was a conversation here recently about Beyond and Bigger for Canadians, and I think the conclusion was the Beyond didn't apply nearly as much as Bigger. So, many do some Canadian history and then "skip" to Bigger. Many that do that will either use the Beyond guide as reference (to continue building the skills) or they will use elements from LHFHG and Bigger to make sure they aren't leaving gaps.

Thank you both so much! After reading both your suggestions and looking it all over again, I think I will go with LHFHG and Bigger. Now, what about reading…. for an 8 year old who is a good reader (but doesn't like too much writing), should I buy the emerging reader set, or DITHOR??

Look at the books in the Emerging Reader set and in the DITHOR 2/3 set. Pick a middle and end Emerging Reader book and then one or two of the DITHOR 2/3 books. See which ones he can read almost flawlessly and with good fluency. If he isn't fluent in the Emerging Readers books, then start with those. If he is fluent with a DITHOR 2/3 book, then start there. You can always transition to DITHOR part way through the year when he finishes with the Emerging Readers. And you don't have to start at the beginning of Emerging Readers either. You can start where the reading seems to not be fluent any more. Also, with DITHOR, you can do the writing for him or do it just orally. As they mature, you would want to have him write some, but it doesn't have to be him writing anything to start. So really the placement is based off of reading skill and not writing.

Ok great, thanks so much for your help!