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I have been playing phone tag with Julie (we have had some health issues and lots of appts) and ultimately I went ahead and made a decision on placement with some help from HOD moms on this forum. DS will enter grade 5 in the next few weeks (we school year round); he will do the science, L/A and math boxes from CTC with the "left side" of Preparing. He has completed R&S 2 and 3. Should I do R&S 4 half speed in this upcoming school year or continue full speed. I am thinking of R&S 4 for grade 5; R&S 5 for grade 6; then R&S 6 for grade 7/8 so he is on target for the high school guides? Also, he is on dication #70 on list #3; do I just pick up there come fall or jump to list #4 (spelling has been his weakest area).

The other question is in reference to DD (left handed twin) who will be entering grade 3, age 8 1/2. She is finishing Bigger with Cheerful Cursive and doing relatively well. Her manuscript still is a bit rough however; it is certainly legible but just not tidy. She has a spinal deformity and chronic stiffness, especially on her left side. We have been through therapy, repeatedly. Should I add a handwriting program to Preparing or just keep emphasizing careful copywork? We are trying to avoid too much hand writing (particularly for long spells at a stint) with her because she currently has an entrapped nerve in her left neck caused by profound muscular tightness, is in PT, and awaiting a visit with the neurosurgeon.

Thanks ladies and blessings on you all as you finish your school year.

Your plan sounds good for your son with R&S.

Preparing has plenty of copywork. Most of its cursive though. However, perhaps you could assign somethings in manuscript so that she could get more practice without adding more work.

My oldest really struggled with copying things in cursive. She took FOR....EV....ER!!!!! I was the same way in school. So what I did with her last year was I had her write the first sentence in cursive and the rest in print. It made the year go so much faster. She didn't have a bad attitude about it but I certainly did. Drove me nuts! This year, to be honest, I ended up having her print everything. Maybe I shouldn't have but that is what I did. I was happy with my choice and decision. She still copies the things in cursive out of the Draw & Write Through History book. One thing I wish I would have done is had her copy anything written in the independent history box in cursive and let her do the rest in print. That would have helped keep her cursive skills fresher. I am not sure what I will do with my next set of kids though as they go through. I do like cursive. I want them to learn it. With my oldest, since we didn't start her schooling with HOD, she had already had 2 years of cursive practice. So by this year, this was her 4th year with cursive. That played a huge part in my decision. With my younger 2, they are starting cursive with Bigger. So I have no idea what I will have them do as they move up in level. I think with them, I am much more incline to have them follow the plans in the guide more strictly.

Also - with your question on dictation - yes, you just start next year with very next dictation passage.