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I am planning to place an order for Bigger this week, and I wanted to get some thoughts from those of you who have used the extensions for Bigger. We won't actually start Bigger until my DD is 9 yo in the Fall. I know she does not need the extensions because she still falls within the age range. And, she won't be reading the extensions herself because we are currently going through the Emerging Readers and we still will be when she starts Bigger.

But, I am considering purchasing the extensions solely as an additional storytime read-aloud. I understand there are additional activities for the extensions in the appendix, but I don't plan to require her to do the additional work as a 9 yo 3rd grader. BUT, I was wondering how long it would typically take for me to read the extensions to her on a daily basis. Is it 15-20 minutes? Longer? I am just wondering if I can work these into her bedtime readings.

Thanks so much for your help!

There are two extension books that are actually storytime books. One is Ben and Me (biography, classic interest). I forget the other, but it is either a boy or girl interest. I know many families read the books for "fun" reading. Some don't do A Child's Story of History as it is more a spine than a story, but I am considering finding some of the others at our library if possible (Pedro's Journal, Pocahontas, Almost Home, The New Americans, Ben and Me, Guns for General Washington, Toliver's Secret, Buffalo Knife, Once on This Island, By the Great Horn Spoon, Freedom Trail, Bud and Me, and Esperanza Rising).

Some of the extension books are used in future guides. I know Pedro's Journal is used in Preparing and Planet Earth is used in RTR maybe. I would make sure to avoid those.

Thank you both! I knew Pedro's Journal was included in Preparing, but I didn't realize Planet Earth was used later. That is very helpful!

So is the schedule a typical "storytime" schedule? So should I expect an additional 15-20 minutes of reading every day if we use them (and I read them to her)? Are there any that anyone just wouldn't miss if you were using them as free reading?

I dont't think it is a lot of extra reading. Usually just a chapter a day and then sometimes a few pages out of A Child's Story of America. My son reads the assigned extensions on his own first thing in the morning, so I'm not exactly sure how long they would take as read alouds, but I imagine 15-20 minutes would be plenty of time most days. The stories are all very good, so your extra time may come from all the good discussion inspired by the extra reading .