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My son, 10, used Preparing and did well with it. We did do all of the history readings together (he is dyslexic), but he was able to do much of the science on his own (he really enjoyed the Small Square books). However, he is NOT ready for Creation to Christ. I am not sure what to do...

We did a week as "practice" just to see how it went, and it was AWFUL. He felt so discouraged b/c the reading levels in the books are such a huge step up. All of the history books are almost impossible for him to read on his own, yet they are quite dry to read aloud -- and he struggles greatly with auditory learning.

Does anyone have advice for what I should do? I have honestly thought about doing Bigger with him, using the extensions and doing them together. Or, should we take a year off HOD for him and concentrate on catching him up with reading? HOD has been a huge hit with my daughter who loves school and loves to read, but my son is a very different learner. I am just at a loss right now for what will work with him.

Any thoughts are appreciated!

First, the first history book in tC is the hardest of the middle school books. Many families do that book together (like Preparing is set up) and then move to more independence later.

Second, you might want to find as many books on audio as possible. Then he can still be independent whole not having to do the reading himself. It is a common accommodation for dyslexia, one your shouldn't hesitate to give if necessary.

He is currently 10? I would lean toward waiting another year before doing CTC, but I'm not sure what you could do for this year since he already did Preparing. Perhaps taking CTC at half speed to spread it out over 2 school years, while also working to strengthen his reading or help him get better at learning from audiobooks? Hopefully others will contribute some good ideas.

My son is also dyslexic and we are in unit 8 of CTC. He will be 12 in November, so you can see we had to slow way down as his dyslexia is quite severe. I would suggest going 1/2 speed, at least for awhile and read the history to him or find audio. I know the audio learning is harder for some, but he will still get more from it than struggling to read it. Encourage him that his skills are to grow while doing the guide, so what he is capable of now will build as he goes through the guide. For our family, CTC was the first guide where we really experienced our boys growing into the guide instead of just taking off like they could in the earlier guides, so this hurdle you are experiencing is not uncommon, especially for his age.

I am using CTC this year too, with three 10 year old boys and one 13 yo. I am reading the history book out loud, and I agree it is dry. My 13 yo could read it alone and get all the info out of it, but not the 10 yos. It's a pretty wordy book, and they usually glaze over, however skill-wise they are correctly placed. So I plan to continue just reading it aloud. My boys have been following along in their Action Bibles, and they love that! It gives them a visual and helps them to get a better picture of the story since the history book is hard for them to understand at times. You could also add in Usborne Ancient history books for more visuals as you read out loud. I am making my kiddos push through CTC because as they listen, they are learning to listen better. I have found that difficult books for my boys seem to raise their listening level after a few weeks, and they are able to narrate and retain more than they were when we first began. BUT, I do love your idea of using Bigger and doing the extensions! I think that is a great plan, and one I would lean towards for sure if you feel his skills aren't quite ready for CTC. My oldest and I loved Bigger, it's a very sweet guide and has some great skill building in it. Plus it has more OSS books and I love those so much!!

Amber,

I just wanted to check in with you to see whether your son was able to do the "Independent" boxes in Preparing Hearts last year? These would be the "Independent History Study" box with the Deluxe Package books and the "Science" box with the science books. Was he able to read the books in those boxes on his own and follow the directions in those boxes on his own by the end of the Preparing Hearts guide?

The reason I ask is because those two boxes are meant to prepare the child for the upped level of independence and readings in CTC. If your son needed help doing those boxes and/or needed help with the readings in those boxes all throughout the year, then he will struggle mightily when he gets to CTC. On the other hand, if he did fine with those boxes and readings in Preparing Hearts (and was able to do them independently), then he will grow into the readings and independent boxes in CTC.

If your son did need help with those boxes throughout Preparing Hearts, then I would lean toward Bigger Hearts as a good placement option to allow him to grow another year in the skills he will need for CTC. If you do Bigger Hearts, I would move toward having him do the readings in the science box of Bigger as independently as possible. I would also move toward having him read the easier history books on his own (like Stories of Great Americans) and as the year progresses more of the other history spine books too. This will help prepare him for CTC.

If your son did not need help with those boxes throughout Preparing Hearts, then I would instead lean toward giving him time to grow into CTC. This is because doing those two boxes in Preparing Hearts shows he can do the readings and follow written directions on his own, so it means he has these skills but just needs to step them up a bit. If that is true, I wouldn't read aloud all the readings in CTC to him, but instead read the first part and allow him to read the rest on his own. If this is a total challenge and does not improve over time, I would lean toward Bigger Hearts as a good option for a growing year.

Blessings,
Carrie

Hi, Carrie.

In answers to your questions, no my son did not do the "independent boxes" on his own.

We have actually been doing Preparing a second time through. My son struggles with memory issues and retention, so having him repeat the entire year of Preparing is actually working well for him. He has these "A-ha! moments" where he will say something like, "Oh, I remember reading about this..." but he won't remember the specifics. So, in doing another run-through of Preparing, I think he is learning a lot more. Which goes to show that he wasn't really ready for it last year.

I am trying not to borrow trouble and worry about placement next school year b/c I still worry whether or not he will be ready for CtC. But he is enjoying doing the Independent Science a great deal, and he has been doing well with the Independent History. Of course, he balks at written narrations...but I help him get his thoughts out and organized before he writes them down.

I truly am thankful for the skills that are taught through HOD. The guides are truly set up well for building upon skills gradually, and I am beyond thankful for this program!
Amber

Hi Amber! I think I would either do Bigger Hearts and add the extensions, or CTC half-speed. It sounds like you are seeing growth this second time through PHFHG, and it is encouraging that he is enjoying and reading the OSS books independently! We must celebrate growth in our kiddos, right?!? I would love to know a little more about him, especially about his past experience with reading. Is he doing DITHOR alongside PHFHG, or not yet? If he is doing DITHOR, what book pack or level fits his independent reading right now? If he isn't doing DITHOR, I am wondering what he has done in the past for phonics/ERSet? It could be that Sound Bytes phonics, which is geared for older students, would be great to try now! I really love the way that book is set up. It is not like a back to the total beginning of phonics. It is not babyish. It would have been an incredible asset to me back when I was teaching 3rd/4th/6th grade, and back when I was tutoring children in reading (prior to homeschooling my own kiddos - so think waaaaaay back ). Carrie has a wonderful blog post on Sound Bytes that I'll include here...

https://www.heartofdakota.com/blog/2018 ... n-reading/

I'm also wondering about his writing. The written narrations are quite guided in PHFHG, and for most of the guide they have a length of 1-3 sentences and for the end of the guide of 3-5 sentences. I know you mentioned helping him with this, which is just fine especially at the start, as written narrations are a new skill in PHFHG. But, how is he doing with written narrations now? Can he write the recommended length of sentences, and is his writing shrinking to fit on wide-lined notebook paper? Has he had cursive, and how did that go? What level of grammar is he doing? Does he love you by his side helping all of the time, or is he wanting - and capable of - more independence? Is he doing all of PHFHG or must much of it be modified (i.e. doing the history notebooking assignments step-by-step on paper, doing the science notebooking assignments step-by-step on paper, writing answers to 5 comprehension questions in science, completing all steps of assigned history projects, completing all of the creative writing assignment each week alongside the poetry study, etc.). I guess what I'm trying to get a good read on is if it seems better to go back to Bigger full-speed or to go forward to CTC half-speed based on what he is doing now for PHFHG. If there is a lot of modifying, tweaking, shortening, changing many things that are written to oral, etc. in PHFHG, CTC will only get harder, and BHFHG would be the better placement and would allow you time to focus on reading. But if there is not a lot of modifying, and he is doing well with the bulk of the guide and is close on the level of reading but not quite there and is writing quite well, etc. , then CTC half-speed would be the better placement. Can you share when you get a chance? I'd love to help!

In Christ,
Julie

<<I'm also wondering about his writing. The written narrations are quite guided in PHFHG, and for most of the guide they have a length of 1-3 sentences and for the end of the guide of 3-5 sentences. I know you mentioned helping him with this, which is just fine especially at the start, as written narrations are a new skill in PHFHG. But, how is he doing with written narrations now? Can he write the recommended length of sentences, and is his writing shrinking to fit on wide-lined notebook paper? Has he had cursive, and how did that go? What level of grammar is he doing? Does he love you by his side helping all of the time, or is he wanting - and capable of - more independence? Is he doing all of PHFHG or must much of it be modified (i.e. doing the history notebooking assignments step-by-step on paper, doing the science notebooking assignments step-by-step on paper, writing answers to 5 comprehension questions in science, completing all steps of assigned history projects, completing all of the creative writing assignment each week alongside the poetry study, etc.). I guess what I'm trying to get a good read on is if it seems better to go back to Bigger full-speed or to go forward to CTC half-speed based on what he is doing now for PHFHG. If there is a lot of modifying, tweaking, shortening, changing many things that are written to oral, etc. in PHFHG, CTC will only get harder, and BHFHG would be the better placement and would allow you time to focus on reading. But if there is not a lot of modifying, and he is doing well with the bulk of the guide and is close on the level of reading but not quite there and is writing quite well, etc. , then CTC half-speed would be the better placement. Can you share when you get a chance? I'd love to help!>>
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Hi, Julie. (I wish there was a way to get "notified" with responses so that I would know to check back! If there is an option...I don't know about it. Please forgive my delayed response! )

I really appreciate you asking the questions you asked, and I will do my best to answer them:
He struggles with written narrations. It's not his handwriting or writing size, it's the skill of writing. My son is severely dyslexic. He has to concentrate so hard on how to write a word that his thoughts are generally scrambled. Or, times when he does just write his thoughts, neither of us can decipher what he has written b/c his spelling is just so bad. That is why I have helped him so much on his written narrations. YET - he can orally narrate like a CHAMP. He leaves no detail out, often adding in way more detail than even I would. It's definitely not a comprehension issue; it's his dyslexia that hinders him.

I will say that he is doing GREAT with the science. The books are just such great choices, that he enjoys reading them! I printed out worksheets from Facebook that another mama made to go along with the science. They have the questions already typed out...which is huge for him b/c it keeps him focused without having to go back and forth to the guide for each question. He does very well finding the information in his science reading to answer the questions. I have taught him how to answer in complete sentences so that he can use the words from the text + words from the original questions to form complete sentences.

I would say that he definitely enjoys his independence with science, but he does not balk at having me help him with history. He is my "peace maker" - so he rarely rocks the boat in our home.

We have not started DITHOR. I have had him read books from the 2/3 Level, but we have not done the DITHOR student workbook. As I mentioned before, he can orally narrate like a pro; but that is all he has ever done with his literature readings.

We have tried cursive writing -- and he hates it. It is literally the only area that he has complained profusely about. He can't read cursive, so he does not want to write it. We have used 2 separate cursive writing books (one being Cheerful Cursive), and he has disliked them both. I have read so much about cursive writing helping children with dyslexia -- but we have not seen any benefit. When he has to copy the paragraphs from Draw and Write Through History, I write them on our whiteboard and he copies it from there.

For Grammar: I was a 6th/7th grade Language Arts teacher before I came home with my children. My older kiddos (son who is 11 now, and daughter who is 12) do daily grammar sentences on our whiteboard every morning. I have 1-2 sentences written out that they correct punctuation, misused homophones, capitalization, etc. We do ABC order, writing addresses, dates, etc. And then there is always a sentence that they have to write out and identify every part of speech in the sentence. This has been most of my son's grammar, but we have thrown in some Rod and Staff here and there.

I *think* I have answered all of your questions! I hope that helps in some way.
Thank you!

aecastleberry wrote:Hi, Julie. (I wish there was a way to get "notified" with responses so that I would know to check back! If there is an option...I don't know about it. Please forgive my delayed response!

At the bottom of each post is a box you can check to subscribe to the post and then you'll get e-mails every time someone replies to your post.

daybreaking wrote:

aecastleberry wrote:Hi, Julie. (I wish there was a way to get "notified" with responses so that I would know to check back! If there is an option...I don't know about it. Please forgive my delayed response!

At the bottom of each post is a box you can check to subscribe to the post and then you'll get e-mails every time someone replies to your post.

Thank you so much!! I see it now.

aecastleberry wrote:<<I'm also wondering about his writing. The written narrations are quite guided in PHFHG, and for most of the guide they have a length of 1-3 sentences and for the end of the guide of 3-5 sentences. I know you mentioned helping him with this, which is just fine especially at the start, as written narrations are a new skill in PHFHG. But, how is he doing with written narrations now? Can he write the recommended length of sentences, and is his writing shrinking to fit on wide-lined notebook paper? Has he had cursive, and how did that go? What level of grammar is he doing? Does he love you by his side helping all of the time, or is he wanting - and capable of - more independence? Is he doing all of PHFHG or must much of it be modified (i.e. doing the history notebooking assignments step-by-step on paper, doing the science notebooking assignments step-by-step on paper, writing answers to 5 comprehension questions in science, completing all steps of assigned history projects, completing all of the creative writing assignment each week alongside the poetry study, etc.). I guess what I'm trying to get a good read on is if it seems better to go back to Bigger full-speed or to go forward to CTC half-speed based on what he is doing now for PHFHG. If there is a lot of modifying, tweaking, shortening, changing many things that are written to oral, etc. in PHFHG, CTC will only get harder, and BHFHG would be the better placement and would allow you time to focus on reading. But if there is not a lot of modifying, and he is doing well with the bulk of the guide and is close on the level of reading but not quite there and is writing quite well, etc. , then CTC half-speed would be the better placement. Can you share when you get a chance? I'd love to help!>>
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Hi, Julie. (I wish there was a way to get "notified" with responses so that I would know to check back! If there is an option...I don't know about it. Please forgive my delayed response! )

I really appreciate you asking the questions you asked, and I will do my best to answer them:
He struggles with written narrations. It's not his handwriting or writing size, it's the skill of writing. My son is severely dyslexic. He has to concentrate so hard on how to write a word that his thoughts are generally scrambled. Or, times when he does just write his thoughts, neither of us can decipher what he has written b/c his spelling is just so bad. That is why I have helped him so much on his written narrations. YET - he can orally narrate like a CHAMP. He leaves no detail out, often adding in way more detail than even I would. It's definitely not a comprehension issue; it's his dyslexia that hinders him.

I will say that he is doing GREAT with the science. The books are just such great choices, that he enjoys reading them! I printed out worksheets from Facebook that another mama made to go along with the science. They have the questions already typed out...which is huge for him b/c it keeps him focused without having to go back and forth to the guide for each question. He does very well finding the information in his science reading to answer the questions. I have taught him how to answer in complete sentences so that he can use the words from the text + words from the original questions to form complete sentences.

I would say that he definitely enjoys his independence with science, but he does not balk at having me help him with history. He is my "peace maker" - so he rarely rocks the boat in our home.

We have not started DITHOR. I have had him read books from the 2/3 Level, but we have not done the DITHOR student workbook. As I mentioned before, he can orally narrate like a pro; but that is all he has ever done with his literature readings.

We have tried cursive writing -- and he hates it. It is literally the only area that he has complained profusely about. He can't read cursive, so he does not want to write it. We have used 2 separate cursive writing books (one being Cheerful Cursive), and he has disliked them both. I have read so much about cursive writing helping children with dyslexia -- but we have not seen any benefit. When he has to copy the paragraphs from Draw and Write Through History, I write them on our whiteboard and he copies it from there.

For Grammar: I was a 6th/7th grade Language Arts teacher before I came home with my children. My older kiddos (son who is 11 now, and daughter who is 12) do daily grammar sentences on our whiteboard every morning. I have 1-2 sentences written out that they correct punctuation, misused homophones, capitalization, etc. We do ABC order, writing addresses, dates, etc. And then there is always a sentence that they have to write out and identify every part of speech in the sentence. This has been most of my son's grammar, but we have thrown in some Rod and Staff here and there.

I *think* I have answered all of your questions! I hope that helps in some way.
Thank you!

Thanks for getting back to me and patiently answering all of my questions! Your son is making some good gains, and I really just loved reading that your son is the 'peacemaker,' that he doesn't like to rock the boat, that he doesn't balk at having you help him with history. We all need a son like that in the mix, don't we? It is a gift from the Lord, and he sounds like a pretty neat kid. He probably would do whatever you told him to do, but it is for that very reason that I am leaning toward Bigger Hearts for His Glory for him. He likes some independence and is enjoying the science in PHFHG independently. We want to keep that going! Bigger Hearts for His Glory's science is comparable to PHFHG's science, and I think he would enjoy doing that independently. CTC's science will have more reading and writing, and I think it would become a subject you'd do together more, which in some ways would be a step back, even though it's the next guide up. So, in Bigger, he can continue reading and doing his science independently.

I think it would be helpful to have another year to strengthen writing/spelling skills where he can still look at a model for help.There is still a fair share of writing in Bigger Hearts, but it is more by looking at a model and copying it. I think the 5-7 sentences of written narrations in CTC would be stressful for you both. Instead of tackling CTC's written narrations, I would have him do the DITHOR 2/3 Student Book along with the Level 3 or Level 4/5 Boy Interest books, whichever you and he prefer and whichever he can best read independently. You can write the answers as he dictates at first, but then move toward writing half in the Student Book and half on a markerboard for him to copy. By the end of the year, you can remain near for help with spelling, but move toward him doing it more independently. You can still jot hard to spell words on the markerboard for him to refer to, like characters' names, places, events, etc., so he can see them written larger in black on white - which will help him write in his 2/3 Student Book more successfully independently. He can refer to his book too, and he can use sticky notes to put under the word(s) he is copying. These will all help him get all of those wonderful ideas in his head down on paper successfully without such stress!

He can orally narrate like a champ - that is wonderful! There are many oral narrations in Bigger Hearts, and both of you will enjoy that. I think he could also read his Reading about History on his own and just do the follow-ups with you. Or, if younger sibling now in Beyond will be in Bigger with big brother, I'd try to have big brother read the extensions on his own instead, if he can do so, and have you read aloud the history to the two of them. We want to have 3 independent readings for him if possible (Science and DITHOR are 2, but one more would be good to get him ready for CTC). I'd still read the Storytime aloud - great read alouds! It sounds like you have your own way of doing grammar, and it is going well, plus it is something you enjoy teaching! If you'd ever be switching at some point, I'd probably have him do R & S English 3 orally (the new Bigger guide has plans for 2 and 3); this would help him be ready for R & S 4 in CTC. He might like the black and white of the R & S English pages, and he could do it mainly orally rather. It is especially frustrating for kiddos with dyslexia to make corrections to sentences written incorrectly - the errors look right to them. The black/white of R & S and the oral way he could do it might appeal to him - but that is just an idea!

I wanted to share this excerpt from a previous post Carrie answered about how to up the level of independence in Bigger Hearts for a 10 yo...

When we did Bigger Hearts with our son, we looked at it as a year of training him to read from the guide and to do his own readings. This really helped my son be quite independent and was excellent preparation for learning how to follow written directions!

I had him do his own history readings and science readings (because CM says that a child of 9 who is able to read his/her own books should) and mine could. I had him get me when he was done reading and we did the follow-up activity together. However, before coming to get me, he was responsible for reading the directions for the activity (in the bottom left box) and getting everything ready for me as best as possible so that when I arrived, we were ready to go! He did his timeline, art, notebooking, and vocabulary (eventually) on his own, reading right from the guide. I just checked them when he was done. He practiced his Bible verse on his own and did his Bible verse copywork on his own. He also read over any questions in the Bible study box, and thought about the answers prior to me coming to discuss with him. Then, we did the Bible Study discussion. We listened to the hymns at lunch with all of the kiddos and me singing along.

My son did Cheerful Cursive on his own, following the schedule in the guide. He often read over his English 2 lesson and was started on it by the time I joined him. We always did at least half together though, to make sure that he got it. He always began his math on his own and I would go over the textbook lesson with him after he'd looked it over.

I did formally set aside a specific time each day to teach Drawn into the Heart of Reading, as its such an important area to make sure kiddos are thinking beneath the surface of what is read and learning to read with discernment.

My son honestly did the science completely independently, with me just checking in with him to make sure he did his lab sheets correctly and seeing that he had performed the experiment correctly. I did listen to his oral narrations with the science book in hand. Sometimes, he narrated to a younger sibling (with me looking over his shoulder).

The Extension Pack readings are meant to be done independently.

These are just my thoughts, and you will certainly know best, however I wanted to give you some food for thought on some ways to still cover the skills that are woven within Bigger Hearts while making it more independent.


If your younger child is going to be done with Beyond and joining 10 yo in Bigger, I'd just be careful to still try to have your 10 yo be independent and not have him reading aloud. We need to get 10 yo ready for CTC's reading/writing/independence. I think doing Bigger more independently and completely with DITHOR might be harder than doing CTC tweaked with very little independence, and you helping a lot. What are your thoughts about all of this now? Hope this helps as you ponder what to do next!

In Christ,
Julie