going backwards??

[gracelikerain]

I was thinking of putting my 8dd into bigger next year. Now, this year she is doing Preparing & doing ok. I wanted to do American history again with her since I feel she didn't get much out of what we did when she was 7. My 11dd I want to put into Carrie's new program as she will be 12 & ready for it. Only thing is what would I put 8dd in after bigger?
I was just thinking ahead a bit to try to figure out some things. Any ideas?? Please help!!

Thanks!!

[mamas4bugs]

Hmmm. That is an interesting dilemma. Hopefully, someone with more brain cells than me this morning will chime in. My only thought is to ask how far into Preparing you are. Could you switch your 8dd into Bigger now, and then just move all your kiddos into the next levels next year? I may have a similar problem since my now 6 year old is doing Beyond, but he's doing the history in Preparing with his brother. Next year will be Bigger, and then hopefully there will be lots of Preparing he doesn't remember so we can move into it. You dd is older though, so I'm sure she would retain more. A repeat that soon probably wouldn't work for her. I wish I could be more helpful.

[inHistiming]

My thought would be to switch to Bigger...now, then go right back into Preparing... where you leave off once you finish Bigger...

I know the skills are meant to build on each other from manual to manual, so it might actually feel like going backwards if you do Preparing... then go back to Bigger... after that. Hopefully, Carrie (the author) will chime in here with her expert opinion for you.

[water2wine]

I'm kind of feeling the same thing as inHistiming. It would not be impossible to do it the other way I just thing that you miss really tying things in the way Preparing does after knowing the American plus you are going from more independent to less independent. I think if you are feeling like she needs more American then I would jump off now and maybe just review what you have already done in Preparing a bit next year. This of course assumes finances are not an issue. If you can do it I would switch it now. Otherwise then I would be chatting with Carrie about how to make Bigger more independent next year.

Hope you find the best way for your family. Sometimes we have to do things differently and that is perfectly fine.

[Carrie]

Georgette,

The ladies are doing a good job of helping you toss around options for your dilemma. I can see that you'd love to keep your 2 girls together for this year, as it's definitely easier on you teaching-wise to combine them. As long as your 8 year old daughter is doing alright in Preparing and not feeling overwhelmed, for ease of use, you can just keep on going with it this year.

Next year, then, you could drop your 8 year old back to Bigger. It will be a step back in some areas, but that is probably o.k., since this will be a time for her to shine on her own (without big sister in the mix). You can also teach her to use much of the Bigger Hearts guide more independently, because of her experience with Preparing. She will actually fit well within the target age-range for Bigger Hearts which is ages 7-9 with extensions for ages 10-11. Then, when she is finished up with Bigger, just have her move into the Ancient's guide (skipping over Preparing). The Ancients guide is targeted for ages 9-11 with extensions for ages 12-13, so she will fit that age range. If you've trained her well to use the Bigger guide pretty independently, she'll be able to move into the Ancient's guide just fine the following year.

Normally, we would never encourage backward motion, but with your daughter being on the youngest side of the Preparing guide's target range, she could move backward and still fit in the recommended age ranges for the guides.

Blessings,
Carrie

[gracelikerain]

Thank you so much for all the replies.

Carrie, I really appreciate your advice. I really want to keep them together this year & she loves Preparing. I do help her a lot & she is not that independent (yet) but I know that is ok....she is really thriving & that is what I want. So, I am happy that you think going to Bigger will be ok. I feel that will the best for us & I am glad to have that option. She did tell me that she wanted to do Ancients with her sister when I mentioned what we will be doing next year. I don't think she will be ready for that yet. I gently let her know that Bigger will be a better fit for her....

Blessings,

[Carrie]

I think it sounds like you have a great plan! You can evaluate again at the end of Preparing, to see how far your younger one has come, but I agree that she should be placed wherever she'll be most successful!

Blessings,
Carrie