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I guess my post here is a two-parter.

First, I wanted to ask about Preparing...we are getting ready to move into that manual when school resumes in the fall. I have been planning to continue with both my older children in Preparing...so my question is for those of you who are doing this program with 2 or more children. How do you schedule your subjects so that the day flows well when your children are sharing books...such as with science in Preparing...? Any suggestions?

Second, this question is about the next manual, Hearts for Him Through Time...for Carrie, or Julie if you know. How much independent work is in this manual? We are considering just having my oldest son skip Preparing... and move right into the new manual...if it will enable him to work independently for the most part. I know he would enjoy Preparing...and we may still do that, but my husband wants him more on his 'level' and thinks using the next manual might accomplish that better. I'm just wondering how much work (or little) there will be for me in this manual....any information is appreciated. I can't wait until the new manual info. is up so I can read it through!

inHisTiming,

The 2 Teacher Directed boxes for the new guide will be the Meeting box (which includes the Geography of the Bible Lands and the Genesis: Finding Our Roots study) and the Storytime box. The Semi-Independent boxes will be the history project (which we've been finding is mainly independent), grammar (which is scheduled twice weekly), Drawn into the Heart of Reading, Write with the Best (twice a week), math, and dictation. The Independent boxes will be the Reading About History box and its corresponding follow-up activity, the Independent History Study box, the Extension Pack readings, the poetry, the daily quiet time Bible Study, and the science.

Out of around 250 minutes each day, approximately 40 min. will be completely Teacher Directed, approximately 100 min. will be Semi-Independent, and approximately 110 minutes will be completely Independent. If your child follows directions well and is an independent worker, you can also pretty much move 20 of the Semi-Independent minutes for the History Project to the Independent minutes total on most days.

Blessings,
Carrie

Thanks, Carrie. That gives me a good idea of what to expect. We're just weighing our options, trying to find the best fit for the entire family. DS has so enjoyed Bigger... this year, but we just wanted to look at the manual that he would actually be going into for his age if we weren't combining. Can't wait until it's on the site and we can see the introduction and first week of plans!

Okay, back to this with a scenario for suggestions; would it work?.

I really like the look of CTC for my ds. I think it would fit his ability level better as far as writing, the bible study, history readings on his own, etc. I was thinking that I could have ds in CTC, dd in Preparing, and youngest ds just learning to read, some math, and finish up LHTH...he'll be 6 in June but I wasn't planning to move into LHFHG until 1st grade for him. Carrie suggested in a previous thread to possibly combine the older two for the read-aloud and I believe I would do that, using story time selections from Preparing. Then next year when dd is in CTC I could use read alouds from that with both of them, and so on through the guides. I will need to be sure to plan time with each child for the teacher-directed and semi-independent work each day, which will include math facts practice and Reading Made Easy with youngest ds on some days. We will be doing a 4 day week regardless of which manuals we're using. Any suggestions for what has worked with any of you who have done 2 or 3 guides with your kids? If I do it this way I will really need all the help I can get, so any tips are much appreciated. Thanks!

inHisTiming,

I'm trying to remember the ages of your two oldest kiddos,to help refresh my memory a bit about their specifics. If your oldest hasn't done Preparing, one other possible option would be to do the left side of Preparing Hearts and the Bible Study of Psalms with both, and then add part of the right side of CTC for your older son to do more independently. Your oldest could do the science from CTC on his own, the poetry study with painting in CTC on his own, higher level grammar, dictation, math, and DITHR, and Write with the Best as scheduled in CTC. Anyway, just another thought. Then, you could train your oldest child to read right from the guide of Preparing doing as much as possible on his own for the left side too.

Otherwise, if your oldest is a pretty independent sort of child who would appreciate having his own program, then you may find doing all of CTC to be a better fit. I know my oldest son is that way and was relieved to have his own program, however I don't want you to have too much on your plate either. If you've had a good year with Bigger, then you would most likely have a good year combining in Preparing too. There is such wonderful content in Preparing that I'd hate to have your oldest son miss it. You really could go either way!

Blessings,
Carrie