About Bigger Hearts...

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familygirl
Posts: 23
Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2009 8:14 am

About Bigger Hearts...

Post by familygirl » Sat Apr 04, 2009 7:36 am

I hope this is okay for me to do. I wanted to bump my post up because I think it got lost in the crowd :D I really would love to hear from some who've used BiggerHFHG so I'm copying my message here. Thanks for any help you can give.

Hello everyone!
I'm a newbie to HOD. I have four kids but only two are school age. Both are boys and both have bday's in May, so they will soon be 9 and 7 years old. Next year we'll be doing 4th and 2nd grade. I'm looking for a good American History program. This year we briefly studied Early American History so we really want to pick up around the Revolutionary War and continue hopefully thru the Civil War. I'm having a difficult time finding a curriculum to fit this critera but BiggerHFHG looks good. I looked at the placement chart and my oldest really fits the qualifications for PreparingHFHG better than BiggerHFHG, but we really want to do American History. Here are my questions:
Is BHFHG challenging enough (offering enough information) for a somewhat advanced 4th grader? I like the idea of the extension pack for older kids but it looks like alot of it pertains to early American History (I don't know what all of the books are about so I could be wrong about how much is going to interest us--I plan to look at the descriptions online). Also How are the books for the extension pack used, are they to replace the read alouds or the independant reading, or just be an add on to one/both?
How indepth is this history study? How much of the Revolutionary War (mainly the cause of) is covered? Civil War? I know this is a biographical study but I'm just wondering if it explains what brought about these conflicts and how they were resolved. It seems like 1500-1970 is a lot of coverage so I'm wondering if it will be as indepth as we'd like. I think it would work wonderfully for my 2nd grader (really wish I'd discovered this last year ) but I want us to spend time together learning this, so I don't want to use two different curriculums.
Any thoughts on how this would work out for us?
Thanks in advance for any insights your able to offer.
Oh one more thing, we definitly want to do a History timeline and possibly a notebook. How is that done in BHFHG?
Thank you!!familygirl

Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2009 10:14 am
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eazbnsmom
Posts: 364
Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2008 8:02 pm

Re: About Bigger Hearts...

Post by eazbnsmom » Sat Apr 04, 2009 7:57 am

Hi Familygirl,

Welcome to HOD. I can't really help you as we will be starting Bigger in the fall and I don't have my manual yet. I will be using it with a (not so advanced :D ) just turned 9, 4th grader. The extension package is to be used in addition to the other books. My understanding is that you would read aloud the scheduled history section to both your boys and then have your older boy read the extension books on his own (those are scheduled in the appendix). I am sure the other more experienced ladies will chime in with answers to your other questions.
Kay in PA

Mom to dd12, dd11, ds9, ds7 & ds3 1/2


BHFHG with dss 7&9 and dd11

juliekay
Posts: 224
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 4:39 pm

Re: About Bigger Hearts...

Post by juliekay » Sat Apr 04, 2009 4:03 pm

Hello familygirl,

I am going to copy what I just wrote a minute ago to someone else asking if Bigger is "challenging enough" for their older child. It won't answer your questions directly, but I hope it is at least a help and a starting point:
"I am currently using Bigger with a 7,11,12 year old and we LOVE it! For my older 2 we are successfully using the extension books. We do our own Math (TT7) and we are involved with a local Science Competition (Envirothon). These 2 subject areas definitely needed more of something and thankfully we already had these in place. My boys also play the piano and swim 3-5x a week for a USA Swim Team. The history, Bible, poetry, geography, etc. have been fun and memorable! Before homeschooling my own children I was a high school history teacher and I have always felt that too much information - even if they CAN read it/understand it IF given in an inapplicable way (that's why living books are SO necessary especially when it comes to history!) is not even worth giving because your child will NOT remember it. Whether you decide to go with HOD or not a fantastic additional resource to American History for a visual/tactile learner is www.homeschoolinthewoods.com resources.
Next year I plan to do Preparing with my gang. Again for the older 2 we are planning to add more science and stick with TT for Math. Take a look at the extension package to Bigger and see if your daughter may or may not like them. You can possibly add a few more resources while keeping your kids all together in American History. (I'm just a sucker for family togetherness!)"
Julie
2010-2011
ds 13 RTR plus
ds 12 RTR plus
ds 8 RTR
dd 5
ds 2
We loved using Bigger & Preparing

wisdom4us
Posts: 121
Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2008 9:57 pm
Location: Florida
Contact:

Re: About Bigger Hearts...

Post by wisdom4us » Sat Apr 04, 2009 5:20 pm

YAY! I'm glad you decided to come over to the board and ask away... :D

Welcome to HOD!
~Summer
Using LHFHG & BHFHG 2008-2009
http://wisdom4us.homeschooljournal.net/


Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.
~William Butler Yeats

netpea
Posts: 714
Joined: Fri Mar 27, 2009 7:39 pm
Location: Michigan
Contact:

Re: About Bigger Hearts...

Post by netpea » Sat Apr 04, 2009 7:29 pm

familygirl wrote:Here are my questions:
Is BHFHG challenging enough (offering enough information) for a somewhat advanced 4th grader? I like the idea of the extension pack for older kids but it looks like alot of it pertains to early American History (I don't know what all of the books are about so I could be wrong about how much is going to interest us--I plan to look at the descriptions online). Also How are the books for the extension pack used, are they to replace the read alouds or the independant reading, or just be an add on to one/both?
How indepth is this history study? How much of the Revolutionary War (mainly the cause of) is covered? Civil War? I know this is a biographical study but I'm just wondering if it explains what brought about these conflicts and how they were resolved. It seems like 1500-1970 is a lot of coverage so I'm wondering if it will be as indepth as we'd like. I think it would work wonderfully for my 2nd grader (really wish I'd discovered this last year ) but I want us to spend time together learning this, so I don't want to use two different curriculums.
Any thoughts on how this would work out for us?
Thanks in advance for any insights your able to offer.
Oh one more thing, we definitly want to do a History timeline and possibly a notebook. How is that done in BHFHG?
Thank you!!familygirl
We are doing Bigger right now. Here are some answers for you, others will surely help more.
- If you use the search function, you will find examples of the Bigger Timeline. It's done in a file folder.
- The extension pack is meant to add to the program, NOT to replace the storytime parts.
- My son is 3rd grade, he is challenged enough by the program as is without the extensions. I think a 4th grader doing the extensions would be fine.
- We are on Unit 16, so we have just finished the Revolutionary war. I haven't looked beyond the unit we are on so I can't comment on the history beyond what we have done. But I am pleased with how the Revolutionary war has been covered.
- If you would like more in depth studies, you could add more history readings such as Christian Liberty Press's "Exploring American History". We use this book sometimes to review what we've covered.

hope that helps some. Others will comment too...
Lee Ann
DD3 - LHTH
DD10 - no longer schooled at home
DS12 - no longer schooled at home

Have used LHTH, LHFHG, BLHFHG, and BHFHG
http://netpea.blogspot.com

Kathleen
Posts: 1980
Joined: Mon Feb 11, 2008 3:23 pm
Location: NE Kansas

Re: About Bigger Hearts...

Post by Kathleen » Sun Apr 05, 2009 2:06 pm

Hi! I would agree with LeeAnn, that a 4th grader using the extensions will be plenty challenged in Bigger. I'm not using the extensions with my 8 yo, and there is plenty there to inspire his mind! We are having a great year with Bigger! :D We're on unit 27 and just finished the Civil War.

I have been very pleased with how everything has been covered in Bigger. I think that my son understands a lot about what happened and why. The Eggleston books are engaging to listen to. We're really enjoying them. And, the books in the extension pack, look wonderful! (I really wanted to buy them, but talked myself out of it because it really wasn't necessary to add to our day.) I think they'll do a great job of bringing things to life for your child. We did read Guns for General Washington as our adventure for storytime. I learned a lot about the Revolution from that book, and Grant couldn't wait to see what would happen in it. I know there are others that deal with the revolution, too.

The Civil War coverage doesn't spend time "reenacting" different battles. We talked about the cause. The character quality for this last week was forgiveness, and it was emphasized how it was necessary for Americans to fogive each other to put the nation back together. We also talked about how hard that would have been. The main generals on each side are talked about. Sherman's march is talked about. Lincoln's leadership. We read about the underground railroad. We found the northern and the southern states on the map. The number of men killed is talked about as well as the wounded, and how it's way bigger than in any other war America's been in.

I'm not sure how deep you're wanting to cover those things. I would think that you could easily add to those topics on your own at the appropriate time, if you thought it was necessary. (It would add to your time in Bigger that way though.)

Bigger is a great program! I'm sure you'll enjoy it if you think it'll meet the needs for your kids this year!
:D Kathleen
Homeschooling mom to 6:
Grant - 19 Kansas State University
Allison - 15 World Geography
Garret - 13 Res2Ref
Asa - 8 Bigger
Quinn - 7 Bigger

Halle - 4 LHTH

familygirl
Posts: 23
Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2009 8:14 am

Re: About Bigger Hearts...

Post by familygirl » Sun Apr 05, 2009 7:31 pm

Wow listening to the descriptions you all gave really got me excited. For some reason I thought they only spent a week on the Rev. and Civil wars? But from what I read in your posts it must be more time devoted to wars and the events leading up to and following them. Another thing I like about the online sample week was the Bible and character trait (with a little PE added in), it's so appropriate that it should be forgiveness that week.
Thanks to all who responded!

mskogen
Posts: 336
Joined: Wed Jul 16, 2008 6:24 pm
Location: Canehill, AR

Re: About Bigger Hearts...

Post by mskogen » Sun Apr 05, 2009 8:58 pm

I second that response...I am considering Bigger for next year. I want to study the wars but not necessarly the battle plans. I love the description of how Carrie has made the study "comfortable" for my sons. I am really ready to start NOW!~
Blessings,
Michelle

Wife to dh since 2000
ds 15 years old, World History
ds 14 years old, World History
ds 11 years old, RTR
dd 9 years old, Preparing
Enjoyed LHTH, LHFHG, Beyond, Bigger, Preparing, CTC, RTR, Rev2Rev, MTMM, WG, enjoying WH

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