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We are starting school tomorrow and I am so excited to be using Preparing with extensions for my fifth grade son!

First of all, we love the book Grandpa's box around our house. Herein lies the problem: my son, who will be doing Preparing this year has read Grandpa's Box about 4 times. He has it almost memorized. As I was looking over lessons for all of my children for tomorrow and was reading through his first day, I am wondering if the comprehension, knowledge, application, evaluation and synthesis questions will be at all valuable for him. Since he knows what is coming, he won't need the same "thinking skills" to answer the questions. Will it still be good to ask the questions in order to get him to learn to think about his reading in these ways? That's my thought at this point. I'm also wondering about narration with books he is so familiar with and how to handle that. There are many titles he will use this year that he has already pored over and incorporated into his learning, either on his own or as part of school.

I'd just like some tips on how to best handle this and still learn the necessary skills for the CM-style of learning. Really, the reason that he is doing Preparing instead of CTC is so that he can learn narration and research skills and gradually increase his independence (although he is fairly independent in several subjects-- so that is a minor thing for us).

Everything looks so good!

Oh, and a side question, what kind of paints are used in Preparing? I had purchased oil paints from Miller Pads and Paper at our homeschool convention when I thought my DD was going to be doing CTC, but I don't think that is what my son needs for Preparing. Other than crayons, colored pencils, markers, and the little boxes of crayola "watercolors" I really don't even keep "basic" art supplies on hand. I am not a "hands-on" Mommy naturally and appreciate HOD guiding me that way, but I really need a LOT of help.

Thanks!

Anita,

I'm so glad that your son will get a chance to use Preparing Hearts this year! We pray he will enjoy it as much as we did with our own son!

You will definitely want to do all of the follow-up activities and assignments within Preparing Hearts no matter whether your child has heard the readings before or not. The follow-up activities will add a higher level of thinking that goes beyond the reading that your child has already done with the resources. It adds another element or layer. If your child is familiar with the stories then you can expect his answers and narrations to be much better than a child who has only narrated from a single reading. Either way, you will be training him in the needed skills that he will have to have in order to use CTC successfully.

As far as paint goes, we typically have on hand watercolor paints, and tempera or acrylic paints at our house, usually just those you can buy at Walmart or Target. Honestly though, most kinds of paints will work with the projects. If you don't usually have much in the way of art supplies at home, you may want to peek ahead a few weeks at a time (only in the History Project Box on Days 1,2, and 3 and the Day 4 Science Exploration Box). Those will be the supplies you'll be needing each week. No worries about the other boxes of the plans!

Enjoy!

Blessings,
Carrie

Thank you so much Carrie! We have enjoyed the first week very much. The days have been a bit longer than he is accustomed to, but part of that is having to wait for Mom to help his seventh grade sister and kindergarten brother and three year old sister and one year old sister. Even though I have a neatly laid out MOTH schedule, things just don't always take the exact amount of time written in a box. Sometimes people get done early, but then I am still helping someone else. Sometimes they get done late, but then I am already occupied when they need to start a new activity. And with baby not having a morning nap this year, that adds a new dimension as well. But I know that we will get into our rhythm soon.

Thanks for all of your work on these guides and your personal involvement with us teachers.