Still not confident in placement of ds in Preparing

[tbarr12]

I feel very dumb coming to this board again with a placement issue, but I'd like to think through this out loud and get any input. I recently switched ds (9) and dd (almost 11) to Preparing from CTC. Definitely the right move, to move them down from CTC. DD is doing fine with Preparing - the amount of work is definitely a challenge to her, but she can handle it and is ready for it. Sweet DS is still struggling. I think he can handle it, but it is definitely more of a challenge to him, esp. the amt. of writing and in general the workload.

Granted, we're only on Unit 2, so please keep that in mind. Here are my thoughts: in a perfect world, I'd probably buy Bigger for him right now and start him on it. However, that would be my THIRD HOD curriculum I've purchased for this fall, and we just can't afford it (we just moved into a new, very OLD house, so need to save money for heating bills, repairs, etc.) I know I could have returned CTC, but I would have lost some money on it, and wanted to save it for next year. Also, I was advised more than once with my previous switch not to try 3 curricula my first year with HOD (have 6 yo dd in LHFHG).

My concern is that he won't be ready for CTC next year. Could I perhaps do Bigger with him next year (thinking ahead), with extensions? Also, for this year, to help him adjust to the workload, I'm thinking I mainly need to shorten the writing assignments - i.e., perhaps only answer 2 Science questions in writing instead of 5, then later this year move up to 3, then 4, etc. It's mostly the writing that's difficult for him. Also, per someone's suggestion previously (I think Carrie's), I'm having him do all the assignments in manuscript, and do Cheerful Cursive. He started Cursive last year, but hasn't had enough practice in it yet to do all the assignments in it. Or will he hopefully progress this year and be ready for CTC next year?

FYI - when I did him on the placement chart, I had the most boxes circled under Preparing, not Bigger. Is this just an issue of us adjusting to the workload? It is definitely more than we've probably ever done before.

If anyone has any encouragement/ideas, I'd appreciate it. Again, I really don't think purchasing another curriculum is an option - we just plain don't have the money. Thanks.

[Sue G in PA]

I am having the same issues with my ds9. Ds12 and ds10 are more than capable of doing Preparing and b/c I couldn't afford/handle more than 2 programs at once (doing LHFHG with ds7 and dd5) I placed him in Preparing with his brothers. He is capable of doing most of Preparing, except the writing. He just started cursive last year and isn't quite up to speed with that yet so I do not have him do copywork in cursive. And, for written narrations I have him narrate to me and I copy his sentences onto a white board from which he copies. Make sense? I also do not have do all the writing for Science. I pick and choose the most important aspects to cover. We do Rod and Staff orally and I read a lot of the books to him, except his DITHOR books, Science and Bible.

Another option is half-speed. I'm not sure how that would look, but I'm sure somebody does!

[pjdobro]

Would it be possible to allow him to work at 1/2 speed in Preparing for a while, maybe even doing the guide over 2 years? Would that be too confusing having him and his sister at different places in the manual? If so, would it hurt her too much to slow down for a little while until he was able to keep up with the work a little better? Maybe if you can't lighten the writing load on some things, could you perhaps help him by typing out answers for some things? I don't know if any of these things will help, but it's just a few things that came to mind. Hang in there! I'm sure as time goes on, everyone will grow into the work more as well. It's always difficult for us around here to get into the swing of things, but eventually we find a good rhythm and everything starts to hum along. I'm sure you'll find your groove soon.

[Carrie]

Tracey,

You're certainly not alone in working through the best placement for your kiddos. It takes time for all of us to assess our kiddos in each area and find where each child truly fits best.

From what you've shared, I'm thinking that your main goal right now is to get your son well-placed. With that in mind, I find it always helps to look ahead to see what will best for the long haul. If the writing is a big barrier for your son right now, then it may continue to be a a barrier at the beginning (or longer) of each program after that for years to come. If the writing is a moderate barrier, then it could be that he will grow into the writing within Preparing Hearts and be just fine. So, the first thing to weigh is how big of a barrier is the writing and in what areas of the writing parts of the plans is he truly struggling or battling each day?

The next thing to consider is whether it makes sense to do Preparing Hearts and then go back to Bigger Hearts? It isn't ideal to do so, but probably can work if absolutely needed. However, the bigger issue (in my mind) is how a child will do the following year going from Bigger Hearts and jumping into CTC. This is more difficult. So, instead of going that route, if possible, I would lean toward doing Preparing Hearts (half-speed for your son), doing it over 2 years. If that doesn't seem like the best fit, then you could return any parts of CTC as needed and get Bigger Hearts instead. Bigger is a less expensive program, so with your returns from unused CTC items, you'd likely have enough credit to get Bigger. The one snag in that scenario is whether your son fits best in Bigger Hearts and with how much you truly feel you can handle this year as far as multiple programs go. Sometimes having kiddos correctly placed is much easier than adapting something that is too hard.

Anyway, just a few thoughts I had. Feel free to pop back in and share yours!

Blessings,
Carrie

[tbarr12]

I appreciate your input, Carrie. As I look at the placement chart, he falls right between Bigger and Preparing, but I felt comfortable when I circled more blocks under Preparing than Bigger (only the 1st block did I circle both). So I think his placement is okay. I'm not thrilled with the idea of doing him at 1/2 speed while doing dd at full-speed - I just so badly wanted to do them both together! However, of course, I need to do what's best for him, and I may decide in the long-haul that's best for him.

I think I'll give it another 1-2 weeks, and see if his stress level seems to go down. We've also been having tremendous struggles with Math, and I'm switching curricula as soon as my new curricula arrives - perhaps that will help. If he's still struggling, I will consider your offer to return as much of CTC as possible, and get Bigger (or consider Preparing 1/2 speed). I'm a pretty organized person, so perhaps I could figure out how to do 3 at once, after a couple weeks! I've seen on these boards how people often start a curriculum in the middle of a year, and finish up the next year, so that doesn't bother me.

thanks again, as always.

Tracey

[tbarr12]

I must add - I just looked at the first week of lessons for Bigger. Honestly, it looks a little too easy for him - much of this stuff we've already covered. To answer your question, Carrie, I think the writing in Preparing is moderately difficult for him. So I don't think Bigger is the answer. As I said, I'm going to give it a little more time, then perhaps address the question again of what speed to do Preparing at. I'm definitely keeping the issue of having him ready for CTC in mind.

[Tree House Academy]

I agree with Carrie that placement is so very Key with HOD. We had placement issues last year that made HOD flop for my older son completely (mostly because I was bent on doing American History with him even though he was truly out of those guides. History didn't matter so much, but Science sure did and I couldn't follow the manual as written because I was adding in and such due to his age and my error in placement. We had to abandon ship with him. However, we came running back this year, placed him correctly in CTC and oh what a wonderful year we are having! It really makes all the difference. Now, in hindsight, I wish I had just moved him up to Preparing and worried about Am History later on. Hindsight.

I had a similar situation with my younger son who I started in Beyond when he wasn't ready. I knew I was pushing him and I decided to drop back. Even more convincing that the fact that he was struggling with Beyond last year was the fact that I had already known and been using Bigger and I KNEW he wouldn't be ready for that in just another short year. I made the decision to drop back to Little Hearts and it was just amazing. This year, he is back to Beyond and is just soaring in his abilities. It is a night and day difference between last year and now and I truly feel like placing him in the right guide was the best thing I ever did!

I will pray for you as you seek the answers to your questions and worries. We used Bigger and Beyond for 8 weeks before I realized we were placed incorrectly. I think you should definitely give it some time to see if things even out...but if you find that you are tweeking the guides too much, I would stop and re-evaluate. The guides are such amazing treasures when used "whole" and as written.

[Bramble]

Is there any reason both of your children can't do half-speed for awhile? It would give your son time to grow into the program and you could pick up the pace in a few months perhaps.

[Carrie]

I was just going to suggest the same thing that Bramble had mentioned. What do you think? Otherwise, if you think that half-speed for awhile would be holding your older daughter back too much, you could always incrementally raise the level of writing throughout the year for your son instead so that by the final 9 weeks or so of the guide he is doing all the writing. I think that would work as long as he isn't battling you on the writing daily in every subject. If that's the case, I'd drop back instead to avoid the battle long-term. (But it doesn't sound like that is the problem from what you've shared so far! So, hooray! )

I would give it a month and see how it goes, either full or half-speed. Then evaluate again. A month can make a H-U-G-E difference in a child's capabilities for doing what you ask. Sometimes they just need to get into the flow of things. Sometimes it truly is too much. I think you will know for sure in a month.

Blessings,
Carrie

[tbarr12]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. The one about doing them both half speed was one I'd never thought of, and bears praying about. He really doesn't give me trouble about much - that's his personality - but I can tell when he gets stressed and anxious from too many demands. Right now my plan is to raise the writing requirements incrementally, as you suggested - adding a Science question every 7 weeks, adding a vocabulary word every several weeks. But I also will be watching over the next month to see how he does. Quite honestly, even today everyone seemed a little better settled into the routine. So thanks again for all the help. I've really been asking myself if the problem is that he needs to be moved to Bigger, but I keep coming back to the fact that I felt he placed better on the Preparing column than Bigger. So I'm going with that for now.

Tracey

[4Hispraise]

Tracey,
I just want to encourage you! My experience last year was similar, but you have been given some great suggestions. My 9 yo was really helped by not expecting him to write as much as my 10 yo. Sometimes, I wrote his sentences on the white board, and he copied. I typed out the questions for science with beginning of sentence prompts for him...just for the beginning of the year. And then, by the end of the year, he was keeping up fine. Anyway, will be praying for God's wisdom for you. May the Lord show you what is best for your dc.

[my3sons]

What a good dialogue this has been already! For what it's worth, we have had very good luck going half-speed when we hit a spot like you're describing here. I have loved that flexibility with HOD, and so have my dc. When I've been unsure of whether to go half-speed or not, I just try it, and see what it does for that child and their work, as well as for our overall day. I've come to find great peace in the thought that half-speed now, doesn't necessarily mean half-speed for the whole guide (though sometimes it does, and that's been fine too). I just - yesterday - moved my Bigger Hearts ds back to half-speed Bigger Hearts, and my 3 yo back to half-speed LHTH. They both CAN do the work full-speed in those guides, and I CAN teach them fine, but I was really making my middle ds doing BHFHG tense by trying to rush him to finish his assignments.

I have realized he is totally different from my oldest ds, who is a no-nonsense get-it-done kind of guy, that doesn't take a lot of extra time being overly artistic or creative with his assignments. His work is solid, done in a timely fashion, and pretty much always 100% right - but overly creative it is not. My middle ds, on the other hand, is very creative, loves nothing more than to pour his little creative thoughts into each and every assignment, and does not have much thought or care as to the amount of extra time that may take. He LOVES every assignment, shouts out "This is so fun!", and "Mom, I'm going to draw this and that, and color it just so, and add a Bible verse to my drawing, and could I look up wampum belts on the computer so it REALLY looks authentic?" I was crushing his creative spirit by rushing him.

My toddler can easily do full-speed LHTH, but I am sad he's my last little bunny I get to do it with - so, I'm going half-speed with him for ME. I am drawing it out slowly, savoring every little lesson, doing some things twice, and I don't want to rush to get to LHFHG because that just is the next guide I'll teach for the last time.

We did CTC last year, and I'm concerned your ds may really have difficulty with the writing at that point, as it is upped quite a notch. It sounds like your dd is quite challenged enough - though doing well not just kiting through it all - with her full-speed PHFHG and extensions, so why not slow it to half-speed for awhile for ds's benefit? I think trying it half-speed for a few weeks would really help. You may love it so much, you may continue with it until the end, or you may do half-speed for awhile and hit a point where you can tell he's just ready for full-speed. Those are just a few thoughts I had, but the advice has been wonderful and gives many things to consider.

In Christ,
Julie

[tbarr12]

Just to explore this thought of doing it half-speed a little more: what does that look like? Of course I'd do Math every day, but aside from that, do you do the left-side lessons one day, and right side the next? That's what I'm assuming - just wanted to clarify how people interpret "half-speed" as I think it through. Thanks.

Tracey

[Tree House Academy]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. The one about doing them both half speed was one I'd never thought of, and bears praying about. He really doesn't give me trouble about much - that's his personality - but I can tell when he gets stressed and anxious from too many demands. Right now my plan is to raise the writing requirements incrementally, as you suggested - adding a Science question every 7 weeks, adding a vocabulary word every several weeks. But I also will be watching over the next month to see how he does. Quite honestly, even today everyone seemed a little better settled into the routine. So thanks again for all the help. I've really been asking myself if the problem is that he needs to be moved to Bigger, but I keep coming back to the fact that I felt he placed better on the Preparing column than Bigger. So I'm going with that for now.

Tracey

Could his issues be helped with something as simple as you doing the writing for him while he dictates to you? Or maybe even letting him write all of his answers on a white board? Or is the issue more with the formulation of thoughts than the actual handwriting part?

Today in CTC, my older son had to do a paragraph summary on something he read in history and he really didn't quite "get it." What I did was get on the while board and help him outline the series of events and then he wrote his paragraph from there. One day, I will expect him to do that himself, but they all have to learn somehow. I think taking liberty to help him in whatever needed is a good thing...and like you said, you can require more and more of him as you go along.

Also, make sure that if you only make him do one science question (etc), that you discuss the others orally with him and make sure he has a grasp. I'd hate for him to miss that part but I surely see nothing wrong with you helping him along until he is capable.

If it is an inability to understand what is going on in the books or you feel the material is over his head, though, then that is a whole other story. My advice for that kind of thing would be much different.

[my3sons]

Here's a link that may help with half-speed, as Carrie gives ideas for doing PHFHG half-speed:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5431

Here's another general half-speed link:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5600&p=41232#p41232

HTH - Julie