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I received my guide in the mail yesterday and I am so excited to begin on Monday.

My question is:

I have a 10 yr old dd who will be doing the extensions for Bigger. Does she do everything that her brother does in Bigger AND then read the extension books on top of that ? Or does she just do the extension reading?

There isn't anything scheduled for her to do in the extensions though (unless I am missing something). For example, we have science experiments for the Seashore book but nothing to do for the Planet Earth book. Also, for the History reading, there are questions for A First Book in American History but nothing for A Child's Story of America. Do I just have her narrate everything?

I hope this makes sense. I am sitting trying to schedule it all for Monday and there is a football game on, the kids want the computer, the dogs want to eat, and everyone wants dinner! YIKES!!

look in th every back of the book,
past spelling past dictation, past math alternate schedule,

bingo there is the schedule for extension packages if you hit poetry you have gone to far

ktwensel wrote:I received my guide in the mail yesterday and I am so excited to begin on Monday.

My question is:

I have a 10 yr old dd who will be doing the extensions for Bigger. Does she do everything that her brother does in Bigger AND then read the extension books on top of that ? Or does she just do the extension reading?

There isn't anything scheduled for her to do in the extensions though (unless I am missing something). For example, we have science experiments for the Seashore book but nothing to do for the Planet Earth book. Also, for the History reading, there are questions for A First Book in American History but nothing for A Child's Story of America. Do I just have her narrate everything?

I hope this makes sense. I am sitting trying to schedule it all for Monday and there is a football game on, the kids want the computer, the dogs want to eat, and everyone wants dinner! YIKES!!

I have a similar question, so I'm eager to hear answers that people give you! I hope you don't mind! (I'll probably be in your same situation next year.)

So I understand that there would be a reading schedule for the extension books in the back of the Bigger guide, but would the older child do all of the scheduled reading for Bigger plus the extension reading?

I can't specifically answer for Bigger but if the guides all work the same then your child does read all the "regular"Bigger assignments plus the extension reading. I have only used Preparing and CTC with my 2 boys and my oldest has done extensions with both of those. Maybe that helps some for now but I am sure someone else will answer soon who knows first hand about bigger .

Tansy wrote:look in th every back of the book,
past spelling past dictation, past math alternate schedule,

bingo there is the schedule for extension packages if you hit poetry you have gone to far

Oh my! I found it.

Thank you so much!!

Heart_Mom wrote:So I understand that there would be a reading schedule for the extension books in the back of the Bigger guide, but would the older child do all of the scheduled reading for Bigger plus the extension reading?

Heart_Mom:

In the back of my guide it states that they do all of the scheduled reading as well as the extensions.

ktwensel wrote:

Heart_Mom wrote:So I understand that there would be a reading schedule for the extension books in the back of the Bigger guide, but would the older child do all of the scheduled reading for Bigger plus the extension reading?

Heart_Mom:

In the back of my guide it states that they do all of the scheduled reading as well as the extensions.

Thanks, Karen!

Also, the extension readings are generally done independently, right?

Heart_Mom wrote:
Also, the extension readings are generally done independently, right?

Heart_Mom,

From what I understand, the extensions are to be read independently. I hope someone will jump in here and correct me if I am wrong.

ktwensel wrote:

Heart_Mom wrote:
Also, the extension readings are generally done independently, right?

Heart_Mom,

From what I understand, the extensions are to be read independently. I hope someone will jump in here and correct me if I am wrong.

Thanks, Karen!

Yes! The ladies are exactly right. I'm so glad that you found the Extension Schedule. These readings are meant for the child to do independently. There is a general suggested follow-up format for the Extension Schedule in the guide as well. Here is a thread with a bit more detail on how I did the extensions with my oldest son. Link: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3930&p=29164

Blessings,
Carrie

Carrie wrote:Yes! The ladies are exactly right. I'm so glad that you found the Extension Schedule. These readings are meant for the child to do indpendently. There is a general suggested follow-up format for the Extension Schedule in the guide as well. Here is a thread with a bit more detail on how I did the extensions with my oldest son. Link: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3930&p=29164

Blessings,
Carrie

Thank you for clarifying, Carrie! I'm probably going to be doing each program, starting with Bigger, with the extensions for my oldest.

He's not "officially" within the age range this year: doing Beyond at age 9, but he will be within the extensions age range for Bigger next year, so I hope that's okay. He has some visual processing and tracking issues that are almost totally resolved with Vision Therapy, so Beyond is a good fit for him this year. I would like for him to be in Bigger or Preparing, but the reality is that Beyond is just right for his skill levels right now. Does it sound like I'm on the right track to you?

Thank you Carrie for that link.

That really helps....ALOT!

Heart_Mom,

I'm sorry I missed responding to your question. Yes, I do think it sounds like you are on the right track for your little honey, especially with his visual processing issues now taking a turn for the better! As far as Bigger Hearts goes though, don't feel that you need to use the Extension Pack books when you move on up to Bigger Hearts. If your child is able to read the extra books on his own without much trouble, or fatigue, then go ahead. But, if there is any chance the extra reading in the Extensions could fatigue him, just stick to the regular Bigger Hearts plan instead. The core guide and its skills are the most important parts for future preparation for the guides to come.

Blessings,
Carrie

Carrie wrote:Heart_Mom,

I'm sorry I missed responding to your question. Yes, I do think it sounds like you are on the right track for your little honey, especially with his visual processing issues now taking a turn for the better! As far as Bigger Hearts goes though, don't feel that you need to use the Extension Pack books when you move on up to Bigger Hearts. If your child is able to read the extra books on his own without much trouble, or fatigue, then go ahead. But, if there is any chance the extra reading in the Extensions could fatigue him, just stick to the regular Bigger Hearts plan instead. The core guide and its skills are the most important parts for future preparation for the guides to come.

Blessings,
Carrie

Thank you, Carrie! Thats VERY helpful!

I'm glad to know that if the Extensions are too much for him, that it's okay to just not do them. (I think I might have been tempted to feel like I HAD to do them, since he'll be in the older age range.)

Thanks so much!