Preparing - is it going to suit us? Flipping & Changing

[NicoleJ]

Hi!

I am really thinking that for Gr 4 for my dd we will do Preparing - I love all of the books that go with it! I am just wondering if it is going to suit us? We won't be using HOD's choices for Maths (will be using MUS), English (will be using possibly LLATL or SL or something else) and spelling (will continue on with Sequential Spelling, I think). I will need my dd (who will be 9 next year) to work very independently as I will also have dd6 in Gr 1 and dd4 needing attention too. I have found when I used Bigger last year for a while that it bugged me as we were flipping the book all the time - ahead in English, behind in Maths, way behind in spelling, ahead in science, etc, etc, and I was never on the same page for everything. I am worried that it is going to bug me again if I do Preparing, so I am considering having a stand-alone book/curriculum for each subject - separate maths, english, history, etc, etc. Rambling, sorry... I am just needing to air some thoughts. I guess I just need some encouragement that Preparing is going to suit us depsite having to change so many pieces of the program, and that hopefully I will be able to stick to the same page for every subject, and if I don't, it doesn't really matter.

[pjdobro]

We are just finishing up Bigger this year and are planning on starting Preparing in the fall with my 4th graders. I do have my guide and have been looking it over quite a bit in anticipation for next fall. I think it is a wonderful program for 4th grade!

If you are using your own math and language arts, then you will just be using Preparing for the science, history, and Bible. The science in Preparing is independent. It is very much like the science in Bigger so the dc have a firm grasp on how it is done and are able to take it over independently. The only thing that is different than in Bigger is there is a list of questions to answer one day of the week. Also there is no experiment which is done orally. So the process is similar enough that they should be able to handle the science independently after doing Bigger. There is also an independent history assignment everyday which involves reading and notebooking. I've looked over the first 10 weeks or so and I don't think this will be difficult at all for my dc to do independently after doing Bigger. So both of those items will be independent for your dd so she can keep up with where she is in the guide herself but it should be the same place that you are in history.

The history project, research, vocabulary, geography, and timeline are all items that are intended to be semi-independent, meaning you help your dd get started and then she does them. In looking over these I know right away my dc will be able to do the timeline and vocabulary independently because it is similar to what we have been doing in Bigger. I don't think the history project will require too much of my time to get them going. The research at first will require a little bit of my time to get them going with that, but I'm pretty for sure they will quickly become pretty independent in this area as well.

The reading about history, storytime, poetry, and Bible study will be the only all teacher driven activities. They all relate to one another so I think you will be on the same page in the book for all these subjects. If your dd has done Bigger and was doing well in those skills, I think you'll find that Preparing will be easy for her to step up and do much of it independently and semi-independently. The program looks so wonderful! I started reading Grandpa's Box and couldn't hardly put it down. I can hardly wait to start Preparing !

[abrightmom]

Nicole,

I won't be of any real help to you other than to say that I understand your struggles.... Have you considered that Preparing is scheduled for four days a week instead of 5? If you aim to complete each day as written but find you are a tad behind use Friday as a day to wrap up the unit. There is a little flex built in to each week and you have some "wiggle room" that you didn't with Bigger. HOD is written so that you can choose to use different math and language arts programs. It says so right in the boxes. For your own peace of mind I'd really strive to stay with Preparing as written. Perhaps you could start at half speed so that you and your kiddo can get a feel for the assignments/boxes before launching into it full time. Make sure she can handle the load "as written" before expecting it. Once she's ready for the guide at full speed then it seems reasonable to expect the unit (week plan) to be completed each week so that you're not at different places for varying parts of HOD. If she is always falling behind perhaps the work load is too heavy or she needs help with study skills.

[NicoleJ]

Thankyou! You are very helpful! I think I will continue on with Preparing being my choice for Gr 4. It looks like fun and we should be able to be on the same page every day if we have different Maths and English. Thanks! Nicole