Would you order the extension pack for this dd?

[AboveRubiesMama]

My 9 year old dd will be going into 4th grade next year, and I'm looking at using Bigger for my children.

She is already using a Literature program, which will include not only various works of fiction, but also biographies--something like 18 books in total for the school year.

I plan to purchase the read alouds pack for Bigger, but I'm wondering if she really needs the extension pack. While the titles sound great and she's an avid reader, I'm concerned that with the already required 18 books she will read for Literature, as well as listening to the read alouds from Bigger, that the extension pack may be literature overload.

Or perhaps the extension pack is lighter than I'm imagining? Or is used differently than typical "Lit" reading assignments?

Any thoughts?

[Daph]

I will just be beginning with HOD, but I will also have a nine-year-old when the school year begins. My suggestion is to try it out for a while and see how it goes before adding and buying more things. Eighteen books sounds like a lot of reading. My dd read five chapter books this year, and I don't know how your dd is, but for her, that was quite an accomplishment. I don't think I even read eighteen books in a year (and I'm also an avid reader). You should be able to tell within a couple of months if your dd is challenged enough, or overwhelmed.

[AboveRubiesMama]

Yes, that was kinda my thought.

I have a degree in English and even I don't remember reading what would total 31 books during a school year, and that was college. LOL

[pjdobro]

Bigger is a pretty meaty program on its own without the extensions. We are just finishing it up with my dc who will be 9 in a couple of months. I really don't think even if we were just beginning and using it this coming year that I would feel the need to add the extensions. I think the PP has a good suggestion to just start it and see how it goes, then add the extensions if you feel they are needed. The extensions are great books. We've read several of them aloud this year. You could get them to have as additional read alouds or as just fun reading for your dd now or later on if you want. Several of those books can be used and are even suggested as the storytime selections. We read Ben and Me as our biography storytime and we're reading By the Great Horn Spoon right now as our humor storytime selection. Both were/are great compliments to the history. We also read Guns for General Washington and it really enhanced our study of the Revolutionary war. My dd read Toliver's secret as one of her DITHR selections also. So I highly recommend all of those books. We've really enjoyed them!

[John'smom]

I've asked this same question here before as my ds will turn 9 in June right before the new school year. I was told that the extensions in Bigger are for 10-11 yr olds. You can see the chart here. With that being said, my dc always beg me for more reading in History this year with Beyond, so we are planning on adding the extensions as just read alouds, but I will easily lay them down if I'm feeling too stressed out by them.

[blessedmomof4]

Since you are using your own literature program, I gather that means you are not going to use Drawn into the Heart of Reading, which is Heart of Dakota's literature program. Done daily with Bigger Hearts, it covers 9 genres, including biography and nonfiction, with 9 or more books in the school year.
The Extensions are great books, but they are meant to be read independently by the student, in addition to the History and Science scheduled daily in Bigger Hearts, in order to extend the learning in these subjects for a 4th or 5th grader, ages 10-11. Also, it is more than just reading the books. In the appendix of Bigger Hearts, you will find a reading schedule for the extension books and directions for follow-up activities, which include oral narration twice a week, written narration twice a week, and notebooking (a drawing with a caption) once a week.
Bigger Hearts without the Extensions would be absolutely full and challenging for a nine-year-old, and would be a great introduction to learning in the Charlotte Mason style and to the flow of Heart of Dakota.
The Storytime read-alouds mirror some of the goals accomplished in Drawn into the Heart of Reading, but also are building other wonderful and necessary skills. Besides, they are great books!
That being said, if your daughter just loves to read, or you are a family that just loves lots of reading alound, you could always get the Extension books for one of those purposes. I just wouldn't recommend requiring them as part of your daughter's school day.

[Carrie]

AboveRubiesMama,

We typically recommend the Extension Books for ages 10 on up in Bigger Hearts, so unless your child is 10, I wouldn't lean toward adding the Extensions. One other thing I wanted to mention, as the CM-lover in me is crying out.. is that you may want to ponder doing fewer than 18 books for literature to give your daughter time to savor the readings, reading fewer books more slowly over time. Then, in your daughter's free time she could consume as many books as she desires as fast as she desires. We do this with my own avid reading boys, who consume anything they can get their hands on in their free-time, but for school, we go the CM-route through DITHR and find that the deep thinking comes from the slower, more thoughtful reading path. Just something to think about as you ponder.

Blessings,
Carrie