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My son has trouble writing and has not been able to keep up with the demands in school. I have been asking my pediatrician for 3 yrs for an OT evaluation. We finally got that and he will receive therapy for his hand & coordination problems and handwriting. He knows all the work in his head just can't keep up, so I scribe for him. He is a strong reader. My question is whether to go with Bigger Hearts or Preparing Hearts. I was thinking Bigger Hearts and just really work on strengthening skills this year, but I'm torn between the 2. They both look great. I just don't know if Preparing Hearts has more writing. I also have a dd 12th grade that I really need to work with this yr. Any suggestions would be appreciated this will be my 1st yr with HOD. I'm planning on ordering asap. Blessings, Shelly

Preparing has more writing. Somewhere there is a post that compares the amount of writing between the two, but I can't seem to find it right now. Where does he place as far as the rest of his skills? My ds has mild Cerebral Palsy that causes tremors in his hands and dysgraphia. Writing is tough for him. At 10 we did Preparing Hearts, but I modified the writing some. He typed his written narrations and his dictation (with spell and grammar check turned off of course). He also typed the answers to his science questions. Can your son write in cursive? My ds can do cursive better than manuscript so he did the cursive copywork, but if the passage was extremely long I sometimes shortened it, but that didn't happen very often. This alone really improved his hand strength and his cursive skills. For the Poetry creative writing he would dictate to me. We made similar modifications for CTC and will do the same for RTR. He still does all the work and does enough writing to keep working on those skills, but for the things that I want him to really be able to express what he knows I let him type.

I think I would lean toward Bigger and since he is a strong reader maybe consider the extension pack. I lean toward not having to compensate too much if this is a skill he can pick up through therapy. Just thinking this year would be a great year just to work on those skills and perhaps catch him up for the demands of Preparing before you get there. You definitely could carry his skills but my worry is you might be catching those skills again in CTC when perhaps if you gave him this year he would be able to progress with the guides. Having done Bigger with the extension with a 10 year old that was a strong reader, it was definitely enough. In the end you know best but that would be my best guess.

His cursive looks a lot better than his manuscript writing. He has visual processing problems and has done vision therapy. I've thought about getting him tested to make sure nothing else is going on learning wise (my dd almost 18 still doesn't right cursive and they told me not to push her on it. She has learning problems as well, but she never had that much trouble in not being able to write. After a half hour his hand hurts.). I am going to do a typing program this year. Should of been working on typing more before now.

sweetumpea wrote:His cursive looks a lot better than his manuscript writing. He has visual processing problems and has done vision therapy. I've thought about getting him tested to make sure nothing else is going on learning wise (my dd almost 18 still doesn't right cursive and they told me not to push her on it. She has learning problems as well, but she never had that much trouble in not being able to write. After a half hour his hand hurts.). I am going to do a typing program this year. Should of been working on typing more before now.

So is this most likely something he will live with or would therapy improve it? I was thinking along the lines that therapy would improve it. One of my dds has cerebral palsy. There is a little trying to figure out what will improve and what we need to let go. One thing I learned with her is I found it works better to carry her on the things that are not likely to be skills she will acquire but if I carry her on things she can learn it puts us further back. So that might be something to consider when placing and what you carry your child on in the program. What I am saying is if stepping back to Bigger gives you needed time that would be good. If on the other hand these are issues that a year may not really improve and will be things that you will likely deal with then it makes sense to let them learn at their highest level. I hope that makes sense. I learned this lesson the hard way with my dd. I try never to carry what she can eventually learn. Now this is with her and if your child is motivated differently then definitely consider that as well. I think a lot of it is knowing what motivates your child and if they get frustrated with being presented too many skills they struggle with or if that motivates them. Hoping something there helps you.

Thanks Ladies. I am just going to pray, make a decision and order.

sweetumpea wrote:Thanks Ladies. I am just going to pray, make a decision and order.

Perfect formula for the right program!

Here is the post that compares the writing in Bigger and Preparing in case that info would be helpful for you as you ponder and pray: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3602

Thanks so much Patty that link was very helpful. I appreciate you taking the time to share. Blessings, Shelly