Anyone planning on using Hearts and Bigger?

[sted]

Just wondering if anyone is planning on doing this? Would it be crazy? While my 10 yr. old and 8 yr. old could both do the left side together of Bigger, I'm finding the right side would be better in Hearts in Him for my oldest in terms of Writing, Geography etc. however I see that it seems to closely tie in with the Heart in Him them (Ancient, Genesis book study etc.). Should I, Could I do both programs simultaneously or should I just do Bigger with both and use extensions for my oldest and plan my own language arts, math, geography etc. (stuff on the right side) so as to keep them on the same history theme?

Anotherwards should I give up the "everything planned out" in order to keep them on the same topic or should I go for the "everything planned out" but on different history topics?

Does that make any sense?

Shannon

[gracelikerain]

I'm using Bigger next year with my 9dd & my 12dd will be using HFH. If I were you I would combine because you could. Using the extensions for Bigger would be fine if I were you.... That is my feelings. I really enjoyed having my girls together this year & I will miss that. But tis everything a season. So I guess that I will be in a new season next year. & if you feel the need to separate them then it can be done! I'm doing it! I hope you find a way that works for you.

Blessings

[eazbnsmom]

Shannon,

I believe this is very doable. As someone else suggested you can combine them for the left side of Bigger and then use the right side of CTC for your older child. I will be using Beyond with my 6 & 7 yo, Bigger with 9yo & HFHTT ~ CTC with my 11yo but that is because that is what works for them. :0)

[DHT1999]

I haven't quite made up my mind, but I'm leaning towards separating my sons - they will be 10 and 7. My only hesitancy is that I wish my older son had had more American History before heading into the four year history cycle. Other than history, everything in CTC would be perfect for him. I'm going to keep praying about it. I'm considering starting Biggers and using it for one month with both of my sons, and then deciding if I should bump my oldest up to CTC. It's a hard decision since I've never used HOD before. I'm just thrilled to have found a curriculum that makes the thought of separating them even entertainable... I would have never tried it at all with the curricula that we have used in the past. At this point, I'm thinking it would be a breath of fresh to give them their own programs at their own levels.

So, I'm no help to you, but thought I'd share that I'm trying to make the same decision.

[familygirl]

I'm doing Bigger with my 2nd and 4th grade boys and I'm adding the Extension pack but I haven't decided if I'm going to use it as read alouds for all of us or independant readers for my 4th grader or both. I'm sorry I'm no help...I'm still trying to figure this all out myself

[aprilmd]

This will be our first year with HOD and "I want" to do Bigger and Hearts. I am still praying about it and believe God may be leading me in this direction. My eight year old dd has not had enough American History and my two older dd need to move into the four year cycle. My three children do fit very nicely in Hearts and Bigger. Thank you for posting this question. I love hearing others answers.

April

[playschool]

I, too, am interested in this question. My ds would fit nicely into Bigger and like the previous poster said about her dc, he needs more American History, also. My dd, 11, has had plenty of American History and even World Geography, would fit very well in CTC, and needs to move into the four-year cycle and even at this rate will not finish the cycle before high school. She will be one year short. I was also planning on using LHFHG for my second youngest possibly at half speed. This is a very good question, thanks for posting it.

[Carrie]

Shannon,

You could definitely do what you are mentioning, however I'd most likely save the Genesis study and the Geography of the Bible Lands part of CTC until you do the full CTC study. You could, however, use the rest of the right side of CTC for your older student without affecting your ability to use the rest of CTC later with your kiddos combined.

One very weighty factor when deciding whether your kiddo is ready for CTC is how independently that child is able to work. This is because CTC is designed for kiddos to be fairly independent. A second weighty factor is how well your child reads on his/her own. This is because CTC also requires a child to be able to do much of the reading of directions in the guide and of the history/science spines on his/her own. So, it requires a fairly strong reader.

If either of these areas aren't pretty strong, you could do a year of Bigger Hearts or Preparing Hearts to work on these two areas (teaching the child to gain independence in reading from the guide) and doing the readings on his/her own. Then, your child could move into CTC more successfully the following year. Or, if your child is a strong indendent worker,follows written directions well, and reads well, then you could plan to separate her/him in CTC now.

It is good to have an eye toward where you want your kiddos to eventually be placed within HOD, however it is also wise to make sure that you have a good transition year into HOD with your kiddos and that you don't bite off too many changes all at once.

Donna mentioned a great plan when she talked about starting her kiddos out together with the possibility of bumping up her older child if needed. This is a wise option to consider when looking at using multiple upper level HOD programs. It is different to consider doing 2 upper level HOD programs (from Bigger on up) rather than considering adding LHTH, LHFHG, or Beyond to another HOD program. This is purely due to the time involved in the programs.

Blessings,
Carrie