Preparing Placement Question

[ncmomof5]

Hey Ladies,

I tried to search the forum to see if I could find the answer to this by myself, but I was unsuccesful.
I was going over the placement chart, and the second thing on the chart says that the child should be an independent reader. My son is not an independent reader. He is 8 and will be 9 before the fall, but though he has made great strides, he is still not able to read independently. Right now, we are still doing the emerging reader books, and he still makes a lot of mistakes. I know that if I were to say, "Okay, read these pages and do this," he would have a very difficult time with that.

Here's a couple of options/dilemmas I have thought of:

I could go 1/2 speed with Preparing, but is that a good idea if he is not an independent reader? I want him to be able to do the independent boxes, because I need him to, and because he needs to build his confidence by seeing that he is able to do these things on his own. I don't want to have to help him with these boxes, because to me that defeats the purpose.

I also thought about slowing Bigger down to give him time to become a stronger reader. He is in unit 25, so I could stretch out the last 9-10 units. He won't be able to start Preparing in the fall, but I'm okay with that.

I guess I am just unsure how to plan for him. I want him to be challenged, but not overwhelmed. Any thoughts are appreciated.

[Dorla]

RuthAnn,
Slowing down Bigger sounds like a good idea or even assigning a certain box from Bigger to do independently, such as Vocabulary, Handwriting or even just getting the book/pages ready for you to read the History.
I've had to do that this week with my almost 8 yr old now that his cousins have moved in for a while (a 2yr and twin 9 month old girls).
Just a thought...
Dorla

[mariaw]

Just from my experience with Preparing, I think it would take a great deal more time with you having to do so much of the reading. My dd is an avid reader, and the assignments fit her skill level well. I guess if you really cut down the speed, it would help. But if it were me, I'd probably slow down your other units, really focus on reading (maybe take some time for "pleasure" reading without any other subjects going on), and then start up Preparing slowly. My ds7 will be in this same boat in a couple of years, and I'm thankful to know what to expect with Preparing before he starts it!

[mskogen]

I did just that, slow Bigger down. My son can read independtly but I did not feel he would be ready for Preparing come July. He is now doing Bigger at half pace, we take 2 weeks to do a unit. This has been great. We will not finish Bigger until September. I have seen real growth since we have slowed down. I have been able to focus on other areas that he needed more work. When we start Preparing in Oct we will start half pace again. This will give him time to grow into the skills. My son has become more independent since we have slowed down Bigger. I would recommend slowing down Bigger, even though you are in Unit 25, we are in Unit 24. You could take Preparing slow too. Let us know what you decide.

[ncmomof5]

Thanks for the confirmation, ladies. I was leaning more towards slowing Bigger down, but then I get to questioning myself and thinking that he should be starting Preparing in the fall because he will be 9 and I want him to finish the next 4 guides before high school, etc., etc., But I need to remember that I need to do what is best for him NOW, and I think that slowing Bigger down is the best.
I will still do math, language arts, and reading with him everyday, but just take 2 days to do the other boxes. I had started doing that before, and it helped me (I am doing 3 guides). Then I got to thinking that he could go full speed, but when I saw that placement guide for independent reading for Preparing I thought, "Whoa, wait a minute. Maybe I need to rethink this."

Thanks for helping me talk this through. Again I am so thankful for this board, and for all of you ladies who take time to listen and share your thoughts.

[my3sons]

You already had such wise advice here, RuthAnn! So, I'll just say I think you have come up with a very good plan to slow BHFHG down and focus on reading for awhile as you do that. I also just want to encourage you that the reading will come, and that it will just be that much more of a celebration when it does. We've had many things to "wait for" before, and it just makes me appreciate them so much more when they happen. (I'm thinking especially of my premie here). Also, just so you can gauge what is designed to be read independently in PHFHG - it would be the Science Adder package, and the Self-Study Deluxe History package. You can always start PHFHG half-speed too. We've done that with just about every guide at this point in our HOD journey, and it all seems to work out just fine in the end. Smart mom to think ahead like that - have a wonderful day!

In Christ,
Julie