Concerns about depth of 'Bigger Hearts'...

[my2boysteacher]

Hi, I am new here and am strongly considering Bigger Hearts for next school year. I absolutely love the way the schedule is layed out, and how the bible, science, etc are all related. However, I do have one concern I'm hoping you all might be able to help me with. I'm concerned that we may feel like we are rushing through the time period since there are some many people/topics covered in just one school year. We used SOTW the last two years, and that is a problem I had with that curriculum. We didn't have enough time to 'dig deeper' in the areas that my sons were really interested in. How much flexibility is there to Bigger Hearts? Is it easy to add in extra books or does it mess up the schedule? I hope my ramblings are coherent, it's been a long day.

[crlacey]

Welcome to the HOD boards!
Sorry I can't answer your question, but I'm sure some of the other moms who have used the program can help you.

[RecumbentHeart]

Hi I saw you ask this question at another forum and responded there with something I found. I haven't used them but from my own reading it seems like BHFHG is a "going deeper" from the overview of American History covered in Beyond with still some weightier issues (the wars) not really touched on until later guides. I don't think I personally would want to do it without the foundation of Beyond but that's just me. I'm sure someone else has at some point. Have you looked in to the possibility of doing one year with Beyond before doing Bigger? It may not give you what you're looking for still but I wasn't sure if you had already figured out that it wouldn't accomplish your goals or if you hadn't evaluated the possibility yet so figured I'd ask.

[my2boysteacher]

Thanks for your reply, Alicia. When looking at beyond little hearts, I think I would have to do a lot of supplementing in almost every area since my boys are going to be in third and fourth grades. The math, lang. arts, geography, science are all things they've done already and would kind of defeat the purpose of an 'open and go' curriculum. Also, I'm not as crazy about the literature choices in that curriculum. I guess I have some more thinking to do....

[RecumbentHeart]

Well, hopefully someone shows up soon who can give a better idea of the flexibility of Bigger and how possible it might be to add supplements. I know I've read of others using other guides over longer periods (going half pace for instance) so perhaps someone here has done that with Bigger and can give some useful input. I was just thinking that at that grade level you probably wouldn't want to do the rest of the subjects (math, etc) at half pace so it still wouldn't be exactly "open and go" in it's entirety I guess. I'm fine with substituting math and LA and doing those at our own pace rather than the curriculum's pace but I like the idea of just being able to follow the curric. every day as well so I can understand that too!

[3sweeties]

We are finishing up Bigger for 2nd grade. My DS turned 8yo in March. I don't feel like we missed out on anything history-wise. I have felt like the history was just enough for his age. I guess it would really depend on how old your child/children are. If they are 4th/5th grade I think you would probably need to add the extension package to Bigger, but it is perfect by itself for 2nd or 3rd grade, IMO. I have added library books to each topic/unit when I am able to just because my DS is a sponge and loves to read. He reads those books as extra -- they are not necessary by any means.

Just to give you an idea, we spent about 1.5 weeks on the Civil War in the TM (we have stretched out Bigger and only do it 4 days a week). I feel like he learned exactly what he should for a 2nd grader. He knows who Abraham Lincoln, General Grant, General Lee, etc. were; why the Civil War was fought; the main dates the Civil War was fought; we had age-appropriate discussions about slavery; learned which states were the North and which were the South, etc. We just visited the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park here in GA the other day and he got to go to the museum there and already KNEW and recognized most of the major players in the Civil War and some of the battles! I think that's pretty good for a 2nd grader!

We have also learned about many key Americans that I was not familiar with at all. My DH and I have learned more about American history this year than we ever got from school just by listening to what our DS is learning!

You could definitely follow a rabbit trail if your children were really interested in a certain topic/figure and study more in-depth if you desire to. The only thing to consider is that Science is also tied in somewhat with the history time period, so you may have to hold back on that if you camped out for a while, but I think that would be doable with extra library books, etc.!

HTH a little! We have really enjoyed Bigger this year! and edited to add: WELCOME to HOD!

[pjdobro]

One thing to consider is that you can take this at any pace you want. If you would like to pause at some point along the way and study a particular event more in depth, you can do that. The guides are very flexible and easy to use. You might want to consider getting the extension package and using those also to go more in depth especially since your boys are on the older end of the age range. There is actually a schedule in the back of Bigger that shows when to schedule those extra books. If that still isn't enough, you could always take a week here and there to do more research into the time or event and then come back to the Bigger manual the following week. You can take more than 34 weeks to cover the material if you want. It's even possible to go ahead with some of the language arts and math and stay behind with the history. That puts you at different points in your manual though with different areas so then you have to use post-its and flip back and forth. I actually don't like to do that, but that's just me I like things in neat little packages.

I think the pp was correct in saying that this isn't intended to be a comprehensive view of American History for this time period. I'm sure when the guides come out for the later years in the history cycle, American History will be covered more in depth. I think Bigger is all about exposure to American History and some of the wonderful people that formed our nation. So far in using LHFHG and Beyond, I haven't felt rushed through any of the time periods or events. The hands on activities and explorations that went with the history seemed to cement the information without having to dwell on it overly long. I expect for Bigger to be similar. I'm looking forward to diving into it this fall! I hope this helps a little.

[my3sons]

Welcome to the HOD Board! We are on our second trip through Bigger Hearts with our second ds and loving it so much. You are so right about how cohesive the Bible, science, history, etc. are and how conveniently the schedule is laid out as well. Bigger Hearts is an amazing way to teach American History! It is a very meaty program, and I consider it to be a very deep treatment of American History for this age level. How old are your dc? If they are in the target age ranges of 7-9, Bigger Hearts will definitely go deep enough for them. If your dc are 10-11 yo's, the extension packages deepens history (and science) appropriately.

One thing to remember is that instead of just reading about the history and moving on, dc are doing their notebooking on what was read, discussing Godly character traits in regard to the people they've read about in history and their actions, doing art projects that match what they've read, using the globe/maps/ Journeys in Time book to link the geography directly to what they've read in history, narrating about what they've read in history, using their history books to look up vocabulary within the context of history, doing weekly history activities that correlate with the readings - even the science is linked as much as it can be to the history. All of these connections add depth to the history and make it all come together for dc beautifully in ways that we found so much more meaningful and easier to retain than just reading additional materials.

Bigger Hearts certainly sparked a love for American heroes in my dc's hearts, and it was fun to pick up books here and there for leisurely reading, but that was just a fun extra and easy to add in if desired. If you want dc to read more books, Bigger Hearts only took us about 3 hours to do, so it would be very manageable to read more for fun. However, the "reading more" is not to give greater depth, but rather a spinoff of the depth already present in Bigger Hearts. Both of my older sons L-O-V-E American history, and they both continue to read as much as they can about the fascinating heroes we met in Bigger Hearts. So, I just want to encourage you that Bigger Hearts is a wonderfully deep program that is such a joy to teach. While we enjoyed BLHFHG so much as well, if your dc place in Bigger Hearts, that is where you should start. I think you'll find it a fulfilling place to begin.

In Christ,
Julie

[my2boysteacher]

Oh wow! Thanks for all the suggestions, I'm so excited to use this curriculum. I am very encouraged by all your replies and I think Bigger will work really well with the extension. Now I'm off to order. Thanks again everyone!

[RecumbentHeart]

Even I'm excited by what I've read in this thread and I'm no where near getting to use Bigger yet.

I'm also excited that you're going to be joining us! I want to hear all about how it's going once you start!

[my2boysteacher]

Even I'm excited by what I've read in this thread and I'm no where near getting to use Bigger yet.

I'm also excited that you're going to be joining us! I want to hear all about how it's going once you start!

I'll keep you posted. Even my DH is excited about this curriculum and he NEVER gets excited about curriculum.

[lovedtodeath]

Oh I have the Bigger manual in my hands but can't order the books yet! Woe is me!

[my3sons]

Oh I have the Bigger manual in my hands but can't order the books yet! Woe is me!

Ohhh, that is just too much temptation to take. Perhaps you'll need to hide it for awhile, lest temptation overtakes you.
In Christ,
Julie