Bigger and Preparing at the same time. . .any thoughts?

[davisfam7]

Hi Everyone,
I was originally going to just do Bigger Hearts with my 10 (almost 11) yo son and 9 yo son. We did a month of Bigger before breaking for a few weeks due to company, VBS and general summer craziness! Both boys did really well and we enjoyed our time with Bigger. My 9 yo is really excited about starting back up in two weeks. I have both Bigger and Preparing as I was trying to decide where to place them. My 10 yo son has looked through the Preparing Guide and the books several times and keeps asking to do it instead of Bigger. He has read almost all of the Bigger Extension package in the three weeks that we have not done school Since he has not had a lot of formal grammar and writing I was concerned that he would struggle, but I am really feeling that he will be able to do Preparing, and he has always been the type to be very independent in his work. I have two that are that way and three that take a little more effort to keep on task. Anyway, I guess I am asking all of you with more experience, is this crazy? I have a schedule worked out and I have my older kids helping out with storytime and science. My older kids have always loved to read-aloud to my youngers so this is just an extension of what we already have going on. I know that Bigger and Preparing are both teacher intensive, but when my 10 yo is pleading with me to do something different than his brother, I feel like I should atleast give it a try. He has also been flying through R&S 3 and he has almost completed Igniting Your Writing 1 and doing very well with it. I think I may have been holding him back always grouping him with his younger brother. Anyway, I was wondering if there was anyone else out there who had run both guides at the same time?? If so, how did you do it, would you be willing to share any tips? Thanks a ton, we are so happy to be starting our HOD journey!

[water2wine]

You can definitely run both guides at the same time with no problem. I would look more at the issue of your children are less than 2 years apart and so therefore probably could do the same guide. Is it worth it to have two guide going when you could be doing one and beyond that two back to back guides just more for the sake of having the older one in their own space? I am running back to back guides meaning that I am repeating RTR this year having done it last yea5r with an older student. I don't mind it and in fact enjoy it. But I am way over the top all about HOD and I am teaching it first beefed up at a higher level than intended then the second time at a much lower level so it feel much different than repeating the same guide.

So honestly this is a question you can answer knowing yourself and your children how will that work. You can do both guides together with no problem. The question is would it maybe be worth considering the alternative. And to me the alternative would be combining both either in Bigger or Preparing. With Bigger it would most likely be your youngest doing as written and for your older child the extension pack (thus giving him kind of his own thing). And with Preparing it might be the lower level extension for your younger son and the upper level for your older OR the best fit for your older child either the lower or the upper level extension pack and perhaps no extension for your younger child. Both options giving a different feel for the older and the younger child as your older son wants. You could definitely spin it that way to your son as well. And if you combine choosing the program that when you take an honest look at particularly where your younger child falls would more likely be the deciding factor because HOD works best when you cater to the younger knowing you can beef up with extensions for the older and have a great fit for both. That would be my choice just having done a lot of HOD and seeing down the road how combining does work so well in general with a 2 year span given one is not terribly behind or extremely ahead of placement by age.

I hope that all makes sense and I hope it helps. I know others will have helpful advice as well. The ladies here are wonderful about helping you decide and once you do it is clear sailing. Just the decision of where to stat that takes a bit of time and thought.

[davisfam7]

Thanks for responding water2wine! I have always grouped my kids, and while this has worked for a long time, I am now seeing the need to uncombine them. My 10 yo son, who turns 11 in Nov. has always been self motivated. He is usually my first one up in the morning and ready to get started. My 9 yo son (just turned 9 on July 17th) is a very slow starter. He also needs constant redirecting as a gnat flying in the air is enough to distract him. My 10 yo has exploded over the summer with writing skills I didn't even know he had (or he didn't feel the need to share with me ). I really think he will do better in Preparing, it will challenge him a little more than Bigger, even with the extensions. I am not worried about doing back-to-back guides, I tend to get better with time, so my second time through I'll feel like I really know what I am doing ! I know my younger son is nowhere near being ready for Preparing. It's one of those things where I thought I had it figured out and then a wrench gets thrown in the plan. Anyway, thanks for the advice and encouragement. I have been praying about it and talking to my husband who has helped me to step back and see a few things as well. I think we will start out with them each doing their own thing and see what happens from there. Thanks!

[Tree House Academy]

My only concern would be for you own burnout...since you will be doing back to back guides from now on! My kids have 2 guides in between them and I love having the break from the one we just finished and it not coming back around till two years later. By then, it will be like new to me again and I can enjoy it all over again.

Have you used the placement chart to properly place your older son? My older son turned 11 in August (last year), was starting 6th grade, and did CTC using R&S English 5 without an issue. You can use whatever level of R&S he is currently on - including level 4 if need be. CTC is a huge step up, but will likely put your older son into the place he needs to be academically and will also save you the "back to back guide" burnout. Just a thought.

[water2wine]

I do back to back guides with two groups of my kids. And there are times when that is best. To me it is not a big deal to do back to back guides. For some it tends to be harder than having a year break. Your reasons sound good for doing it. Always you are going to know what is best for your family and it sounds like you have come up with a great solution taking into account your kids and how you deal with things. Enjoy your year!

[netpea]

I think two that you are moving into the guides that start independent work and that does make a difference. I am uncombining my children this year because they need it so I understand your reasons. Mine will be in Bigger and CTC although I considered doing Preparing with both.

[davisfam7]

netpea,
Thanks for the understanding. It was while I was reading some of your past posts that I really started to feel convicted to let them do different guides. I realize I will have to back to back guides, but like water2wine, I will do it the first time at the higher level and the second time as it is written. So it will not be exactly the same both times. I am seeing now that I probably could have placed my 10 (almost 11 yo) in CTC and he would have done fine, but the start might have been a little rough. So I am going to let him have a great year with Preparing and build his confidence in his ability to be independent. We started school today and both my sons had a great time. My 10 yo son kept making comments about how great the books were and that he liked that he could take the guide and do his stuff and not have to wait on his brother. My 8 yo in Bigger commented twice on how nice it was to have me all to himself for his "school". They were both very diligent and we got done with school before lunch! That has not happened in a long time! My oldest three are gone for the week at an aunt's house, so I realize when I work my 13 yo and 15 yo into the mix there will be a little adjusting to be done. But I really think that this is going to work well. I also love the fact that we can do each box as written, no adding, no bunny trails, and they are getting so much without any tweaking. I have never been able to do this before. I was almost in tears at the end of the day at the beauty of it all! Carrie is brilliant!! I can't wait to get the Rev. to Rev. guide to get my 13 yo started. My 15 yo son, who has always loathed literature based curriculums (he's a short and sweet kinda guy), has been browsing the Rev. to Rev. books and is almost indignant that he is doing something else. I am seriously considering ordering another set of student sheets and science notebook pages and letting him do Rev. to Rev. as well, adding in a government focus for highschool credit. I asked him why he all of a sudden has taken an interest in all the books and he said, "we've never had great books like this before!" That is HUGE!!! Thank you Heart of Dakota and Carrie and Julie for all you do for us! Many blessings!