New and considering Bigger for my dd

[Tonia]

Hi! I'm new here - homeschooling one daughter, age 7. We live in Canada so "hey" to any other Canucks on the board!

I've been looking at Bigger and considering it for 3rd grade for my daughter (she's currently doing 2nd grade work) and I'd like some thoughts/opinions on using it 3 days a week for the rest of this school year and continue using it 3 days a week next year. Here's my thinking -

I want to continue our core subjects - RightStart math, All About Spelling, First Language Lessons, and Writing with Ease (although I'm considering dropping the writing workbook for 3rd and just using the Instructor's text and have dd write across the curriculum). We'd also continue our French and Greek studies. We do these subjects every morning. In the afternoons - one day a week we meet with friends and have a small history/art co-op using Story of the World and another day we study science (currently earth science using A Child's Geography). The other 3 afternoons we read history/science books and dd finishes up any narration/notebooking pages that weren't completed on the other two days. We plan to continue this schedule next year with history on one afternoon and science on another.

Would it be too much/overload if we do HOD Bigger on those other three afternoons by spreading out the units over the rest of this school year and next year? Can we get enough out of the program to make it worth it? We would concentrate on the "Learning Through History" page three afternoons a week (along with the Storytime selections; and possibly the Science exploration since dd is a science nut). I'd also like to add in another history text on those days - A First History of Canada (very similar in style to the assigned history texts, a story format of Canadian history).

For some background - dd has no issues with our current schedule and isn't having difficulties with any subjects. She's reading simple chapter books (Ramona Quimby, Rainbow Magic fairies, etc.), easily does copywork, learning cursive, has started dictation this year and is having no difficulties with it (she remembers the sentences better than I do!), is just beginning to write her own narrations (instead of dictating to me while I write for her), and doesn't complain about the amount/level of writing she has to do.

So, do you think Bigger would fit our needs? I'd like to continue with HOD with Preparing in 4th and the Hearts through Time cycle in 5th-8th. I thought Bigger at a slower pace would be a nice introduction to the format of the program. My main reason for looking at HOD is because I find that I don't like Bible/Bible study as a separate "program". I'd ideally like something that integrates God's plan and love for us throughout the whole curriculum. HOD seems to do that quite well.

Also, I've been looking at the extension books for Bigger. I'm trying to gently guide dd to books that are a bit more difficult in regards to reading level in her daily reading time (she has 30 minutes of history/science/literature reading each day and as much time as she wants for "fun" reading). Would they be too difficult for her reading level (she's reading Ramona Quimby books right now)? If we decide to use Bigger I'd like to incorporate some books for her silent reading time.

Well, if you've made it to the end of this long message, I salute you! And I welcome your advice and thoughts. Thank you!

[pjdobro]

I think Bigger could be a wonderful addition to your studies. My only concern is that it might be more time than you are wanting to spend. Here is a quote from Carrie on the times that Bigger takes:

Here are the time allotments that it took us when we did Bigger:
Cursive = 5-7 minutes

Drawn into the Heart of Reading 20-30 min. total (including reading time - we only read one chapter a session)

Math = 20 minutes

Reading About History Box (8-10 min.), Bible Study Box (5- 10 min.), and Bottom left corner box of "Learning Through History" (15 min.) done in one sitting totaling 35 min. (Note: Art days take a little longer.)

Dictation (5 min.), Poetry (5-10 min.), Rod and Staff English (10-15 min.), and Storytime (15 min.- We read aloud only one chapter a day. Some moms do more!) done in one sitting totaling 35 min.

Hymns at lunch (5-10 min.)

Science (after lunch - 15-35 min.- depending on whether there's an experiment or a notebooking entry or just oral narration)

You can look that over and see how the time involved for the subjects you are considering fits into your schedule. I think you would be fine using it 3 days a week over 1 1/2 to 2 years. Even though that splits a unit over a couple of weeks, I don't feel the continuity is lost at all. Last when doing Bigger, we weren't on a Monday to Friday schedule with every unit, and it worked out fine.

Some of the extension books would probably work really well for your dd's reading level. Ben and Me and Tolliver's Secret are two that come to mind that would probably be about right as far as level goes. Some of them might be a bit of a stretch for her yet in particular I'm thinking that Guns for General Washington, though a great book, is a bit more difficult reading. I went and looked at the reading levels listed for the extension books and most of them are upper 5th grade, lower 6th grade reading level so many of them might be a bit much for independent reading for your dd at this time. To my surprise, Ben and Me, was listed as a higher reading level as well. It didn't seem that difficult to me when we were reading it aloud, but my memory isn't that great. They might be something she would grown into though by the time you got to them in a year or so. If you start out with some of the easier ones, that might work.

It sounds like HOD is just what you are looking for in a curriculum. It is very Christ centered and pretty much everything in the day points back to God. Bible is woven throughout our day. We loved Bigger here, and we're really enjoying Preparing this year too! The character study through Proverbs in Bigger has been one of the best studies we've done and has been one of our favorites. It's all great though!

[Tonia]

Thank you! Seeing the times involved really helps. So it looks like for the things I would be using (Reading about history, Poetry, Bible Study, History activity, Music, and Storytime) it takes about an hour or so. And if dd wants to do science, another 1/2 hour. That's more or less what I figured it would be, which is fine for our day. Right now our basic skill subjects take about 1 1/2 hours in the morning.

I've been looking at the books on amazon (so I can get an idea of reading level) and, like you say, it looks like some will be okay but some would be too difficult. I guess I'll post again when I have my list narrowed down!

I'm very intrigued by the Proverbs study. Glad to hear it's well enjoyed!

Thank you for your time and help!

[raceNzanesmom]

You might pick some of the read aloud books in Beyond for her to read on her own. They're all great quality books, and could help stretch her reading level/interests.

[mamas4bugs]

Just chiming in to agree that I think Bigger sounds perfect for what you're looking for.

[Tonia]

You might pick some of the read aloud books in Beyond for her to read on her own. They're all great quality books, and could help stretch her reading level/interests.

Good idea! Why didn't I think of that? I'm looking at them now and I think they would tie in nicely.

Thanks for the help, ladies. Looks like we will take the plunge!