Okay - HOD has won...but Bigger or Preparing?

momof2n2 · Post by **momof2n2** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 3:51 pm

Totally OT...
my youngest's name is Tabitha! ♥♥♥

Post by **Carrie** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 5:39 pm

Tabitha,

The ladies are giving you great advice. I just wanted to pop-in and welcome you to the boards! We're glad to have you here.

Feel free to ask whatever questions you need help with. The ladies are truly gracious about answering questions and uplifting one another!

Blessings,
Carrie

Tabitha · Post by **Tabitha** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 6:10 pm

my3sons wrote:Hi Tabitha! Sorry I'm coming to this discussion a bit late. I'm so excited for you that you've decided on HOD - I know you'll love it!! I'm finishing up using Bigger... and will be doing Preparing... next year. I feel in my heart that whatever direction the placement chart had you leaning toward (putting aside the history choice), would be the best one to go with. We've used the placement chart and found it to be very accurate every time. Now, if the placement chart had your child placed smack dab in the middle of the 2 programs, maybe consider whether you will stay right on track doing Bigger... It is a 5 day plan, 34 weeks in length, so if you're starting it on the easier side for your child, you'd want to complete it in the 34 weeks. Preparing..., on the other hand, is a 4 day plan, 33 or 34 weeks. Since it is on the harder side for your child, you could take longer to finish it, if need be, so it's a little more flexible timewise.

The dictation in Bigger... gets progressively harder (as inHistiming's kind post shows), and the copywork of the classical poetry gets harder too. These 2 things have worked nicely hand-in-hand to make my ds a good speller - praise the Lord! I think that you'd find your child would retain much of this and continue to spell well too. Preparing... will have a choice of 2 levels of dictation in it, with the second one being more difficult, so it will offer more difficulty there. Placement is the hardest part of all of this, so you are right to spend some time on it - just know, once you've decided, it'll be smooth sailing! Keep posting questions if you have more - we love to help!

In Christ,
Julie

Blessedx5...I think that is Meg's username here...lol...she called and we chatted a bit. She made one comment to me that spun me in a new direction.

I've got it all figured out now.

We'll do Preparing...in it's entirety. I'm going to order a few things my dd wants to do from Bigger and do those on our own when they come in and through the summer (mainly an Amer. History spine and Pochantas, and cursive writing). After that...we'll be good to go! The only thing I will be doing not in Preparing is Saxon 5/4 for math (will add in Singapore later in the year once we get going).

We have a gal coming from Germany, so we'll be doing Power Glide German to prep for her, doing that alongside the Amer. History stuff this summer!

Whew...I can now sleep at night! LOL I do think Preparing is more to speed for my dd...and just needed to get use to that.

Thanks everyone!

Tabitha · Post by **Tabitha** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 6:11 pm

momof2n2 wrote:Totally OT...
my youngest's name is Tabitha! ♥♥♥

LOL

I've only met 2 other people with that name.

It wasn't that much fun growing up in the 70's with this name - LOL!

lovetobehome · Post by **lovetobehome** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 9:09 pm

Hi Tabitha! This is Meg, my name here is lovetobehome!
I have spent all evening sorting books and planning, LOL! DS will be using BIGGER, and now what to do with DD? Little Hearts looks a little light, but Beyond looks like too much to do alongside Bigger....and she is not reading that well yet. ANyway, more for tomorrow, I need sleep!

Tabitha · Post by **Tabitha** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 9:18 pm

lovetobehome wrote:Hi Tabitha! This is Meg, my name here is lovetobehome!
I have spent all evening sorting books and planning, LOL! DS will be using BIGGER, and now what to do with DD? Little Hearts looks a little light, but Beyond looks like too much to do alongside Bigger....and she is not reading that well yet. ANyway, more for tomorrow, I need sleep!

You now have me worried - lol. I really can do either or...

After looking through Bigger, what are your exact thoughts on it? I know you were leaning towards Preparing as well.

I think since there are 2 levels of dictation, that is what will save me since it was an area of worry.

Would love to know your thoughts. I haven't bought anything yet....

Tab

my3sons · Post by **my3sons** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 7:37 am

Tabitha wrote: I've got it all figured out now.

We'll do Preparing...in it's entirety. I'm going to order a few things my dd wants to do from Bigger and do those on our own when they come in and through the summer (mainly an Amer. History spine and Pochantas, and cursive writing). After that...we'll be good to go! The only thing I will be doing not in Preparing is Saxon 5/4 for math (will add in Singapore later in the year once we get going).

We have a gal coming from Germany, so we'll be doing Power Glide German to prep for her, doing that alongside the Amer. History stuff this summer!

Whew...I can now sleep at night! LOL I do think Preparing is more to speed for my dd...and just needed to get use to that.

Thanks everyone!

Hip! Hip! Hooray! Tabitha - I think your thoughts here sound like a good plan, and sleep at night is important - so I don't think there's a need to second guess things. Your dd will do wonderful with Preparing..., and I think it will offer the level of difficulty you are desiring. Keep on chatting here - love to have you here on the HOD boards!

In Christ,
Julie

my3sons · Post by **my3sons** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 7:51 am

lovetobehome wrote:Hi Tabitha! This is Meg, my name here is lovetobehome!
I have spent all evening sorting books and planning, LOL! DS will be using BIGGER, and now what to do with DD? Little Hearts looks a little light, but Beyond looks like too much to do alongside Bigger....and she is not reading that well yet. ANyway, more for tomorrow, I need sleep!

Hi Meg! I'm using Bigger... and LHFHG now, and we've had a great year. The 2 work well together, and are easy to complete and still have time left in the day for play. I had a few thoughts as I was reading your post. First, here's a bit of a selfish thought... it's fun as a homeschool mom to teach different HOD guides back to back. If you did LHFHG and Bigger..., then the next year you can do Beyond... and Preparing... I had absolutely no thought about this when I began doing HOD, but it's been a blessing God must have thought out for me! Otherwise, you'll be doing the same programs 2 years in a row. I do firmly believe that correct placement using the placement chart is probably the most important factor, but if after looking that over, your child could really do either LHFHG or Beyond..., why not choose LHFHG and switch it up for yourself a bit as the teacher? Have a wonderful day, and so glad you are here!

In Christ,
Julie