Extension question for Bigger 4th gr.

[renee]

Hello. My son is doing Bigger this year without extensions for 3rd grade. We are way behind due to a "curriculum hopping" mom who could not make a decision!
Now we are going full steam ahead with HOD. It is Feb. and we are only on Unit 11. My question is for next year--4th grade. I will have a first grader doing LHFHG/BHFHG and my 4th grader still doing Bigger. If my oldest is the only child in Bigger, do I continue the History and Science scheduled in Bigger or can I just do the extensions for History and Science? I will not have a younger one listening in, so I thought I could do the extensions for my main History and Science. Is that possible? Any advice on the diffrent options I may have would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you,

Renee

[Heart_Mom]

Hi, Renee!

My 4th grader is doing Bigger this year and I know others have done Bigger for 4th grade too, so you don't need feel like there's a problem!

We are doing the program totally as written, including the History and Science boxes in the guide, then my son also does the Extensions readings (including the follow-up assignments). Because my son is a little older (10 years old), I also have him do the Science box in the guide mostly independently.

So, I guess the best case scenario would be for you to do Bigger as written, then add in the Extension books if you think your son needs them.

I hope that helps! Feel free to ask more questions!

[renee]

Thank you for your response Heart_Mom. I appreciate your help!

How much time would you say it adds to your History and Science? My son has ADHD so short, quick assignments work well for him.

Blessings,

Renee

[Heart_Mom]

Thank you for your response Heart_Mom. I appreciate your help!

How much time would you say it adds to your History and Science? My son has ADHD so short, quick assignments work well for him.

Blessings,

Renee

Renee,

It actually adds very little time to my schedule, because he does them independently. I think the Extensions history readings themselves only take him ten minutes or so, then the follow-up assignment take another five or ten minutes, depending on what he has to do.

The follow-assignment schedule is listed in the back of the Bigger guide, and this is how we do it:
Day 1: oral narration
Day 2: written narration (about a paragraph long)
Day 3: oral narration
Day 4: written narration
Day 5: notebooking page (draw a picture and write a caption)

I made a form on my computer with spaces to write the narrations and with a space for drawing to make it easier for him to keep track of what he needs to do.

We are skipping the science Extensions for right now, but they were scheduled to be read only once per week.

I hope that helps!

[Wendi in MD]

Hi Renee,

I also have a 4th grader using Bigger...I combined my 2nd grader {dd7} and 4th grader {ds just turned 10} for our first year of HOD. We do science together {although my 4th grader could probably do it independently} and I have him doing the extensions and the recommended assignments. This post viewtopic.php?f=6&t=10844&p=78941&hilit ... ion#p78941 gives a great link/pic to a worksheet that another HOD mom has her child complete...I used her example to create a similar worksheet that ds10 completes every week. It has worked very well for us.

In regards to time required...every week I fill out an assignment book with the work ds10 needs to complete each day and I just include the extension readings in this planner along with his other independent work {handwriting, math, grammar}. I am not sure how much time it adds to his independent work but I think most days it is probably 15-20 mins. I do schedule both the history and the science reading extensions...the science reading is usually scheduled one day per week and it usually just a couple pages of reading.

[renee]

Thank you all so very much for your help!

Blessings,

Renee

[Carrie]

Renee,

The ladies have done a wonderful job of helping answer your questions! I wanted to be sure you knew that the Extensions are not to be used in place of the history and science readings but rather "in addition" to them. So, you wouldn't use the Extensions on their own. They are meant to enhance and extend what you are already reading and studying in the rest of the Bigger Heart's guide.

If your son struggles, you could forego the Extensions. But, you would definitely want to continue doing the rest of Bigger Hearts as laid out in the plans each day in order for him to get the skills he needs.

Blessings,
Carrie