slow down or modify?

[Tracee]

Our school year currently goes from Jan - Dec. We got off track in ds' first grade year before we knew he had dyslexia and were trying to figure out what was going on. We've been on track since then, but we still aren't able to catch up to follow the public school calendar. My plan was to do LHFHG (1st grade), Beyond (2nd grade), Bigger (3rd grade) etc. As I was looking through Bigger and even Preparing, I had the idea of keeping ds in Bigger for 1 1/2 years. If I did this, ds would be able to read on grade level by the time we get to Preparing, and he would be able to do Preparing as written. He will have just turned 10 by the time we start Preparing. If I continue on at the same pace we are currently doing, we would have to modify Preparing, because I don't think he will be reading independently by that time, and we will still be half a year behind the public school calendar. If I stretch out Bigger for a year and a half and continue the guides as planned,(Preparing 4th grade) I would essentially be holding him back a year. He would still move up in church classes and any Physical Ed classes we are taking, but I would have to explain to him when he gets older why he is graduating a year later than some of his peers. Or, I could still let him graduate on time, but he will miss the last guide, and then I'm not sure he will have all the credits he needs if we don't finish the last guide. I guess another option would be to do the extension package all the way through the guides starting with Bigger.


I would love some thoughts on this. I hope I explained it clearly. My goal for stretching out Bigger would be so that ds can do the Preparing guide without modifications, and we wouldn't be on our crazy Jan-Dec schedule.


Thank you,
Tracy

[frankesense]

If I was in your place I would slow down the pace of Bigger so that when my child reached Preparing they would be able to do it as written. Carrie hasn't written the guides to be grade specific, but gives a general age range and skill level. I have my kids move into the next "grade" at the beginning of each school year, which doesn't necessarily coincide with the beginning of a guide for us. I spread out both Beyond and Bigger, doing a 4 day week so that my dd would be within the recommended age range when we reached Preparing. Having your ds do Preparing as a 10 yr. old, 4th grader would still be on target within the ranges set for that guide, without extensions. I wouldn't worry about not lining up with the public school calendar. With Carrie's high school plans and guides it will be easy for you to make sure your ds has the credits he needs to graduate, whether or not he finishes the last guide.

[Robbi]

My suggestion would be start now doing only 4 days a week for Little, Beyond & Bigger. That would stretch out them all for you w/o having to take one guide half speed the whole way. Doing these 3 guides 4 days a week will give you about an extra year. I wouldn't worry about when u start a new guide. As long as there's progress! also as far as graduating. . . My DD was 7 in July and this is her 1st grade year. She was in public school for kindy, and there were lots of kids a full year younger but also plenty closer to her age. So all that to say, I don't think it'll matter as much. I understand trying to plan but we just don't know what the future holds! Just do what ur kiddo needs now! HTH!

[netpea]

We have always given our kids their grade level based on their skills not which guide they are in. My 9yo is 4th grade doing Bigger with Extensions. She will be doing Preparing as a 5th grader. Looking back I probably should have put her in Preparing this year but she didn't seem ready for it at the beginning of the year.

All that to say I would stretch Bigger out so you hit Preparing when he is ready for the independent work.

[my3sons]

... My goal for stretching out Bigger would be so that ds can do the Preparing guide without modifications, and we wouldn't be on our crazy Jan-Dec schedule.
Thank you,
Tracy

I like your plan here, and I think it makes total sense. I wouldn't think of it as holding ds back a year. The guides have age ranges for a reason, and that is they are all suggested ages for using that guide very appropriately. I would not worry about counting credits. By the time your little honey gets there, we will have counted credits every possible way from here to the moon within HOD, with more scenarios than you and I can even imagine at present. I am confident you will be able to choose when your ds is older whether you want him to finish that last guide or be done, and by then, I know you will know - lots of time to pray, right? I'll join you in that prayer, as I don't have it all figured out for our kiddos either. I think that doing PHFHG without modifications will be harder than doing CTC with a bunch of modifications - KWIM? Your plan is great - love it! Press on!

In Christ,
Julie

[water2wine]

I think your plan is a wise one. Just my BTDT experience is carrying them just for the sake of "progressing" instead of slowing down a bit and allowing them to get the skills is not wise when a child has learning issues or special needs. I did this with my dd that has CP because she was older and I thought it would be better for her. I ended up needing to eventually really slow her down to get all the skills she was lacking. In hindsight though I never should have floated her skills for her and progressed her just because she was getting older and I did not want her to feel left behind her siblings.

So I think you are very wise. When they have some learning issues like dyslexia you are not only going to have reading issues with the future guides but also writing issues. The way the guides are set up you kind of work against your learning issues if you progress too fast with a kid that struggles. But if you slow them down the guides actually help you to fill in the gaps and get those skills solidly. I think you have a wise idea and are seeing how to work the guides best for your child very well.

[Tracee]

Thank you all so much. Your answers really helped solidify what I felt was best and eased my concerns about the future. Now, back to Beyond....yes, we are still only in Beyond, and I was already planning our steps for the next couple of years.



Thank you again!
Tracy

[MomtoJGJE]

I would just tell him (if he cares about still doing a guide into the next school year, although if you already are running Jan-Dec he probably wouldn't notice really) that the guides are advanced, so since he's already doing work ahead of schedule then you guys can slow down a little bit and relax for the next couple of years. Because I honestly think that Preparing is a great 4th grade, and even a pretty good 5th grade program.