Just finished Preparing - now what??

[mom2kyty]

My daughter is 8 years old (will be 9 in August) and is just finishing up 3rd grade.

This year we worked through Preparing and have really enjoyed it. She complained a bit about the writing but I let her type some of her work which helped tremendously.

Struggling with whether to go with Christ to Creation (and maybe work at it half pace - so it we would use it for 4th and 5th grade) OR go with Bigger???? I would really like to do a state specific study sometime during her 4th grade year so thought maybe that would go along better with American History???

She has done really well with the independent boxes in Preparing so I don't want to lose that.

Does anyone have any thought about going down to Bigger ??

[Samuel'sMommy]

I am not that far along but I think it is usually recommended to keep going forward so I would continue on with CTC. I would probably go half speed since she is on the younger end of the age range. There is a state study of all the states included in Rev to Rev and then a study of your particular state in MTMM so she will get to it eventually. If you are just wanting her to learn location, capitals, etc. without doing anything formal I highly recommend the game Stack the States. It is on iphone or android. My son loves it and has learned so much from it. I think it costs $1 or $2 but it is well worth it. We don't allow a lot of screen time but this is great. There is also another app by the same company called Stack the Countries which teaches world geography. My son loves them both!

[MelInKansas]

Because your daughter is still so young, I think you would have the option to do Bigger next year, just realizing that your path and workload would not be as continuous that way. You would lower the reading/comprehension level and then skip and raise it up quite a bit, but given that she will be a year older that will probably work out okay. You could use the extension books to beef up the learning in Bigger and make it more like something past Preparing. You could give her independence in reading those, and maybe in other parts like notebooking or vocabulary if she would like that. You could add in a states study. Of course that's if you want to do that much work. I am impressed that you did Preparing this year so I guess she is up for the workload.

CTC 1/2 speed is a good option too. Just give it some thought and prayer and I'm sure you will be able to make the right decision.

[Nealewill]

Well, my dd is finishing Preparing this year as well and she is on the younger end of the age range - she started when she was 8. I am putting her in CTC next year and plan to just go slower if she needs it when we start. I think if you went backward, I don't think you would like it as much because your dd wouldn't be nearly as challenged. CTC is VERY interesting. And while your dd complained about how much writing she had to do, maybe if you went a little bit slower and had her do the writing instead of typing would be a good fit for you. I have ordered everything in for CTC and it is sitting and waiting for us now. I looks.....AWESOME!!!!! I think Preparing really does prepare the kids well for the next level volume wise. And I think it is fascinating. I am actually planning to have my dd go half speed for the first 8 weeks of school. This will help her build up to the work load. And I think this will be good for her. Maybe your dd would enjoy doing that too.

[my3sons]

Such super advice here already! The ladies have mapped out 2 possible courses, and they both merit pondering. I'd love to ask you a few quick questions to know a bit more about dd and her journey through PHFHG. How many sentences does dd comfortably write for her written narrations in PHFHG? How did dd do orally narrating on longer history readings? Did she read all of her own independent history and independent science books completely on her own independently and follow the directions in her PHFHG guide well on her own for these boxes? How many vocabulary cards does she do each assignment? How did she do with her creative writing in PHFHG with the classical poetry? What level of R & S English grammar did dd do, and did she write a small portion of it each day? How did dd do with her science and history notebooking, as well as writing out the answers to her 5 science questions each week? Finally, and thank you for your patience here, what level of DITHOR Student Workbook and Book Packs or reading levels did she do? I am at a convention in NC right now and won't be able to check back here until after we fly home. But in the meantime, the ladies will help and be excellent at giving advice, and I will check back here when I get back.

In Christ,
Julie