Is she ready for Preparing

[PoppyD]

Hi ladies,
I am trying to decide about next year. We are heading to the convention in Cincinnati at the end of March and I plan to go ahead and buy everything then, so I'm working through placement now. This is for my rising 3rd grader. She is an excellent, voracious reader. She is a talented writer. She has done a bit of Writing with Ease, Writing Strands, journal prompts, her own stories, she's written a play, does written narrations for science, and loves copywork and dictation. I say that not to boast about her, because she's still a 2nd grader and it's not perfect work, but just to say that writing is a joy for her, not drudgery. She has been doing Easy Grammar and CLE Reading. (she isn't using HOD this year. We have been trying HOD out this year with my 5th grader, who is doing CTC and we absolutely love it, so may start transitioning the other 2 to HOD) I can't decide if I should go ahead and let her start Preparing or if I should wait one more year until she is a little older. She's 8 now, will be 9 in November. If we don't start Preparing, I think we are going to work through the Portaits of American Girlhood (with her 1st grade sister) for history and piece together everything else.
Thoughts about this? The placement chart indicates that Preparing should be fine, but I just tend to hear 4th-5th grade and not many 3rd graders.
Thanks,
Poppy

[Rice]

I have two who are in Extension range of the guides, followed by one who learns easily and is "ahead" of anything I've dreamed of for the older two. He was in CTC for 4th grade, starting it the week he turned 9. Normally I do not suggest anyone put a child in at the lowest end of the range (for I know the struggles my older two have had, and that even most "average" students would struggle if at the youngest end) but he was in practically the same level of our previous curriculum as his older siblings so I started them together - and had to pull the older one down.

Age wise, he would have been 8 for the entire year and in Grade 3 for Preparing, if we had been in HOD then. So, yes, some children can thrive there!

I will stop one step short of suggesting you place her there (in fact, I suggest you talk to someone at HOD - email them with the times they can reach you at home and they, amazingly, will call and talk to you in person!); normally I suggest that you not place a child in the highest level you think they can do, but I want to let you know that the lowest end of the age range can be a good place, in rare circumstances.

(That said, I have a 12yo in 6th/7th in Preparing, and my current 8yo is only in Beyond, and perfectly situated there. )

Blessings as you figure it out,

[MelInKansas]

My 3rd grader started Preparing in January, and turned 9 in February. I would call her an "average" student though she likes writing more and does it more easily than my oldest, which is possibly why she's moving ahead in the guides. She made it through Bigger well so she is ready. She's average to behind in math (which doesn't affect placement) and also just started DITHOR 2/3 so is reading pretty solidly. I have been impressed that she is taking on independent Science and History study boxes pretty well, probably better than my oldest did, but of course the written narrations and poetry writing exercises have been difficult for her so far.

So I think if you think she places solidly there and can handle more work than most kids her age, go for it. You can always pull back to 1/2 speed if she hits a snag.

[StephanieU]

My oldest will be 8 when she starts Preparing, but I consider her a 3rd grader this year in Bigger. If she was in public school, she would be 2nd grade, but we made the decision before she was 5 to put her with her current grade and those peers for everything. And she is excelling. I do not have a concern about her being ready for Preparing (we are on Unit 25 of Bigger right now).

[bethelmommy]

It sounds like your daughter will do fine in Preparing. If the work load ends up being a bit much, you can always slow down for a few months until she matures. However, if she loves reading and writing, and you feel like she is mature enough for the content in Preparing, then it will probably be a great fit. Enjoy!

[Nealewill]

I agree - I think she will be fine. Both of my girls have always started their guides on the youngest end of the age range and done very well.

[MomtoJGJE]

You could always start out half speed to give her time to mature a bit. Half speed Preparing and the Portraits thing with your first grader if you think she needs more work than just the half speed Preparing?

With that said, my third grade DD just turned 9 October 30, so roughly the same age in 3rd grade as yours will be. She would have done just fine in Preparing this year, but I chose to not skip a guide (we have done HOD from the beginning with my now 7th grader), and instead just had her do Bigger increasing in independence. I also didn't want her to be in a different spot in the same guide as her fifth grade sister, who just finished Preparing in Oct or Nov (I can't remember), due to the fighting that would happen over the guide.

Even if she is completely properly placed and does well with it, I would suggest at least starting the guide half speed. Just so you both will get the hang of how HOD works and how the guides are set up. And with her being at the lower end of the age range, you could do half speed anywhere from just a unit or two or even do a whole semester of it half speed to get her more to the middle/upper end of the age range before the more middle school level guides. Doing Preparing in 3rd grade would give you an extra year somewhere if you did a complete guide per year.