Amber,
Thanks so much for taking time to share about your son. It is so helpful to gain a better picture of what he is able to do so that we can advise you better!
Reading issues aside, it isn't uncommon for kiddos to find Bigger to be a step up in listening content and in writing. This is because Bigger is purposefully meant to move kiddos toward listening to higher level books with fewer to no pictures, so they can practice the skills of comprehending without the aid of the illustrations. This is a process that takes time, and kiddos often are not good at this skill right away. Their attention can wander as listeners, and they may struggle in being able to remember much from the readings at first. However, as time passes, they get better and better at this important skill. It is encouraging that your son enjoys the storytime read-aloud. This means he is headed in the right direction listening-wise!
As a general rule, history books that are more factual (like the history read-alouds) are quite a bit more difficult than the storytime read alouds. So, I would encourage you at this point to move away from adding picture-style books to Bigger's history and instead use the history read aloud books as scheduled... knowing this is another level of a skill that will take time to develop in your son but that it is a necessary stepping stone as he matures even further as a listener (and comprehension-wise).
One thing I am wondering is how your son was able to make the connections with doing the history activities, timeline, vocabulary cards, art projects, poetry, etc. in Bigger if you weren't reading aloud the history spines? Since everything on the left side of the Bigger Hearts plans each day goes with the history reading I would think that would be very confusing not to have read the corresponding history reading which sets up the activities. Did your son do all of the activities on the left side of Bigger each day, or were you picking and choosing as you went? The reason I ask is because so many skills are wound into the activities on the left side of the guide, so if you were regularly omitting things then in going forward it will be important to do everything that is in the plans each day in order for him to gain the skills he will need for Preparing Hearts.
Many of the skills your son will be gaining are not reading-related, so in spite of his reading issues he will still need the skills wound within the Bigger plans. In fact, with his reading challenges in mind his listening skills will become all the more important!
You also mentioned additional cost for needed books as being a factor in doing Bigger this year, which I am also trying to understand as the Bigger Hearts packages contain all needed books for the year at a reasonable cost. If this additional cost is from supplementation, then I would encourage you to stop the urge to supplement and do Bigger as written. Give it at least 18 weeks to work on its own. Bigger is designed to build a huge array of skills that take time for kiddos to gain. Having done Bigger Hearts 3 times now with three very different sons, I can say that it is a slow burn that brings big results over time. You will see the fruit from Bigger in Preparing Hearts. It just takes time to reap what you sow.
As far as your son's reading goes, it sounds like you are progressing in this area! It is not uncommon for kiddos to have difficulty when decoding multi-syllable words or for kiddos to struggle as they move to more words on a page and fewer pictures. So, take heart that your son is making good, steady progress. Often it is true that if you have an older sibling who was a natural reader first, then when a younger one struggles it seems all the more pronounced. We had this very scenario at our own house!! Also, remember that the difference between when boys and girls mature as readers and writers is also a factor.
So, in looking at your son just try to focus on the forward motion he is making, even if it is in baby steps. Be sure that both his hearing and his vision have been tested in the past year, just to rule out any problems in either of those areas. Then, keep steadily plugging along with what is working for him in reading.
For your son's free reading time, be sure to allow him to read easier books with many pictures. This will build his confidence and his enjoyment of reading.
Kids often free read at a level or two below what they can really read, as they don't want to work so hard to gain meaning.
On a sidenote, as far as the math story problems go, I would just read those aloud to your son. Since math is a time to be thinking about mathematical concepts, there is nothing wrong with reading the story problems aloud for him to aid in that process. I often read the math story problems aloud to my younger boys, so they can focus on the math rather than on decoding the words before even getting to the problem.
Last, I'll share that if you need to move to half-speed Bigger for awhile in order to do everything in the plans as written I would suggest that you do so. Just make it a goal not to move onto the next day of plans until you've done everything from the day before. Bigger is such a key teaching and learning year, it can be hard to make up for missing the rich set of skills wound within every box of plans if you fast forward past them.
It will also be important that your son do as much of the writing as he can that is in Bigger each day. So, if you have to slow down in order for him to do the written portions than I would definitely do so. Otherwise, if you rush forward without taking time for your son to gain needed skills, then each subsequent guide will have to be modified more and more until all you have left is a reading aloud program because the rest of the skills will all be too difficult.
As far as writing goes, if you can share a bit more about what he is able to do in this area that will help too. For example, is your son able to copy words or sentences? If you write a sentence on paper, is he able to copy the same sentence below your writing? If so, you can write a sentence of the copy work and have him write his own version right below yours. Then, you could do the rest of the copying for him with the goal of having him copy more as he is able. Is he able to copy any of the poetry in Bigger, possibly one short line at a time? If he can, then it would work to have you copy a line from the poem each day with your son copying the same line below yours. He could eventually move toward copying more as he is able. Is he currently writing any of the science lab each week or doing any writing of the vocabulary card? If not, perhaps you could move toward having your son do a small portion of the writing in these areas and work up to eventually doing more. I ask these questions so that we can figure out how to move forward from where he is at in writing too.
If you can keep in mind that you are meant to be helping him with every part of Bigger and also that you are meant to be doing all the reading aloud, then you can rest easier knowing you are doing exactly what you need to do by helping him along the way. With just a couple of tweaks that I mentioned above, you can move forward in Bigger knowing you will be preparing your son for the next step up. Our own fourth son struggled with reading too and has had slow but steady progress in this area. He is halfway through Preparing now and gaining. We did do Preparing at half-speed the last half of last year to help him grow into the guide before going full-speed with it this year. Remember that in Preparing, you are still reading aloud the history. It is just the Deluxe Package and science books that the child is reading.
If you get a chance to share a bit more about your son's writing or any other thoughts or info you think would be helpful, feel free to pop back and share.
Blessings,
Carrie