Really need some advice!

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wertzeemom
Posts: 29
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 7:10 am
Location: Pennsylvania

Really need some advice!

Post by wertzeemom » Sun Mar 29, 2009 11:46 am

Well, I had a plan in mind for next year to use Bigger for my girls - 2nd and 4th grade next year - with extensions for my 4th grader. Now, as I work more with my younger daughter, it's clear that she really would be placed better in Beyond. She can't yet write sentences on her own - she has to copy something I have written when she has a "report" for school (they're in PS right now). Her reading is improving, and I think she will be able to do the Emerging Readers next year. I have plans to work with her this summer on her writing skills -- penmanship as well as sentence construction to a certain extent. Maybe I can bring her to the level that she CAN do Bigger next school year. My older daughter could do either Bigger or Preparing, but I would like to keep them together as much as possible for my own convenience and to bring THEM closer together. Any advice or suggestions? Anything would be greatly appreciated!! :D
10 yo DD -
8 yo DD -
3 yo DS -

Mumkins
Posts: 792
Joined: Sat Feb 14, 2009 8:45 pm
Location: Ontario
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Re: Really need some advice!

Post by Mumkins » Sun Mar 29, 2009 3:03 pm

Maybe buy bigger now so you can see where she needs to be by Sept. and get her there. Or buy Beyond and now and work on the writing stuff when you have tine and over the summer so she'll be ready for bigger. Or Use Bigger's left side and stories for both in the fall and then use the right side that they each need. :D
7 awesome kids!

2 graduated
2 at highschool
3 coming home to homeschool in the fall💕
DD5 LHFHG
DS9 Preparing
DS12 RTR

We’ve enjoyed LHTH, LHFHG, Beyond, Preparing, CTC, WG

netpea
Posts: 714
Joined: Fri Mar 27, 2009 7:39 pm
Location: Michigan
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Re: Really need some advice!

Post by netpea » Sun Mar 29, 2009 7:55 pm

Perhaps you could start out by doing Bigger at half speed for a little while to see how she handles it, if she can do, then ramp up to full speed. If not, then you may have to separate them.
Lee Ann
DD3 - LHTH
DD10 - no longer schooled at home
DS12 - no longer schooled at home

Have used LHTH, LHFHG, BLHFHG, and BHFHG
http://netpea.blogspot.com

mamaloves4
Posts: 69
Joined: Sun Oct 12, 2008 3:09 pm

Re: Really need some advice!

Post by mamaloves4 » Mon Mar 30, 2009 3:12 pm

Hi,

Welcome! Oh--those best laid plans--I had one. I was going to teach my two older girls together for everything except math, reading, and writing........BUT now I am not. that was a hard dream to let go of. I am so glad I did though! My younger one (7) is thriving having her own stuff right at her level! I am seeing her blossom and her personality flourish, plus developing skills like narrating, paying attention (she would let her older sister answer all the questions), and making her learning her 'own'. As for her relationship with her older sister--they are still as close as close as can be, desiring each others company and enjoying their play times together. As for convenience sake--I am finding having them in separate programs has been easier on me than trying keep them together. I felt like I was always tweeking something for one of them, it gave me a headache after a while. :lol: We are done with school at noon. They still do projects together, but usually ones of their own making. Overall i have been so happy that I let my plans get changed! the other ladies gave you good advice--enjoy this time of trying to decide what is best for your family!

Jess
Jessica
married for 12 years to Chuck
dd10--Creation to Christ
dd7--Beyond
ds4--LHTH
dd2--filling our days with joy and LHTH fingerplays and stories

Alison in KY
Posts: 181
Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2009 7:00 pm

Re: Really need some advice!

Post by Alison in KY » Mon Mar 30, 2009 3:41 pm

If you really want to keep them together, then you could use Beyond and beef it up a bit for the 4th grader. I'm using that with my 9 year old. He's basically doing his own LA's and math, then we use HOD for history, poetry, geo, and some science. I add in a general science workbook, plus he's reading aloud one of the HOD books (a science book from CLP) and doing a 3rd grade Abeka history a few times a week.

Or, you could stick with Bigger and do your own LA's and math for your daughter, so she is involved in everything else in Beyond.

Make the curriculum work for you and your situation as well as you can. My ideal plan was to use all of the left page and story time on a daily basis. I combine all 3 of mine for this, then they do their own LA's and math. It works for us. Well, lately we've been a bit disorganized with my spring cleaning, so I'm going to basically do a unit of the left page on one day and basics the other days. Then we'll get back to our regularly scheduled program after the house is straightened up. :mrgreen:

Alison

spidermansmum
Posts: 611
Joined: Sat Jun 21, 2008 6:10 am
Location: UK

Re: Really need some advice!

Post by spidermansmum » Mon Mar 30, 2009 4:04 pm

I have only hs one-and he is only 6..so not speaking from vast experience...
.I think that constantly trying to adapt a curriculum to make it fit would be more effort than I could manage.I think that it might be a negative experience especially if I was just starting out with HS.I think I would get beyond for now and see how that fitted for your youngest.You might find it easier to run two curriculum's that fit well
- Delighted to have used LHTH,LHFHG and Beyond, Bigger , Preparing and DITHOR
currently Using
LHTH slowly with my 2 year old
Starting Bigger with my 8 y/o About to add on DITHOR
Finishing Preparing with my 12year with ASD/LD

Carrie
Site Admin
Posts: 8125
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2007 8:39 pm

Re: Really need some advice!

Post by Carrie » Mon Mar 30, 2009 9:08 pm

wertzeemom,

The ladies are doing a great job of helping you talk through options for your kiddos. :D

I'm wondering if you may be able to share a bit more about your older child if you get a chance? The information that you shared on your upcoming 2nd grader really helped give a feel for where she is at, but I'd love a little more clarity on your older child's placement. :D

To help get a feel for her 3 R's, I'd love to know the titles of a few books she's reading right now, a bit more about whether she likes to write and if she can write paragraphs easily, how she does as far as math goes, and how independent of a student she is. 8)

If you get a chance to share how well your younger one listens to chapter books with few to no pictures read aloud that would be great too. :wink:

Blessings,
Carrie

6timeboymom
Posts: 417
Joined: Sun Aug 26, 2007 7:59 pm
Location: Iowa

Re: Really need some advice!

Post by 6timeboymom » Mon Mar 30, 2009 10:28 pm

I think whatever you decide is going to be fine. :-) Sometimes I need to hear that myself! :-)
I am doing Bigger with my 4th and 3rd grader. The 4th grader is a bit above grade level in almost everything; so he gets the extension pack. The 3rd grader is a bit behind in everything, so he gets it as written with a few modifications. I debated whether to do them both in Bigger or do Bigger for the older one and Beyond for the younger one, and for ME I decided that it would be easier to slow down Bigger then speed up Beyond.
Darci
mom to 6 great boys-"they've got me surrounded!!"
using: as much HOD as possible! :wink:

wertzeemom
Posts: 29
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 7:10 am
Location: Pennsylvania

Re: Really need some advice!

Post by wertzeemom » Tue Mar 31, 2009 9:17 am

Such great responses, everyone! Thank you so much.
Carrie - my 7 year old is JUST getting the hang of reading. She has struggled all year long, and it has finally clicked somewhat. She just read one of the Nate the Great books out loud to me the other day and did pretty well. Focus is a problem, so she has trouble with comprehension. On her school tests, you can tell where something distracted her - like she stops to scribble in one of the pictures on the workbook page, and she'll get the next 2 or 3 wrong :? Her penmanship/writing is really bad - I've been using the Bob Jones handwriting curriculum here at home just to help her with letter formation. She's getting better. She has a hard time putting together sentences on her own - she has to copy what I've written. In math, she is still counting on a number line - or her fingers! - for all addition. She does pretty well with telling time and ok on fractions. Money is a sticking point. I do extra work here at home with math manipulates - she seems to learn better this way. We are working on memorizing the facts instead of using the tricks they teach them in public school. A lot of the problem is that they've been "teaching to the test" here. Our school district just recently began to score well on achievement tests, and they want it to stay that way. As a result, they move around from thing to thing in order to cover it all before testing time. There is not a lot of mastery going on, in my opinion. If a student is at all behind, like my DD, then they get left in the dust! Well, enough rambling about school. :) This is why we're not doing public school again -- this and many other reasons. My 9 year-old is very advanced in reading -- she can read anything you hand her and comprehends it for the most part. She is very creative when she writes stories, etc. for school. Once in a while, she struggles with math. It's more an issue of focus and desire than anything else. :wink: I hope this gives you some idea where we are, and maybe you can recommend something for us! Thank you so much for your help. God bless your day!
ETA -- my 7 year old listens very well to chapter books with few or no pictures. ie - Little House series and both of my girls are very artistically and musically talented
10 yo DD -
8 yo DD -
3 yo DS -

Carrie
Site Admin
Posts: 8125
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2007 8:39 pm

Re: Really need some advice!

Post by Carrie » Tue Mar 31, 2009 1:23 pm

wertzeemom,

I agree from what you've shared that it sounds like your 7 year old would fit best in Beyond. Your 9 year old sounds as if she would fit well in either Bigger Hearts or Preparing Hearts. :wink:

If you haven't already had a chance to give your kiddos the Singapore placment test, then you would definitely want to do that to help with proper math placement. Here's a link to the placement test: http://www.singaporemath.com/Placement_Test_s/86.htm

Begin by giving your younger daughter the 1A test and see how she does. I'd start your older daughter with the 2B test and go from there. Math placement will also play a role in determining which guide fits each child best. :D

The next consideration is that you won't be beginning until September, which right now is almost 6 months away! Much can change in 6 months time. Since your 7 year old will be going into 2nd grade, there is a possibility that your younger child could be ready to begin Bigger Hearts by September. It's tough to make a firm decision about that at this point. I would lean toward giving your kiddos every chance to combine, however with your older daughter's strengths in reading and writing I think it would be quite a step back for her to combine with your younger child in Beyond. That is why it will be a bit of a waiting game to see if they can be combined in Bigger Hearts. :D

The other choice would be to place your kiddos separately in Beyond and Preparing Hearts. If you did go that route, you could potentially do both programs at half-speed if needed doing the left side one day and the right side the next and then bumping up to full-speed with one program and later the other as time allows. :D

I honestly think that at this point it is good to wait a few more months and then assess again. If you get a chance to share your kiddos math placement test results and how well your older child spells, works independently, and follow directions that would help too. :D

I'm also wondering if you have other kiddos coming up as that will make a difference in your long-term plan for your older kiddos too.

Blessings,
Carrie

wertzeemom
Posts: 29
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 7:10 am
Location: Pennsylvania

Re: Really need some advice!

Post by wertzeemom » Tue Mar 31, 2009 2:15 pm

Thanks so much, Carrie! I'm definitely not making any permanent decisions yet. We have awhile, and I can do some things this summer that may bring DD 2 up to speed. I also have a 2 year-old who isn't in this plan! :wink:
10 yo DD -
8 yo DD -
3 yo DS -

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