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Has anyone used books from the extension as storytime books

Posted: Sat May 15, 2010 9:24 pm
by lovedtodeath
We are starting Bigger in January (when Emily is 8 and a half) and I planned to use the extension (without the science or the spine), but I am afraid that will be a little too much. Do you think I could use some of those books in place of the storytime books? Has anyone else tried that? Which books could I leave out?

Re: Has anyone used books from the extension as storytime books

Posted: Sun May 16, 2010 12:28 pm
by Mommamo
I haven't done Bigger yet-we're going to start it when we finish Beyond in a couple of months. But my understanding is that it might be hard to substitute all of the extension books for story time since story time is done by genre. Some *might* line up both in the time you should read the extension and also the genre, but I think it'd be a stretch. I guess you could always just do the extensions and not do the story time activities, but the story time is SO worth it in my opinion. I know Caroline has learned a lot from doing the storytime in Beyond this year. She knows a lot about the different genres, and has learned a lot about good literature. What I have been thinking about, since we LOVE reading, is taking Bigger over two years, doing it half speed, and adding in the extensions and still do the storytime. I'm not sure yet, but it's something I'm thinking about. Maybe someone who has done Bigger will chime in and give you some better ideas.

Re: Has anyone used books from the extension as storytime books

Posted: Sun May 16, 2010 1:31 pm
by Allison TX
Hi lovedtodeath. We did that when we used Bigger. There were a few books in the storytime titles that we had already read, so we just chose a few from the extension pack and substituted with those. Almost all of HOD books are sorted by genre in the bookshop, so it's very easy to do. Our favorite book was Bud and Me. :) My boys also really enjoyed By the Great Horn Spoon and Ben and Me. I did try to stay with the same genre as scheduled in the Bigger guide. Hope this helps!

Allison

Re: Has anyone used books from the extension as storytime books

Posted: Sun May 16, 2010 5:43 pm
by lovedtodeath
Thanks. It helps just to know that you have done it! :mrgreen: I am having a hard time deciding what to do. I ordered the guide and I am frozen when it comes to ordering the books to go with it. There is one I was thinking about: Would Almost Home count as a biography?

Re: Has anyone used books from the extension as storytime books

Posted: Sun May 16, 2010 9:33 pm
by Allison TX
I don't think so- it is listed as historical fiction. But I haven't read the book. :)

Re: Has anyone used books from the extension as storytime books

Posted: Sun May 16, 2010 11:00 pm
by lovedtodeath
Thanks! I want to get them in chronological order and use the storytime discussion. I buy an open and go guide so I can make work for myself instead of using it. :roll:

Re: Has anyone used books from the extension as storytime books

Posted: Mon May 17, 2010 7:14 am
by jjcmehl
Thanks for the insight. I was planning on using some of the extension books for storytime, in chronological order. I planned to flip through the guide to find the corresponding storytime discussion with the genre. Now, I see I may be making more work for myself.

Re: Has anyone used books from the extension as storytime books

Posted: Mon May 17, 2010 9:26 am
by lovedtodeath
So Christine let me know what you decide to do. I just can't let go of the chronological extra reading.

I already have at least 2 that I plan to leave out. I should be able to just schedule the rest in the storytime boxes and then just write which page to turn to for storytime in another box during the days lesson. I hope that makes sense. After I am done scheduling, I don't mind sharing.

Re: Has anyone used books from the extension as storytime books

Posted: Mon May 17, 2010 7:10 pm
by lovedtodeath
Allison TX wrote:I don't think so- it is listed as historical fiction.
Where? :?

Re: Has anyone used books from the extension as storytime books

Posted: Mon May 17, 2010 8:39 pm
by Allison TX
http://www.heartofdakota.com/bs_historical-fiction.php

If you go to the HOD bookshop, you can search the books by genre. :)

Re: Has anyone used books from the extension as storytime books

Posted: Mon May 17, 2010 9:35 pm
by lovedtodeath
aha! Thanks. Okay, so if I only do one between these two, which to read: Toliver's Secret, or Guns for General Washington? I need to choose the one that would be easier and seem shorter or more exciting. :lol:

Oh, and I already have Sarah Whitcher's story. What book could that replace do you think?

Re: Has anyone used books from the extension as storytime books

Posted: Tue May 18, 2010 7:57 am
by Allison TX
You have a girl, is that right? I would read Tolliver's Secret over Guns for General Washington based on the age of your dc. My boys loved Guns for General Washington, but they read it themselves. Sarah Witcher is listed as Historical Fiction. I think you could probably use that for Adventure though. It has been several years since I read it, but I think I remember it having an Adventure element as well. :) Since you already have it, that may be an easy switch. Then you could save Tolliver's Secret for an ind. reader (if you decide to do DITHOR) later on.

Re: Has anyone used books from the extension as storytime books

Posted: Wed May 19, 2010 6:03 pm
by lovedtodeath
Thanks so much for your help Allison. I will update the thread when I have the list of books chosen.

Re: Has anyone used books from the extension as storytime books

Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 2:42 pm
by Carrie
lovedtodeath,

One thing you'll want to ponder as you're choosing books to read for the Storytime in Bigger is that the Extension Pack books are meant for a 4th and 5th grade reader, so these books would have material we would consider to be less appropriate for a listener who is younger than that. We wouldn't recommend taking the Extension Pack books to use for the storytime part of the plans in Bigger, as the extension books were chosen to extend the history for an older reader to read independently. They weren't selected for their read-aloud quality. The focus of the Storytime part of the plans in Bigger is to teach literature study skills, listening skills, and moral discernment. So, we'd highly encourage you to choose from among the 3 options of books suggested for the storytime part of the plans (either the Boy, Girl, or Classic book suggestions or some combination of those). :D

In the guides in Preparing Hearts on up, there are history related read-alouds, which are chosen for that specific purpose. However, in Bigger Hearts we truly needed the Storytime to focus on raising kiddos' listening levels and firming up their comprehension with the read-alouds (which means the storytime books were chose with a different purpose in mind than the Extension books in Bigger). The Storytime in Bigger is training kiddos in the study of literary skills while preparing them for the higher level listening and reading to come in Preparing Hearts. :D

Blessings,
Carrie

Re: Has anyone used books from the extension as storytime books

Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 7:26 pm
by Allison TX
This is very helpful information, Carrie. I will try and stay with the scheduled packages when choosing books in the future. There are still so many to choose from with the boy, girl, and classic sets. :) Thank you for your explanation. I'm always so impressed with how much thought goes into your guides. :)

Allison