Growing Frustrated w/ Bigger History

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mrsrandolph
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Location: Cartersville, GA

Growing Frustrated w/ Bigger History

Post by mrsrandolph » Sun Aug 15, 2010 8:14 pm

I have an 8 year old girl and 7 year old boy doing Bigger. I am having frustration issues with the History. I LOVE HOD, and have LOVED every single part of every single guide.....

BUT...I am REALLY struggling with this History book. The language is so obtuse for children. I feel like I need to paraphrase so much of it.

I decided we would read a short biography of Columbus AFTER completing the unit on him, and when I told my daughter who our book was about, she said, "Who's that?"

I wanted to scream. :roll:

I have even wondered if they would *get* "A Child's Story Of America" more easily.

I know you are going to ask me if I have them narrate the history readings back to me. I do ask them to retell what we read, and as you can imagine, they do not do very well. They do better with specific questions. Honestly, I am having a hard time remembering the text myself... :wink:

help?
Shannon Randolph LOVING HOD & Running 4 Guides & DITHOR
Mommy to 4 Precious Blessings
Cassie (15- World Geography),
Will (14- Rev2Rev,
Ellie (12- Res2Ref), and
Jack (10- CTC)

holyhart
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Re: Growing Frustrated w/ Bigger History

Post by holyhart » Mon Aug 16, 2010 8:49 am

We haven't started it yet so I have no advice to offer. I hope you get some great advice though. :D
~Kelly~
wife of CB since 10/99
mother to:
~Evelyn Grace 5/03
~Joshua Ryan 11/05
~Lillian Rose 8/08
~Caleb Charles 8/10

blessedmomof4
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Re: Growing Frustrated w/ Bigger History

Post by blessedmomof4 » Mon Aug 16, 2010 10:50 am

I don't know if the is feasible for you, but could you drop back to Beyond for history readings? Your kids are both still in the age range for Beyond...that is, if you didn't do Beyond with them already...but I would imagine the history for Beyond would be easier to understand. I used Bigger when my kids were 8 and 9, but they were both strong readers who could have read the Bigger history books on their own.
If you have already done Beyond, I don't know what to suggest, so I hope others come along with other ideas.
Lourdes
Wife to Danforth
2 grads 9/19/92,7/8/95
2 in charter school 1/31/98, 9/19/99
3 in Heaven 8/11/06, 8/18/10, 9/13/13
Future HODie is here! 9/14/12

Sharon
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Re: Growing Frustrated w/ Bigger History

Post by Sharon » Mon Aug 16, 2010 12:18 pm

I had one child who loved Eggleston and would beg me to read more and one who just checked out every time I started to read, so I understand how you feel. I just pulled A Childs Story of America off the shelf and it looks like it might be a better fit language wise. If you don't have it look for some online samples to read and see if you like it better.

I'm not sure if using this book alone without the Eggleston books would throw off the activites or not? I just went and pulled my manual and I see that there are some long time periods where A Childs Story of America is not even read but other books from the Extension Package are. So, I not sure how that would work!

I am sure Carrie will be along soon with some suggestions!!
Wife to Jesse,
Mom to Michelle, Dawn, Rose, Marie
DD14 Rev to Rev, MTMM in the Fall
Enjoyed Beyond, Bigger, Preparing, CTC, RTR, RevtoRev, and World Geo.

daybreaking
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Re: Growing Frustrated w/ Bigger History

Post by daybreaking » Mon Aug 16, 2010 12:47 pm

There was a similar thread to this one, back in May. I don't know how to link to a post, so I've just copied and pasted Carrie's and Julie's responses from back then:

Re: A First Book in American History

Postby Carrie on Thu May 13, 2010 11:14 pm
Summer,

I'll paste a past post of mine below that will help you as you work through Bigger Hearts.

This thread explains why we chose the Eggleston books and why we find them to be living:
viewtopic.php?f=12&t=202

On a sidenote, I went to school during the new textbook era when books began to be filled with multiple pictures but included very little history content. I can honestly say I remember nothing from my growing up years about history. We definitely did not do any biographical readings, and I never felt like the people we read about were real people. They just didn't jump off of the page in any memorable way, except for their pictures. By the time I became a public school teacher, the textbooks were even broader in their "coverage", covering everything in a sentence or two but not really looking at anything or anybody in history in depth. History became social studies and with it actual "history" was left behind. :wink:

So, when we began homeschooling, and we began coming across history books that were written years ago in a living way (when the writers were much closer to the time period in which the history was happening), we knew this was the way we wanted our children to learn history. In our search for this type of book, we found that many homeschooling companies did not use this type of book but instead used either textbooks, or read through an encyclopedia as a spine, or used historical fiction as a spine, or did a combination of these. :D

Each of these options has its concerns. Using textbooks was too similar of a route to that which we'd grown up doing, so our family desired to stay away from that route (as we saw little fruit from it within our own experiences). Reading from an encyclopedia like a textbook does little to aid in actual retention or understanding of history, as encyclopedias are filled with snippets of information and many sidebars. To read through an encyclopedia is also using the book in a way other than it was intended to be used, as encyclopedias are meant to be reference books. Using historical fiction as a history spine also presents some problems, as historical fiction gives the impression that all of what is being read is true and leaves the reader wondering what truly is a part of history and what is fiction.

So, at HOD we desire to use accurate living books as our spines as much as possible and then fill-in the background details with historical fiction or with other genres that give a fuller picture of the period. We directly tie the day's activities to the readings to give them even more life.

I'd encourage you to give Eggleston at least 9 weeks of just reading the book as written (without paraphrasing or stopping to explain as you go) before making a judgment about his worth as a writer. CM maintained that kiddos could understand much more than we give them credit for if we only would stop getting in the way of the text. If you search the board for past posts on Eggleston, you'll find many moms who grew to love his style of writing right along with their children. The habit of attention needs to be cultivated in order for kiddos to interact with readings that are more living. They definitely take a more mature listener. In the end this is what makes the reading more memorable. :D

Blessings,
Carrie



Postby my3sons on Sat May 15, 2010 8:46 pm
I am reading Jane Austen books now and found the same to be true for me. I started reading them and had a hard time getting into them. It was because they were wonderfully written in an old-time way that I am not used to reading. I stuck with it (Persuasion was the first one I read), and by the middle of it I was hooked. It left me wondering why I've been reading such inferior books for so long! Now I've been through "Pride and Prejudice" and am on to "Sense and Sensibility". Anyway, I share this not to get you to read Austen :lol: , but because I had a similar experience with reading Eggleston to my ds. He had a hard time at first. PLEASE give it some time! Your ds will learn to L-O-V-E it over time. A few years back, I posted this about Eggleston, so you can see how my ds' tune changed over time:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=451&p=2929

In Christ,
Julie

Wife to one amazing husband and mother to two precious blessings from above:
ds21 & dd16

Tree House Academy
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Re: Growing Frustrated w/ Bigger History

Post by Tree House Academy » Tue Aug 17, 2010 6:38 pm

When my older son read the Eggleston History book, he was 10. He loved them. I can see how the language would be hard for a younger child, though. I thought the same thing about the Little Pillows devotional. We will be doing Bigger next year with an 8 y/o, so I am taking notes! LOL
~Rebecca~

ds13(8th) - Rev to Rev w/ TT Pre-Algebra, R&S English 6, CLE Reading 8, Rosetta Stone French
ds9 (4th) - Preparing Hearts, TT Math 4, R&S English 3, CLE Reading 4, & Writeshop Jr.

We have completed LHFHG, BLHFHG, Bigger, CTC, & RTR.

mrsrandolph
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Re: Growing Frustrated w/ Bigger History

Post by mrsrandolph » Tue Aug 17, 2010 7:12 pm

We have already done Beyond, so going to that history isn't an option. They LOVED Beyond History : )
Shannon Randolph LOVING HOD & Running 4 Guides & DITHOR
Mommy to 4 Precious Blessings
Cassie (15- World Geography),
Will (14- Rev2Rev,
Ellie (12- Res2Ref), and
Jack (10- CTC)

my3sons
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Re: Growing Frustrated w/ Bigger History

Post by my3sons » Tue Aug 17, 2010 8:16 pm

I am wondering what unit you are in of Bigger Hearts?
In Christ,
Julie
Enjoyed LHTH to USII
Currently using USI
Wife to Rich for 28 years
Mother to 3 sons, ages 23, 20, and 16
Sister to Carrie

mrsrandolph
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Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 9:21 pm
Location: Cartersville, GA

Re: Growing Frustrated w/ Bigger History

Post by mrsrandolph » Tue Aug 17, 2010 8:46 pm

We are in Unit 3 now, but the History frustration has been present since unit 1. :wink:
Shannon Randolph LOVING HOD & Running 4 Guides & DITHOR
Mommy to 4 Precious Blessings
Cassie (15- World Geography),
Will (14- Rev2Rev,
Ellie (12- Res2Ref), and
Jack (10- CTC)

Carrie
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Re: Growing Frustrated w/ Bigger History

Post by Carrie » Wed Aug 18, 2010 3:47 pm

Shannon,

I would encourage you to do 3 things to help your kiddos appreciate Eggleston:

1. Read the Eggleston readings without paraphrasing and without interrupting the readings to explain. Also, do not give an explanation after the reading about what you think Eggleston was trying to say. CM would say that paraphrasing, interrupting to explain, or giving your own explanation after the reading is getting in the way of the child interacting with the text. In essence, you're doing the work of understanding the reading for the kiddos, rather than letting them do it, if you're doing any of these things. :wink:

2. Simply read the readings as scheduled and do the follow-up activities for at least 9 weeks, expecting the kiddos to slowly progress and grow over time. :D

3. Have a very positive attitude yourself about the book no matter what your initial thoughts on it may be. :wink: A parent's attitude affects a child's reaction to a book more than I'd care to admit. :D

If you do these 3 things, I think you will be pleasantly surprised at your children's progress. :D Bigger is intended to be a growing year to prepare kiddos for the coming rigor of middle elementary. Grades 3 on up have that same feel in all school settings, when compared to grades K-2. :D

The upped level of maturity in the readings within Bigger Hearts do much to prepare a child for the level of readings and work to come within in Preparing Hearts and CTC. So, if you stop the Eggleston readings and choose a different route, should you desire to come back to HOD later, you will have more work as a parent to make sure your kiddos are ready for our upper guides (unless your kiddos have become accustomed to more difficult readings through another route). :D

I will mention that switching the spine of Bigger will not allow Bigger to work in the way it was designed, as all of the activities on the left side of the plans are tied to the daily readings. I have seen too many parents throw in the towel or begin tweaking and rewriting a curriculum much too early, not really giving it a true chance by simply doing it as written. I encourage you to persevere following the 3 guidelines I listed above and think you will be reap the benefits by year-end! The Eggleston readings are only 5-10 minutes long each day, so they aren't much to persevere through. My own boys enjoyed them thoroughly! :D

Blessings,
Carrie

mrsrandolph
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Re: Growing Frustrated w/ Bigger History

Post by mrsrandolph » Wed Aug 18, 2010 8:06 pm

Carrie,

I respect you to the UTMOST and will do exactly as you suggest! Love you!
Shannon Randolph LOVING HOD & Running 4 Guides & DITHOR
Mommy to 4 Precious Blessings
Cassie (15- World Geography),
Will (14- Rev2Rev,
Ellie (12- Res2Ref), and
Jack (10- CTC)

Mommamo
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Re: Growing Frustrated w/ Bigger History

Post by Mommamo » Wed Aug 18, 2010 8:18 pm

We haven't actually started these books yet because we're still finishing up Beyond (4 more units to go, which we're loving, but it's hard having Bigger sitting waiting on the shelf). But anyway, I just wanted to give some encouragement about the different language/style. C (who is almost 7 now) has always loved listening to chapter books, and by 4 or so we had exhausted reading Winnie the Pooh, Alice in Wonderland, etc, so we started to branch out some and tried The Borrowers. Boy is that some stilted language! And let me tell you there were times that I wanted to just summarize, like when they give the descriptions of the landscapes. Boy. And admittedly it was tough for C at first, but we stuck through it and she kept asking for more and more! We ended up, not reading the entire series, but several of the books. So that's just to encourage you that your kiddos may end up really enjoying it over time.
Momma to my 4 sweeties:
DD 14 - MTMM and DITHOR (completed LHFHG, Beyond, Bigger, Preparing, CTC, took a couple years off, and now she's back!)
DS 11 and DD 9 - Preparing(completed 2 rounds of LHTH, LHFHG, Beyond, and Bigger)
DD 6 - LHFHG

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