Possibly Beefing up Bigger....

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Lynnw
Posts: 180
Joined: Fri May 16, 2008 11:33 am
Location: Kentucky

Possibly Beefing up Bigger....

Post by Lynnw » Sat Sep 25, 2010 4:34 am

I am considering putting my oldest ds in Bigger with his brother for sake of togetherness that I think we need. My oldest turns 12 in October and I consider him 6th grade. Our past pattern in homeschooling has been to do some fairly challenging reading and letting our writing skills lag a bit. I think he'll enjoy the notebooking in Bigger. He'll have no problem some additional written narrations (still need to figure out pacing/volume for that - I need to re-read the extension suggestions in Bigger and Preparing which I also have!), and I have a writing program I can use since we will stop IEW's Middle AGes Writing in the RTR guide. Finally to a couple of questions.... if I want to save Exploring Planet Earth for RTR, are there any other ideas for beefing up science? Also, I'm pasting Carrie's previous advice here on reading suggestions for those who are a year or two beyond the extension reading list.... but I'm trying to come up with a longer list of books. I also find myself tempted to pull in some books related to world history at the time, but don't want to accidentally use something that might make it's way into the next guide (Explorers and Inventors!). I know it's way too early for a sneak peak into that guide, but if anyone can help me extend this list of suggestions I would appreciate it!
Carrie on Sat Mar 08, 2008 12:20 pm

coconuts,

Welcome to the board! We're glad to have you here!

I will have a 7th grader next year too. You could have your 7th grader ride along with the same one-year overview American history focus you are using in "Bigger...." next year with your youngers, and beef it up by adding several more difficult spines like "George Washington's World" by Foster (for early American History) "The Story of the Great Republic" by Guerber, and "Short Lessons in U.S. History" (for a general overview).

You could also add additional advanced reader books to the Extension Pack (like "Poor Richard" by Daugherty, "Abigail Adams" by Bober, "Of Courage Undaunted" by Daugherty, "American Tall Tales" by Stoutenburg, and "Carry a Big Stick" by George Grant).

These titles would require a strong 6th-7th grade reader/literature lover to read on his/her own. If your kiddo is not wired that way, you could just use the Extension Package in "Bigger..." for additional history literature and add a single spine such as "This Country of Ours" by H.E. Marshall to "beef up" the history.

Anyway, you get the idea. For literature you could add "Drawn into the Heart of Reading" Level 6/7/8. My oldest son has used "Drawn into the Heart..." for years, and we have found it has provided him with a very strong background in literature study.

I'm not sure if you are also looking for recommendations for language arts and math, but this will get you started.

Blessings,
CarrieCarrie
Site Admin
Married 19 years to Dh, Detective and Army Reservist: 1 tour in Iraq, 1 tour in Afghanistan
ds 12.5 (7th grade) RevtoRev
ds 9.5 (4th grade) Preparing

dd 8 (3rd grade) Beyond
ds 6 (K/1st grade) Beyond
dd 3

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

Re: Possibly Beefing up Bigger....

Post by Carrie » Wed Sep 29, 2010 4:09 pm

Lynnw,

If you are planning to go the "beefing it up" route with Bigger Hearts, I will let you know that you will likely wish to wait on George Washington's World and The Story of the Great Republic by Guerber as we are planning to include those in the guide to come right after RTR. They are both terrific books and will be two of the spines in the guide to come. :D

The same may also be true for some of the other books I mentioned in that post from awhile ago, as we're still pondering Basic and Extension Package options.

You may instead wish to look at Guerber's Story of the Thirteen Colonies and possibly one of Foster's other books, such as The World of Columbus' and Sons or The World of Captain John Smith or the World of Abraham Lincoln. :D Short Lessons In U.S. History would still work to fill out the later time periods if needed. Or, you could lean toward any of the volumes of Mara Pratt books from Yesterday's Classics as they are short interesting readings for a bit older audience all based on American history. :D

I'd definitely start with the Extension Package and see how much you really think you need to add before making it too heavy though. :D

Blessings,
Carrie

Lynnw
Posts: 180
Joined: Fri May 16, 2008 11:33 am
Location: Kentucky

Re: Possibly Beefing up Bigger....

Post by Lynnw » Thu Sep 30, 2010 5:46 am

Carrie, thank you so much for your response. I had browsed some other books lists to get a feel for other books that would possibly be at my ds's level and decided I would be best off with the extension package, but substitute with a different spine. I ordered all of it except the spine, Children's Story of America, hoping to use GW'w World and Guerber's STory of the Great Republic. So I'm glad I read your post. I do have GW's World on the way to me, but it can join the other GREAT HOD books waiting for a future year (my shelves are full of them :lol: ).

Edited: After looking at a couple options (including a book at mainlesson called Amerca First .... written in a very engaging style, but a little too violent for my comfort level....bummer! ) I'm considering using Story of the 13 Colonies by Guerber followed by Abraham Lincoln's World. These would mirror your selections for the next guide but keep us from using the exact same books.

Thanks again for the heads up for the next guide!!!!
Lynn
Married 19 years to Dh, Detective and Army Reservist: 1 tour in Iraq, 1 tour in Afghanistan
ds 12.5 (7th grade) RevtoRev
ds 9.5 (4th grade) Preparing

dd 8 (3rd grade) Beyond
ds 6 (K/1st grade) Beyond
dd 3

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

Re: Possibly Beefing up Bigger....

Post by Carrie » Fri Oct 01, 2010 4:16 pm

Lynn,

Sounds good! If the reading gets to be too much though, don't hesitate to back off. Less done better is a good goal! :D

Blessings,
Carrie

Lynnw
Posts: 180
Joined: Fri May 16, 2008 11:33 am
Location: Kentucky

Re: Possibly Beefing up Bigger....

Post by Lynnw » Sat Oct 02, 2010 12:45 pm

Carrie,
As always, your advice is right on! As I'm trying to plan my ds's week for next week, I realize he *could* do the reading I had in mind, but he would be crunched for time to do narrations, notebooking, etc. (I'm so bad about only thinking about reading and not the pondering and the output!) So, knowing that these skills are the ones that need more of our attention than the volume of reading per se.... I'm considering the Short Lessons in U.S. History instead. I like that it seems to be thorough but succinct, and I like it's mapping, it's critical thinking questions. A few reviewers commented that it was more liberal in slant than its World History counterpart, but I think if we are discussing the critical thinking questions together, we won't have any problems. (?)

I also have Eggleston's A History of the United States and Its People for older grades. This could easily be used as a pace of 1-2 chapters /week. If you have any thoughts on these options please let me know. I would use either the Eggleston book or the Short Lessons, but not both.... or maybe something else I haven't considered yet, LOL!

I'm not sure if I'm worse for indecision or impatience to make a decision. I know you are so busy (I don't know how you do it all!), and it could well be awhile before you have a chance to read these thoughts. I may have made a decision by then, or I may still be sitting here deliberating, LOL!

Carrie, thanks for your great guides and sharing so much wisdom here!
Lynn
Married 19 years to Dh, Detective and Army Reservist: 1 tour in Iraq, 1 tour in Afghanistan
ds 12.5 (7th grade) RevtoRev
ds 9.5 (4th grade) Preparing

dd 8 (3rd grade) Beyond
ds 6 (K/1st grade) Beyond
dd 3

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