Bigger question for a child not interested in History

[j_thurm]

Hi. I am so excited to be using HOD next year with my almost 7 and 9 year old. I looked over all the placement criteria and am pretty sure they can both do Bigger. The problem is that my almost 9 year old loves History and my almost 7 year old really doesn't. My almost 7 yo prefers more living history books with pictures and more of a story than the Eggleston books that Bigger uses. My question is is there another History book that someone could recommend that would be more suitable to my younger daughter but that would follow a similiar time frame as what is already in Bigger? I was thinking of having my almost 9 yo read the History that is scheduled in Bigger on her own with narrations orally and/or written so I can follow her comprehension and then reading aloud another History text that follows the same time frame to my younger child. What does everyone think? Thanks!!!!!

[austimr]

j_thurm,

I just moved your post over to the Main Board where more people will see your post. All new threads start on here.

Thanks!

Mike

[mamas4bugs]

Welcome!

Have you considered placing your youngest in Beyond? American Pioneers and Patriots, Stories of the Pilgrims, and Boys and Girls of Colonial Days (all used in Beyond) are definitely history told through stories. I suppose you could add those books to Bigger, although since Bigger is a more biographical approach, I'm not sure how that would mesh out. I'm sure someone else will have a better answer.

[lmercon]

I was also going to suggest Beyond for your 7 yo. It is WONDERFUL! I think your 7 yo would love it, and it's a great way to prepare a child for the higher-level listening in Bigger. Of course, you'll want to look at the skills placement chart to get a better idea. However, that is what I would do.
Laura

[blessedmomof4]

I agree that could be an option-you could use the History from Beyond for your younger, and the Language Arts, Math, and Science from Bigger if that is a better placement in those areas.

[pjdobro]

Have you read the Eggleston books yet? The Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans is very much a story driven book and in many ways so is A First Book in American History. There aren't pictures really, but the history study in Bigger is very biographical in nature so you'll be studying a lot of the people that made the history so that in itself really makes it more story-like in nature. If that still doesn't work for your dd perhaps you could look for other biographies with pictures that you could read along with the study. As you look through the table of contents and through each week, you'll see that there are many wonderful people studied so you could probably use that as a guideline and look at your library for supplemental books to compliment the study. I would really give it a try though reading the stories in the Eggleston books. It might take a little while to get used to the language in which they were written but they are well written and definitely living books, not typical history books at all. The other thing that might really make a difference to your dd are the follow-up activities that are scheduled in the guide. They really bring the history to life and make it exciting.

[j_thurm]

Thanks so much for all the help!!! If I follow this advice:

"I agree that could be an option-you could use the History from Beyond for your younger, and the Language Arts, Math, and Science from Bigger if that is a better placement in those areas".

Could I then put both of my kids in the Preparing Level next year? I would really like to keep the 7 and 9 year old together. As far as placement, my 7 yo does fit in with the Bigger guide but is more artsy and visual then my 9 year old and really needs more pictures and story.

I did read through some of the Eggleson and my oldest did as well. My oldest loved the Eggleson but when we sat down to start HOD Bigger and was reading the History section my youngest complained the entire time and now declares that she doesn't like History

I like the idea of finding picture books to go with the time period studied. That might work better. Does anyone recommend a good series of biographical picture books? I love the D'Aulaire books but they are even hard for my 7 year old to listen to as they are really quite long.

I look forward to hearing everyone's opinions. I really really like the looks of HOD and really want to make it work.

Thanks,

Andrea

[blessedmomof4]

Hi. I am so excited to be using HOD next year with my almost 7 and 9 year old. I looked over all the placement criteria and am pretty sure they can both do Bigger. The problem is that my almost 9 year old loves History and my almost 7 year old really doesn't. My almost 7 yo prefers more living history books with pictures and more of a story than the Eggleston books that Bigger uses. My question is is there another History book that someone could recommend that would be more suitable to my younger daughter but that would follow a similiar time frame as what is already in Bigger? I was thinking of having my almost 9 yo read the History that is scheduled in Bigger on her own with narrations orally and/or written so I can follow her comprehension and then reading aloud another History text that follows the same time frame to my younger child. What does everyone think? Thanks!!!!!

After re-reading your original post and the rest of this thread, if both children place into Bigger, that is the best way to go. I wouldn't skip a child from Beyond to Preparing-there are many skills learned in Bigger that will be necessary for success in Preparing, which has a good deal of writing and begins training to independence. Eggleston does take getting used to, but I can tell you my own girls learned to love it over time! Perhaps she just needs something to occupy her eyes while you read-like some coloring pages? The Eggleston books really are written as stories, but coloring could provide the pictures. Maybe she could even illustrate what you are reading? Just some ideas...

[birchbark]

Another option would be to put your older in Bigger and your younger in Little Hearts, with skill-appropriate math, reading, and handwriting. Good listening skills are key to success with HoD, and you don't want to overwhelm your younger student right off the bat. HoD books tend to be literature-rich and not so much image-rich, especially in Bigger Hearts on up. Starting at a younger level will give her opportunity to build those listening skills. Also this way you would not be running two guides back to back as you would if you did Beyond and Bigger.

[j_thurm]

Thanks for the idea birchbark. That is one that I hadn't thought of! I will definitely look into that. I wonder if it would work to do the history parts from Little Heart and then have her do the rest of Bigger with her older sibling. This is all so confusing!!!! I really appreciate everyone's help! Honestly, I really don't want to do three guides this year. Hopefully I can figure this out

[j_thurm]

What a great idea, Lourdes, thanks! I never thought of having her illustrate the readings! If she doesn't enjoy that, is there a coloring book option out there that might coordinate?????? Thanks for everyone's help!!!!!

[pjdobro]

What a great idea, Lourdes, thanks! I never thought of having her illustrate the readings! If she doesn't enjoy that, is there a coloring book option out there that might coordinate?????? Thanks for everyone's help!!!!!

We had Life in Colonial America by Peter Copeland that was a nice coloring book. It is more of a detailed one. I see that Peter Copeland also has one on exploration and the revolution. They would probably coordinate well. Another thought if she likes to draw is to look at the Draw, Write, Now books. We have the whole set so I'm not for sure which one would be best but I think there is one that focuses on early America. That would probably be the best fit. Hopefully over time, she would grow into the Eggleston readings. We have really enjoyed the stories in Bigger this year. It was a wonderful year of learning for all of us including me!

[Carrie]

The ladies are doing a tremendous job of helping you! I'm not quite understanding from your post how much of Bigger Hearts you have done so far? If you are able to clarify that, then we'll understand better how much of a trial run of doing Bigger your little sweetie has had before declaring she didn't like the history readings. This will definitely make a difference in the advice we give you. I'm also wanting to be sure that your 7 year old is able to handle all of the rest of the skills within Bigger, as it is very possible that she just doesn't fit in Bigger Hearts overall. It takes a very strong academic 7 year old who has had experience in listening to living books, and also is a good reader/writer/narrator/etc. to flourish in Bigger Hearts. Otherwise, we wouldn't typically advise a 7 year old to begin HOD with Bigger.

One thing to understand about living books is that they are not typically picture books, but rather are books where the author's words paint the pictures in a child's mind. They live in the mind because they are told in narrative or story form, and often include a very rich, higher level of vocabulary (which makes a living book truly live)! Many living books can be an acquired taste, especially as children who are used to a picture book style education move into this new type of reading. I'll include a description as to why we chose the Eggleston books below, and also include an explanation of why they fit well into the "living book" category.

Eggleston's books qualify as living books in that they are written in short chapters, told in narrative form, include interesting anectdotes and stories about real people, are written by one author who was passionate about his subject matter (and consequently was a Methodist minister and later a journalist who actually interviewed family members to get the stories he wrote). They also lend themselves well to being narrated.

We found Eggleston's writing to be more memorable than any other American history text out there, yet it gives a great overview of the important men and women that our children should know from American history. Also, a biographical approach is much more personal than a study of events. I was fascinated with the reading and learned many things I had never heard before.

That being said, Eggleston is an acquired taste, whose style grows on you the more you read. His books are also not filled with beautiful pictures, so they require a more seasoned listener to appreciate the retellings. My boys loved the books and learned so much from them. It was a tough decision to choose spine books for American history, yet surprisingly most texts we reviewed were easily set aside for one reason or another until we settled on Eggleston.

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, it is likely that 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). It is better to be sure a child is well-placed, as then the readings will fit the child's skill level much better. With that in mind, I would say from what you've shared so far that your 7 year old would fit better in either LHFHG or Beyond, as it is likely that she is still needing a gradual transition away from picture books and into more living books in shorter bite-sized increments. It does sound like Bigger will be a good fit for your older student.

I'd encourage you to take another look at the placement chart and see where each of your kiddos fit as individuals, especially on the first page of the chart. Try to set aside any thoughts of combining for now, and just think where each child places on his/her own. Then, if you get a chance to pop back and share a bit more about each of your children, we can discuss possible placement options.

Blessings,
Carrie