Little Hearts (LHFHG) begins with Bible history, then covers a small amount of world and American history. Beyond covers early American history from a story approach. Bigger covers a broader span of American history in a biographical form. Preparing is a one year sweep of world history from ancients to modern. Then the next four guides will follow a typical 4 year sequence. CTC covers ancients. RTR covers MA/Ren. Rev2Rev is early american and world history. The next guide will cover modern times. Then the next 4 guides will be for High School, starting with a year of Geography. Hope this helps.:)

I used Bigger with my boys a few years ago. We have such fond memories of it. They used different grammar and math and it was not a problem at all. We did use, and are still using, HOD dictation. It is fantastic! My daughter is finishing up Beyond now and will probably use Bigger next year. She will use HOD Language Arts, but a different math. We have used, or are currently using, every HOD guide, except Little Hands, and have enjoyed them all. The guides are so complete. I hope you enjoy Bigger.:) Allison

"Thanks! Do you know what book that was? " Mr. Pipes and Psalms and Hymns of the Reformation.

Agreeing pretty much with what 1shortmomto4 said. I haven't noticed any bias, but I am not reading all the material either. I skimmed over all the books before handing them off to my kids, but have not read them cover to cover. I did see a note to Catholic parents in the TM that they may want to skip one of the read aloud books. For what its worth, my boys have really enjoyed RTR.:001_smile: HTH!

Thank you!:001_smile:

I'm using RTR this year with a 5th and 6th grader. I'd be happy to answer any questions.:)

Thanks Momling and Sweetbaby. Do I need to start with Book 1 in the Key to Fractions series?

My son is really struggling with TT 7. This is our 3rd year using TT and he has always done well with it. The past several weeks he has struggled. He seems very week on fractions, and is not doing great with decimals and percents. What could I use to help him understand some of these concepts more clearly? I've seen suggestions for Key to Series, Math Mammoth review books, and Life of Fred. Which one do I need? :confused:

We loved Preparing Hearts, but my kids were older. I think it might be too difficult, especially for your 6 year old. You could adjust the writing, but if I were you I would look at Bigger or Beyond. They are such great guides as well. :) Hope this helps!

We did something similar a few years ago. A Trip Around the World books have some recipes, activity sheets, flags to color. Global Art has craft projects. We would read a picture book FIAR style for a week that took place in whatever country we were studying (Madeline for France, Little Black Sambo for India, Ferdinand for Spain). Homeschoolshare has some free lapbooks. Another fun thing is to get a fake passport and put flag stickers in when you "visit" a country. There is a coloring book, I think called Around the World, Winter Promise carries it, and so does Amazon. You could also add in animals or habitats from around the world as you study the country. Have fun with it!:) We really enjoyed our geography study.

My boys are using CTC and my dd is using Beyond. The boys should finish up CTC in the early fall and then begin RTR. We love HOD! We have used several guides and they are all great.:)

Thanks for all the quick replies. This helps a bunch!:001_smile: Allison

I just bought R&S Math 2 for my upcoming second grader. After looking through the Teacher Guide I am wondering if it is necessary to make the boat and clover posters? I did buy the blossom and bee posters to drill the triplets, but the other posters seem like they would be more beneficial in a classroom setting. Are they really needed at home? Also, it seems like a lot more seat work than what we are used to. How long should the math lesson take? Thanks for any help!:001_smile: Allison

Hi Alison. The only two books in the history package that may have violent or mature content are The Golden Bull and God King. I have not read either so I can't tell you for sure. I have read the rest of the books in the history set, with the exception of the last two used (one is published by R&S I believe, so it's probably fine, the other one is about the history of hymns?, so it's probably fine as well) and I didn't find anything objectionable for our family. The Cleopatra book does discuss suicide, but I didn't find the book to be too mature for the age range of CTC. As far as reading level, I don't know the exact RL of each book but they are all books that my 4th/5th graders can read, and they are not super strong readers.:001_smile: If you decide against the history set, I would suggest using the DITHOR list instead of the boy option read aloud set for ind reading. The reading level in the DITHOR books would be more consistent.:) Hope this helps.

Just agreeing with Donna.:001_smile: The history in Preparing and the history in CTC feel very different. Preparing seemed to cover a broader area of ancients, where as CTC spends the majority of time covering biblical history in depth, then Greece and Rome, and back to more biblical history. After finishing Preparing, I was worried about going right back into ancients as well. So we spent a few months learning a little more American history before beginning CTC. Looking back on it however, we would have been just fine going right into CTC from Preparing because the programs have such different feels. We tried ECC a few years ago, after Adventures, and it was too much for my kids at the time. They were on the younger side. I have thought about trying it again, mainly for the missions focus, but I keep feeling drawn back to HOD. It just fits our family better. You could use ECC and then HOD CTC and be fine, but if you feel drawn to HOD then that's what I would use.:001_smile: Again. they are both great programs, so you really can't go wrong either way.

We are on week 20 of CTC. It is a wonderful program! I am using it with my two boys, ages 10 & 11. If you want to combine your dc in the same program I would probably go with Preparing. We used it last year and it was so much fun.:) It is an overview of world history, but if I remember correctly about half the year was spent in ancients. You certainly could use CTC, but it would require some tweaking for your younger child. All of HOD's guides weave the Bible into everything. They are very God honoring. We have used HOD for the last two and a half years and absolutely love it. I have also used MFW and really like it as well. :) It's so hard to decide when they are all good programs, but HOD is a great choice!:) Allison

I also agree with the previous posters. I would use Bigger with both of them. Use LA & math on level. Then add in extra history readers for the older to read by himself. Sonlight readers would be great. I would also add an additional sciece text (maybe Apologia?) for the older to do by himself. Add in some written narrations and you're good to go!:) I wouldn't stress over it too much. Bigger may appear light at first, but there is so much in there. :001_smile:

Thanks for the replies. I think I will order both 5 and 6, and then decide. I have a hard time telling much from the samples online, it's so much easier for me when I can see a book in person. He did retain from GWG, but I keep hearing how advanced R&S 6 is that I'm getting nervous:tongue_smilie::001_smile: Allison

I would like to switch from Growing with Grammar to Rod and Staff English next year. My ds will be in 6th grade, and has completed GWG 3-5. Will R&S 6 be too much of a jump in difficulty? Thanks! Allison

I vote to have the ultrasound. I had a complete placenta previa with my second dc, and would not have known about it, if not for the ultrasound.

Hi Lovetobehome. I think I am the one that sold this to you. It was definitely not copied! :) I bought it new at a local home school store a couple years ago. Hope this helps.:) Allison

Thanks!:001_smile: That helps.

I would like to add Peril and Peace, Monks and Mystics, and possibly Trial and Triumph to our SOTW 2 readings. Anyone have a schedule? Thanks so much! Allison

It has been a couple years since I ordered, so assuming it's still the same..... if you order 3 modules, you will get 3 dvds, one 3 ring binder with tabbed sections for modules a, b, and, c. I also bought the parents manual, which was another 3 ring binder. Hope this helps.:001_smile:

Thank you both.:001_smile: Ali in OR, why do you prefer Singapore over Horizons? Thanks!