Is HOD Bigger "too much " for a 6 and a 5 yo?

[blessedmom3]

I will have an 8 yo , 6 and 5 , would be possible to keep them all together in Bigger ? Both , 6 and 5 started to read but are not totally fluent yet.

 

Also is Bigger enough for my 8yo if his reading is at 7th grade and his spelling skills at about 4-5th ?

Still trying to figure out the right program.

 

Does someone have a sample spelling lists or dictation from Bigger ?

[Lovedtodeath]

I just wanted to be sure that you saw the Bigger extension package. It not only has more challenging books but assignments as well. Maybe someone could get a sample of those to you. The HOD discussion boards and yahoo group are very active and helpful.

[crl]

I would say that for an average 5 and 6 year old using Bigger as written would be too tough. If you are willing to modify the writing/noteboking assignments, then I'm sure they could tag along. But I would not buy it as a guide just for them.

[Lovedtodeath]

After reading Carrie's explanations of how the character discussions slowly build up I would try to do the guides on level in that portion (this would be read-alouds and/or DITHOR).

[Tidbits of Learning]

I will have an 8 yo , 6 and 5 , would be possible to keep them all together in Bigger ? Both , 6 and 5 started to read but are not totally fluent yet.

 

Also is Bigger enough for my 8yo if his reading is at 7th grade and his spelling skills at about 4-5th ?

Still trying to figure out the right program.

 

Does someone have a sample spelling lists or dictation from Bigger ?

 

I'm going to assume that you are trying to keep everyone together. Bigger does have the emerging readers schedule in it, but the amount of writing would be difficult for a 5 or 6 year old.

Bigger would still be a good fit for your 8 yr. old even reading at a 7th grade level. You can do DITHOR on whatever level you want with whatever books that you choose.

The spelling and dictation from Bigger may not be what you are looking for though. They do 2 lists of spelling one in Beyond and then they have the 2nd in Bigger. If your child is past the 2 spelling lists, they are to begin dictation. The dictation in Bigger would probably be below his level if he reads on a 7th grade level. You could always ramp it up though with spelling on his level or get the Preparing guide and do the right side of it.

I was in your place a year ago. I had a 6,8, and 9 yr old. I tried to fit at least 2 of them into one guide, but they were just too far apart skill wise.

You could always try to combine them later. My youngest was just too far behind the other 2 as far as reading and writing skills while my middle was just that in the middle as far as skills between her brother and sister goes. My oldest was like your ds. She reads on a 8th grade or higher level and scored perfect on some of the CAT sections in Language Arts this year.

I would really try to get my hands on a guide in person. That way you can see the spelling and dictation. I do have some that my girls did in Bigger last summer, but I no longer have my manual. PM me if you want me to send you a copy of one of their dictations.

All of this to say, have you done the placement test? It is really accurate and if I would have followed it I may have really liked HOD. Instead none of my kids were in the right guide for their skill levels b/c I tried to make them fit together.

[Sue G in PA]

I saw that you got a thorough reply to your question on the HOD board. My concern would be with the 5 and 6yos. Academically, they "might" be able to do Bigger but the challenge comes in the subsequent years if you stay with HOD. That would put them in Preparing at age 6 and 7 and I definitely think that Preparing is a bit much for a 6 and 7yo. I am doing it next year with a 9, 10 and 12 yo and I am concerned it will be a bit much for my 9yo ds who has not done dictation or formal grammar yet. It is quite doable, so I've heard, to do 2 or 3 guides at once. I would look at LHFHG for your 5 and 6yo or perhaps Beyond if LHFHG seems to "easy". I am doing LHFHG with an advance 5yo and a "slow" 7yo next year. It does seem a bit easy, but you can always beef it up by doing your own phonics, math or LA if they are at that stage. I plan to use WWE for the 7yo as well as Phonics Road. So, he will be fine. Take a look at Beyond and LHFHG and ask some questions on the HOD board. You can do 2 guides at once and in the long run it would be better for your youngers. JMHO

[blessedmom3]

I get too anxious at doing two guides . I would like to keep the kids together . It seems hard so I might have to do both if I choose HOD .

[Lovedtodeath]

Basically HOD will work to combine your kids if all you want out of it for all of them is history. Other programs that combine children have them on separate levels for other subjects. I wish I could help you with specific books, but I haven't researched American History as much, not having written a program for it.

[ElizabethB]

I just received Beyond today, that's what I plan on using next year, adding in some materials for my 8 year old. Since I have my own phonics and spelling, I won't be doing their LA anyway, we'll just do history, bible, poetry, and some of the science, but I will do additional science for my 8 year old. I will use their math for my 5 year old in addition to Singapore EarlyBird B. I have a friend using Bigger, I think Beyond is a better fit for these age ranges (at least for my children.) My daughter also enjoys preschool type activities and arts and crafts, so she'll have fun.

 

I looked over the books and am excited for next year! Now I just need to find threads or start one about how to teach 2 children. I have plenty of ideas and have read things, but I'd like more ideas from people with similar philosophies and curriculum as mine. (When I searched for "teaching two" and similar things, I got billions of threads, none exactly what I'm looking for.)

[Donna T.]

I will have an 8 yo , 6 and 5 , would be possible to keep them all together in Bigger ? Both , 6 and 5 started to read but are not totally fluent yet.

 

Yes, no problem. HOD has a wide range of readers from the Level 5/6 set to the phonics instruction books. We really enjoyed The Reading Lesson. HOD recommends it. It isn't scheduled in Bigger Hearts but you don't need a schedule. It's just open and go. Very easy to use and fun. You could do that with your youngers to progress them from "almost fluent" to "more fluent" and then begin the Emerging Readers or just go ahead and start the Emerging Readers if you think they are ready. They are scheduled in the guide. The other books in Biggers are for you to read to the children. The history covers a good bit of military history but it's not scary. You could get picture books from the library for them if they enjoy those. Easy to do because each week has a main topic.

 

Also is Bigger enough for my 8yo if his reading is at 7th grade and his spelling skills at about 4-5th ?

 

The spelling words will be too easy for your 8 year old but you may want to do the dictation with him anyways. It helps the child learn to hold words in their head and transfer them to paper. It really helps with their writing even if they don't need the spelling instruction. You could add a spelling program or not, just depending on your goals. You can pull additional dictation from the books that he reads, the poetry in the guide, or from another spelling program. We use Rod & Staff Spelling in addition to the dictation in HOD.

 

Still trying to figure out the right program.

 

Does someone have a sample spelling lists or dictation from Bigger ?

 

The spelling words are typical for 2nd graders. After mastering the spelling words, or if you are sure they don't need them, you progress to the first dictation passage: "Sue has a bird. It can call and sing. king ring wing" to the last "Fred takes a lesson on Monday and Friday. Do you take your lessons on those days?" I would encourage not to overlook Biggers as a possiblity just based on the spelling/dictation levels. If you like the method, you can get the next guide up and use those passages or just pull together your own for your first year with HOD. Since your son is doing well in that area, I would just suggest letting him enjoy the confidence of doing a great job on the copywork in Biggers at first and then maybe add something else later. If he is using something now that you like, you can continue with that with Biggers.

 

Best wishes!

Edited May 7, 2010 by Donna T.

[blessedmom3]

Thanks , that's very helpful . I think we will continue WWE for my oldest and maybe I can use the LA from Bigger for my younger , if not it's a great program even without LA ...

[Donna T.]

Oh, you are already using WWE? Yes, you could just continue that. That's what I plan to do. I have been unsure of what we are going to do next year but I have finally settled on using Bigger Hearts. My youngest son will be 8 by then. He will be using WWE 2, FLL2, and Rod & Staff Spelling 3. He will also be doing the dictation passages. My only concern is that there may be too much copywork for him. If that is the case, I plan to drop the WWE/FLL and just use R&S English, since it can be done mostly orally. I really like R&S for middle schoolers but I prefer FLL and WWE in the elementary years. I will be using Biggers with both my 8 year old and my 11 year old, adjusting much of it (and supplementing) for the 11 year old.

 

If I can answer any other questions about Bigger Hearts, just let me know. I have been spending alot of time in the guide and with the books, trying to get a good feel for the program. I think I've gotten it figured out pretty well!

 

Blessings!

[blessedmom3]

Donna,

 

Do you think it would be manageable to do Beyond with my 5&6 yo and bigger with my 8yo or it is better to keep them all together ?

Also , I have but never used it yet , American People and patriots (used in Beyond) and really like it .If I don't purchase Beyond , could I just use this instead of Eggleston's book which I heard it is more boring ?

 

Although I still have a long time to think about I am still undecided ...sometimes I droll over Sonlight's cores and just want to use Sonlight 3 . However , I love the Bible and character building from HOD , the dictation and poetry part ... but I am concerned that it will be too light for my oldest and too hard for my younger ( Bigger). We use WWE right now and like it so we will continue with that if HOD's LA part will not match . I think it will be too much trying to do both .

 

If I am not wrong , I think you were also looking to purchase Sonlight 3 and looking in the search box for more posts about HOD , I think you were also undecided between HOD and SL :)

(sorry if I am wrong maybe it was someone else )

 

So what made you to decide between SL and HOD , could you please share ?

[ElizabethB]

Beyond with all 3, I've been looking over the resources and they look great!

 

Just add in a few books from Bigger or other books you like for your 8 year old, for my 8 year old I added:

 

Science in Colonial America

John Audubon

Journeys in Time

The Wright Brothers and Their Sister

Ben and Me: An Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin by His Good Mouse Amos

 

Our library has the one small square books and we have been getting some from there already or I would have added in a few of those, too.

[Lovedtodeath]

Are you especially wanting American History? It occurs to me that Preparing and Little Hearts go well together and would probably be more on level for all of your kids.

[Donna T.]

Donna,

 

Do you think it would be manageable to do Beyond with my 5&6 yo and bigger with my 8yo or it is better to keep them all together ?

 

I think it would be very manageable to do both guides, if you choose to do so. You could let your 5 & 6 year olds be tag alongs for the first month or two of Biggers, to get a feel for how HOD works. Then, if you wanted to give some additional focused time to your youngers, you could then begin Beyond. You can very easily run the two programs at the same time. I am using Preparing with the Extensions and Little Hearts and it's just wonderful. I do not do everything everyday to the max. but overall we do almost everything and my kids are doing great.

 

Also , I have but never used it yet , American People and patriots (used in Beyond) and really like it .If I don't purchase Beyond , could I just use this instead of Eggleston's book which I heard it is more boring ?

 

You will need the Eggleston books for Bigger Hearts. Those two titles are very important and I don't think Bigger Hearts would work well at all without them. Carrie has done a great job with those two books. One of them is "easier" and it is an introduction to the various persons studied but the other title is more complex and adds additional information about that person. I don't know how well the more complex book would hold the attention of your youngers but they will probably enjoy the lighter one.

 

I also like the book that you are referring to from Beyond. I plan to include it with Biggers, probably as a reader for my younger child. We'll probably end up reading all of the history books from Beyond at some point.

 

Although I still have a long time to think about I am still undecided ...sometimes I droll over Sonlight's cores :drool:Yeah, I know all about that. and just want to use Sonlight 3 . However , I love the Bible and character building from HOD , the dictation and poetry part Me, too... exactly those things.... but I am concerned that it will be too light for my oldest and too hard for my younger ( Bigger). We use WWE right now and like it so we will continue with that if HOD's LA part will not match . I think it will be too much trying to do both .

 

If I am not wrong , I think you were also looking to purchase Sonlight 3 and looking in the search box for more posts about HOD , I think you were also undecided between HOD and SL :)

(sorry if I am wrong maybe it was someone else )

 

That would be me!! Except, I was just looking at Core 3+4, the combined core, because I only want to do one year of American History before starting over again with Creation. I was undecided and who knows? I'll probably be rethinking it alot. But, right now, my plan is to use Bigger Hearts as written for my 8 year old (doing FLL/WWE instead of R&S but everything else as written.) My 11 year old will be doing two spine books in addition to the books in Biggers. I am replacing the spine book from the Extension Package because I don't like it (the only HOD suggested title that I haven't liked) and replacing it with two others. They will be books that he reads on his own. He will be reading all of the other books in the Extension Package and doing the assignments for them as listed in the guide. And, we will be using the readers and read-alouds from Core 3+4. I am only doing this combo. because I have my older son tagging along in Biggers. He loves to read and I think this plan is going to have him covered pretty good :001_smile:. He will also be doing another science curriculum. But, this includes him in Biggers and gives us the extra reading that we will want/need.

 

So what made you to decide between SL and HOD , could you please share ?

 

I really like both. I've used three SL cores and liked them but I had to tweak some of it. I haven't had to tweak HOD at all. I prefer HOD overall because 1) it's more fun for the kids, they like the more active learning that is scheduled in the HOD guides. There are projects, notebooking, and research assignments. I like all those things. 2) I love the LA in HOD. Love it. SL's LA didn't work for me. I really love the CM approach to LA but I like that HOD doesn't neglect formal grammar, which I think is pretty important for us. 3) I love the Bible, it isn't taught as a "subject" but is fully integrated throughout the whole program. When we study things, we then look up specific Scripture passages that go along with what we studying. Sometimes, we just talk about them and sometimes the child copies them into their Commonplace books. We really love that. 4) Overall, I am finding that I prefer HOD's book selections. I don't worry about what the kids are being exposed to and the writing style of all of them is excellent. I love the narrative history, too. Sometimes with SL, I had to do some editing on the fly and there were a few books that my son was even a little offended by. But, he was really sensitive in the past. He is growing out of that now, at 11. Now that he is doing so much reading on his own, I need to know that I can trust the book selections to be wholesome and age-appropriate. That may be true for SL also but I don't have as much confidence in their choices. That's just my experience/opinion. In every set of SL books that I've ever had, I have had to throw out a couple or more. But, there were others that we just absolutely loved. I consistently love the HOD books. 5) I prefer HOD's approach to covering literary terms (you don't even have to use Drawn Into the Heart of Reading to get some of that instruction. It is written into the guides) and teaching narration, especially written narrations. The instruction is very specific and gentle and the child is led through a progressive path of developing their skills. I like how orderly the instruction is. 6) My kids would cry if we switched over completely.

 

Blessings!

Edited May 8, 2010 by Donna T.

[Holly]

My oldest will be 8 in July. My 2nd oldest will be 6 in November. I plan on combining them with Beyond. I also purchased Bigger for the 3Rs section. I'm going to use the suggested R&S English 2 and Cheerful Cursive...I haven't decided on the spelling list or dictation yet. I thought about adding science (and Carrie suggests using it for 3rd), but I decided I'd keep them together for now. I have Apologia Astronomy if I later decide she needs more science.

[blessedmom3]

Beyond with all 3, I've been looking over the resources and they look great!

 

Just add in a few books from Bigger or other books you like for your 8 year old, for my 8 year old I added:

 

Science in Colonial America

John Audubon

Journeys in Time

The Wright Brothers and Their Sister

Ben and Me: An Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin by His Good Mouse Amos

 

Our library has the one small square books and we have been getting some from there already or I would have added in a few of those, too.

 

That's a good idea . So will you omit Bigger after you're done with Beyond? Will your 8yo go through all HOD's cycles or you don't know yet ?

[blessedmom3]

Are you especially wanting American History? It occurs to me that Preparing and Little Hearts go well together and would probably be more on level for all of your kids.

 

Yes, after doing MOH 1 , I want American .

[blessedmom3]

I really like both. I've used three SL cores and liked them but I had to tweak some of it. I haven't had to tweak HOD at all. I prefer HOD overall because 1) it's more fun for the kids, they like the more active learning that is scheduled in the HOD guides. There are projects, notebooking, and research assignments. I like all those things. 2) I love the LA in HOD. Love it. SL's LA didn't work for me. I really love the CM approach to LA but I like that HOD doesn't neglect formal grammar, which I think is pretty important for us. 3) I love the Bible, it isn't taught as a "subject" but is fully integrated throughout the whole program. When we study things, we then look up specific Scripture passages that go along with what we studying. Sometimes, we just talk about them and sometimes the child copies them into their Commonplace books. We really love that. 4) Overall, I am finding that I prefer HOD's book selections. I don't worry about what the kids are being exposed to and the writing style of all of them is excellent. I love the narrative history, too. Sometimes with SL, I had to do some editing on the fly and there were a few books that my son was even a little offended by. But, he was really sensitive in the past. He is growing out of that now, at 11. Now that he is doing so much reading on his own, I need to know that I can trust the book selections to be wholesome and age-appropriate. That may be true for SL also but I don't have as much confidence in their choices. That's just my experience/opinion. In every set of SL books that I've ever had, I have had to throw out a couple or more. But, there were others that we just absolutely loved. I consistently love the HOD books. 5) I prefer HOD's approach to covering literary terms (you don't even have to use Drawn Into the Heart of Reading to get some of that instruction. It is written into the guides) and teaching narration, especially written narrations. The instruction is very specific and gentle and the child is led through a progressive path of developing their skills. I like how orderly the instruction is. 6) My kids would cry if we switched over completely.

 

Blessings!

 

Thanks ! Elizabeth gave me a good idea, so maybe I will use Beyond instead and "steal" some ideas on how to adapt the LA for my oldest , I think that's possible .

[ElizabethB]

That's a good idea . So will you omit Bigger after you're done with Beyond? Will your 8yo go through all HOD's cycles or you don't know yet ?

 

I think I will do Preparing and then transition to TOG. I really love TOG but do not want to spend the energy to do it until I have one at a level that can really appreciate it and one that can tag along a bit. If we do Preparing next year, they will be 2nd and 5th grade when I start TOG, allowing 2 full cycles for my daughter.

Edited May 8, 2010 by ElizabethB

[Guest mrsjamiesouth]

I will have an 8 yo , 6 and 5 , would be possible to keep them all together in Bigger ? Both , 6 and 5 started to read but are not totally fluent yet.

QUOTE]

 

 

I talked to Carrie for a long time at GHEA conference. My boys will be 5th and 1st next year. She advised me against combining, but told me she believes you should always combine towards the youngers. That's why they do the extension packages. She herself has 4 boys and does 4 different levels. In the older levels there are several boxes of independent work, so she said when they are doing "i" boxes you can be with another child. I looked at Little Hearts for my 1st grader, she said it can be finished in 90 minutes a day.

I would combine the younger 2 in Little Hearts and put the older in Preparing based on his reading level.

[Tree House Academy]

I would not, personally, try to use Bigger with a 5 or 6 year old. In my experience, the history is going to go way over their heads. I have a bright and fluent reader who tried Beyond and had to go back to Little Hearts due to the content of the history. There are still a few things that go over his head...but it has prepared to start Beyond in the fall with no problems.

 

If you are only interested in bringing your littles along to listen and can do some extra explaining, etc. then it may work. I couldn't do it though. I'd rather have my younger in something that is more his speed. Bigger is perfect for an 8 year old (we will be doing Bigger with my son when he is 8). I would use Little Hearts with your 5 and 6 year old at the same time as using Bigger with the 8 year old, if you can do this. I use two guides and will be using CTC along with Beyond next fall. It is really not difficult to do.

 

You may also want to ask this question at the HOD boards. You will likely get some more answers - and possibly from folks that have used Bigger with younger children. :) Best of luck in whatever you decide.

[Lovedtodeath]

 

You may also want to ask this question at the HOD boards. You will likely get some more answers - and possibly from folks that have used Bigger with younger children. :) Best of luck in whatever you decide.

I think maybe she isn't asking there because she knows what the answer will be. :lol: It is pretty obvious from reading the HOD boards. So many post that after separating their children to their own levels they spent less time with less frustration.

[Tree House Academy]

I think maybe she isn't asking there because she knows what the answer will be. :lol: It is pretty obvious from reading the HOD boards. So many post that after separating their children to their own levels they spent less time with less frustration.

 

I agree that the trend is toward that...but when I first went with HOD, I had planned to use Bigger with both of my kids. They are 10 and 6 and it was this year that I was going to use it. I did get some good tips on how to make it work. :) http://www.heartofdakota.com/board3/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3193

 

It wasn't until after I bought the materials and had them here, that I decided to put my younger into his own guide. I think seeing it all really helps make that decision too. :)

Edited May 11, 2010 by Tree House Academy