Anyone using Beyond Little Hearts with a second grader?

[justme]

I'm planning to start BLHFHG when my ds starts 2nd grade. I've read some reviews from folks who have used it for 1st. I'd love to hear from those who used it for 2nd. Is it meaty enough? How did your 7-8 year old like it?

Thanks so much!!
just me

[Carrie]

I actually used "Beyond Little Hearts..." with my second grader last year (and since I'm the author what follows is a slighty biased opinion ) but I will say that both my son and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We really did find that the age range was right on target for us. It also provided a great foundation for "Bigger Hearts..." which we are doing this year for third grade.

For "Beyond...", my son did the Level 2 spelling lists in the back of the guide, used the last half of the math lessons in "Beyond..." for Singapore 1B and then moved on to the Appendix schedule for Singapore 2A, and used "Drawn into the Heart of Reading" Level 2/3 with the more difficult books in the "Drawn into the Heart..." book packs.

He also was able to read all of the science selections himself, which he really loved (and I loved his growing independence). He read some of the history selections to himself (and could have read even more, except I wanted to keep that cuddle up and read time with me). He was able to copy all of the poems each week by doing a stanza or so each day and really ended up with a beautiful poetry notebook at the end of the year.

We found the once a week grammar lessons to be a short and sweet introduction to the more formal Rod and Staff grammar used in "Bigger...". The minimal writing required in "Beyond..." was a plus for us, and now my son is old enough to handle the stepped up writing required in "Bigger...".

Even my oldest son listened in and enjoyed the read-alouds from the Storytime" part of "Beyond..." last year, since we read them aloud at lunchtime.

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask. Perhaps, some of the other moms on this board will be able to share their wisdom in this area as well.

Have you gotten a chance to look at the placement chart on our site? That is the best way to tell which program will suit your son best. Here is the link: http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

Blessings,
Carrie

[inHistiming]

My daughter is in the second grade this year and we are finishing up Beyond with her, in addition to the combined curriculum I'm trying this year with her and my older son. (I think I preferred HOD!) My son (9) enjoys listening to me read the History books as much as she does. As a matter of fact, we are reading The American Adventure Series as we can get our hands on them, and the first book in the series, "The Mayflower Adventure", coordinates with "Stories of the Pilgrims" from Beyond. It's fun to recognize names in one book that we've read in the other. It helps us to really learn the information being presented. We are also going through Spelling List 2 to make sure that she has a grasp on those words. She had difficulty learning to read, and although she is much improved she still needs to master her spelling. We are checking both lists, actually, and using the words she hasn't mastered in list 1 along with list 2. Another thing we love is the copywork. Although we've gone through all of the poetry in Beyond, I have utilized other funny poems as well as scripture for her copywork this year. She's doing an excellent job, and her spelling and handwriting have improved greatly just from this activity. The program is wonderful and definitely holds my children's attention. I say go for it! We will be back to HOD full time next year as well.

[justme]

Thanks for the link to the placement chart. It sounds like it will be a great fit for him in second grade. I love all the ideas you both shared. A part of me wishes we could start today!

If there are any more moms on the board that have used this for second grade, I'd love to hear their experiences too.

Blessings,
just me

[my3sons]

I just wanted to second what others have said in response to your question about BLHFHG. I think it would be just great to use with your child! It is written for ages 6-8, so your little guy is right in there. It sounds like you checked out the Placement Chart and found that it looks like a good fit for him. I've found the Placement Chart to be right on target for the advice it gives, for each of my children's different levels.

I used BLHFHG last year, and we had a great year! You are so right to be excited to start - it does not disappoint. I would agree with the suggestions Carrie gave. Each of those choices is what makes it more tailored to your 7-8 year old, which I'm sure is why she wrote those additional components in the curriculum.

Well, it's nice to meet you, and I can't wait to hear how your year is going when you start BLHFHG! You're in for a great year!

[netpea]

We are using Beyond with our 7yo for 2nd grade. He is a very bright kid but he is still 7 so Beyond is perfect, we expand when he wants to and just do what's in the plans on the days he doesn't. We are almost through Singapore math 2A and are using the math activities from Bigger to go along with that.
My son does not like to do the poem copywork so instead we are doing A reason for Handwriting. He accepts that better than copying the poems. His main request is for more art time so we try to work that in. But most of the program is just right for him.

[khuitt]

I see the previous posts were from quite awhile ago but I have to say that I think Beyond will be a great fit for my 7-year-old boy. He is just learning to read and learning alot but still insecure about his reading so we are going slow on this. Love the idea of wrapping all things learned around God and His Word - IMAGINE THAT!!! Love the books suggested for Storytime and Emerging Readers. Have read several off the list even before "school" started. His eyes light up and even his 4-year-old sister is quite engaged in the stories. I have been reading the emerging readers to him since he does not express much interest in trying to read for himself. He does read aloud during our phonics lessons though - we use Reading Mastery which is just like Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons but takes it at a slower pace and has little books that goes with the program. For math we are using RightStart Math. We tried Singapore math but he wasn't grasping the concepts of math and we see his mental math has improved significantly with RightStart. So excited about this year. Thank you Carrie!

[Carrie]

khuitt,

I'm so glad that you are finding the fit that will be right for your family! We pray you will enjoy Beyond as much as we have. We are actually finishing it this upcoming year with my third son now. My how time flies!

Just so you know, the reason the posts in this folder are older is because they are archived threads that were selected for the archives because they answer commonly asked questions in a helpful way.

All new posts and discussion take place on the Main Board. We look forward to visiting more with you there!

Blessings,
Carrie