Behind in Beyond, finish it before starting Bigger??

[Gigi]

Hi HOD moms,

We are not done with Beyond yet, we are around week 22. We have taken about 2-3 weeks off now from doing any formal schooling. I wonder if any moms have been in my spot and what have you done? I want to finish reading the history and read alouds from Beyond, but I'm also ready for something new. And I also wonder if I finish Beyond, I would probably start Bigger by middle of "school" year or before, so then I feel I would be behind...does that make sense?

What are your thoughts/suggestions? I appreciate your thoughts....

Gigi

[MelInKansas]

It's quite a skill jump up to Bigger Hearts and I think all the skill practice in Beyond really gets them ready. I skipped a few weeks at the end of Little Hearts and now that I am doing those again with my 2nd born I am sorry I skipped them. I was wondering why we hadn't done much with days of the week and things like that and how she was expected to know them, and come to find out it's all because I skipped some in Little Hearts that she didn't get the practice then. That's just an example, it's meant to be sequential, so unless you've done something else on that level you will probably miss some important stuff. It's not impossible to overcome that, but maybe just easier to keep going and finish it.

Also, there are only 8 guides from Little Hearts to MtMM which is supposed to go through 8th grade. So, if you were doing Beyond for 1st grade last year, you actually have an extra year to finish all the guides through MtMM and start the World Geography guide in high school. And if you were doing Beyond for 2nd grade, you can still catch up, from Preparing on there are only 4 days/week of plans so you could do 5 days/week to "catch up." My oldest is actually in unit 22 of Bigger Hearts and we are going to keep going and finish it either in November or December. I know at this point there's no way we can skip any, plus she does need some maturity and more practice with her writing and handwriting before she will be ready to do the work in Preparing Hearts.

I hope this helps!

ETA: When you're homeschooling there is no such thing as "behind." As long as you are meeting the requirements of your state and covering the material that needs to be covered, and making sure your child knows it, which if you are doing HOD you definitely are, you are good.

[luv2homeschool]

You've still got quite a bit left, I would finish it. We did Beyond on a 4-day schedule and stopped on Unit 28. We will pick up with Unit 29 in August. Yes, it does feel strange to not follow the school year schedule, but I don't want her getting into the guides too young anyway.

[my3sons]

With that much left, I'd probably finish it. Believe me, if you had difficulty getting Beyond done for whatever reason, getting Bigger done will not be easier. It is assuming dc finished Beyond and are therefore ready for the increased work load and skills in Bigger. If dd is ready for the increase in difficulty in Bigger Hearts now, I'd probably do 2 lessons a day of Beyond to finish it out and then move on, especially if she is only 7 or 8 yo. However, you will know best here! Hey, how about finishing out Beyond and starting Bigger Hearts in January, and then doing a January to December school year? We do that with one of our sons and enjoy that very much! Just an idea!

In Christ,
Julie

[Gigi]

Thank you ladies for your replies...I think I will do what Julie recommends, maybe will do 2 lessons a day. She will be 9 in Oct. Very advanced in reading and comprehension...LOVES all the reading we do. But writing is not her favorite, although her penmanship is great. I know Bigger has lots more writing, so I don't want to rush her there either. I will continue with Beyond, will try 2 lessons a day.

Thanks!!

Gigi

[my3sons]

Good to hear back from ya, Gigi! Please share how this went if you get the chance, as I'd love to know! I did double lessons of Little Hands... to finish that out a little more quickly one year, and it worked great, but then LHTH is not as much of a meaty guide as Beyond is. You may just want to do 1 of the LA/math lessons each day, as doubling up on that could kick over to "too much," and those sort of run on their own speed anyway? It seems like the goal is to finish out Beyond's other subject areas a little more quickly, so dd can finish strong before starting Bigger Hearts. I think you'll be able to get started and then you'll know best though - HTH! Enjoy the rest of Beyond - oh those young years fly by - hope you have a lovely finish to Beyond and an exciting start then to Bigger!

In Christ,
Julie