How much writing in Beyond and Bigger?

[Shy]

Would someone please describe to me the writing involved in Beyond and Bigger? When I had
previously asked some questions about Bigger, several suggested that I move to Beyond b/c
the writing involved in Bigger might be too intense. I've printed out the first week of both
programs and I just don't see much writing in either one.

The writing in R&S English won't count b/c we do most of that orally. I just have him write
the sentence that tells the focus of the lesson in his notebook so we can review it each day.

So how much writing is involved and in which parts?

My student is on 7th grade reading level, end of 3rd grade math, but writing is his bane.
However he is just 6 and I don't want to push him, but I don't want to bore him either and
Beyond looks mostly 1st grade level and Bigger looks like 2nd grade level. So ya'll help me out
some more here please and describe the writing to me?

Thanks so much! Ya'll are always so much help!
Shy

[MomtoJGJE]

I'd say Beyond is 2nd grade level and Bigger is 3rd.

For Beyond,

they copy some of the poem, not necessarily the whole thing.
They write 10 short spelling words a few times
They write about... 5? sentences a week between spelling and LA
They write the answers to their math

I think that's it? Oh, and they write a short thing for their timeline whenever that comes up.

For Bigger:
history notebooking once a week
vocab once a week (1-3 words, includes writing definition, a sentence, and drawing a picture)
copywork of the poem
cursive workbook
dictation passage
math
whatever written you do from Grammar, but they do need to do some by the end of the year
If you do DITHOR, they write about once a week or so in their workbook... a decent amount of writing.
science notebooking once a week
science experiment once a week

hmmm... I might be missing something because it's been a while since we've done Bigger.

There is much much more writing in Bigger than there is in Beyond. If a child does not like writing then they will have trouble with Bigger.

[blessedmomof4]

Beyond would be a great start for your 6 year old. he will get all the bases covered in all subject areas without overwhelming him with writing or with a longer school day he may not be ready for. Then he will have free time for additonal leisure time reading-you can always use the library to get addtional books for him to read on his own time. You can try adding DITHOR 2/3 if you think he is ready for it, except have him dictate his answers to you and you write them down for him, until he gets older. Alternatively, you can start him in the Emerging Readers at a point where you think they are challenging enough-they are scheduled in the appendix. There are also additional storytime book titles listed in the appendix, so you can see if some of those are suitable for him to read on his own. A child may be an advanced reader, but not ready for instruction at a similar level because of maturity. My dd 12 tests at college level for reading, but she is certainly not mature enough to handle the adult themes in college-level literature, so I won't be giving her anything at that level any time soon. Instead I let her choose as much additional reading as she likes from the library, with my approval. My oldest ds (now 19) began reading on his own at age 3.5 and I pushed him into a rigorous K5 type curriculum at that age. It was very stressful for both of us. If I had it to do over, I would have done something more like Little Hands with some simple phonics and let him read books to his hearts content

[mrsrandolph]

It is really whatever you want it to be, honestly. I mean, you can do it as suggested (Bigger) and have them do quite a bit more writing, or you can allow them to dictate parts to you while you do the majority of the writing. I would have them do what they are capable of, pushing them just a tiny bit, then you do the rest orally.

My kids are finishing up bigger. I may be a bad parent, but I have one child with fine motor issues, and I do NOT believe in writing for writing's sake for ANY child. So, they never copied the poem. Grammar was always oral. In the science notebook, I wrote then scripture for my son, while my daughter had to write it for herself.

So, customize it to fit you and your children.

If it is a case of trying to place your kids in the correct guide, go with the lower one. You NEVER want to miss the awesome content in one of Carrie's guides!!

My Best!!

[MomtoJGJE]

I just think that even though your child is advanced in some academic areas, he's still just 6. Beyond is NOT going to be too babyish for him.

[psreit]

I agree with the pps. Beyond would be a great program for your 6yo. If he can fly through the ERs, then put him in DITHOR, and you just keep him in the math he's been working on. Use list two in spelling if he does well in that area. Then in Bigger, he will be ready for dictaion. If he needs to do spelling list 1, he can do list 2 in Bigger and wait for Preparing to do dictation. I agree that being on a higher reading level does not necessarily mean he is ready for advanced work in other areas.

My dd will be 9 in May and we are just finishing Beyond this year. Last year we did Little Hearts and she learned so much from that as well as Beyond this year. I think at 6, your ds would be missing so much by going to Bigger right off the bat. Maturity is the key, and yes there will be a significant transition in skills to go into Bigger. I'm glad I waited.

[Larissa]

I use Beyond as a 2nd grade program for my children. I have always preferred taking my children through the guides at the mid age range. For my very advanced 2nd grader, I used Beyond this year with DITHOR, Rod & Staff English 2, Singapore 2A and 2B, and Spelling List 2. We are about to finish the spelling lists and head toward dictation. It's been going very well. He also does not like to write at all, so I find that Beyond is a great fit for him. I would hesitate to put your 6 year old into Bigger because of the amount of writing involved ... it increases as the year goes on ... and because each guide gets more and more intense and more independent. I am using Preparing this year with my almost 10 year old son and it has been a perfect fit for him. Trying to put him through it as an 8 year old would have been miserable. There is also some content in Preparing that I am not sure he would have grasped fully just a year earlier. Every child is different, though, so you have to make your decision based on your child.