Beyond for 1st Grade?

[kaprz]

I am new to HOD. After looking at placement chart it looks like Beyond is the best fit for my daughter (will be 6 and starting 1st grade this fall) but after reading many posts in the board it looks like many use LHFHG for 1st Grade. Is there a reason for that? Will my daughter get to a place where it is too difficult for her age if I start her out in Beyond? I have looked at the placement chart many times and I always think Beyond is the right place and LHFHG would be like a repeat of this past year for her. Any thoughts? Thank you!
Katie

[psreit]

When you say a repeat, what do you mean? The 3 Rs are done on the students level. There is a choice in science books. If you are done with phonics, she could do the ER books. You could do copywork in manuscript or go to the cursive program suggested in Beyond, wherever she fits. Spelling offers two lists. Math is on child's level. Unless you have used the storytime and history books, you could easily use LHFHG. It is packed with good reading, an excellent foundation in Bible, and just a good start to the HOD flow for a 6yo. The reason it is better to step back is because the skills from Beyond to Bigger take a jump and then youngers have a tendency to struggle, especially in the area of writing. I'm sure there are others who can guide you better in this area.

[my3sons]

It sounds like you have studied the placement chart and found a great fit for your dd in Beyond. HOD has a range of target age ranges with the intention that one guide will not fit one specific age only - but rather that each guide will fit a short span of ages, as all dc of a certain age are not at the same place in their skills. We have done Beyond with 2 of our sons when they were age 6 and enjoyed it thoroughly. My oldest ds has moved on to do every guide a year at a time after that, and done so well! It is hard to believe he is now completing RevtoRev - my how time flies! My middle ds did great with Beyond at 6 yo, and eased into Bigger Hearts half-speed for a portion of the year. He finished Bigger Hearts in 1 1/2 years, and is now finishing PHFHG. He has flourished with this pace! I think it is important not to try to choose a 'common' pacing for dc, but rather to choose the pacing that fits your specific child now. As long as dc are in the target age range of a guide, whatever guide they place in according to the placement chart is the one they should do, as this will fit them the best. Enjoy Beyond with your dd! If you find you need to slow down at a later date, you always can, but for now, she sounds properly placed in Beyond full-speed. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

[kaprz]

Thank you for your responses!

Pam, when I said "repeat of what she has done this year" I simply meant that when reading the placement chart nearly all of the skills listed for the LHFHG are skills we have been working on this year in Kindergarten, and the skills listed for Beyond sound perfect for her this coming year.

Thank you for your encouragement, Julie. I appreciate you sharing your experiences with your own kids--that makes me even more comfortable with my decision to go with Beyond for 1st grade. I feel much more at peace now! And we will adjust as we move along with HOD if needed.

Katie

[lissiejo]

I did LHFHG for a pre-k 4 curriculum at a relaxed pace. Then my daughter went to K-5 at a Christian school. When we pulled her out this year Beyond was the perfect fit. The skill set was perfect for her and she has grown leaps and bounds. She placed right on in the placement chart and I don't regret a single thing about the program. We'll be moving on to Bigger next year at half pace to begin with an we'll see how the year goes. As of now we'll be taking the program in two years, but I'm willing to slow down or speed up now that we've been doing this for a year. It took me some time to realize that, but I'm now appreciating the beauty of homeschooling allows me to craft my daughter's education to perfectly fit her needs, even if it looks different than other's schooling journey.

Have fun in Beyond!

[psreit]

Katie, I know Beyond can be used in 1st. I almost used it in 1st, but my dd needed time to grow in certain skills. Since you are just starting out, I was encouraging you to consider LHFHG so you wouldn't miss out on all the good stuff in it. Either one would work. If Beyond is your choice, go for it and enjoy. Another great program!

[MomtoJGJE]

It is doable to do Beyond for 1st grade at 6. I did it the first time through with my oldest when she was 6 (she was K though). But I do have to say that she really didn't enjoy it. I had to be on her all the time and because of that we skipped a lot of things. I went through it again with her the next year and she grew SO MUCH and matured so much.... I was able to do Beyond as written and she just blossomed and went right into Bigger with few issues (just typical learning curves with a new guide!) and is now in Preparing. I am doing Beyond as written with my just turned 7 year old (she's ALMOST halfway through) and it's so nice and easy and she's learning SO MUCH in such a very short time per day. I will be doing Beyond with my #3 sometime during the time she'll be 6. We'll start out half speed for a while and then move on to full speed. I don't expect her to have any trouble at all, and she'll be a 6yo K'er because of an October b'day.

So with my back story given. I think the reason it didn't work so well at 6 with my oldest was because it was a totally new thing to us. We didn't know how HOD was supposed to work and why we did everything we did. We didn't have the back ground of LHFHG to lead us into it. Looking back, even though she fit in Beyond on the placement chart completely, I should have started her in LHFHG... I could have even done it as written and she still would have grown and learned. (by that I mean not doing 1st grade options or adding spelling/ERs from Beyond even though she was capable) I think it would have made our journey so much better for her. It definitely has for my second and I can see it working well for my number three.

[KristinBeth]

I'll be doing Beyond in the fall when my daughter is newly 6. I don't have the "been there, done that" experience to share, but we had no trouble with LHFHG at age 5. If your child falls squarely in the placement and age range of the guide, I expect it will be just fine.