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I just wanted to give an update on our year so far, since I asked for a lot of advice before we got started. Well, combining my three oldest in Beyond is going SO WELL. We are in Unit 6 and have a great routine going. First, I do LHTH with the 4yo and 2yo. During that time, my oldest three are either starting some independent work or still finishing up morning chores (or just playing!). Then we do the left side of Beyond, plus Storytime. All 3 of them are really enjoying it. Beefing up for olders really is so much better than letting the youngers just tag along! We attempted Beyond 2 years ago when my oldest was in 2nd grade, and although she was fine with it, the boys just weren't ready to listen to the readings. Anyway, after we finish with left side and storytime, we go into the kitchen. (We do LHTH and the left side/storytime of Beyond in the living room.) Oldest dd sits at her desk and everyone else sits at our large kitchen table, and they work on their math, English, spelling/dictation, etc in whatever order they wish. I help as needed; I spend a lot of that time with my 1st grader. The 4yo and 2yo can sit quietly and color, or they can go to the playroom. The baby is usually napping during that time. When it's time for lunch, we eat, and then finish up anything that's left after that. Then, once all the individual work is done, my oldest two have Botany and MOH, which are their "extensions" for this year. We are really enjoying those as well. I made lesson plans that broke down the books into small chunks (very HOD-style!) so it doesn't take long each day. I'm looking forward to next year with Bigger, when the extensions will already be planned for me, however! (Please note: Although MOH/Botany is working great as an extension for us, I do think that simply adding some extra reading about the history/science covered in Beyond would have been fine. I just already owned MOH vol 1 and really wanted to use it! And we are science people here, so we would have done Botany regardless.)

So, for anyone who is considering using Beyond with 3rd or 4th graders, it's working great here.

I'm glad to hear things are going so well for you! We are going to start Beyond for my older child in a few months and are doing LHTH also.

Thanks for sharing!

I'm so glad it's going well for you! I did Beyond last year with my 1st and 3rd graders and we really enjoyed it. Now we're doing Bigger for 2nd and 4th grade. My 4th grader LOVES the extensions!

sharonb - I was so EXCITED to read this! I have been wondering how your year was going, and this was just really great to read. I sometimes wonder about giving advice, as it's not always easy to know what's going to really work well for any given family, so this was really a happy read for me today. I pray you continue to have a wonderful year, and thank you for taking the time to share your good year and encourage us here!!!

In Christ,
Julie