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Hello everyone,

My son is a 5 year old doing LHFHG, so we will be doing beyond for 1st grade. He is doing great in all subjects and reads very well for his age. I think I placed him very well for Little hearts, and he has grown in his history understanding, but I'm a little concerned with the history in beyond. I read in other posts that the texts are actually made for 3rd or 4th grade? I actually saw some samples of the texts, and I'm afraid it might be a little too mature for him. What can I do in that case? Since he fits very well in everything else, should I give it a try? or do something else for history? I really don't know. Another concern that I have is narration. When we read the Burgess books, he enjoys and understands the stories, answers most of the questions, but won't retell. He is a talker, and can retell things in real life in great details, but I don't know why he just refuses to retell the stories. Any sugestions?
We are enjoying HOD very much, and I have looked at an enourmous amount of other programs and have not found anything that I like more than HOD. I just want history to be enjoyable for him.

One thing to keep in mind is that your son will grow a lot in the last part of the guide. I am not sure if you would start Beyond next fall, but at that age that amount of time can be huge. It is not uncommon for 5 & 6 yr olds to begin very poorly with narration. Carrie has posted in a couple of recent threads regarding this. It is a natural part of the process and narration generally takes off slowly. As for the history books in Beyond, I know the one book is rated for 3rd grade but to be honest with you I felt it could be used for grades 1 and up, depending on the child. We went through Beyond with my first son at age 6 and he loved the history books. You would know best, but maybe just see how he progresses for now. The history in Beyond is read in short readings with lots of follow up and application in the Bible and activity boxes which makes it very "digestible."

kzacarkim wrote:I read in other posts that the texts are actually made for 3rd or 4th grade? I actually saw some samples of the texts, and I'm afraid it might be a little too mature for him. What can I do in that case?

One thing I was thinking is that these texts might intended for 3rd or 4th graders to read by themselves, but would be perfect as read-alouds for 1st & 2nd graders. When I did Beyond last year with my then 1st and 3rd graders, they both enjoyed the history readings. Even my 4 year old daughter who would listen in was able to follow along well and enjoyed them!

HTH!

The way you've described your son sounds just like my son was as that age! He is on the same track--Little Hearts for kindgergarten, Beyond for first grade. Both were a perfect fit for him. He loved the history readings in Beyond. In fact, ever since we started HOD, history has been his favorite subject. I think that Carrie chooses great books, and she breaks them into just the right size daily chunks for each age group. So I would just say not to worry about the next guide. Just enjoy what you're doing now, and I'll bet your son will be ready for the next one when the time comes.

My 1st grader (6-years-old with an August birthday) ADORES the history in Beyond! I read it aloud to her and she begs for more. It took her some time to really get into it, but now she even asks if she can read ahead. I agree that the ages listed are if it is intended for independent reading. My daughter is at a 3rd grade reading level and can read it aloud pretty well now. If your son did well with the LHFHG read aloud history I think you'll find this a good fit.

The history stories in Beyond are incredibly sweet and engaging for youngsters. Most of the stories are told from the perspective of a child, so it really draws the interest of the young listener. I really don't think he'll have any problem with them. One thing you could do is to work more slowly through Beyond and Bigger. You could plan to complete both over a 3-year period. I found the jump from Beyond to Bigger to be greater than the jump from Little Hearts to Beyond.
hth,
Laura

Thank you so much for the responses! It makes me feel much better. We are on unit 29 of Little Hearts and I can't wait to start with Beyond . I like the suggestion of doing Beyond and Bigger a little slower, so our plan is to do 3-4 days a week year-round school. My son likes having school at home so much that one day my husband just mentioned a slight possibility of Public school, and he looked at me like "mom?". I reassured him that we were not doing ps and he gave a sigh of relief!
Thanks again Ladies! I love this board!

I'm late to this thread, but I'll chime in to agree our sons loved the history books in Beyond too. Also, read alouds are often intentionally chosen to be several levels above a child's grade level as they are not reading the books themselves. HTH - and enjoy Beyond worry-free - it is a terrific year to learn early American history!

In Christ,
Julie