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My DS8 finished Beyond 3 weeks ago and we are starting Bigger tomorrow- yay! He did the Spelling List #1 in Beyond. I was considering letting him move into dictation in Bigger and not doing Spelling List #2. We even trialed the first dictation passage tonight to see how he would handle it. He did really great - no mistakes except putting a period at the end of the word list.

So I'm a bit torn as to whether we should move on with the dictation or if we should do the #2 list. DH wants to know why we can't do both. I just stared at him and said, "No." Wouldn't that be too much?

Which would you do?

I know it's tempting to push ahead, but I think it would be best to still do spelling list 2 before you head on to dictation.

I definitely would not do both. The two spelling lists are preparation to begin dictation and follwo a particualr sequence-dictation takes the place of the spelling lists once your child has completed them, and teaches many other skills besides spelling. Just go on with spelling list 2, and as soon as your child is done with that list, begin dictation. On a side note, when you do get to dictation remember that even one mistake means repeating the entire dictation the next time. And though your child may have done pretty well for that first one, they get more challenging pretty quickly.

Well, I might actually consider skipping list #2. If you come into HOD at later stages, you move right into dictation. I think you need to look at the words on list 2. Can he already spell all those words? Was list 1 too easy for him last year? Should he have been in list 2 all along? Is he a natural speller? Of my two schoolage kids, my first is a natural speller, if it was him, I would move right into dictation. My second struggles with spelling, I wouldn't skip any spelling for her. so all that to say, it would depend on the kid and his abilities.