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Initially, I had gone back and forth about choosing Beyond or Bigger for our 7yo ds second grade year (he will be 8 in April). He is a very advanced reader, but I didn't want to overwhelm with too much work and have him get frustrated so I chose Beyond for him. The main problem we ran into was that he was bored and not challenged enough. I should have just returned it for Bigger rather than going off on our own crazy tangents! I really didn't want to return Beyond anyway as I want to use it for our younger kiddos too. So here we are, over halfway through our school year, and feel like we don't have much to show for it. I'm such a box checker and I'm bummed to not be where we "should" be in our Guide right now The only really great decision I've made for my ds this school year is switching him to a different math. He's using Teaching Textbooks Math 3 now and it feels like a perfect fit for him- he loves it (well, as much as he could love any math lol). Will it be the end of world to go ahead and order Bigger and start it now? Maybe stretch it out to use for the rest of this school year and all of third grade? One other issue is that we added in R&S 2 to Beyond's LA to make it more challenging and already went through about half of the book. Would it be better to keep on with R&S2 at our own pace, ignoring the lesson plan in the guide, and move on to R&S 3 when we are ready- OR just use the guide as written and have a lot of review in LA? I really want to be able to just follow the guide and not do any tweaking but also don't want him bored and complaining about doing school. Some other background info about him to help figure out where he's at......he's working on learning cursive, his manuscript is amazing and almost looks printed by a computer, he is a geography whiz and pretty much knows where every.single.country on Earth is located, is a great speller because he has a photographic memory, and is reading middle school level books in his free time. He has a very challenging personality and doesn't like to be told what to do . Maybe that just goes along with being really smart? I'm praying daily for the strength to be able to continue teaching him! Please help with any suggestions you may have!

A super bright child is exactly what you have been blessed with. And a "box-checking mama" may not mix so well with a super bright child.

Stop right now and FORGET about the year that lays behind you.

I have 4 kids in 3 guides as well as DITHOR. They have spelling on 3 levels and math on 4.

One of my children has special medical needs and one has special learning needs.

Between the 2, we run to Dr and therapy appointments all week long!

So I have adopted the attitude of picking up on Tuesday where we left of on Monday and not worrying about "where we are" in the guide.

I actually have a checklist spreadsheet of each subject/child that needs to be covered. When I have done the left side of Preparing (for example), I check that off. When I have done Math with Cassie, I check that off. When I have done spelling with Will, I check that off. The next day, whatever is not checked off gets tackled first.

And I would go at his pace with grammar and everything else, not worrying about where the guide says he should be. That's the joy of homeschooling!

Thank you for the encouragement and advice! I love the idea of having a spreadsheet to keep track of where we are at! Then I can still check my boxes but go at our own pace with some subjects.

Just order Bigger, start when you get it, continue on with R&S 2, a lesson a day until you finish and then start R&S 3. The box is just my reminder to do R&S, I don't even look atthe page numbers.
You'll finish Bigger when you finish! Then move on to Preparing!

Gwenny wrote:Just order Bigger, start when you get it, continue on with R&S 2, a lesson a day until you finish and then start R&S 3. The box is just my reminder to do R&S, I don't even look atthe page numbers.
You'll finish Bigger when you finish! Then move on to Preparing!

I agree with this! Jump into Bigger, start DITHR, keep going with English 2 a lesson a day and start 3 when you have finished 2. Bigger includes studied dictation and you may have to experiment to find the right starting point for him. Cheerful Cursive is scheduled in Bigger but if you are happy with your cursive program you can keep with it. We have really loved Cheerful Cursive and I do recommend doing a page a day as scheduled in Bigger.

What a boy you have to love, teach, and disciple.

The other thought I had- rather than starting Bigger right now was to finish up R&S 2, do math, various read-alouds, cursive handwriting, & DITHOR until July when our 3rd grade year starts and go straight into Preparing (possibly 1/2 speed) then. He's not proficient with his cursive right now so I don't think he'd be ready for Preparing until he was more comfortable in that area. I guess both options could work. This is how I drive myself nuts lol!

Yay!! Ordered Bigger and am breathing a sigh of relief now! I found that post from Julie about getting organized for Bigger and went Walmart to get everything we needed. So excited!