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I'm not quite sure what to do. I currently have a 1st grader who is struggling to learn to read, but I recently found a program that he really likes and he is doing really well with it. I also have a 3rd grader who is a fairly typical 3rd grader except that he cannot spell AT ALL! We are working on it and he is trying very hard and has made some improvements recently.

Next year they will be 2nd and 4th graders. Do I go with Beyond? Bigger? What would you suggest? I would really like to keep them together if at all possible. They did LHFHG together for a half of a year and then I had to go back to working outside the home and my older son was enrolled in an online school. He tested into 1st grade. The following year, my younger son started Kindergarten at the same school. I kept praying because I didn't like it and God has brought me back home to teach my boys. I just don't quite know where to start in the Fall.

Thanks for your help!!

If you really want to combine them, I don't think I would place them in Bigger. I had a struggling reader and still tried Bigger for 2nd grade. I did drag her through some of the program before resorting to just doing the basics with her, but then once we would have hit Preparing it was impossible to modify it enough and still make it work for her. For that child, I had to redo some of Bigger and then move on to Preparing work in 4th grade. So for my next child I feel that Beyond is a great 2nd grade program in our family, Bigger will be wonderful in 3rd, putting him in Preparing for 4th.

I'm leaning towards not combining them. My younger son places firmly in Beyond. My older son who should be in 4th in the fall falls between Bigger and Preparing. Any thoughts?

Ok, here is where I am right now.

I think Ian (age 7) will be doing Beyond in the fall. I will have him do the Singapore placement test to see which math he needs to start with. We will continue his current phonics program because he likes it and it seems to be working well.

I'm not entirely sure what to do with Sammy. I will tell you where I am leaning and see what you all think. I am thinking it would be best to put him in Bigger because he is struggling with spelling and he doesn't like to write much. I think this year we could spend time learning to enjoy writing and not have it be such a stressful thing for him. I will have him take the placement test for Math, too. I don't know whether to do the Emerging Readers or if I should start DITHOR. I'm thinking about starting with the Emerging Readers and possibly start DITHOR about halfway through the year. Does that sound ok? Since Sammy is 9 and would be going into 4th grade this year will he be behind if he does Bigger this year? My other thought was to go ahead and do Preparing this year, but I don't want to feel like I'm dragging him along. If we did Preparing, I'd most likely have him at least listen in during History when I do Beyond with his brother. Any thoughts? HELP!! lol

Kristy,

Thanks so much for sharing a bit about your kiddos. I think the reasons we're not giving much advice is because we all need a few more questions answered before we can advise you really well. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around where your kiddos are at skill-wise too.

First, we need to know how well both boys do with copying. Is your oldest able to easily copy several sentences up to a paragraph a day at at time? Or, does this result in tears or frustration? How about your first grader? Can he copy a sentence at a time, or is he still doing just copywork of single words or letters?

As far as reading goes, what are a few titles that your older child is reading on his own? This will help us know more about his reading level. As far as your oldest goes, you mentioned spelling being an issue. Does he spell words incorrectly when copying too? For example, when he writes a sentence how many of the words would be spelled wrong (50%, 75%, 95%)? Also, does he capitalize or punctuate in his writing most of the time, or rarely?

Has your older child had anything in the way of formal grammar yet? Does he write in cursive? How does he do when listening to challenging chapter books read aloud? Has he had much experience listening to chapter books like that? What about your 7 year old as far as listening to chapter book style readings goes? Has your 7 year old had any formal history or science yet? What about your older child?

I know this is a lot of questions, but all of these will affect proper placement. If you get a chance to pop back and share that would be great!

Blessings,
Carrie

I sent you a PM.

Thank you! I will be happy to share some more information!

My oldest can copy several sentences up to a paragraph a day at a time. It isn't his favorite thing to do, but he is capable. He doesn't mind "copying" sentences so much, but the tears and frustration really start when he has to "produce" it himself. (I hope that makes sense!) As far as spelling, he rarely spells words incorrectly when he is copying, but if he is writing a sentence on his own approximately 75% of those words would be spelled incorrectly if he wasn't given any help. He very rarely has a problem with capitalization or punctuation (I would say less than 5% of the time.) As far as reading goes, he has read many Amelia Bedelia books on his own as well as Frog and Toad books (just to give you an idea). He usually reads level 2 or level 3 books and has recently started reading a few chapter books. The chapter books he has read are things like Boxcar Children. He has had some formal grammar in his online school. He knows about subjects and predicates, verbs, nouns, and some of those types of things. He doesn't write in cursive yet. He does enjoy listening to challenging chapter books being read aloud and answers comprehension questions really well. He has had experience listening to chapter books in that way. We usually read from a read aloud book during breakfast and/or lunch. He has had some history, but it seemed fairly random to me. It was mostly learning about cultures and what a culture is, and people who were important. He has had some science and has done simple experiments with magnets, plants, and water (not all together! lol).

My first grader can also copy a few sentences at a time. He seems to enjoy copywork. He also enjoys listening to chapter books read aloud. He enjoys listening and answers comprehension questions pretty well. He has had some history, but it didn't really seem to have any order to it. It was pretty random and mostly about people such as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Florence Nightingale, etc. His science has mostly been classifying animals and plants, and doing basic experiments such as what happens when you water one plant, but don't water the other plant.

I hope I answered all your questions and that this will give you a better idea of where we are!

Thank you so much!!!

Kristy,

Thanks so much for your patience and for your willingness to share more about your sons! I really appreciate it.

From what you've shared, in looking at your kiddos individually, I would place your 8 year old in Bigger and your 7 year old in Beyond. I wouldn't jump your 8 year old up to Preparing right now, as I agree that with his reluctance in writing, and his work needed on spelling, plus his reading level are all more suited to Bigger. Bigger is such a good strong growing year in so many skills that it would be wonderful for him to go through that guide. Studied dictation will definitely help with what you are describing as far as spelling goes. This is what is used in Bigger on up for spelling.

One thing to consider, since your boys are so close in age, is whether we could potentially combine them for the history, Bible, and storytime and separate them for the 3R's and science. I do think this could work. In this scenario, you would teach them together from Beyond for the left side of each day's plans and the storytime. Then, your 7 year old would do the rest of the right side of Beyond on his own for the 3R's, and your 8 year old would use the right side of Bigger for the 3R's and science.

This would mean that from Bigger, your older son would do the studied dictation passages in the Appendix for spelling each day. He would also do Rod and Staff English 2, as scheduled in Bigger, which will provide a good solid foundation in grammar. He would do the last part of the Emerging Reader's Set, starting somewhere right after Amelia Bedelia and Frog and Toad, and finishing it out following the schedule in the Appendix. After completing it, he would begin DITHR Level 2/3. He would also do the Cheerful Cursive each day according to Bigger's plans. He could either continue with his own math, or make the switch to Singapore. He would likely be in 2A/2B, which you would then use along with Bigger's math plans each day. Last, he would do the science as scheduled in Bigger. This would add to the level of science to get what is needed for his grade level.

This would ensure that your oldest is getting what is needed in all areas, yet the two boys could share some subjects. The following year, both boys would move into Bigger for the left side of the plans and the storytime from the right side of the plans. Then, your older son would do the right side of Preparing for the 3R's and science.

If you did decide to go this route, you would need the Beyond Economy Package, the Beyond Basic Package (with math 1A/1B for your 7 year old), and choice of either Boy, Girl, or Classic Set to read aloud to both boys. Link: http://www.heartofdakota.com/byd-little ... ckages.php

You would also need to purchase the Bigger guide, Cheerful Cursive, the Emerging Reader's Set (or at least the last chunk of books you'd need, however with another child coming up I'd lean toward buying the whole set with discount), English 2 Pupil Text, and Singapore Workbooks 2A/2B, and the science package. Link: http://www.heartofdakota.com/bigger-hearts-packages.php

Blessings,
Carrie

That is very helpful! Thanks!!