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I am considering Beyond in the fall for 1st gr for my oldest who will be 6 in may. He is finishing K in ps, and is reading books that are half way through 1st gr level already....called HOD, and he suggested Beyond for my son with the Emerging Reader...Has anyone tried this??..this will be our first yr hs, and don't want him bored with any of the "school work"..seems like it may be a good fit, but don't want to overwhelm him either. will also have a 4 1/2 thinking about doing LHTH...would love any suggestions..

If you called HOD and they suggested the Beyond & Emerging Readers, then it sounds like a good fit. I have heard of others doing this for 1st, so I know it can work.
I'm sure one of them will pop in and comment.

As far as LHTH for your 4 yo, I do that with my 4 yo. It works very well, with her occasionally asking for more school. We added workbooks. I think she just see big brothers with their books, and wants to be like them.

If your son fits into the Beyond according to the skills placement then he should do quite well.
I am currently using Beyond for my 6.5 year old and have used it previously for another one of my children when she was 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 as well. (I also used it for my oldest boy when he was 7)
For all of them I started out slowly - going half speed for the first several weeks so that we had time to focus on each "box". As they got used to the guide and what was expected I was able to go full speed the rest of the guide. Since you are new to homeschooling this "half-speed" method may be a great way to ease into things. You will most likely notice when they start getting the hang of things and can bump up to full speed.

The Beyond program is full of exciting stories and plenty of activities that I cannot imagine a child being bored with it.

I've also done LHTH and it is perfect for a four and a half year old! Using Beyond and LHTH together would make for a delightful school day!

Thanks for the info!...Just wanted to check in with those of you who have used this as we are new this...dont want my 6yo to miss any basics, or feel like i was skipping him ahead by putting him in Beyond for 1st. however, dont want him "bored" in a level that is not challenging... I am very interested in these programs as they seem to really be based on the Bible, and that is what we want to teach our children.

Isn't Beyond designed for 1st grade? I thought that it was. LHFHG seems to be "the" Kindergarten guide (but there are 1st grade options so it CAN be used like that as well).

We will be doing Beyond (for 1st grade with a 6.5 yr old) and LHTH with a 3.5 next. I plan to repeat LHTH with the girl, so she'll do it again, at 4.5. That guide is written in a way that you can do that... there are "younger" ideas and "older" ideas written right into the guide.

I think your kids will thrive with this placement, you are neither pushing nor holding back; they are in the "target" age for each guide you are considering.

My ds was 6 and was in the 2nd half of his 1st grade year when we started Beyond. We did Beyond 3 times a week and did 3 R's (spelling, math, LA from day 5, handwriting) daily untill our summer break. Once we started up in August with 2nd grade we went full pace and added R&S 2 and DITHOR, when he was ready
I love being able to adapt the guides for each child and looking at their abilities, so they are properly placed. We will finish Beyond tomorrow and soon start Bigger
Success in modifying for your dc, so they get the most out of the guides

So good to hear..i feel most advise against Beyond for 1st gr at yo....but if you use Little Hearts for K, wouldn't this be next for first anyway??..(we did not as this will be our first yr hs..)..just trying to sort through a little confusion..

I brought my son home for first grade, after ps kindergarten, as well. I placed him in Beyond with Emerging readers, but found he was not ready for it. After a couple of months I bumped him back to LHFHG and the phonics book and it was a much better placement...for him.

What I would say is just dive in with Beyond and try it. You may not really know where he places best until you're teaching him. If you need to, check with HOD on the return policy (I know they have one and have heard they're very fair with it) and you could possibly return part of Beyond to exchange for LHFHG if you needed to financially. The year I did it it worked for us financially to just hang on to Beyond and use it the following year.

It's really okay if you evaluate as you go-give yourself some grace as you're starting out here, and know that if you make some mistakes along the way, you're not messing them up for life . It's okay to fix things as you go along! Each child is different, and seasons of life are different, as well. Homeschooling is full of adjustments. It can look like a big obstacle if you're starting in on a new guide later in the year, but it's really not a big deal at all...in fact, I've learned to prefer it that way! I have 3 kids in school right now, all ending guides mid-year at different points of the year and it makes it much less stressful for us to not have to dive in with 3 new guides and a new school year routine all at the same time.

My thoughts - Great idea! It sounds like Beyond is a good placement for your 6 yo. I have done Beyond with 2 of my 3 dc at 6 yo and LOVED it! I have also been on the board since its 'birth' and placement is suggested based on the placement chart most often. HOD has age ranges on purpose, to recognize that age is just one factor in placement. So, LHFHG is not a "K" program always, and Beyond is not a "1st grade" program always, but rather LHFHG is a good fit for dc anywhere between 5-7 yo, and Beyond is a good fit for dc anywhere between 6-8 yo, etc. The age ranges tend to be stretched even more as dc mature and as placement therefore naturally differs even more than it does in the younger guides. "Beyond Little Hearts" is an excellent guide for a 6 yo to do, provided that 6 yo is ready for it. It sounds like your 6 yo is - so I'd get to enjoying it and not worry about trying to decide what specific 'grade' it was written for - because it wasn't! It was written for an approximate age range, and for dc who skillwise would be ready for it, and your 6 yo is! HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

Thanks!..that helps more to think of just the age ranges, then figuring out what "grade" he should be in. just seems like a big responsibility, to make sure i "place" him where he needs to be to get the most out of the guides. this being our first year hs, i don't know if i would be able to change a lot of things just yet, so really trying to know which guids would suit his needs best. thanks for all the advice!..still not sure which way we will go at this time...LHFGH / Beyond...?..we'll see..

Thanks for sharing here! I know how on target the advice is when you call HOD and get that personal attention from the very family that wrote it. Mike is often the person to give placement advice, and he has taught all of the HOD guides himself alongside Carrie, doing enough 'parts' of the guides through the years that add up to experiencing personally teaching 'all' of the guides. His advice is gold. He personally helps every single family that calls HOD with placement, and he's done it for years, so that adds up to a whole lot of experience! Not to mention Carrie and he collaborate on the choosing of resources of every single guide. Mike reads a large percentage of the resources and helps with selection of them, and he is an avid lover of history, choosing to read HUGE volumes of history and classical literature 'just for fun.' I'd feel 100% confident with your ds doing Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory, as that is what he advised. From what you've shared here, Carrie would also advice Beyond, and I would as well. You know your ds best, but I do think Beyond is a solid placement, and the best part? No tweaking needed. Just open and teach. AHHHH, life is good, right? Hope this may relieve some stress in this decision and give some clarity! HTH!

In Christ,
Julie