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Hi again..seems like i read somewhere that some of you pros stretch out Beyond and Bigger to last over 3 yrs instead of 2, so that you child is older going into further guides. Or maybe i am confused..which is highly possbile..lol..but, if anyone has done this i would be interested to know how....i would love to only do 4 days a week..this will be our first yr hs (i know they are once in Preparing..)...i would really appreciate any thoughts....thinking of using Beyond with ER for my almost 6yo for the fall....thanks again for any input!

We're spreading Bigger and Preparing over 3 years. I'll start Preparing when Bigger is finished in the fall, guessing late Oct-mid Nov. I school the 3 Rs everyday, but the other stuff gets rotated around (some days only doing the 3 Rs and an outside activity, some left side then right side days, other days we do a full day). I would think it would work for Beyond and Bigger too. Just don't get hung up on Monday not being Day 1 (I don't!). Turn the page when the day is done (I use a binder clip to mark where we are).

That said, if your child places well in Beyond, you might want to wait and spread Bigger and Preparing out instead. Because Beyond is a fun, quick day.

HTH. Welcome to hs'ing and HOD!

ETA: Just noticing your ds is only 5. I'd probably spread Beyond out or start with Little Hearts. We used/will use LH for 1st, Beyond 2nd, Bigger 3rd and into 4th, Preparing 4th and well into/all of 5th. My ds turned 9 earlier this month. That schedule seems to be a good fit for him. Not saying your ds couldn't go through it quicker, just be aware that proper placement is key to success.

Hi, Thanks!..my oldest will be 6 in May...finishing K in ps this yr, and reads and writes well....thats why i was leaning towards Beyond..but not sure about that either. Next ds will be 4 1/2 this fall..so didn't really think i could combine...Since he is on the young end, i was trying to figure out about spreading the guides out....but maybe like u said, Bigger and Preparing.

HOD is so flexible - you can definitely spread 2 guides over 3 years, and the possibilities for doing this are endless. However, I would do this in response to a child displaying the need for a slower pace, rather than planning for it before the need arises. If a child is ready for full-speed, it is a good idea to use that pacing (unless other life situations present themselves and make it more desirable to go half-speed, i.e. health concerns in the family, a move, a newborn baby, etc. ). Doing school 4 days a week is definitely a pacing you can always do. So, I guess from what you've described, I'd start Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory 4 days a week, starting half-speed the first week or two to test the waters. Then, if ds is obviously ready for full-speed Beyond, I'd go ahead and do that 4 days a week. If half-speed Beyond is showing itself to be plenty for ds, then I'd keep going half-speed 4 days a week, with an eye towards watching when full-speed fits better. Often times for us, we have switched from half-speed to full-speed halfway into the guide or so. You will know when! Many times, half-speed at the start of a guide, then full-speed finishing that guide, then half-speed at the start of the next guide, and full-speed finishing that guide - results in 2 guides being spread out over 3 years. This past post may help as you are considering placement and pacing as well...

When to Drop Back a Guide and When to Go Half-Speed:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=9000&p=65878#p65878

HTH!
In Christ,
Julie

You can easily just do Beyond and Bigger 4 days a week. You won't be completing units in 1 week this way. You simply do one day at a time and pick up where you left off the next week. Doing this gives you about 9 extra weeks per guide. That would end up being more like 2.5 years for Beyond and Bigger. I like the 4 day a week schedule so I am doing all of our guides 4 days a week now. I actually started my daughters early on their next years work so we can get in that 9 extra weeks before summer break.

So, when you do 4days/wk...do you just carry over that 9 weeks to the next yr?...or like you mentioned starting early in the summer..do you still try to finish the guide in 1 yr??

momof3kids wrote:So, when you do 4days/wk...do you just carry over that 9 weeks to the next yr?...or like you mentioned starting early in the summer..do you still try to finish the guide in 1 yr??

That's my plan.

Well you can really do it anyway you like but if you are trying to stretch those two guides out then yes you would carry over any extra weeks to the next school year. Just pick up where you left off before summer break. When you finish the guide just start the next.