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Hi, I am planning for next year as we finish up Beyond with my two boys (8 and 10). It was a great fit to do the one book together given they are both ADHD with sensory processing issues and my older has LD's. I am looking for advice going forward based on their special needs.

As I look at the sample week for Bigger (which is Unit 1) I am concerned it may be too difficult for them. My 8 yo is just moving beyond the primer level of reading. His reading lagged mid- year and his spelling was so bad as a result, we had to completely bail on the spelling lists in order to really focus on phonics and reading. My 10 yo is dyslexic. He was doing okay with the emerging readers until we got to The Little Red Lighthouse, and it fell apart after that. Because his reading is progressing so slowly, he is now reading Pathway Readers. (I am not sure even now what to do for the rest of this year! Prob just choose my own books more at his level). He is very intelligent, but his writing and drawing is mostly illegible. I noticed there are some detailed drawings and notebooking in Bigger. He is just starting to write sentences on his own. I did not even attempt to do DITHR with him. We instead used a couple Veritas Press First Favorites workbooks because they were books at his level.

Is there somewhere I can see the list of books for emerging readers to assess if they are going to be good choices for either of them? I am assuming they are going to be too difficult for both, and in that case does anyone have any suggestions on what to do now? What other independent reading will be required of them? I also noticed the vocab words just in unit one seem to hard for them. or maybe I'm not giving them enough credit. We are on schedule to finish Beyond in mid-June. Did I push through the program too fast? Both of them are intelligent and easily comprehend the history and other topics when I present them. I could really use some advice. Thanks!!

I'm sorry that I don't know quite how to help you, but I'll bump it up for others to see.

Dianemahon,
I too have special needs kids and they have sprouted with HOD as long as The Lord is center. I made a lil blunder due to life circumstances and impatience but am back on track. When ds was in Bigger I didn't do all the boxes as they clearly gave me instruction to do and I finished the guide early just to finish at the end of the year. So bearing that history in mind with my suggestions I would suggest you enjoy your Beyond guide and from this day forward complete the boxes as stated. Seems you are putting worries on tomorrow. Enjoy this day and where your kiddos are.
The emerging readers are listed in Beyond packages. Sorry I can't link them up. Take your pace to get the full learning out of each guide. Learning is a journey not a race. With the special needs they will go slower but sometimes they will surprise us with a leap! Although I believe we all need a summer break I have addressed reading skills during the summer. It really only takes 15 minutes each day so really not a big deal. My oldest dd was in ps thru 2nd grade and didn't learn to read until I spent the summer teaching her. I thought you went to school to learn to read I didn't know you as parent were suppose to teach them. My dd will be graduating in May with a BA in Theatre with honors at 20.
My kiddos are in unit 4 Beyond and unit 29 CTC. As long as I remember to keep at their pace we enjoy our journey. Bigger will be there when your kiddos are ready. Sometimes us mommies are so eager to get to the next guide because they look so good we just might push these struggling learners to not enjoy learning. Press on.
Tammy

I have a ds with special needs. His more falls in the dysgraphia category. Writing is challenging for him. He also has some short term memory issues. He isn't dyslexic though so I don't have a lot of advice as far as that goes. I think at this point you could slow down Beyond and decide on a stopping point and then pick it back up in the fall or you could go ahead and finish Beyond and then when you start Bigger I would start it half speed. You might keep it at half speed the entire time. You could then devote any extra time to working on the reading. I know some people have certain reading programs that are geared towards dyslexics. As far as the difficulty with the writing here are my thoughts. Does he get upset with writing and drawing or is it just illegible? When my ds first started Preparing his drawing was not very good. For the notebooking he would just draw the best he could and I just had to let go of my perfectionist tendency's. If it was something that was very detailed that I knew would frustrate him there were times I photocopied the picture and let him glue it in to the notebooking page and then he would direct me to how to label it. Have you started having him learn to type yet? I started my ds with typing in 2nd grade and I am very glad I did. He types almost everything now. That might be something you could start working on this summer. My ds has always down the copywork, but when he first started with HOD I did try and limit it as to not overwhelm him. It is a tough balance to figure out when to modify and when to push and you as the parent are the only one that can figure that out. I have modified for my ds as needed. As I said he types much of his notebooking. He uses the Ipad and will sometimes use voice recognition software to dictate for him and recently I have found an app that will allow me to put his science lab sheet in as a pdf and he can type on the lab sheet. Some things he dictates to me and I write. He does all the assigned things, just in a way that works for him.

Thank you for sharing about your ds here, and I think you are such a loving, caring mother to deeply consider pacing for your dc. I really think you have received outstanding advice here from ladies who are in (and have been) in your very situation. I would also suggest slowing Beyond down and doing each of the boxes as they are written, focusing on growth in these areas for the rest of the guide. The Emerging Reader's Set (ERS) schedule and oral comprehension questions/narration skills questions are included in both Beyond and Bigger Hearts Appendices, so you can do those at any time during those guides that you feel they are a good fit. Here is a link to the ERS...
http://www.heartofdakota.com/emerging-reader.php

I want to encourage you to just give you and your dc the grace to slow down and smell the roses along this homeschool journey, meeting your dc where they are and making steady progress in the meantime. It is difficult not to get hung up on age levels and guides, but meeting dc where they are and moving forward rather than placing dc above where they are at and tweaking will actually move them ahead more quickly. Working half-speed toward doing all Beyond Little Hearts as it is written, with every single intended follow-up and assignment, will actually be more challenging and higher level than moving on to Bigger Hearts for His Glory and tweaking/skipping work. I hope something here has helped, but please keep asking questions until you are set. As these previous responses show, this board is full of Christian ladies who love to help one another. What a blessing!

In Christ,
Julie