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We just finished our first day of Bigger and Beyond and I'm worried I must have missed something. We did all the boxes just as it said but both kids were done in an hour and a half. The introductions say Beyond was supposed to take 2-2.5 hours and Bigger 3.5 hours. What did I do wrong?? Also, I started Little Hands with my four year old and he screamed and hated the whole thing... Help!

We never go nearly as long as the estimated times either. I guess I'm a fast reader or something?

We don't go down rabbit trails during school and don't do anything else until school is done.

There is a wide range of how long it can take. I would say that on a really good day, when everyone is focussed and there are no interruptions, (the kids') reading is smooth and they are on top of it, and the rotating box activity is short, it can easily take less than 1.5 hours for Beyond, and sometimes for Bigger too. Those are the days you can be thankful for! If you followed all the directions in all the boxes then you have done what you should do.

Sorry your little one didn't like LHTH the first day! Timing of it, attention of the LO, and energy from both of you are key to that, but if you keep trying and he really hates it all then I would just stop. No point in pushing it at age 4. Think about where problem areas might be for him, what he doesn't like, reading or writing, and try to work as slowly as you can on some skills in those areas. Like, if he likes cutting but hates writing and coloring, just let him do cutting, that develops fine motor skills too. If he likes painting let him do it, etc.

Thank you for your help and encouragement!

How is it going this week? Have you been able to settle into a routine?

I can't speak for Bigger, but Beyond doesn't take us a lot of time. We have it pretty streamlined

Math is a separate subject here, so we don't count that. I gather up the Bible, Science book (if applicable), history book, reading, and storytime, and we snuggle on the couch and read straight through the boxes. All that is left is some spelling, and maybe an art project. Then we're done!