BEYOND for 2nd, but what for K?

[HSMom03]

I will most likely be starting Beyond with my 2nd/3rd grader next month, but I can't decide/figure out what I should do for my K'er. He will be an older 5yo (turning 6 late fall) and really could probably work at a 1st grade level... so K/1st? I want to do something fun & special for him since he has been anxiously waiting to start school. He loves school work and especially anything artistic. I wish I had done more things geared toward him before now, but I was really tied up with the oldest & the little ones. He has done as much of his older brothers schoolwork as he has been able, and whatever else I could squeeze in. Hope that makes sense.

[shellbell]

I love, love Little Hands for K! If he wants a little more seat type work you can add in a few of Rod and Staff's ABC series. Some of the ABC series books are used in Little Hearts, but you could easily sub. in ones that you hadn't done yet, if you got up to the books that are used in Little Hearts. (I hope that makes sense).

Have you looked at the placement chart for him? If he already knows all his letters and sounds, and other things the placement chart will look ask you about, then maybe he could do Little Hearts, but personally I really like Little Hands for K and Little Hearts for 1st, esp. if he hasn't had a lot of schooling on his own with you. It would be a fun, sweet year with Little Hands.

[SetApartForHisGlory]

My son did K last year, also turning 6 in the fall. We started Little Hearts For His Glory midway through the year (because we didn't know about HOD when I originally planned the year!). We loved it for Kindergarten! We'll use it for the first part of 1st grade since we haven't finished it. So I suppose we are using it as a K/1st like you said. If you started it at the beginning of K, and went half speed for a while, then slowly ramped it up, I think that would work wonderfully. God Bless your school year, whatever you decide!

[StephanieU]

I love LHFHG at about 6yo. So, maybe start Beyond with the oldest, letting the younger join in for storytime, art, science, and history as he is interested. But focus on the 3Rs (from LHFHG) for the fall. Then, in January, start LHFHG with the then 6yo. That will put them 1.5 years apart in the guides, which is nice. That way you aren't doing the guides completely back to back, and your kids aren't starting new guides at the same time (things that can lead to parent burn out).

[MomtoJGJE]

I was coming to say exactly what Stephanie just said! Let him listen in to the readings from Beyond (if he wants to) and work on 3Rs for the fall and then start him with LHFHG in January. It's so nice to have it spaced out where you aren't starting guides at the same time.

[my3sons]

Hi there! It sounds like your ds is almost 6 yo, and you'd mentioned him working at about a 1st grade level. When trying to help with placement on the board, age is only one part of it. Since we only have the information you provide to go on when trying to help with placement, it would help so much to hear some more about your ds with the placement chart in mind. You will probably still hear varied placement ideas, but it will narrow down the options and make more clear the best placement - and then, you can choose what you think best. So, could you please - pretty please - help us help you out more by checking out the placement chart and sharing about your 5 yo ds, especially sharing about his reading, writing, and math abilities? Also about his past experience with school? About how long he is used to doing school each day, and/or about his attention span? Also, is there someone younger than him to consider for future possible combining? Or, if you see him placing nearer older brother, how do those 2 work together? Thanks so much!!! Here's a link to the placement chart: http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

In Christ,
Julie