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Hi all, I'm considering purchasing Beyond LHFHG, and I'm trying to figure things out. Let me begin by saying I have my own math, LA, and spelling programs. I have always failed to complete anything in the history or science categories. I'm wondering if following this plan will actually help me succeed in accomplishing these subjects. I have a 9, 7, and 5 yr old who will all be going up a year in about 6 months. I'm thinking about combining all of them in the Beyond program, simply because I do not want to use two programs and I'd like to cover that time in history with them. Has anyone does this successfully? Since the history and science have never really been completed by us, then I dont' think it will be boring for my 9 yr old, but I'm not sure if anything is babyish.

Do the books tie into the history periods, or are they all just great classic books that kids seem to find interesting? Are the suggested books intense or violent (I guess I'm thinking of some of the missionary stories I've read which would have been too much for my kids)? Is the DITHOR program basically a reading program with books scheduled in order of increasing reading ability, along with questions on each book, summaries for parents to see if they child actually read the book, etc? Are there any printable worksheets with the program?

I'm sure I've left tons of questions out, but I just want to understand what I would be getting. Thank you.

Alison in KY

I've just seen my next question. Why in the book RA sections are they seperated into the emerging readers, vs the boys, girls, and classic? Is it because those books are shorter for younger kids?

Thanks,
Alison in KY

I have used Beyond...last year with my dd 8, and we enjoyed it immensely. My son, age 10, was using a different program at the time but still really liked to sit in on our history and story time readings. It is enjoyable for a variety of ages...so I don't think your 9 yo would be bored. However, you will need to be sure each child is placed correctly in L.A., math, handwriting, etc.; the basics on the 'left' side of each days plans. Plus, it is possible that your 5 yo could struggle with sitting through the readings, but that's really dependent on your particular child's abilities.

The readings in history all correlate with what is being studied in history, naturally. The story time readings are scheduld according to genre....biography, no-fiction, fable, etc. The suggested books are very good, and we loved them, but you could also use your preference as long as it fits within the genre for the unit.

I believe if you really want to combine then it would be fine. You can always 'beef' it up with extra science or history if you feel it is needed. And once you get to Bigger....HOD offers extension packs for those combining to use it with older children. That's what we're using this year with my almost 9 and almost 11 year olds. It's working out great, so far.

I hope this has been helpful, but I'm sure others will come along to offer their suggestions too. Good luck on your journey with HOD!

Alison in KY wrote:Hi all, I'm considering purchasing Beyond LHFHG, and I'm trying to figure things out. Let me begin by saying I have my own math, LA, and spelling programs. I have always failed to complete anything in the history or science categories. I'm wondering if following this plan will actually help me succeed in accomplishing these subjects. I have a 9, 7, and 5 yr old who will all be going up a year in about 6 months. I'm thinking about combining all of them in the Beyond program, simply because I do not want to use two programs and I'd like to cover that time in history with them. Has anyone does this successfully? Since the history and science have never really been completed by us, then I dont' think it will be boring for my 9 yr old, but I'm not sure if anything is babyish.

Do the books tie into the history periods, or are they all just great classic books that kids seem to find interesting? Are the suggested books intense or violent (I guess I'm thinking of some of the missionary stories I've read which would have been too much for my kids)? Is the DITHOR program basically a reading program with books scheduled in order of increasing reading ability, along with questions on each book, summaries for parents to see if they child actually read the book, etc? Are there any printable worksheets with the program?

I'm sure I've left tons of questions out, but I just want to understand what I would be getting. Thank you.

Alison in KY

Hi Alison! Welcome to the HOD board!

I think that you may be able to make Beyond work with a 10, 8, and 6 yo. Especially since you already are covering math and LA at their levels. I know that there are moms here doing very similar things. (Maybe they'll be able to help you out with how they do it! ) You'll be reading aloud to your kids for history, sicience, and storytime everyday. HOD uses living books for science. I believe in Beyond you're using more of a textbook from CLP, but I'm not positive. In Bigger, we're reading biographies of scientists, One Small Square books... For storytime, the books are taken from each of the 9 genres of literature. You get to pick from the classic, boy interest, and girl interest packs for these. (Or mix and match on your own, or use the library.) You need one book per genre.

The Emerging Readers set is for a child who is done with phonics and moving toward reading independently. This set of books is scheduled in the back of Beyond and has questions to help with comprehension.

A child who is past the emerging readers is ready for DITHOR. We are loving it this year! Here's a past thread that may help you. viewtopic.php?t=193 You can use any book you want to with DITHOR. It is genre based. So, the questions and interactions with the book are not book-specific. You're helping your child learn about story elements, and think about the story. My favorite part of it is that it helps the child evaluate the content of the book by the Bible by focusing on godly character qualities. There is a student workbook to go with each of the 3 levels. The writing content goes up with age.

Hope that helps some! You'll have to keep asking questions. The moms here are really great about helping.
Kathleen