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Hi!

In the fall, I plan to have my dd begin Beyond and use DITHOR 2/3. She will be 7, and is very strong at language arts (reading, writing, spelling, etc.) Right now she is in 1st grade in public school and they are starting basic grammar which she enjoys.

I know Rod and Staff English 2 isn't scheduled until Bigger, but I was wondering if I should do it with Beyond since she will be doing DITHOR? And I also noticed in the DITHOR program there was a book called "Language Lessons for the Very Young"...is this something I should consider, or is that more an of option for people using DITHOR only (without the rest of HOD)?

It will be my first year homeschooling, so that is why I don't know what I am doing Any guidance is greatly appreciated!!

I think it would be easy to add R&S 2 to Beyond if you wanted. My son likes Grammar so when we did Beyond, we added it. We are now doing Bigger and R&S 3. It's scheduled in the manual for 1 lesson a day, so that's what we do.

Thanks for your response, Lee Ann. I think I will go ahead and try Rod and Staff, and if it seems like it is too much, I will just hold onto it until Bigger.

As for my question about "Language Lessons for the Very Young", I found an old post that explained how that was more a book for people who do not use the HOD guides...so I answered my own question!

If R&S turns out to be too much, but you want more than is in Beyond..., as funny as it sounds, here are a couple fun, educational ideas: School House Rock Grammar songs DVD and Kathy Troxel's Grammar Songs CD. Oh, and Mad Libs (Jr. or the regular ones). You can find many of these online for free and they are SO much fun. My dd7 is loving adding them to her Beyond lessons daily. It keeps it fun and gentle yet, adds so much more grammar knowledge if your kids are ready for a little more. Keep in mind that R&S is advanced and I think Carrie recommends completing R&S 6 by the end of 8th grade. A child might be able to handle R&S 2 now, but that just means they'll be going into the really advanced stuff that much sooner. My dd did R&S 2 in 1st grade (she's a grade level ahead in most subjects and way ahead in reading, so I jumped the gun)...we are just doing what I mentioned above plus Beyond LA this year for 2nd. She did R&S2 quite well and enjoyed it, but until she got to this age/ability level where she is using more of what she was learning, it just didn't stick...still hasn't stuck. So, I feel kinda like I wasted a lot of time by doing it when I knew I could have waited. She has honestly learned more doing just what is in the Beyond guide for LA and it might just be that she is actually ready for it now. I feel like I'm starting to ramble now, so I'll end it here! LOL I hope in my tiredness I have made at least a little sense.

Tamara,

Thank you for your words of wisdom! I will probably wait then, and do R&S 2 with Bigger. And thanks for the fun grammar resources...I will have to check them out!

I use Language Lessons by Jessie Wise. She and her daughter, Susan Wise Bauer, wrote the Well Trained Mind books. Language Lessons is for 1st and 2nd grade but could also be used for 2nd and 3rd, I would think..... I also think she has another one for 3rd and 4th...

HTH,
Judy
dd 6 - Beyond

Hi Tammy! You may just want to start with the grammar lesson scheduled in the Beyond guide (it's every 5th. day). We found that to be a great start for our dc - even though my oldest could have done R & S 2, he was on the young side of Beyond and we decided to wait. I am glad we did because I think he remembered it better doing it along with Bigger - but that was just my experience! I think if I were you I'd just try Beyond as it is for the first month or so, and then if you wanted to add R & S then, you could easily do so. I am doing Beyond now too - so you and I will have fun going through it together with our dc! It will be fun to hear what's going on with you and your dd in Beyond - how exciting for you to be beginning homeschooling your dd!!! Be sure to check out the weekly check-in - that's a neat way to see what other mom's are doing with HOD too!

In Christ,
Julie

my3sons wrote:Hi Tammy! You may just want to start with the grammar lesson scheduled in the Beyond guide (it's every 5th. day). We found that to be a great start for our dc - even though my oldest could have done R & S 2, he was on the young side of Beyond and we decided to wait. I am glad we did because I think he remembered it better doing it along with Bigger - but that was just my experience! I think if I were you I'd just try Beyond as it is for the first month or so, and then if you wanted to add R & S then, you could easily do so. I am doing Beyond now too - so you and I will have fun going through it together with our dc! It will be fun to hear what's going on with you and your dd in Beyond - how exciting for you to be beginning homeschooling your dd!!! Be sure to check out the weekly check-in - that's a neat way to see what other mom's are doing with HOD too!

In Christ,
Julie

Taht's what I would do, too. I always figure you can pick up and add things in the middle of you need to, but when you start with too heavy of a workload they get overwhelmed and then I face a mutiny when it's time to do school!

Tmisek wrote:Hi!

In the fall, I plan to have my dd begin Beyond and use DITHOR 2/3. She will be 7, and is very strong at language arts (reading, writing, spelling, etc.) Right now she is in 1st grade in public school and they are starting basic grammar which she enjoys.

I know Rod and Staff English 2 isn't scheduled until Bigger, but I was wondering if I should do it with Beyond since she will be doing DITHOR? And I also noticed in the DITHOR program there was a book called "Language Lessons for the Very Young"...is this something I should consider, or is that more an of option for people using DITHOR only (without the rest of HOD)?

It will be my first year homeschooling, so that is why I don't know what I am doing Any guidance is greatly appreciated!!

HI Tammy,

Of course, you know your child best, but I do agree with the 2 previous posters to wait on "beefing" up the grammar. Start gently with a plan to succeed. It sounds like when you do begin the grammar it will go quickly and smoothly. And since, the Rod and Staff advances quickly she'll still be on track, if not ahead, when you do plug it in. And she'll LOVE IT when the time is right.

Thanks so much, everyone, for the great advice! I will plan to wait until Bigger for the R&S and just do the things in the Beyond guide. I am sure we will have plenty to do...especially since it will take a while to get our homeschooling routine down. I can't wait to start in the fall!