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What if I am planning on using Bigger w/extensions and Beyond next year? I know it's been asked here before but is it unadvisable to do two consecutive programs? My 10 year old is doing Bigger and my 6 and 8/9 yr. olds are doing Beyond with the older of the two doing the Bigger LA/science suggestions. That would leave next year, both of them doing Bigger with hopefully the older doing it with extensions.

Thanks again,
Shannon

Shannon- I will also be using Beyond and Bigger together this year. My twin dds will be in Beyond and my oldest son will be in Bigger. We also used consecutive levels last year as well- LHFHG and Beyond. We didn't have any problems using both programs. I was glad to be able to meet the needs of all my dc and didn't fret about anything else. We are repeating Beyond again, but to change it up a bit, I've ordered different books and my girls are doing Beyond with things geared down for them using some of the 1st grade options from LHFHG. I am going to use Beyond for 1st and 2nd grade for them, so they will be in 3rd grade for Bigger. I'm not sure I've been any help. I guess I'm not entirely clear about the question. Hope this helps.

Thanks Kimi, that does help. Just needed to hear another opinion. I used to teach school and repeated grade each year so I should be used to that:) I just read somewhere here that a person can "burnout" doing the same program two years in a row. Kind of scare me:(



Shannon

Hi Shannon! I think that proper placement is far more important than worrying about doing guides back to back. That is kind of a last on the list consideration, with placing dc correctly being far above it. So, if your plan correctly places your dc (and it sounds like it does), you have a great plan in place already! If moms are trying to decide between 2 scenarios, and they're really both as good (based on what we've been told on the board about the children ), then we suggest considering whether you want to teach guides back to back or not. Like you, I spent many years in the classroom teaching the same things back to back, so in the scope of things, it's not that important.

In Christ,
Julie

Hi Julie,

Looking at the Storytimes, would it be possible to alternate between the choices for Bigger and Beyond? Anotherwards pick one harder book, then an easier one and have all the children listen in? I can't see having time to do two read-alouds each day.

Thanks for all you advice,

Shannon

sted wrote:Hi Julie,

Looking at the Storytimes, would it be possible to alternate between the choices for Bigger and Beyond? Anotherwards pick one harder book, then an easier one and have all the children listen in? I can't see having time to do two read-alouds each day.

Thanks for all you advice,

Shannon

Good morning, Shannon! You can absolutely alternate between the 2, or you could just choose to do 1 of the sets - in other words, do either the Beyond Storytime or the Bigger Storytime books. Either one would work just fine! I can totally see wanting to just do the 1 read-aloud with the 2 of them. You'd probably want to do the Bigger Hearts plans with whatever book you choose though, as that will be harder and fit your older child's needs best. The younger child will be able to hang with it too. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

my3sons wrote:

sted wrote:Hi Julie,

Looking at the Storytimes, would it be possible to alternate between the choices for Bigger and Beyond? Anotherwards pick one harder book, then an easier one and have all the children listen in? I can't see having time to do two read-alouds each day.

Thanks for all you advice,

Shannon

Good morning, Shannon! You can absolutely alternate between the 2, or you could just choose to do 1 of the sets - in other words, do either the Beyond Storytime or the Bigger Storytime books. Either one would work just fine! I can totally see wanting to just do the 1 read-aloud with the 2 of them. You'd probably want to do the Bigger Hearts plans with whatever book you choose though, as that will be harder and fit your older child's needs best. The younger child will be able to hang with it too. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

Julie & Shannon,
Huge thanks to both of you! We will be using Beyond and Bigger this year and I had just accepted that I would be doing two read alouds every day! Not that I minded that much, we really love to read aloud...but this makes my day just that much easier. I already own both sets of books, so we will probably just read the younger set in the evenings for fun.

Thanks!

That sounds like a great plan, Geo! I agree, it's nice to streamline the teaching day so it gets done consistently in a manageable amount of time. Reading in the evening together is a great way to end the day, and you can go at any pace you want.

In Christ,
Julie