5.5 year old in Beyond?

[rose411]

Quick question...
My son is on track to finish LHFHG at the end of August. Should I start him in Beyond right away in september or take a break until he turns six in February 2011? Or should I slow down LHFHG so that it will take us a year so we will be done closer to when he is six? He is doing really well with LHFHG and does not need to slow down because it is too difficult.

[krismoose]

My ds will be in the same situation this summer...I'm planning on starting off with taking 2 days to cover History, the rotating activity, storytime, poetry and bible study. I'll do math, reading, handwriting and maybe spelling every day using a few stickies to keep our places in the guide. Then we'll just see when it's time to go full-speed ahead. That worked well for us starting slower with LHFHG, then speeding up a bit later.

[mamayi]

I've been doing Beyond since the fall with my dd who will be six at the end of April (and her older brother). She's been able to follow along great with the "left side" and I have her doing the Beyond LA on the right but her reading has been a combo of The Reading Lesson and this week she started the Emerging Reader track. She also is in her own level for math. It's worked out great for us.

[countrymom]

We are in the same boat (March birthday, probably Sept-Oct start for Beyond) and I plan to place him in Beyond and get a feel for it. I may do 1/2 speed at first, we will see. We are doing very well with LHFHG at full speed and are reading books from the boys and girls lists for Beyond as well, so I think it will be very doable. I would just be ready to slow down in any area needed, or adjust if necessary. My worry with waiting is boredom and lack of challenge (I am not good at putting things together) and we tried 1/2 speed at first and it was really too slow for him.

[water2wine]

I am doing Beyond right now with a 5 1/2 year old. It is going well. We are not slowing down but instead doing it 4 days a week. I plan on doing the same with Bigger and I think that will have her on track but not mess things up for my almost 8 year old. I am just sort of playing it by ear now and waiting to see where she is at when we finish Beyond. I did slow her down in LHFHG but she really is doing well with Beyond so no real reason to slow her down. I am mostly thinking long term and trying to make sure she hits the older guides when she is capable of doing them. For now this is working well. I guess if things seem like it would be on target for her later in the year we may go back toi 5 days a week. She is ahead in Math and doing well in reading it is mostly her writing that is lagging becasue she is young.

[funkmomma71]

My dd was 5.5 yo when we finished LHFHG and we started Beyond two months later. My original plan was to go 1/2 speed, but she was ready to jump right in, so we went full speed. At first she did copy complete poems, because it was too much, but now she is able to write very well and quick, so I actually have to limit how much copywork she does each day! If your little one is ready, then go ahead, but just be ready to make some adjustments to allow for whatever growth may be necessary. HTH

[my3sons]

We started Beyond when my ds was about 5 1/2 yo. We did it half-speed for a short while, and then went ahead and did it full-speed as he showed he was ready for it. Since your ds is doing great with LHFHG, I would go ahead and begin Beyond half-speed, doing phonics/reading daily. I wouldn't take off from Sept. to Feb. - as this would be a long break and may result in ds losing momentum in his learning. If you'd enjoy a few months off, like Sept. and Oct. or so, and then would like to start back up, that would be just fine I'm sure. But once you take over 3 months off, I do think learning can kind of come to a standstill, and it becomes harder to start back up. We take off a few months in the summer, and it's been fine. One other idea would be to take off a few months, and then start back up either half-speed, or else full-speed just 4 days a week. Any of these options would work just fine, so just do whatever you feel fits your goals the best!

In Christ,
Julie