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We'll be using Beyond Little Hands For His Glory this fall for my dd6. She'll be turning 7 in October, shortly after school begins. I believe this is the best place to start since she's a strong emerging reader (reads level 2 books, some Dr. Seuss,etc.), but we'll still be doing another year of phonics (which isn't included in Beyond, so we'll be tacking it on.) My main concern is the history and science books. When I review them at Christian Liberty's site, they're classified as 2nd-3rd grade materials. Is this right? I thought this was a 1st-2nd grade program, so I'm a little confused and am wondering if I should get LHFHG instead (although I think the reading portion would be below her ability). Can someone clarify this for me?

I am currently going through Beyond with my daughter, who just turned 7. The history stories are meant to be read aloud to the student each day. My daughter has been able to read some of it on her own, but I have done most of the reading. I believe that the science is also intended to be read aloud, but she has been able to read most of it on her own. The history books used for Little Hearts are listed as resources for 1st and 3rd grades in the Christian Liberty catalog, and they are also meant to be read aloud to the student.

I hope that helps.

My daughter will be 7 in October and we will be starting BLHFHG too! My daughter is also an emerging reader and I will be continuing a phonics program. I have already purchased the history and science books and have skimmed the books. The books are at a higher reading level than an emerging reader, but you are to read those books to your child. They are not too high a level as a read aloud book. I think they look like the perfect read aloud level for our children's age.

My son will be 7 at the end of September and he will also be doing Beyond this year. For most of Beyond, the parent does the reading - History and Science, for example. While the reading may be above her level, the stories are not at all. They are fun and interesting to that age group (my ds tried Beyond last year as a 5 year old turning 6 2009-2010 and we had to drop back to Little Hearts. Now, at almost 7, he is definitely ready and looking forward to a year with Beyond.

Our son turns 7 ,the end of October, and will be starting Beyond then, also. He has already started emerging readers and is on the book Amelia Bedelia right now. It sounds like you have your child in the right place based on all the replies so far.

JEnn D.

Thank you for all the responses. I think you even answered another question I had. I was starting to panic yesterday when I was at the library and wanted to check out a couple of the books they had that are recommended reading (either the student or read-alounds), such as The Courage of Sarah Noble and The Cabin Faced West. The latter I've actally chosen for my ds9 for next year as part of a pioneer/westward expansion unit I'm putting together (maybe I can time it so that I'm reading it aloud ONCE to both of them, lol.) Anyway I was freaking a bit over the read-alounds since they seem to long, and I wasn't sure dd would be able to follow along. I know she'll mature more in the next 5-6 mos before we start the program, but I was a little concerned!

Read-alouds are typically meant to be more advanced (by a few years) than a child's reading level. Since the parent is doing the reading, the intent is to increase dc's vocabulary and improve their comprehension. This works beautifully, as dc don't have to focus on just being able to read the words themselves, but can instead just learn to focus on listening. We have done BLHFHG twice now, and I looked at that as a year for our dc to learn to listen attentively to books with fewer pictures. This is an important skill to learn, and the book selections in Beyond encourage it naturally. They are wonderful - very living in nature, read in bite-sized increments, and so interesting! No worries - just enjoy BLHFHG! You'll enjoy seeing your little one grow and mature with it.

In Christ,
Julie