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I am new here and just stubbled upon this curriculum and really like what I see so far. I have 3 children ds1(6.5), ds2(5) and dd(10.5). We will be using Sonlight 6 with my dd, so I am mainly looking for my boys. I was thinking of doing Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory with my boys because like the history part of this. My question is do you think that I would be pushing ds2 (he will be 5.5 in the fall). I would do Singapore Earlybird with him instead of 1a, 1b. Do you think this would be possible. He does love to listen to read alouds, so I don't think that would be a problem?

Thanks ahead of time!

I think if he is ready to do the math and phonics in Beyond...you would probably be fine? Although, it is written for 6-8 yo's, so I'm not sure. Maybe you could tell us a bit about where your boys are ability-wise, then we could help you a little more...

DS1 (who will be 7 in the fall)
~Can easily count to 100+
~Finished MUS Primer, Singapore 1A and is working in Singapore 1B
~Can read and spell three letter word
He has just finished with blend sounds (sh, sc, ck, bl, br, fl, ch, cr, etc.), still needs to sound most words out. So we are going to take are time and just work on review reading.
~working through ETC book 2
~We are in lesson 75 of First Language lessons. He knows his nouns, common and proper nouns, pronouns, and verbs.
~His writing is pretty good, but it's isn't is favorite thing to do copywork.

DS2 (who will be 5.5 in the fall)
~Can count to 30+
~We are a little more than 1/2 way through MUS Primer
~Has learned names and sounds of most of the letters haven't started a phonics program with him yet.
~He can write most of the letters from memory, but doesn't enjoy writing.

I'm going to be doing Beyond for my 6.5 year old and my 5.5 year old!
It's DOABLE! I have been reading the teachers manual and going over everything and yes, it's possible, everything should tie in together easily!
For my youngest, there will be a few modifications because he hasn't had any phonics, math etc, so I will be introducing those...

I've been going through everything and it's great!

I would think Beyond would be good for both of them. You could use the emerging reader's set for your older and phonics instruction for your younger.
FWIW, my boys don't like to write, either. I find that when I emphasize to them that I want one copy of their perfect work, not pages and pages of mediocre work, it seems to be easier in their mind. I emphasize the ONE page of good versus MANY pages of not so good...

I just wanted to add that I am planning on using Beyond next year for 1st w/ my dd who will be 6 in Oct. I think she will do well w/ the program, but I will slow it down if I need to.

I also wanted to suggest checking out the placement chart on the HOD site. It is very helpful in deciding which program will work best for you dc.

Welcome to the boards!

Gina

Oh yes....Gina is right, check the placement chart. It will give you a good idea of what they will need to be able to do.

I definately think Beyond will be perfect for your 7 yo, not sure about your 5 yo. It would require some tweaking, and you'd need to be careful as you advanced into Bigger (boys and their desire to write )....but I do think you could make it work. I really like Darci's idea....one really good sentence or paragraph vs. lots of messy work.

I'll be doing Beyond next year, too. My kiddos will be 7, 7 and 6. There will be a lot of us using this next year (I can't wait!) And most of all....WELCOME!!! We're very glad you are here!!!

MamaReese,

Welcome to the boards! We're glad to have you here!

Here's a link to the placement chart that the ladies mentioned:
http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

We've found it to be very accurate in placing kiddos. I'd love to hear more of your thoughts once you've taken a look at the chart.

Blessings,
Carrie