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...use Beyond's spelling/LA for my DS's 1st grade year? We are finishing up LHFHG full-speed (did it half-speed last year and are about halfway through it). He will start Emerging Readers this year, along with the other 1st grade options in LHFHG. He keeps trying to write things and usually spells many of the words wrong, so I am wondering if he would benefit from working on the Spelling List 1 in Beyond? If I do this, should I start the spelling/LA from Beyond up about 6-8 weeks in?

Thanks for your thoughts!

We started list 1 about mid-year of 1st. It was fine. I didn't feel the need to start grammar. We'll follow it according to Carrie's guides.

I think if your son is writing a lot and very interested in writing you could start Beyond's LA. The spelling words in particular, on list 1, are very easy at least at the start (which is all I've really looked at so far). Maybe do that half-speed? Depending on his interest and how quickly he picks it up. I think my 6 YO will speed through at least the first few units of spelling words.

The copywork is copying the poem for each week. I guess if you wanted to also do the poems, which are pretty fun, then you wouldn't have to worry about being out of synch with them, but on the other hand, copying a poem is a LOT of writing to do so maybe you would want to wait on that. If your DS has already finished a handwriting book and learned how to correctly form the letters forge ahead, otherwise maybe just some more practice? I kind of wish I had taken more time to practice handwriting with my DD as she still doesn't form many letters properly. I am going into the copywork especially with much fear and trepidation that she won't like it and that it will be too much work. We will see! It's at least fun that she's copying a fun poem instead of just a bunch of words.

I don't think it's absolutely necessary. You could always just help him spell the words he needs, or make a list of words he writes a lot and work on those. If you feel he'd really like it or really benefit from it, then you certainly could go for it. It wouldn't mess anything up by doing it now, you'd just go on to word list 2 when you go to Beyond, and then dictation when you got to Bigger.

If your ds can write 3 sentences (which is the hardest skill included in the LA spelling plans), I think I'd try it and see how it goes. Just be sure to use the LA box's spelling plans along with the word list, as that includes key teaching of skills that help dc prepare for future dictation. It also impacts dc's own writing, often reducing spelling errors they were making as the way HOD teaches spelling teaches them skills to improve their own spelling. If ds cannot write 3 short sentences (copying them from a markerboard), then I would wait, and just write words he is trying to spell on a markerboard for him if you know he's writing something. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

We started the spelling from Beyond about 9 weeks in to Allison's "1st grade" year. That was ALL I added from Beyond's LA box. We followed the plans for spelling in that LA box daily.

When we started Beyond "for real", we were probably on spelling list 16 or so. At that point I numbered the cards for spelling as unit 1 (even though it was list 16) and did the LA box as written with the list we were on for spelling. This way I wasn't on a different page for spelling in the guide. Does that make sense? I just check the lists off in the back as we use them so that we'll do all of them.

I thought it worked well, and Allison was ready to add it.
Kathleen

We went through List 1 in Beyond during our year with Little Hearts (my son's 1st grade year) and used List 2 last year for 2nd grade when we did the Beyond guide. I held off on the Language Arts until we were actually using the Beyond guide because, otherwise, we would always be "off" in the LA part. Besides, there is no reason to rush LA instruction at all. It gets hard enough as they go on anyway...especially with R&S. I wish my older son had been given the gentle introduction to LA that my younger has had!

Thanks so much, everybody!!! I think I will use List 1 in Beyond and hold off on the LA for now!