Why oh Why do I torture myself!? (Beyond vs Bigger)

bookworm · Post by **bookworm** » Sun Jun 15, 2008 5:53 pm

So as some of you have read in my previous posts, I got to listen to Carrie at a conference about DITHOR and am very excited about using it. I learned of her other programs for the first time and decided on Beyond (vs Bigger) because of the great books even though my oldest will be 10 yrs old (younger will be 7). I thought I'd use some of the read-a-louds for him to read independently.

I even started a thread about who will be using Beyond this year and was all psyched about it.

Then I made the mistake of laying out all the books I already had from Beyond and Bigger and was looking over them. I just wanted to see what I still needed to order and what was for the future. My son came up and asked what I was doing. I explained I was looking at each of the programs and all the books and wondered what he thought of the books.

He really took a lot of time looking thru the books and asked me some questions about a few. After almost 45 minutes he said he liked one of the groups a lot more.....you guessed it-the Bigger pile!

I also realized a I have more books for Bigger than Beyond which I didn't realize before.

Soooooo....even though I have the teacher guide Beyond I'm wondering if I should do Bigger because my older is the harder one to excite with school. My DD is easy to please overall. The science looks a lot more engaging for my DS in Bigger too which I had not really thought about before because I planned to use another science than in Beyond.

So I guess I'm just looking for some validation that I should do Bigger and maybe read a few of the Beyond books I liked so well as a supplement? Their ages are prefect for Bigger and will line up fine next yr for Preparing.

I really am NOT interested in doing 2 programs. I could always use Beyond down the road with my 3 yr old

Thoughts, validation that I'm neurotic?

thanks for listening!
Ann

wisdom4us · Post by **wisdom4us** » Sun Jun 15, 2008 6:18 pm

The questions I would have are:

Is your DD ready for the language arts and math in Bigger? If not, maybe you could do the the language arts portion of Beyond with her and Bigger with your DS? Do you already have the lesson plans for Bigger too? Then do science, history, Bible and read aloud together from Bigger.

I'm doing 2 programs in the fall, Little Hearts and Bigger Hearts so I maybe no help to you in your decisionm, those were just questions that popped into my mind.

Don't you wish that God would just give you a hand written note telling you exactly what to do?

bookworm · Post by **bookworm** » Sun Jun 15, 2008 6:25 pm

We use another math and LA program so I'm set there. Good question though! I've switched these subjects more than I care to admit so I'm sticking with what works

Kathleen · Post by **Kathleen** » Sun Jun 15, 2008 10:53 pm

Hey Ann!

You're not crazy.

Sometimes it takes a lot of thinking through things...and changing your mind

...before you figure out what's best for your family. Even though your kids fit in the age range, my question would be where they place on HOD's placement chart. (If you haven't looked at it, it's well worth your time as it's a great way to see which program will best meet your kids' needs. Here's the link. http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php) If you think Bigger wouldn't be too much for your daughter, I'd say go for it. But you wouldn't want her to be struggling each year because you were "ahead" of her from the start.

Kathleen

bookworm · Post by **bookworm** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 10:05 am

The chart is a great tool and I looked at that and initially went with Beyond because of it. However, we are using our own math and LA so I thought the parts that initially made me lean to Beyond (reading, grammar) really were not as important now.
Would that be wrong of me to think even with our own program?

I do think she could handle the history, science, bible parts. Even if some lessons were a bit much, overall, she would be fine.

Melanie · Post by **Melanie** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 11:04 am

Big question...do you plan to stick with your LA plan, or do you think at some point you might go with Carrie's suggestions?? I won't ask about math b/c that's something you've probably had in place for awhile, and don't want to mess with.

I ask b/c I started out using a different math program and LA program, but have come to respect Carrie's choices and made the switch. We now are happy Singapore users (something I thought I'd never say) and happy HOD LA users!

All of this to say, you never know..

and if you did make the switch, it'd be easier with Beyond.

Mel

bookworm · Post by **bookworm** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 11:11 am

Good question. I do think I'll continue using what we have. They are solid programs and go through 6th grade.
And most importantly, my son actually tolerates them

Post by **Carrie** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 5:01 pm

bookworm,

The ladies are giving you wonderful advice! I agree that if you are using your own language arts and math, you have more flexibility on which of our programs you use. However, even if you did switch over to any part of HOD language arts and math, you could easily just teach that segment to your daughter out of Beyond.

So, I'd say give "Bigger..." a try with both and see how your daughter does. I agree that boys are harder to motivate and excite, and you certainly don't want it to be too easy and lose his interest. If it is too hard for your daughter, you could always bump her back to "Beyond...". If your kiddos fit in the target age range for "Bigger...", you should be fine.

Blessings,
Carrie