Beyond - Should I add anything?

[HSMom03]

Should I adjust Beyond Little Hearts at all, or add anything to it, if I am using it for a 7-3/4 year old? Or can I use it "as written" for that age?

[hs.mama07]

I'm using it for my 7.5 year old who is very bright, and it is perfect as written. It is made for kids age 6, 7, and 8...so it should work great!

You are supposed to adjust language arts and math to fit their level. Spelling: list 1 or 2. Reading: phonics, emerging readers, or drawn into the heart of reading. Math: 1a/1b or 2a/2b (or your own program). We are using 2a/2b for math right now, so I went ahead and bought the Bigger guide so that we could use Carrie's hands on activities. They are great!

Have fun--we're really enjoying Beyond!

[hs.mama07]

I wanted to add one thought. If you feel Beyond is too easy, you might consider Bigger. Might check out the placement chart!

http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

[MelInKansas]

If your child is well-placed there is no need to add anything. You will have what you need, and you can use your extra time for pursuing other interests, housework, time with friends, whatever.

[HSMom03]

Thanks for your input! Now that I have thought about it some more, I think I am really happy with placement and just wondering when to start Rod & Staff 2.

[Nealewill]

I would wait until you are using Bigger to begin R&S 2. There is a weekly grammar lesson in Beyond. And honestly, the topics repeat on a larger scale each year in R&S. For R&S 2 and 3, your child will probably find those topics somewhat easy when he gets to them. But the upper levels are very challenging.

I did Beyond when my son was 7 year old and didn't modify it at all. it was a great year for him and perfectly balanced.

[hs.mama07]

Beyond has grammar every 5th day throughout the year. Rod and Staff 2 is advanced compared to other English curricula so it is considered appropriate for 3rd grade. Since 3rd graders are usually 8 or 9, you could do Beyond as written this year and save Rod and Staff 2 for Bigger next year and she'd be in good shape.

However, if you want her to have more grammar this year, you could work through Beyond's grammar faster and start R&S when you finish up. For example, you could do Beyond grammar several times a week (or every day) until you have finished the whole guide (so, since grammar is just one day a week and there are 34 week, it would take you 34 school days to finish the grammar in beyond, if that makes sense). Then start doing R&S instead (one lesson every day or every 2-3 days, depending on how much grammar you want to do). In Bigger, R&S is scheduled for one lesson every day and Carrie recommends doing part of it orally to make the lessons go faster if needed.

Hope that helps!

[MomtoJGJE]

My third daughter needed more by the last 1/4 of Beyond, so I started doing the grammar lesson every day. It took us about three weeks to get through that and then we started doing a R&S lesson every other day. That was enough for a while (I also let her start doing math at her own pace at the end of her school day. Basically, after everything else was done, she could do however much math she wanted to do) So I would do Beyond as written until it's clear she wants/needs more.