Doing Beyond but adding some Bigger?

[TammyTE]

I am planning to begin Beyond with my 8.5yog next week. She reads very well, but I feel she would benefit from Beyond. We do MUS already and I like that. My main concern is the spelling. I know the lists will be easy for her. I was thinking of doing some dictation. I do not have the Bigger guide yet. I am wondering if I should go ahead and get the Bigger guide and use that dictation. I have questions about that though.

1. What would I do for her dictation once she actually starts Bigger?
2. If I use items from the right side of Bigger and do the left side of Beyond, would they go together? Off the top of my head I am thinking of the poem they copy for Beyond. She wouldn't be doing that. I really like how it all fits nicely together.

I'm sure I have more questions. I'm just not sure how to do this. I know most anything I do will work fine, but I want to get it all figured out and just go with it.

Thanks!
~Tammy
8yog, 6yob, 4yog, 2yog, 3mog

[my3sons]

You could easily get the Bigger Hearts teaching guide and do dictation with her. Because of her age, I think she'd probably do well with dictation. I agree about the poetry though - I'd just do the Beyond poetry copywork and not the Bigger Hearts while you are doing Beyond as your core program. The poems match the history, and it's neat to do them together, along with the copywork of them too. It's just more meaningful. If your dd has had an introduction to the basic parts of speech, you could use the Bigger Hearts manual to do R & S English 2. This too would be easy to do. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

[TammyTE]

Thanks Julie. Yes I was considering doing the copwork from Beyond, so it's helpful to know that may work. She is not at all strong in her handwriting. I mean the physical aspects of it, if that makes any sense. She is very articulate, has a great vocabulary - just can't get the words down easily. I think she would do fine with dictation it will just take her a while for every.single.word. LOL All that to say, extra copywork will not hurt her.

I had been thinking of doing the R&S English 2 as well.

Is there a simple way to look at the HOD teacher's manuals that I am missing? I am trying to figure out which boxes go with the theme and which don't. Does that vary with each level? I'm trying to decide where my 6yob will fit into all of this as well. If I could get a better grasp on this as a whole I could stop wasting everyone's time on this board!

[my3sons]

...She is not at all strong in her handwriting. I mean the physical aspects of it, if that makes any sense. She is very articulate, has a great vocabulary - just can't get the words down easily. I think she would do fine with dictation it will just take her a while for every.single.word.

Oh well, then I'd do Spelling List 2 with her, because it is way more than just spelling lists and tests. The skills taught in the box prepare dc for dictation beautifully. Here's a link explaining that:
CM Style Spelling in HOD (why do it, describes spelling plans too):
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5645&p=41357#p41357

Spelling retention – why not to pretest – why to do the spelling even if dc are good spellers by Carrie:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7415&p=54282#p54282

Is there a simple way to look at the HOD teacher's manuals that I am missing? I am trying to figure out which boxes go with the theme and which don't. Does that vary with each level? I'm trying to decide where my 6yob will fit into all of this as well. If I could get a better grasp on this as a whole I could stop wasting everyone's time on this board!

You bet! You can click to see the first week of plans and the introduction at this link (they are in blue on the right):
http://www.heartofdakota.com/byd-little-hearts.php

R & S English 2 is easy to schedule, just a lesson a day really. So, you wouldn't need the Bigger Hearts manual to do that. Otherwise, you should be able to use the Beyond manual as it is written for your 2 sweeties, and that is wonderful to do!
In Christ,
Julie

[TammyTE]

Thanks Julie. Off to read your links!

[TammyTE]

I just read through the two spelling links. I understand with dictation you do not move forward until the child gets it completely correct. What happens at the end of the unit if a child is still missing a word or more? (I did see you review lists at later weeks, but I figured that was just to keep what they already know fresh.)

[Carrie]

Tammy,

Studied dictation is scheduled 3 times weekly in Bigger Hearts, so you just do the first passage on the first day. If the child gets it perfectly correct, you move on to passage 2 the next session. If the child misses any part of the passage (i.e spelling, capitalization, punctuation, etc.), then the child circles the missed part in the passage in the guide and corrects it on her paper. The next session, she would repeat the same passage. If it still not correct, then the child again circles any missed parts in the guide and corrects it on her paper. The next session, she would repeat the same passage.

In this way, you can see that there is no certain amount of passages required to work through each week, but rather the child cannot move on until the passage is correct. There is no need to finish a level of dictation each year. Rather you would just put the guide away at the end of the school year and the next year, pick the dictation passages back up wherever the child left off. We do this with our own sons and it works great to individualize their dictation to their specific needs, progressing at the rate that suits them. Hope that helps!

On a sidenote, if you do decide to use the Bigger Hearts' dictation instead of Beyond's spelling lists, you would just do dictation 4 times weekly as that is how the spelling is scheduled in your Beyond guide (and dictation would be your spelling replacement).

Blessings,
Carrie

[TammyTE]

Thank you Carrie, that is helpful.

As far as spelling then...what happens if they continue to miss a word? Do you ever suggest adding that word to the following week's list?