Any helpful hints for Beyond??

[CarlaHowe79]

Hi everyone,
We are finishing up our year in LHFHG...we loved it. I am amazed at what my dd is learning. This next year is going to bring a few changes for us; two big ones...a new baby girl and Lord willing the sale of our house ( we need to move to the country so all these kids that are in love with history can roam free:) I was wondering if any of you would be willing to give me a little bit of advice. I am looking for any helpful hints in what supplies I will need for Beyond or tips for setting up your day. I also could use your input in the area of when to start for the year...I am due to have this new bundle Sept 2...should I start Beyond the first part of August and then take some time off? What has been your experience? Thanks so much everyone
Carla

[Kim S]

I have not suggestions but will be watching this thread as we are just finishing up LHFHG and starting Beyond in the fall.
I would say that if I were you I would not start until after the baby. That is the beauty of homeschooling.

[Heart_Mom]

Hi everyone,
We are finishing up our year in LHFHG...we loved it. I am amazed at what my dd is learning. This next year is going to bring a few changes for us; two big ones...a new baby girl and Lord willing the sale of our house ( we need to move to the country so all these kids that are in love with history can roam free:) I was wondering if any of you would be willing to give me a little bit of advice. I am looking for any helpful hints in what supplies I will need for Beyond or tips for setting up your day. I also could use your input in the area of when to start for the year...I am due to have this new bundle Sept 2...should I start Beyond the first part of August and then take some time off? What has been your experience? Thanks so much everyone
Carla

We are finishing up Beyond now and have really enjoyed it. One supply item that we needed that I don't usually have on hand is cotton balls. (I'm sure most families have them around normally, but we didn't.)

If it were me, I'd probably start up in early August then I would feel free to take more time off after the baby if I felt I needed it.

HTH!

If I think of any other tips, I'll let you know!

[countrymom]

Supplies include all of the basics (construction paper, glue, scissors, crayons, paint, etc.). For the math activities you use cheerios, raisins, macaroni, and those types of snacks for some of the activities. Cotton balls are needed now and then. Most of the lessons call for supplies you already have. I used an index file with index cards for the spelling lists and I made up my spelling cards for the whole guide in advance. Just a thought given new baby. You will need two copies of the poem each week; one to cut up and the other to keep with your child's illustration of the poem. I have a notebook that I put the poems, illustrations, spelling sentences, and copywork in. That is the only notebook I am using this year. I have a box for all of the art projects and need a different plan for next year. I have not actually finished the guide yet, so maybe there is something I am missing. You will want paper for the copywork of course. As for starting, you could start school mid-July (as long as you are feeling good) and go until baby, then take a good break. Or just wait until after, that is up to you. Congratulations and good luck in your move!

[Mercy]

Maybe this is weird, but hsing with my babies was much easier than hsing with my toddlers! Personally, we began school pretty quickly after baby being born. Once they hit 18 mos...I took a lot of time off. There is plenty of holding and googling over lil babes while schooling.

Just my personal take...

[kzacarkim]

Hi Carla,
I'm also expecting a baby girl (Larissa) due June 30th. I decided to start school a little earlier. We started a little over a month ago, so I'll homeschool until the baby comes, then take a month or a month and a half break.... My son and I were so ready to start that I just couldn't wait until the baby was born.... We are having a great time with LHFHG and we'll just pick up where we stopped after our break!
Congratulations on your little girl!!!!

[mamaduke]

For the poem, I just used a mead composition book that has blank space on the top of the page and guided lines at the bottom (Wal-Mart). I didn't make copies, I just wrote the title and author on the lines and he could either trace (earlier in bigger) or copy the words below (later on). This was plenty for him to copy at 7 and not strong in writing. Then he drew his pictures at the top, and they were all nice and neat in one place. We didn't do the cut and arrange activity as it was just too much for him to read and figure it out at.

HTH,
Blessings,
Julie

[leimarie]

Another Momma due in September checking in. We will be using Beyond (as well as others), my plan is to stagger-start my children since this will be our first year using HoD but we will actually be starting in June so that we can get 2 good months behind us before I hit the "last-month-of-pregnancy" slag that always seems to hit. Once baby is here and we see his/her temperament we'll decide if we need more than a couple of weeks off. Not knowing whether we'll be continuing to report to the county BoE or finding an oversight group I know we'll need to have some solid school time in before babydaze arrives.

[Kathleen]

I'd say your start time would depend on if you have a time you'd really like to finish. I know that for me the outside chores that need to be done at home and on the farm really ramp up in April, so we shoot to be DONE by the end of April/early May for the year. And, I'm wanting my oldest to complete a guide per year. So this past year when our baby was due late August, I started the 1st of August and took a break when he arrived. I really liked that we had the routine down by then and it was easy to pick back up. And we only needed a couple weeks off as Asa was a super-easy baby! (That's a blessing I wouldn't mind having repeated in Nov... )

You've already got some prep ideas. We started Beyond this spring, and off the top of my head, I'd say:
-Paper/notebook to copy poetry and or write spelling words
-Index cards for spelling words
-Folder for timeline (manilla folder suggested - we had a 2-pocket folder that we taped white cardstock in)
-copies of poetry for reading/copying and cutting apart for sequencing (an important skill at this age, make the chunks as big or small as you'd like)
-sticky tab or post-it note to keep your place in the guide
-basic art supplies (construction paper, paint, crayons, markers...)
-We use a small white board often for the 1st spelling day and for the activity part of math
-For math, sometimes snacks are suggested for counters (a FAVORITE here), we've used cards to play number games, too. BUT, small objects of ANY kind will always work for counters, and you could easily make your own 2-9 number cards on index cards if you don't have playing cards.

We are LOVING Beyond so far! Enjoy!
Kathleen

[MomtoJGJE]

Everyone has already done all the practical hints that I have...

I also do as much school as possible during pregnancy and until the baby becomes mobile... That is when we take off for a while, once the baby starts crawling over to us and pulling up on people and being distracting. Then we do days here and there until the baby is older and can actually play with sisters safely upstairs.

[jenntracy]

Like another previous poster, i would start in August so that i could take my time getting back after baby is born.I had baby in March and we started back about 4 weeks after he was born. we get more done than before the baby was born b/c when i was preggo there were days i didn't feel good or just plain tired.
And our bundle came 3 weeks early. somehow in my heart i knew the day he would come and was planning for it. God is so good. He arrived when i thought.

I would say there were a few projects that used clay and we would use playdough instead. i think one said to put it in water but we didn't cause i didn't want to ruin the playdough.

today we did one that was supposed to be all oatmeal or cornmeal or something else. we used oatmeal for the sand, built our cave out of playdough and we happened to have a decent rock laying around to use. (in Unit 24) so you can improvise sometimes or tailor to your needs.

Right now, i can listen to my son read or manage to read something to him or my daughter while nursing.
I have such a good baby boy

So.. if you feel like it , do it ... if you need to rest then wait. Your body will tell ya.
My husband was surprised at how i was homeschooling after the baby was born and told me not to beat myself up if we didn't get everything done we were supposed on one day.
if the kids are reading and doing math i think that is ok too

Jenn D.

[holyhart]

Hi Carla!! Haven't talked to you in a while (she's my real life best chum, as are our kiddo's....the boys are always running around as little Davy Crocketts or trying to shoot some imaginary redcoats . Our girls are usually playing Little House or making up silly songs to each other! )

Like others, I rarely find that any of Carrie's activities use something I don't have or can't easily substitue for something I do have, so not a lot of pre-planning there. In fact, the only time I can think of that I didn't have something was needing powdered milk to make the peanut butter/honey playdough (so yummy). I just try to look ahead a few pages at a time to see what might be needed. Other than that, all your basic supplies. Definately some blank index cards for your spelling words. Dry erase board & markers (our big one has been a blessing and used often, as has our paper sized one). For poetry work, I really liked the mead books that have the blank top half and lined lower half (I think you were with me when I bought one for Evelyn last year when we did Beyond?) Perfect for being able to illustrate copywork.

As for whether or not to start early, I would probably start a little early (ok, not probably, I WOULD...because I DID ). But I also found I didn't need as much time off after baby to start school as I thought I might need. After Lillian, I started school 3 weeks later. Caleb was a whole different story as you know, but most of that had to do with my crazy recovery as well as move (if not for the move I think I would still have been able to start about that 3 week mark, and we did start around 5-6 weeks).

You and Grace will LOVE Beyond!

[KeriJ]

Maybe this is weird, but hsing with my babies was much easier than hsing with my toddlers! Personally, we began school pretty quickly after baby being born. Once they hit 18 mos...I took a lot of time off. There is plenty of holding and googling over lil babes while schooling.

Just my personal take...

Not weird! that's how it is for me too! I'm glad to hear someone else say it. I've really been struggling with my 3 year old and 17 month old. oops....hijacking now.

[CarlaHowe79]

You are all wonderful!! Thanks for all the suggestions! I am writing them all down so I know what to get:)