Question about placement, bigger or beyond

[Kims]

Ok my son is 8 and in all areas I think he places in bigger except this area

Mastered formation of manuscript letters; able to copy passages; can compose original sentences; ready to begin simple dictation; ready to begin cursive writing

He has mastered letters and can copy passages but just a sentence or two. He is ready to begin cursive. He can not compose his own sentence. Well he might could think up one but could not write one on his own.
So my question is should I do Beyond. My plan was to do beyond with him and his brother next fall but then decided I would try to do two guides with him in bigger and his brother in LHFHG since we probably won't finish before the fall.
People keep saying there is a lot of writing in bigger and that worries me. He is not big on writing to much.

I also wonder if we worked through the summer I could get him where he needs to be. If I do that does anyone have any suggestions on what I could use to get him up to speed with his writing?

[countrymom]

Having just started Preparing about 6 weeks ago after completing Bigger with my son, I would lean towards Beyond. My son is a good student, loves school, never complained and I am starting to hear a few complaints about the amount of writing and struggling a bit with the new written components (written narrations, etc.). Looking forward I just see a continual issue for you. You could do Beyond with your son and add Rod and Staff 2, math wherever he places, reading wherever he is at, and begin cursive. If he has finished an emerging reader program you could put him in DITHOR, perhaps doing 1/2 oral and 1/2 written to begin with. I think that would give him a solid year and he would be off and running when he hit Bigger the next year.

[8arrows]

I would definately say Beyond. The previous poster had some great specifics.

[my3sons]

Thanks for sharing about your ds here - that helps so much! The writing in Bigger Hearts is a definite consideration in placement, so I am glad you are weighing that in your decision. The writing in each guide increases, so it is key dc are initially placed in guides they can handle the amount of writing. From what you have shared I agree with the other ladies that Beyond would be a good fit. Your ds is still in the target age range of Beyond, so you wouldn't have to beef up anything, but since you mentioned your ds places in Bigger Hearts for areas other than writing, I think countrymom had some great ideas to beef up any areas ds may need to have beefed up, such as...

... add Rod and Staff 2, math wherever he places, reading wherever he is at, and begin cursive. If he has finished an emerging reader program you could put him in DITHOR, perhaps doing 1/2 oral and 1/2 written to begin with...

These are all excellent ideas, and they are not difficult to implement! For R & S English 2, you can just do a lesson each day. For math, you can give the Singapore Placement test (it's free), at this website: www.singaporemath.com For reading, both the Emerging Reader's Set and DITHOR 2/3 are options in Beyond Little Hearts... Cursive - you can just do a page a day - my favorite is "Cheerful Cursive" but "Italic D" another great option!

What about your little one? Does that child place in Beyond as well? I wasn't sure as you hadn't shared any details about that child. Please feel free to ask for help with that little one as well, should you so desire help! HTH - but what are your thoughts?

In Christ,
Julie

[Kims]

No Julie I don't think my little guy will be ready for Beyond. We are working through LHFHG right now but it is slow going because we have had some big things going on around here. So we will work through the summer and honestly I think if I work through the summer with my 8yo he may be ready for bigger. I own everything for beyond and bigger and LHFHG and some of Preparing. (I knew I loved it and was going to use HOD so bought a lot at last years conference) LOL
So I am prepared either way I go with Collin. I just think that I would rather him love it than be pushed too much and hate it. KWIM
So I am not sure which way to go. I want to push him just enough.
Plus I am not sure I can effectively run 2 guides. I know that many do more than that but I have had some health issues and just am not sure.
We are dropping co-op next year but do have a bible study on Thursday's so we will only be able to do 4 days unless I do Saturday and I don't really see that happening. (I know me too well.LOL)
I am just so not sure what to do.

[my3sons]

Owning everything is a big plus! Are you really wanting ds to do Bigger Hearts? If so, I'd start it half-speed and see how he does. It will be key to take time for him to do each and every skill in each and every box though, or he will not grow in his LA skills enough to be able to move on. I'd keep the little guy in LHFHG - sounds like a good fit. Even with health concerns (which I am so sorry to hear about and just said a prayer for you and your family, BTW), I do think half-speed BHFHG and LHFHG 4 days a week would not be difficult at all to do. If you begin half-speed BHFHG and find it still is just too much, then you already own Beyond, and you can easily switch to that. Hope something here helps! I'd love to hear what you discover if you give this a try - it can encourage other HOD users as they consider placement! What do you think about this option?

In Christ,
Julie

[Kims]

I am not necessarily wanting to do Bigger I just want him to be where he should be. He is a very compliant child and will do whatever I ask so I don't want to push him to the point that he hates school. Does that make sense?
He is reading at a 4.5 grade level or higher. It is just his writing ability that I am concerned about. He can write and writes well just not big quantities. But looking at Bigger it looks like is starts gradually and moves up.
I really wish they could both be in Beyond. :-/

[my3sons]

Hmmmm... well, one more question then! Exactly how much is he used to writing each day now for school? If your answer is 1 or maybe 2 sentences, and these are pretty much just copywork, I'd say do Beyond with the adjustments I mentioned earlier. If your answer is 3-5 sentences, with half being copywork, and half being sentences more on his own, then I'd say do Bigger Hearts... possibly half-speed. Here is one more piece of information that may help you make this decision. This is a comparison by Carrie of the writing in Beyond and Bigger Hearts...

As far as choosing between "Beyond.." and "Bigger..." goes, the amount of writing varies quite a bit between Beyond and Bigger. Bigger requires more writing in the areas of a once a week history notebooking assignment, a once a week science experiment sheet and a once a week science notebooking entry, along with once a week copywork of a Bible verse, 1-3 vocabulary cards each week, cursive handwriting practice daily, and daily grammar instruction with written practice. It also provides a choice of spelling or dictation passages. If your little one sounds like that would be fine for her, she belongs in Bigger. If not, then Beyond would be best.
Beyond has much less writing doing copywork daily from the poetry, using a gentle once a week introduction to grammar, and writing daily for very short spelling lessons.

HTH!
In Christ,
Julie