The ? Beyond or Bigger / Julie Come Back Please

[glperky]

I have a 7 yo son who will be 8 in Dec. I am trying to decide if I should go with Beyond and add the Language Arts box from Bigger, or just go with Bigger. The only box that concerns me about Bigger is writing. He has " mastered formation of manuscript letters" and wants to start cursive. Copy work is his favorite thing about school but he only copies one or two sentences right now. I am not sure if he can compose original sentences. This isn't something we have worked on. And I don't know if he is ready to begin simple dictation. I just don't know if he is ready for all the writing in Bigger. There is a lot, right? So knowing this, which do you think would be better? Thank you for your help.

ETA: Up to this point we have just been focusing on reading, writing, and math. Also, the Bible and read aloud stories from LHFHG.

[atwert]

I am having questions about using Bigger as well. We are just finishing up our first year of homeschooling - using Beyond with my 7 1/2 yr old son (8 in October) for "1st grade". He has done really well with it, but I have heard some HOD users voice concerns about Bigger for 2nd grade. I'm anxious to see what 'veterans' recommend!

[Mercy]

Atwert,
The answer for you is easy! Go on ahead with Bigger. If you have done everything in beyond, your son will do fine. There is always the option to slow it down a lttle if you honestly think things arent going well after the first month of adjustment. So...go for it!!

Glperky,
I think you will do great either way. I was at a similar place with my daughter in January. She could have been able to go into bigger, but we had not done beyond. Her writing skills have soared these past few months, as I am having her do dictation, english and copy her poem each week. The layout of beyond (and possibly her age) have helped us to actually zoom through beyond quicker. Some weeks we are able to do two weeks. Not that you have to do it that way, but fridays are very simple to add into another day for a four day week for sure. That has helped me to challenge her more, if needed on certain days. I feel very confident she will do great with bigger now. Just thought I would share my experience with you.

I also want to add...
My five year old started in LHFHG awhile back and I *did not* think he would be able to handle it. I expected it to be half-speed for awhile. His attention span was not very high. He has amazed me! It was a little rough the first week or so, but he has grown so much since we first began! He is reading with The Reading Lesson now. He has written some great letters to Ready Fox. He is zooming through his math and workbooks. So I am saying this to say...even when they dont seem ready, sometimes it is just new and they will surprise you in what they can do.

Hope that helps a lil bit.
Mercy

[glperky]

Thank you Mercy, for your reply. Are you using the Bigger TG to do the dictation and English? Just wondering if I need it if I go with Beyond and R&S 2.

[my3sons]

Thank you Mercy, for your reply. Are you using the Bigger TG to do the dictation and English? Just wondering if I need it if I go with Beyond and R&S 2.

You would need the BHFHG TG to do the dictation, and it would be nice to have to do the English (though you could do a lesson a day otherwise). The steady flow of dictation from Levels 2-8 has been the single biggest factor in our oldest ds (who was not a natural speller due to speech delays early on) becoming an excellent above grade level speller. He is on the last level of dictation, Level 8, now and will finish it during the World Geography guide. The guide would be worth it to me just for that, but if your ds has not done "Spelling List 2" in Beyond, he could do that instead. It will be easier than Dictation Level 2. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

[glperky]

Julie,

Thank you for the reply. I was hoping you would chime in on if I should use Beyond or Bigger.

[glperky]

I really need some input on this. Anyone else have any?

[3sweeties]

Could you start out with Bigger 1/2 speed? I did this with my oldest DS when I saw the amount of writing was too much for him and it worked really well! He did it 1/2 speed for about 6 months and then was ready for full-speed after that!

[pjdobro]

Julie and Carrie are at the conference in NC now so I'm sure that's why you haven't heard back from Julie yet. I feel like your situation might be sort of similar to where I was when we started. We were looking between LHFHG and Beyond at the time and they were 6, but writing was the skill that concerned me. After lots of discussion and advice here on the board, we went with LHFHG using the LA and math from Beyond. That turned out to be a great option for us. It allowed my dc to work at the higher levels of grammar, spelling, etc. without them having to do too much writing until they were more ready. So when we did Beyond, we used R&S2 at one lesson each day. Then in Bigger, R&S3. When we reached Preparing R&S4 was one of the options so we were fully in one guide at the time. If you wanted to start dictation now, you would need to get the Bigger guide now, but as you progressed into Preparing there are 3 levels of dictation for you to use there so you wouldn't be using 2 guides for that long.

Another thing to consider between Beyond and Bigger is the time it takes. Beyond takes 1 1/2 to 2 hours a day, whereas Bigger takes 2 1/2 to 3 hours. How do you feel your ds would do with the extra work and time? Another thing to consider is what lies down the road. Do you think he will be ready for Preparing in a year or CTC 2 years down the road. The amount of writing really increases a lot in those programs so if he is marginal on being able to handle the amount of writing in Bigger, you'll probably have to slow down or modify when you get to Preparing. Here is a link to the writing differences between Bigger and Preparing so that will give you an idea of the increase in workload: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3602

I guess my feeling is generally to take it slowly and enjoy the progression unless the dc is really bored and not doing well in a program. My dc have started all of the programs at the middle age of the guides and finished them at the top end age. We have always adjusted the LA and math to be at their level and the fit has been really great for us. So given your son's age, I would tend to go with Beyond and just use R&S2 and dictation if he is ready.

[glperky]

Patty, that was a huge help. Thank you.

[lucsch]

At that age, I'd go with Beyond.

[glperky]

At that age, I'd go with Beyond.

Even though when we start he would be in the middle age range for Bigger?

[daybreaking]

We've been through Beyond and are just now finishing Bigger. From that experience and from what you've read, I would recommend Beyond. There is a lot more writing in Bigger and I think your ds would benefit from the preparation in Beyond. If he is only copying a sentence or two now, I think he might be overwhelmed by the writing in Bigger. (Each day has some type of writing, sometimes a full paragraph, depending on the assignment.) I also think the history in Beyond is wonderful and not to be missed. If you feel your ds is ready for more LA, then you could always move up to the LA in Bigger, but keep the left side of Beyond. We did it that way and it's worked well. (We're currently finishing up R&S English 4 and the second dictation passages.)

[lucsch]

At that age, I'd go with Beyond.

Even though when we start he would be in the middle age range for Bigger?

Yes, absolutely. My dd used it starting in 3rd grade when she was 8-1/2yo. Look at the next few guides to follow. There are some meaty history spines ahead.

[my3sons]

Hi glperky! Sorry to just be getting back to you! It has been a little crazy around here - but in a good way. I think there are 2 factors to consider here.

First, when you read the writing descriptions of Beyond and Bigger Hearts below, does it seem likely that ds will be able to handle Bigger Heart's writing, or grow into it fairly quickly (as 1/3 of every guide HOD intends to be challenge areas for dc to grow into) ?
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.

Second, can you remind me if you have other dc, and if so, what guide(s) they are doing? I think this can make a difference in placement when considering what's best for a family and for you as the teacher. Also, if there are any health concerns, life concerns, time constraints, etc., that you feel are pertinent to placement and that you feel comfortable sharing, that would be good to know too. Thanks! I'm home this week and will be able to get back to you sooner this time. The ladies have been doing a super job of chatting this through with you too! Thanks for your patience!

In Christ,
Julie