I think I may have placed them wrong....

[LovingJesus]

We are half way through our second week of HOD. Beautiful Curriculum.

I think I may have placed them in the wrong places. My oldest turned 8 last July. We started home schooling, as his very first school, right after his 6th Birthday so he is in 2nd grade. I am doing Beyond with him. I placed him there for reasons of writing, which interestingly took off after I had placed my order. On the placement chart he was 1/2 in Beyond and 1/2 in Bigger for writing when I ordered; now he is all in Bigger. I am also doing English 2 R&S, Italic D - Cursive, Drawn into Heart for Reading (with books from the book shop - many of which are from Bigger), Singapore 2A (he is about 1/2 through), and have continued with All About Spelling with him for his spelling. He did note booking with both MFW1 and MFW ADV so it feels strange to have that piece gone. He also is very advanced intellectually, but emotionally very sensitive. In other words, a book like Gladys Aylward he says is too old for 8 year olds (emotional content), but he has read most of Apologia Astronomy on his own (intellectual curiosity & advanced reading abilities). Should he be in Bigger? I am wondering if I should move him up. Next year he would be a 9 year old/3rd grader for Preparing if I moved him up, which looks about right to me for where I think he will be in 10 months.

I am also wondering if I should move my ds6 up to Beyond. He is ready for spelling. Spelling comes naturally to him, so I think the spelling in Beyond would be fine for him. He is already doing Singapore 1A, which is in Beyond. He enjoys the readings from Beyond, and is also intellectually advanced in what he can listen to and understand. His own reading is just taking off, so I see him moving into the emerging readers sometime in the next few months. Should he be in Beyond? I am not remembering why I put him in Little. I think he was 1/2 in Little and 1/2 in Beyond.

My dd4 is loving LHTH. She just wants MORE! So I may start doing more each day. She absolutely loves it. Easy for mom to do; I love it too!

One last question. We finished our biography early, so I picked another biography to start. Is that how to do it if the biography chosen doesn't last 20 days?

I have always struggled placing my children in curriculums!

Thank you ladies.

In Christ,
Carin

[blessedmom]

Just thinking out loud?
Could you start your oldest in Bigger in January and move him to preparing when he finishes it?
(My oldest dd11 also did MFW 1st and ADV and a little more).
I think your son will enjoy the notebooking in Bigger. I think you will too. It is very spelled out and specific, yet very good for an 8 year old that is ready for it.
I was just thinking this morning how I can see how my dd8 "grew" out of Beyond before we finished it.
I just fastforwarded on the reading and finished it so we could start Bigger before the end of the year. She was in second last year.
Now she is in third and enjoying Bigger. You will find that the listening in Bigger will jump quite a bit from Beyond. Everything is actually a big jump. I think your son will enjoy it.
My dd6, Sept. birthday, kind of did the same from LHFHG to Beyond. I really feel like she "grew" out of it. We had not quite finished LHFHG, so I just fast forwarded on the reading.
We began Beyond a few weeks ago and she is doing just fine. If you ds6 is enjoying the reading from Beyond, it sounds like he is ready. besides the math and spelling, that is where I see the big difference from LHFHG. The readings are longer. If he is able to listen and enjoy those, I would say he will do just fine!
Enjoy!
Nicole

[Carrie]

Carin,

Thanks so much for sharing a bit about your kiddos, as it is so helpful as we ponder the "best" fit for them. It does sound possible from what you've shared for your 8 year old to be in Bigger Hearts. As blessedmom mentioned, the reading and the writing does jump up quite a bit in Bigger Hearts. So, it is likely if you mentioned any writing challenges originally that we would lean toward placing your son in Beyond. However, kiddos do have a way of taking off and surprising us in many areas, often in reading in writing. From what you mentioned I would be inclined to move him into Bigger Hearts.

As far as your 6 year old goes, it is possible that he/she could use LHFHG mainly as written and just add the Emerging Reader's Set and the spelling list 1 from Beyond when he/she is ready. Does your little honey seemed well-placed in LHFHG except for the areas of reading and spelling and math? If so, I'd be inclined to keep your little honey in LHFHG and just borrow the 3R's from Beyond. If, however, your 6 year old seems ready for more in all areas (and you already have Beyond at your house anyway), you could head into Beyond instead for all areas. I'd likely lean toward a 4 day a week school week though if you did this, just to allow your 6 year old to mature a bit before heading into Bigger the follllowing year.

Feel free to return anything to HOD that you have not used, and we'll be glad to give you credit toward whatever is needed for Bigger if you decide to move your oldest. I know that getting your kiddos correctly placed can take a bit of moving about, but once they're placed well it is much easier to just go forward from year to year after that.

Blessings,
Carrie

[Tree House Academy]

I am glad that Carrie weighed in here. You have gotten wonderful advice.

I was just going to add that my ds turned 8 in September. He is in 3rd grade, but really could have gone either way. At his age, and with his abilities, he is doing Bigger Hearts this year and absolutely loving it. He is advanced in reading, but otherwise, just a pretty normal kid academically. He catches on quickly and absorbs things like a little sponge as they all do. This year has been wonderful for us! My son did do Little Hearts and Beyond prior to Bigger, but I am not sure that is going to matter here...especially if you have already evalutated Beyond and feel your child is ready for a bit more work.