Finishing Abeka 1, Starting Beyond

[pamh]

My 7 1/2 yr old son has just about completed the Abeka 1st grade curriculum. He should have been in second grade this year but after viewing Abekas first grade program, I held him back (he completed Kindergarten in public school 2 years ago but I didn't do a full curriculum program with him last year, so I know I slowed him down in his learning).

We are going to continue homeschooling year round and I'd like to completely switch to HOD. On the scope and sequence chart, he fits into Beyond and Bigger. He writes well but does struggle in thinking up his own original sentences for a story as Abeka requires. He writes very well in cursive and printing. I keep reading that most moms here agree that one should not skip Beyond because there is so much to it. My son is lagging in History and Geography, so that is the reason I'd pick Beyond but I am so afraid of slowing him down again. He came out of Kindergarten at the top of his class but if he was to have to enter public school as a 3rd grader in the fall (as my school would require, instead of letting me put him in second grade...long story there but it's what the prinicpal told me) he would struggle in some ways.

My question is, if I choose beyond for my son, will I be slowing him down once again or is that the place to start? I already have the Beyond package but never fully used it because I foolishly believe he'd only succeed if I used Abeka. Sorry but this is a learning process for me that I still don't have figured out like some newbies do.

Thanks in advance!

Pam

[my3sons]

Hi Pam! Well, agewise he'd fit well in either. If he's on the fence between Beyond and Bigger, these links that describe the amount of writing in each may help you decide between the 2:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3005
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1516&p=11829

Also, these links that describe the amount of time spent on each box, and what each box has them do may be helpful:
BHFHG time it takes:
viewtopic.php?f=12&t=702

Beyond, time it takes:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4390&p=32417

I wouldn't worry as much about holding him back, as I would about placing him where you really feel he best fits skillwise. If you get a chance to pop back in and share your thoughts about anything in those links, that would be awesome!

In Christ,
Julie

[pamh]

Julie, you are such a HUGE help!! Thank you! I thought if I used Beyond, I could have my son do all of his copywork in cursive, so he wouldn't just breeze thru it. Where he struggles is thinking up his own sentences when trying to write a short story. For example; he had to write a short story on Butterflies with his Abeka curriculum. Abeka even gave him word clues to help form sentences and I read a short story to him about butterflies. Yet still he had a hard time thinking up good sentences. On the other hand he has a great imagination and could up with a great story if it has nothing to do with school. So I'm not if Beyond or Bigger would help. My son is asking for more science and I think Beyond or Bigger will suit that need.

If you have any added suggestions or thoughts, please let me know. Otherwise, I think I'll stick with Beyond since I've had that material sitting in my closet for a year and we have used it off and on with the readings. I really wish Julie and Carrie would come to a California homeschool convention!!!

Blessings,
Pam

[my3sons]

I think doing Beyond will be just fine for your ds! I like the idea of him having time to grow into the history and geography, time to enjoy the in science, time to learn all of American history from start to finish from Beyond to Bigger, and time before doing the increased writing in Bigger Hearts. You can decide about the cursive, but an over-reaching goal for that is for them to learn it well over one year, do designated parts of their school in cursive and parts not in cursive (in PHFHG and CTC), and in RTR choose whether to use cursive or print - whichever they feel they enjoy the most as they develop their own style which is typical of that age of children. Anyway, I think you should be set with Beyond - have fun with it! I know you will!

In Christ,
Julie