Leslie in TN Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 Besides the usual, "it's best to start a program from the beginning," is there any specific reason why I couldn't begin my rising 5th grader in PR3? He's just finishing BJU English 4 and doing okay with it.. his weak areas are spelling and writing, but admittedly that's probably because he hasn't had as much one-on-one time with me for the past couple of years (like his sisters did, sigh). I was thinking of having him do something like Easy Grammar/Spelling Power combo for this coming year (along with TOG writing), do the Bridge to the Latin Road in 6th, and then begin Latin Road in 7th, but I got thinking about the possible benefits of just using PR 3 and 4 over the next two years instead. I've read most of the (monster :D) PR threads and am waiting for my sample pack to be mailed to me. Any insight would be greatly appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mothergooseof4 Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 There is no reason that you should not start him in PR. I started my 5th grader in October with PR1 and accelerated. He is now half through PR2 and I can see a great improvement in his writing. Most of the spelling has been review, but there have been a few words that he had problems with. He is finally remembering his grammar (we used GWG and CLE mostly in the past). His handwriting has greatly improved because I am now sitting over him and making him do it right. It only took a couple of weeks of that and he started making sure it looked nice. Plus, even at our accelerated pace, we are covering all LA in less time than it took to do AAS along with teaching/correcting whatever other grammar or writing he was doing. So, it is streamlined with PR. You may be able to start your son in PR3 since it has a lot of review at the beginning. I have never seen it, but will be ordering soon. But, I am glad that I went ahead and started him at the beginning even though it has been pretty easy for him. He has improved in all areas, but my main thing is that my writing phobic, complaining child (my fault because I never knew how to teach writing) wrote his MFW narration the other day with no complaining and quickly. It was decent and the approach in PR has been so gentle that I didn't really realize that I was teaching writing. But, I have been reading WWE and now see that this improvement is attributed to our work in PR. I am going to start writing across our curriculum soon, starting with the outlining process that we learned in PR. My younger two are working at normal pace in PR1. They are both doing great and LA is painless. LOVING IT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmichigan Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 The first 17 weeks of PR3 retests all the spelling lists from PR1 and PR2, but does not go back and reteach it. I have finished PR1 and am almost done with PR2 with my DD11, sixth grader, in place of the first 17 weeks of PR3 Spelling (we are working on the first 17 weeks of PR3 Lit at the same time). I needed the understanding as a teacher and because it is all new to her. I have younger DC and purchased my PR1 and PR2 used, but it is also offered as an acceleration pack on the website. Tina explained that PR3 and PR4 cover the Bridge information. She can give you more insight into starting with PR3. I am working through the videos now but am glad to have gone through the others levels. Even with my DD's age we are enjoying the Lit study and am seeing improvement in her spelling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AppleGreen Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 We just started last week. My son is almost finished w/ 4th grade. We basically did up to 8th week last week. For the last 2 years we have been using AAS, so this has all been review. I know Tina and others have covered why you need to start at the beginning and now that we have started I can definitely see it is true. We will likely fly through PR1 and hopefully start 2 this summer with him at an accelerated pace. It has been oh so helpful to learn the rule tunes and the way that PR teaches the phonograms, even though we already knew them from AAS, PR has their way of presenting them (vowel team of pain). I have been using missed words from old AAS spelling tests and others that fit the patterns we have learned to get a grasp on the Rule Tunes and used to singing them. My child has been struggling with spelling, even w/ AAS, although just this week lots of those missed words have clicked for him. I can't credit PR, I think they have just suddenly made sense in his brain. From what I have seen PR1 is definitely laying the foundation for the years to come and it doesn't seem like the material is presented again the way it is in level 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leslie in TN Posted April 3, 2011 Author Share Posted April 3, 2011 Thank you, ladies. It's nice to hear from others in a similar situation. If this were a matter of a $50-per-level program, I'm sure I wouldn't bat an eye at starting at Level 1 ;) I might mention that my son did complete AAS Levels 1-3 back before our life situation required the switch to BJU, and he did very well with them, remembering the rules and hints. Is there any overlap in methodology between AAS and PR in the first level or two? If so, that might factor into my decision, too. I really appreciate the comments. Anyone else? Tina, maybe? :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmichigan Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 (edited) Thank you, ladies. It's nice to hear from others in a similar situation. If this were a matter of a $50-per-level program, I'm sure I wouldn't bat an eye at starting at Level 1 ;) I might mention that my son did complete AAS Levels 1-3 back before our life situation required the switch to BJU, and he did very well with them, remembering the rules and hints. Is there any overlap in methodology between AAS and PR in the first level or two? If so, that might factor into my decision, too. I really appreciate the comments. Anyone else? Tina, maybe? :001_smile: I bought my PR1 for $50 on ebay. :D If you don't hear from Tina try sending a PM. My understanding is that PR1 covers the same phonograms as AAS1-3. Edited April 3, 2011 by melmichigan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veritaserum Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 I recently started my 5th-grader in PR3. So far so good. :) I have experience using PR1 and PR2, which contain teacher instruction and the rule tunes relevant to using PR3. I suppose you could transcribe the rules as Mrs. Beers sings them in the PR3 DVD, but I don't think she sings all of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnandtinagilbert Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 Hi. Considering most of all that you desire to work in spelling and writing... Well, if you have completed AAS 1-3, then I believe you can start in PR2, as level one is primarily (but not entirely) phonetic instruction. I believe having the experience of how to teach the program will help a great deal and you'll get more of that "foundations of Language Arts - teacher training" from level 2 than if you pick up in 3, where there is a small assumption of program understanding. Make sure you are using daily drills for all the phonemes (not necessarily all of them in one day!). Pay close attention to any phonemes/teams you may not have taught by checking out the DVD spelling portion carefully. Make sure your ds is dividing syllables and marking everything so you can distinguish his phonetic mastery, versus memorization of lower level words. After a few weeks, you'll find that you're out of the Level 1 spelling review, and the spelling should fly from there! Additionally, since the literature study is a strong tool in the teaching of writing skills, I'd encourage you to start in level 2, so you can build up the writing skills that are continued in PR3&4. The progression is wonderful. As a possible bonus for you, cursive instruction is at the end of Level 2. If you went with the Bridge, you wouldn't get the writing instruction, you'd really be reviewing grammar and working on the vocab + word study. It's a great study, but since you mentioned he needs work in spelling and writing, I suggest 2. It's likely you can get through 2 at an accelerated pace, really depending on how well he cruises through the grammar portions. My blog has several posts about writing + PR, so you'll get an idea of the progression. Additionally, there is a post about how I accelerated my dd, completing 3 levels in 2 school years + a little bit of summer :) Let me know if you have any specific questions. I'm glad to help :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnandtinagilbert Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 I bought my PR1 for $50 on ebay. :D If you don't hear from Tina try sending a PM. My understanding is that PR1 covers the same phonograms as AAS1-3. That is AWEEEEESOOOOOOME! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readinmom Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 Just curious, how old is too old to start PR? I would like to use the LR eventually to meet foreign language requirement. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leslie in TN Posted April 4, 2011 Author Share Posted April 4, 2011 Thank you for taking the time to answer this. After looking through the samples some more this morning, I had just about come to the same conclusion, so I think Level 2 it will be :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnandtinagilbert Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 Just curious, how old is too old to start PR? I would like to use the LR eventually to meet foreign language requirement. Thanks Well, I know there is someone here whose dc will be in 9th or 10th grade by the time they finish PR4. As for me and my house, so long as we finish by end of 6th grade, I'm happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholas82 Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 I think it's fine to go back to a younger grade, just get the basics and get them strong. I had to do the same with my 6th grader:) Rachel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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