campmom Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 or not? It is a lot of money to spend if it not really going to make teaching language easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HayleyKC Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 (edited) We just finished PR2 last month. Actually my 8yo dd did PR1 and 2 this year because we found the program late and it's recommended to always start with Y1. So we had a bigger than usual load completing 2 weeks worth each week. Not sure what your day is like now to know if it would simplify it. If you're using all different programs for phonics, reading, handwriting, grammar, spelling, and even literature study and dictation. . .then I think yes it would have to simplify things for you since PR covers ALL of this. It is masterfully all wrapped up together and Mrs. Beers shows you exactly how to teach it all. In that sense it is simple. What's also super cool is that we'll smoothly transition right into latin road after year 4. However it is teacher intensive program, not much that your student does independently. Most of the phonics workload requires you with your student working together for the lesson. At least in my experience so far. However, if you're doing it a normal pace, which I was not, I would think you could be done in about 30 min a day. I'm actually very excited for year 3 now that we get to do it over the course of a full year. Should feel very relaxed. However my new challenge is that I'll be starting my 5yo ds on Year 1. Should be interesting to see how we orchestrate that. Will probably just have them do their independent math while I'm working with one student, and then swap. Hope that helps! Edited July 13, 2011 by HayleyKC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
campmom Posted July 13, 2011 Author Share Posted July 13, 2011 anyone else have anything to add? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmichigan Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 PR has really helped me as a teacher. For me the advantage is the all in one aspect of LA versus different programs for everything. Right now most of my DC are accelerating through the program but that is set to change in the next year and then the benefits will become more pronounced. I think it would depend a lot on what you are working with right now in comparison. I am not familiar with the programs you have listed in your siggy so I can't comment directly on those. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrightmom Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 :001_smile: "Simplify" looks different for each Mom and family.... Only experience will tell you.... Do you want to teach at the elbow or would you rather hover or ask your child to work without you? PR asks you to learn the material yourself via the training DVDs and then teach it to your kiddo. Your SWR experience will lighten the load for you because you are so familiar with the methodology behind the programs. I think it is tough to decide if it will simplify things for you without actually using it and then comparing. What needs to be simpler? Do you want to spend less time on LA? No prep or open and go? Less teacher time? Less shuffling of materials? It is a tough decision. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
campmom Posted July 14, 2011 Author Share Posted July 14, 2011 thanks everyone for your opinions, I'm thinking it may make my teaching simpler because everything will be together. The thing that was easiest for me this past year was MFW, because I took out one TM and did everything with MFW the spelling, phonics, etc that each were seperate sometimes didn't get done.I'm thinking maybe with this it would be one TM for language, one TM for MFW (history, science, bible, art, music, read alouds and reading)and one TM for math. That "seems" more simple but maybe it really won't be. What I was thinking of using was SWR, R&S grammar, WWE. Would this be just as simple? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrightmom Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 I don't find R&S or WWE to be difficult at all.... Truly open and go/do the next lesson each day! No prep at all. PR is considered efficient too....But you will have that teacher prep. I like the PR teacher prep. :D I am really no help. I like both options :001_smile:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 (edited) It depends on you and your student. I have only used PR 1 and 2. I think it simplifies things if you are one who is typically there for everything your student does, guiding every word they write during all of your LA time. I think this probably describes first and second grade and perhaps part of 3rd for a lot of people. It really doesn't take a lot of time. I scheduled PR 2 for an hour a day according to 20 minutes for each of the three sections and we only needed half of that. I think that I chose PR because of wanting to cover everything very thoroughly. The same reason I switched from a math program that was working very well (Abeka) to one that tackles things from all angles and really gives a thorough understanding of the concepts... and DD could probably have kept right on going with Abeka and not repeated a grade in math. I did the same thing with PR. I am switching away from PR because my daughter excels in LA. I probably shouldn't have gone with PR to begin with. She started reading early and was able to do other LA books (like Queen's) years ahead. I am a perfectionist and wanted to be sure to really get phonics covered very thoroughly and I thought the AIO aspect was a good idea. It wasn't because she really could have been doing higher level work in some (if not all) areas, and been doing most of it independently. Edited July 14, 2011 by Lovedtodeath Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnandtinagilbert Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 PR simplifies my day greatly. One binder means no stopping between "classes" to grab multiple books. I don't know about you, but moving about to get different books and notebooks ALWAYS takes my grammar school kids forever. B/c the program grows, when I use levels with the next kid (after already using it), I spend no time preparing. I totally grab and go. It makes LA seem Whole; whereas previously, my dc saw spelling, AND grammar AND writing as separate subjects. Now they know their pieces to the same puzzle. Since there are days of crossover, it also saves me time b/c I'm not having to use application tools (like sentence writing) for several subjects...just for one program. The greatest simplifier is I will never look at another program. LA is a case closed for us! No need to glance anywhere else! My blog gives several examples of "a day in the life" Perhaps those will give you an idea if it will simplify your day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 One thing that really helps is the student book. I really made it more complicated by trying not to use them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WorksheetsMom Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 I have used the Phonics Road through PR 2 and I love it! Short answer? Yes, it has simplified my school day. I had been trying to learn Spalding ever since the mid 1990s. My Dad, a PhD in Education, even went to Phoenix for Phonics (I love saying that!) to learn the Spalding method nine years ago. He came back to teach his grandchildren and anyone else who asked (over 60 families were taught for free). That was a giant help to all of us! There's a concision about the Orton methods that has just got to be shared. It made the world of difference to be shown by a real human being how to hold the pencil, how to hold the cards so that the children are not seeing two at one time, and more. Well, Dad's health failed and he was unable to continue beyond two or three years and he has since passed away; but his legacy remains. We were still wanting more because he had learned way more than we were free to spend time learning. Voila! Mrs. Beers' books fit the bill! She was a trained Spalding Instructor and so much more. What simplified my day GREATLY was that I realized that if her videos could teach me to teach the children, they could teach my older children the same way! This came at a time when I still had three little ones and it was a God send for me and my fifth child. She could watch the DVDs and write what she could while I was nursing, changing diapers, teaching the older children. She really grew to like using the DVDs, too. Go/do - independently. Now, I have one of my oldest who is interested in teaching and she, too, can watch the videos and learn! Besides teaching the basics in a concise and, yes, simplified way; we've been grateful to have had these side benefits. We found Mrs. Beers' site because we needed help with Latin. Too many sites only offered implicit instruction so I had the brainstorm to search "Latin program" "explicit instruction" and that is how I found this treasure. I know I am late, but hopefully this is a help to others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veritaserum Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Yes! It kills so many birds with one stone: phonics/spelling, reading, handwriting, dictation, grammar, writing, and vocabulary. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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