kristamaranatha Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 We just finished our first year homeschooling (4th, 6th and 7th grades). I started of the year with Rod and Staff English, but we scrapped it because it was way too advanced for them. The public school system didn't teach them grammar, and they barely knew a noun from a verb. I'm looking for a complete English curriculum (grammar and writing if possible) that is good for older kids who have little background in grammar. I plan on using Rod and Staff for my younger ones, who I am able to homeschool from the beginning, but it's just too much for the older ones. Any suggestions? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 You might like to look at Galore Park. It's lighter on grammar than most of what I hear discussed. It covers comprehension/literary appreciation, vocabulary, spelling, light grammar, suggestions for further reading, and speaking. It also has writing prompts, but expects the teacher to be able to help the pupil structure his/her writing. The books are secular. If you are looking at the books, UK 'years' are slightly different from US grades. We number the year that would be K in the US, so year 1 is US K, year 2 is US first grade, etc. That being said, these books are being used in UK private schools, which tend to expect a bit more, so you could look at the samples to see how they line up with your children's experience. Officially (but you could look back a year or two), your 4th grader would be in year 5, your 6th grader would be in year 7 and your 7th grader would be in year 8. Have a look at the samples and see what you think. They are available in the US from horriblebooks.com, or with free shipping from the UK from bookdepository.co.uk Another idea: my boys learned simple parts of speech from MadLibs - that might be a fun precursor to any text you choose. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murrayshire Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 (edited) We just finished our first year homeschooling (4th, 6th and 7th grades). I started of the year with Rod and Staff English, but we scrapped it because it was way too advanced for them. The public school system didn't teach them grammar, and they barely knew a noun from a verb. I'm looking for a complete English curriculum (grammar and writing if possible) that is good for older kids who have little background in grammar. I plan on using Rod and Staff for my younger ones, who I am able to homeschool from the beginning, but it's just too much for the older ones. Any suggestions? Thanks! I pulled my dd out of ps after the 5th grade to homeschool her for 6th grade. She used Hake Grammar & writing....though we used something else for writing. She just did the grammar. There is lots of review and may work for your oldest and middle. Don't know if it's consider a "complete english" but wouldn't hurt to look at. We used Hake Grammar 6, Winning with Writing 6, Sonlight Literature, vocabulary/spelling. This coming up year for 7th grade we will be using Analytical Grammar (season 1&2), Essentials in Writing 7, Lightning Literature 7, SL readers, vocab.com(free), and I don't think we will tackle spelling this year unless she gets stumped. She's a natural. Edited June 26, 2012 by Murrayshire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raceNzanesmom Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 Our oldest ds came home after 6th grade and, like yours, had vey little knwledge of grammar. We had the best results with R&S English, after using something else for 7th and 8th grade. However, we used it below grade level. We did a lot of it orally, esp the first year. We stopped after level 8 and he scored very nicely on his ACT. He didn't like R&S English (or any english), but he'll tell you "it got the job done". My friend with 7 uses Growing with Grammar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heritagelearningacademy Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 When my son came out of public school at the end of his 4th grade year, we did Easy Grammar 5 the next year! It worked and he liked it and learned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TLC Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 I used BJU 6 for my ds when I brought him home in 8th grade. The six grade level reviews all the previous levels in nice bite sized chunks. The worktext is colorful and has interesting themes. BJU has full chapter samples on their website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lillehei Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 I took mine out of public school a couple years ago and we have struggled with LA since. I don't think they learned anything in school. We have tried so many LA programs and I think I may have found one that is really going to work. Even the kids are excited about it. It is called Learning Language Arts Through Literature (LLATL) and it is an all-inclusive language arts curriculum. Reading, writing, spelling, vocab...all is in one book. People on the Hive have said it is "gentle" but I think it will be just right for my kids who are frustrated and stressed about LA. I have a spelling program as a supplement if we need it but the whole curriculum looks good. THere is also another all-inclusive LA called CQLA. It's much more spendy but neat. Good luck!! Jen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiddle Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 Krista, We pulled our kids out of ps this past fall, too and my oldest dd is 6th grade, rising 7th. We used Easy Grammar this year, and while it was nice and gentle it doesn't do diagramming- and I think diagramming is important. Next year, we're actually switching to R&S. A homeschool English teacher her (who also teaches at a well-respected Christian University) uses R&S 7 in her high school English classes with the kids. R&S IS advanced comparatively, so I was told to start one to two grades below where they are. Remember, the folks who wrote/used R&S only educated through I think 10th grade.... I think WTM recommends with a middle schooler starting with R&S 5. You can use it mostly orally and skip the writing assignments if you have another writing assignment. Honestly, R&S is dry, but I think it's such a thorough program we're willing to live with that;) For middle schoolers, I've also heard a good crash course is Analytical Grammar, so you might want to consider that route for your older ones. Grammar and writing have been the hardest ones to decide and pick after coming out of ps for us, because my kids could tell you a noun and verb but couldn't outline or do a report or write a coherent paragraph if their lives depended upon it! Good luck whatever you decide :) Paula Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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