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LOE Essentials for grammar?


celticadea
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I'm thinking of using LOE Essentials for spelling and grammar for my upcoming 4th and 2nd graders. My older did well with their Foundations books and finally learned to read. She reads well now but spelling is still challenging. Obviously LOE is not the cheapest program in the world ;) but it has worked for her in the past. (we are coming back to hs after 2 yrs off - 1 in catholic school, then moved and tried the local public school). In general we're using Kolbe because I need the lesson planning etc but I'm not sure about their spelling/grammar choices. LOE would be nice because I could, in general, combine them and use their leveled lists. 

 

I really like the look of "Well ordered Language" for grammar. I will probably use their "Writing and Rhetoric" for the 4th grader for writing. 

 

My questions are:

 

1. If you've used LOE Essentials (2nd ed especially), what did you think of how good a job it does with grammar? I'm not concerned about the 2nd grader but the 4th is old enough to be getting a real grasp of it and it's not sticking with the standard worksheets that's she's been getting at school. 

 

2. Would Well Ordered Language be too much on top of LOE Essentials?

 

3. Would we be better off using a different/separate spelling with WOL instead of LOE Essentials?

 

4. anybody use Kolbe's spelling/grammar and have an opinion?

 

sorry if that was a bit rambly. I hope it makes sense ;) Thanks for your help!!

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I can only comment on the first edition of LOE Essentials, but I'm hoping this might help.

 

LOE is awesome for spelling, and it would be sufficient grammar instruction for your younger child, but since you're at the point of wanting more grammar for your older child, then you probably do want to use something else for that. I don't think the grammar is a strong component of LOE, though I'm glad they've included it because it helps with spelling. IMO, the primary value of LOE grammar is that it covers the basics while providing extra practice with the spelling words and applied spelling rules. So unless a particular grammar exercise directly involves a spelling rule (eg, suffixes, plurals, possessives, contractions, verb tenses, etc), we usually skip it. I haven't yet used a separate grammar program - besides LOE, my 10yo is learning Latin, and she'll begin formal grammar with IEW's FixIt next year. My 8yo has only had grammar exposure via LOE, and she'll start Latin in the fall. No separate English grammar program for her yet.

 

I seriously considered Well-Ordered Language for DD10 because it looks like a really lovely program, but it would be overkill for us. We absolutely love W&R (we did Fable and part of Narrative 1 this school year for fourth grade). Having chosen that writing program, plus doing Latin, I decided to cover grammar more simply and efficiently. WOL and W&R seem like a lot to me to do together. YMMV, depending on how much grammar you want. But I don't think it would be too much to use LOE and WOL together - you'd just maybe want to skip the non-spelling-rule-related grammar exercises in LOE like I've done. Granted, that takes away some of the usefulness of a very expensive program, but we've been very happy with the spelling instruction, and the grammar is a nice addition when it relates to the spelling rules.

 

HTH!!

 

 

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First edition user and I wasn't thrilled with the grammar. It wasn't integrated enough for us - moved too fast and not enough repetition and practice.

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LOE is awesome for spelling, and it would be sufficient grammar instruction for your younger child, 

I should probably clarify that I'm in the start-formal-grammar-later camp, so my comment about the grammar in LOE being sufficient for your younger child comes from that perspective. If formal grammar instruction had been important to me before now, I would not have relied on LOE for it. I use LOE to teach spelling, and the grammar exposure is simply a nice bonus. 

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thanks for the feedback! I think I'm going to do the assessment and see where we fall for the levels. I certainly don't want to shell out the $$ for just one year if they're both at the last level © and have it not cover grammar. I agree the 2nd grader doesn't need more than an intro/familiarization but the 4th grader needs a real program. She's not a pick it up as you go kid. :)

 

 

 

 

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First edition user also.  There was not much grammar compared to when we started doing Growing With Grammar.  Maybe it was an ok introduction.  But there was not a lot of practice like a PP said, and no diagramming. Spelling instruction is excellent, though.  Both my kids are great spellers and I credit LOE.

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First edition user also.  There was not much grammar compared to when we started doing Growing With Grammar.  Maybe it was an ok introduction.  But there was not a lot of practice like a PP said, and no diagramming. Spelling instruction is excellent, though.  Both my kids are great spellers and I credit LOE.

 

When you did Growing with Grammar, did you just jump into the grade your kids were in? or start at the beginning?

 

as I'm looking at Growing with Grammar more, I'm really liking it. Are you happy with it?

Edited by celticadea
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We LOVE GwG.  The student text is very easy to understand and the lessons build incrementally.  I started my DD with Level 4, without any prior formal grammar or  diagramming experience.  I started my son at Level 3.  Each year begins with a review so I think it is fine to jump in at their grade level.  I just checked my DD's book for Level 5 and it began with subject and predicate, which was a review compared to where she left off in Level 4.  

Edited by kristin0713
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We're using 2nd edition with my 2nd grader, straight out of LOE Foundations D.  I'm not in love with it.  She tested into level C for everything except spelling, so I'm keeping her at the B level to try to reinforce the spelling rules and such.  But it DOES move fast with not a ton of review, as another person stated.  

 

I'm trying to decide whether or not to stick with it for next year.  It frustrates me but I feel like we should finish it.  I've been looking at W&R Fable as well as Well Ordered Language.  I feel like I REALLY need to supplement writing, as the writing in LOE is minimal.  I'm also considering doing something gentle like Fix it Grammar The Nose Tree next year... I'm all over the place.  

 

To answer your questions,

1.  I don't think Essentials is enough grammar for the 4th grader.  It's basic and not what I would want to do with my 4th grader.

2.  I don't think I'd do both programs, as that could be a LOT of work on certain days.

3.  The spelling in Essentials is good - with a LOT of added practice.  My daughter really struggles with spelling so we camp out on the spelling quite a bit.  But it's frustrating because it doesn't feel like she's retaining any of the rules once we move on to another lesson.  Sigh.

4.  Don't know anything about Kolbe.

 

I hope this helps a little bit~

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