Christy B Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 We used R&S in 4th, 5th, and part of 6th grade. We burnt out on Sister Rachel canning pears and switched to Abeka. Dd used Abeka for part of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. Her writing skills still leave a lot to be desired (I don't like Abeka's writing instruction and we had trouble sticking with any of the numerous stand-alone writing programs we tried). I think the explanations in R&S are superior to those in Abeka; she does well the with Abeka but she is very good at filling in workbook blanks without really understanding what she's doing. We'll get over our aversion to farm life for the sake of good grammar (just kidding). So, I'm toying with the idea of using R&S for grammar and writing for high school. We will also be using LLfLOTR, so what I may do is use the R&S writing lessons to complete the writing assignments in LLfLOTR (for example, if dd is suppose to write an essay, look up the lessons on essay writing in R&S and apply them to the assignment). Does that make sense, and does it sound like a reasonable plan? This brings me to placement -- I'm looking at samples of 9 & 10 and it looks quite intense. (Fantastic, and I think I'd like for her to work through at least one of those two books -- I love the lessons on courteous conversation, style in writing, use of words -- those look GREAT.) Should we back up to level 8, or even 7? I don't really know that I want her to do grammar all four years of high school. Last but not least, dd has expressed an interest in returning to serious Latin study for high school -- and I am researching the possibility. If we do Latin, would we need English grammar at all? Or would she get enough grammar in Latin? Suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larissa Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 with my oldest, now a senior in high school. We used Abeka for awhile because it had been recommended in the WTM. However, she didn't really know what she was doing by 7th and 8th grade. We did go to R&S. Yes, the sentences are very funny to us (we live outside of NYC, so rural Mennonite life is not what we experience), but the grammar instruction is thorough. I did back up my otherwise very academically advanced 9th grader to R&S 7. She did R&S 7 and 8, and worked through most of 9 and 10 before we called it quits. The grammar is very challenging by 9 and 10. And yes, I think your plan to look up the writing styles in R&S will work. So, you might even want to buy 7 and 8 immediately. They hold their value pretty well since they seem not to change, so you could always re-sell 7 if it's too simple. Or get your hands on both and evaluate. Now my next kid is doing Latin. He is working through Henle at co-op and his teacher has him doing lots of diagramming. So, he doesn't do R&S grammar. We do continue to do usage, but we only do Easy Grammar for that--not nearly as rigorous as R&S. Larissa in NJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christy B Posted March 31, 2009 Author Share Posted March 31, 2009 Thanks, that's kind of what I was thinking -- either rigorous English grammar or rigorous Latin grammar with English "lite". The thought of the Latin terrifies me, but we'll see. :eek: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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