I am familiar with them, but with two younger ones running around I know I will forget about ones when planning or in a lesson haha! Just to have a list of potential ones to cover would be a blessing even! I could probably find a list online. I just hate to miss out on the fun because there was something I know a little less about too 😄 That would be a bummer!

I've looked at Rod and Staff briefly, and I maybe don't quite understand well how it works. How do you use it and what do you cover with it? Can you tailor it to different learning styles?

Yes, after reading through samples of ELTL I'm seeing that it would be too much to do that and McGuffeys fully together at the younger ages, we would need to do the McGuffeys more for free reading then. Do you have a type of literary guide or resource you use to know what to teach/how to teach things like homophones, alliteration and other literary terms using the McGuffeys? I'm almost thinking that if there was a resource that was helpful, I can see myself using the McGuffeys along with our Latin and that would really be quite full (and like you said simple lessons). I am feeling more confident that I can do that as I am researching and reading through samples and realizing yes...I can do that with the McGuffeys!

Thank you for sharing all of this, and your other comments as well. I had thought of using Mcguffey's but kind of went away from it as I have no idea how to manage the information in a presentable fashion making sure we cover everything he needs to know. But somehow you have me reconsidering using them again 🙂 And maybe adding in First Language Lessons. I know I can still apply our Spelling Analysis to the MR spelling words, so I think we will be okay there. You mentioned having LA with a good mix of literature and poetry, did you ever consider using English Language Through Literature? After reading your comments and checking out the thread @Tanager suggested, I am now wondering if I should have that as an option as it would cover sentence diagramming (a few years in), mastering grammar and include good literature - seems like a nice balance between classical language arts and CM maybe. Maybe pairing that with McGuffeys would be a nice combo? If that's the case, then I may have narrowed my options to using McGuffeys in combination with English Language Through Literature or First Language Lessons. .... Why are there SO MANY lovely LA curriculums haha. It makes the decision harder!

Thank you for sharing. I agree about classic lit! And that is awesome your oldest loves writing and is interested in it professionally. I have never heard of MCT before, I'm going to look that one up! I'll check out the thread for sure, thanks! I'm glad when others point out relevant threads, as I search but often miss ones there are so many with great tips! 🙂

I had glanced at it and it looks nice, it just didn't make it to the top of my list when I narrowed my list down 🙂

Thank you @Tanagerand @Homeschoolz...I have a few follow ups: 1. Why did you decide to use the Mcguffeys? 2. How did you learn/know how to teach the way you did with them? I create my own math for the kids as that comes super naturally to me. But teaching language arts and having a guide of what to teach does not come naturally to me with LA. (Which is ironic as I freelance write and love it.) But developing a thorough understanding of the English language in our kids is important to me. 3. Have you used anything alongside McGuffey? Thank you so much for your responses. I'm in new territory 🙂

So my son is near finishing Logic of English Foundations (levels A-D)- we love this curriculum for our family. I am considering what to do following as the next next levels (Essentials) get to be quite a lot if we pair them with Latin and more writing. So in the interest of shorter lessons and still getting depth, I'm taking a turn. So far for next year we will do Prima Latina and IEW Bible Heroes (IEW in a more relaxed fashion for this year to get him familiar with this way of writing in a fun way). But I am looking for a language arts curriculum to pair with these that is thorough and instills strong memorization and understanding to aid in future years. I also would like him to being learning sentence diagramming at some point. Spelling and even vocabulary would be a great bonus. Even dictation would be sweet if included 🙂 I am considering Shurley language, Memoria press grammar memory (would I need a supplement to apply/practice what is learned here?), First Language Lessons and Grammar Galaxy (just learned of this one this week). But I'm not sure which one would fit best. Can anyone with experience with these share your wisdom please? And also, what level he should start following Logic of English's Foundations? I also do not want something that takes an hour a day to teach per student (I will be schooling 3 next year and they are younger), so shorter lessons are best...if we can get that and still be very thorough and include mastery 🙂 Can I get the best of both?! Haha! I should also mention I'd like to choose something we can stick with and follow through until it ends, I do not want to keep switching every year. Side note...has anyone used McGuffey Readers to cover Language Arts thoroughly, with a classical bent? I'd be willing to do that if I had hand holding to teach me how to teach it. Any wisdom is so appreciated! Thank you.