1.) How long does it take to do one lesson? 2.) How many times a week do you need to do it? 3.) What Rod and Staff grade would you go into after completing FLL 4? 4.) Would FLL and WWE be enough grammar/writing for a 4th and 5th grader? Thanks for your help :) Renee

Thanks. I'd love to know if anyone has heard her comment on it.

In SWB's new writing lectures, I thought she said that if you do writing the way she explains you do not need another writing program. However, I am re-reading the WTM and it says that you do need another writing program. I'm confused....what did I miss? Thanks, Renee

Could you explain this a little more? I'm intrigued.......

I'd love to hear her in person! :001_smile:

Yes, it makes sense; this is what I'm hoping for as well. :001_smile: We'll have to compare notes at the end of next year. Renee

You're not alone.......the same thing happened to me after I listened to them. I even went back and listened to them again! I am going to try and implement her ideas next year. This year we did Writing Tales I and CW for Older Beginners (well, half of the book). These are both great, and we benefited from them. However, it was one more subject that had to get done and it was unrelated to anything they were reading. WT was not so hard to accomplish, but I really struggled with CW. It is very teacher intensive, and I found it very difficult to carve out the time needed to do it adequately. I had to face the truth, "I can't handle this right now :(" (Very difficult to finally admit....) I really like the fact that SWB's plan is integrated into what they are already reading. I am also going to use WWE with my 4th & maybe 5th grader. I think I will just reduce the other writing I require of them. Hopefully, after next school year, I will be able to report great things about this switch! :001_smile:

Did you like/not like about the program? Is it teacher intensive? Could it be done ind. by older children (i.e. 5th grade and up? Thanks for your help, Renee

Heather, I used CW for Older beginners this year with my 7th grader. We only go about 1/2 way through it and I couldn't do it anymore. I wanted to, I really did, but I had to face the fact that I just did not have the time. It started to get pretty hard and I felt like I didn't even understand some of the things they were talking about. I still liked what we did, and it did help him to think of different ways to write sentences. It really is a great program, just too teacher intensive for my situation right now. I knew that when I started; I guess I was just hoping I could manage it. Maybe we'll pick it up again in 9th grade. I'm glad it's working for you! :001_smile: Renee

Thanks....:001_smile: I'd love to hear from someone who uses WTM with TOG...

I have been listening to these lectures by SWB....Love, love, love them. It all makes perfect sense and I really want to incorporate it next year with my kids. Then I start thinking, "How am I going to make this all work?" My head is usually spinning by the end of the day and if things arn't laid out ahead of time, it just won't get done. Has anyone used TOG and applied SWB's writing suggestions? How did you do it? How many children were you teaching? I'm already starting to freak out about next year:001_smile: I want it to be more freeing (for me) and less complicated! Thanks, Renee

Interesting....this is exactly what I am trying to do with TOG. I want to get it all into a workbook though b/c loose leaf paper just gets lost around here and never seems to get done. I really do not want to put all this together, but what else is there?

Where? All I see is notes for "Writing Without Fear."

My son is in 7th grade this year. He is finishing up Algebra 1/2 (Saxon). Would you recommend staying with Saxon for Algebra, moving to Singapore Math, or switching to Life of Fred? He is pretty good in math, but the Singapore math placement test for 7th grade was too hard for him. I think it's partly because he has never done SM before. I guess I'd have to do level 6 with him? He loves being independent in his school work; that's one thing I liked about LOF. He likes Saxon, but I don't think it's teaching him how to apply math to everyday life well enough. I'd love to hear from those of you with more experience. Thanks, Renee

Thanks Colleen for taking the time to write all that out. It truly is helpful. I don't have people around me that I can discuss all thins WTM with :001_smile: I live in upstate NY. We have a huge homeschool convention every year in Rochester (only about 45 min away from me). I've never seen her on the list though. Maybe WTM isn't as popular up here? I'm not sure. I am going to do a search for those people you mentioned and see what I can find. Thanks!

Thank you both for your answers. I love to hear how others are doing with things I want to implement. I'm going to listen to them again and take notes this time. I guess I'm afraid my son will be judged if he goes to a Christian High School next year because he does not know the proper format for these different types of writing assignments. Maybe I'll just have him do the research paper and 5 paragraph essay curr. from AG at the end of next year or something. What do you think? I just bought WWE 3 for my younger kids. Now I'm thinking I won't need that if I'm having them write from their curr. right? Or would I try to work that in? My goal for next year is to SIMPLIFY things. I really need a break from the feeling like we're always behind. I want to do a good job with school, but I'm so tired of it consuming my life. I want some of my life back! If I don't do something different I will completely burn out. I'm trying to prevent that from happening. I'd love to hear more of your experiences. Too bad SWB doesn't have any conferences scheduled up here on the East coast. I would love to hear her live. Does she ever come up this far? Thanks for your help and thanks for listening :) Renee

anyone?

I have listened to the elem. and middle school lectures 2 times. I really like everything she has to say and it seems like it would make things a lot simpler (I don't mean easier work) around here. Here is my question: When do you teach your middle school students how to write a 5 paragraph essay, or a research report, or even a standard book report? I don't remember SWB addressing this. Is this supposed to wait until high school? I'd also love to hear from people who have done writing the way she teaches. What are the results? Does it make your h.s. less complicated? What about those with larger families? Thanks so much, Renee

Thanks so much everyone....I love this board and all the help you get :001_smile:

Thank you so much. Can you tell me what grade it starts in?

Just listened to SWB's writing seminar on middle school writing. She says you need a grammar program that teaches outlining. Wondering about CLE... Renee

bump

Math Mammoth or Horizons? I know MM is more mastery and Horizons is spiral. Other than that, what is the difference? We use Horizons right now. I like it and it seems to cover a lot of different things that I wouldn't think to cover (i.e. time zones). What I don't like is all the repetition of basic math skills that my kids already know. I end up crossing out a lot of problems. This seems like a waste of money. I'm also looking at Singapore, but after reading a thread on it here, I got the impression that there weren't a lot of instructions on teaching new concepts. So now I'm looking at MM. I really don't want to switch math curriculum unless there is a big difference. If it's worth the effort etc. I'll do it. So I guess my question is: Is it worth switching my kids from Horizon's to MM (or SM). My other question is for my 7th grader. He is doing Saxon Algebra 1/2 this year. He is a good student and does well in math. I rarely have to help him because he can read the instructions on his own and "get it." I was planning on having him do Saxon Algebra next year but then I looked at the placement tests on the SM site. Honestly, I think I'd have to put him in the Level 6 books. This made me very frustrated as I thought he was ahead in math! I feel like I've wasted time with Saxon. I ordered him the Level 6 books to look through. Should I use SM, MM or just continue in Saxon? He likes Saxon, but now I feel like he is behind! Help! Renee

Awesome! Thanks so much :001_smile:

If I do WT 2 and CLE language next year is that too much for my 5th grader? I would probably skip most of the writing in CLE. I don't want to overwhelm her, but I want to make sure she is getting all the grammar she needs. Thanks, Renee