I'm looking for a language arts program for the upcoming school year. We have never found a LA program we actually liked. (Other than Aesop's Grammar from RFWP, but that was a one year thing.) Has anyone tried The Good and The Beautiful? I downloaded the free ones, but I'm still not completely sure. Any other suggestions welcome. This year I will have a Kindergartener, 1st grader, 4th grader, and two sixth graders in addition to a newborn and a toddler. (Baby will be here is about 2 months.) So, older kids being able to do most or all work independently is a big big need around here.

I need success stories from those who have used CLE LA for elementary and middle school. Do you feel the grammar was covered well? Do you feel they missed something by doing CLE? Did they test well?

Anyone planning on participating in, or having their kids participate in, National Novel Writing Month for November?? My DS is in Kindy, so this will be his first time participating. We obviously won't be aiming for anything near 1,000 words, but it will hopefully be a great experience! It would be fun to share experiences, progress, & (eventually) stories!

I'm trying to decide whether to do one lesson weekly or double up. The material says it can be done either way, but I'd love to hear your experiences and thoughts on doing it in 15 vs. 30 weeks, what you based the decision on and whether it worked out for your kiddos.

Hi all, I have an old copy of Warriner's English & Composition course 4 and the answer key from Seton. I really like Warriner's and was looking around wondering if I could build the rest of the set. Does anyone know if Holt Traditions newer publications are the same? Or have they been changed? http://www.hmhco.com/search?segment=All;mm=all;q=warriner's It's not clear if the editions have been changed or abridged. But there are online editions! http://www.hmhco.com/shop/k12/Holt-Traditions-Warriners-Handbook/9780554002231 I've written the company but does anyone know if these materials are available to homeschoolers?

Hi all, Just wanted to let you know that "Grammar for the Well-Trained Mind," our follow-up to "First Language Lessons," is now available in PDF on our website. The physical books are AT THE PRINTER NOW and if you don't think we POPPED CORKS when we sent them out the door then you are WRONG. They should be on our shelves in just a few weeks (6? 5?) and we will announce it here and elsewhere. They can also be preordered from Amazon. Also, SWB filmed three videos explaining and demonstrating this new grammar curriculum. See them on our YouTube channel. Thanks for your patience!

Hi! I'm looking for suggestions. My DD is a rising 4th grader, but asynchronous in language arts (not mathematics). She enjoys classical education Well-Trained Mind style for its language-centered focus. Looking forward to middle school and then high school, I'm wondering how I customize a middle/high school pathway that would showcase her language arts talents? If she was talented in mathematics, it would be easier, I think -- algebra earlier, and then follow some variation on the typical sequence. But I'm having trouble thinking about something similar for language arts. It's very clear that a student has completed Calculus, for example, but how does one show an equivalent level of accomplishment in the language arts? What goals am I aiming for here? I feel as though the destination is out of focus, and if I don't know at least what continent to paddle towards, we'll end up in the South Pacific Garbage Patch. :) MCT just doesn't speak to me, but I'll give it another look. Suggestions? (cross-posted)

I'm trying to decide on vocabulary for my 11 yr. old ds. Not sure why I'm having a tough time deciding! This year he did Wordly Wise book 5--not challenging for him--easily completed assignments & aced tests. Should we continue Wordly Wise (maybe skip book 6 and do 7)? or Vocabulary from Classical Roots book A? Would love to hear opinions! Thanks. (I already own Vocab. CR book A---so that's a plus--wouldn't need to buy any vocabulary books!)

Hi. I'm doing some research for next school year. My DD6 will be in second grade next year. For first grade language arts we used FLL1, WWE1, Zaner-Bloser Handwriting 1 & then had a really hard time with spelling. A Reason for Spelling was too easy and had too much busywork. We tried K-12 reader and the words were the right level but it had no guidance. I am a natural speller and don't really know any spelling rules, but I would like her to know them. I need hand holding in this regard. We're trying out AAS, which I know will be too easy but may be what I'm looking for as far as spelling. Anyway, I'm finding that having all these pieces for Language Arts, just isn't working for us. We manage to do FLL but are way behind in WWE because we just don't get to it each day. We're doing ok with handwriting. It all feels disjointed. I don't think it's the curriculum... it's definitely us (or maybe, just me). What I'm thinking of doing is CLE LA 2 next year which would cover just about everything. I feel like writing could be covered through the content areas fairly well. I've noticed, however, that many people skip the spelling but I am not finding any clear reason as to why. I've looked over the samples and the words look appropriate for grade level and I see that they include spelling rules. Am I missing some glaring issue? I'm not opposed to doing a different spelling program, but I want to understand why I would need to first. Anyone with experience want to explain? Thanks.

and what do you use? I already looked through TWTM and I can't see anything listed anywhere, My DS is only 6 so I have no plan to do a formal introduction anytime soon. Although I *know* the figures of speech I don't feel comfortable *only* folding it into discussion of our read alouds, etc., although I certainly will. Are there any casual (ie not workbook) resources/books that you liked that introduced these topics? If so, what ages were your DC when you used them? Thanks, ETA: looking for ways to cover simile, metaphor, onomatopoeia, hyperbole, etc Not sure what these are considered: homonym, antonym, synonym

I know a lot of people love R&S LA - we've used CLE LA and my children have really enjoyed it. However, I'm having curriculum indecision. I'm wondering if it would be worth trying R&S or if we should just stick with what I know, firsthand, works for my children.

Good morning! Has anyone used Voyages in English for 5th grade? We are currently using it and it takes foooooorrrrreeeever to complete each day to stay on track with the lesson plans provided! Any insight/advice would be so appreciated. I am not sure if we are going to stay with it or perhaps find something else. What do you all enjoy using for 5th grade language arts? Thanks!

Hello! I was hoping to get some input on the Bravewriter programs. I've been reading about it along with IEW, but the more I've been learning about Bravewriter, the more I feel like it is going to be a good fit for us. So, my questions are, if you use BW, what are your thoughts on it? Has anyone used both BW and IEW that would be willing to compare them for me? Also, is BW all I would need for LA? From what I've read on their site, it seems that way, but I'm just wanting some clarification on that. Any other input your can offer would be so greatly appreciated! Thanks so much!

I am searching high and low for a writing curriculum that I think would help my son. He is 8 1/2 and in 3rd grade, but his writing looks like a kindergarteners on a good day. And he really struggles with organizing thoughts to put into writing. He may be considered dysgraphic, though I have never had him evaluated for that. I am looking for a program that will really lay out all of the steps and build incrementally. I've tried the more open-ended approach with Brave Writer and free writing and giving writing prompts. We are working through BJU level 2 and Moving Beyond the Page language arts as well, but none of this is clicking with him and it seems to be making it worse. For example, today we read a short chapter from Story of the World and he was just supposed to write a few sentences about Alexander the Great. Now, if I ask him questions, he has NO problem answering them. Even if they are more open-ended kind of questions. He can verbalize easily...and I have spent the last 2 years letting him mostly dictate and I help guide his thinking. But when he tries to even write one sentence alone, it either isn't a complete sentence (not even close), or it is a complete sentence, but it has nothing to do with the assignment. He was supposed to write a couplet about weather the other day, picking a type of weather and choosing some rhyming words that went along with that type of weather. he was able to choose the kind of weather and even a list of rhyming words. But man....there was NO way to get him to understand that he was supposed to use THOSE rhyming words he came up with, to write a couplet about that kind of weather. He would either write a sentence fragment that didn't rhyme, or he would come up with a couplet that didn't have anything to do with weather, etc. Later that day, he read a couplet on a cereal box and came running to tell me that he found a couplet about weather! It was about snow (he was writing about rain)...so I ended up letting him copy it for his couplet. I am considering Essentials in Writing because it is DVD based and MAYBE having someone else trying to teach him would be better for him....? I'm also considering WriteShop Primary Level B. But I really don't want to be bogged down with crafty things, as he has a really hard time with fine motor and that wouldn't be helpful. I do NOT like IEW, so even though I have it, I don't want to use that one. Please help!

I have several questions that I am hoping to get some help/clarification with.I apologize in advance if this post becomes too long. This is our first year using ELTL. I am using Level 1 with my 7 year old son who is still learning to read and Level 4 with my 9 year old daughter who is a fluent reader, but terrible speller. I am also using RLTL Level 1 with both...for my son to learn to read and my daughter to help with her spelling. We are only on our second week using it and I'm just wondering if I am using the program correctly. With my so, I sit with him and read the assigned literature (for ELTL) reading, then talk him through each example. We then read the poem and fable, if there is one, and then he does the copywork. My question is, he does not enjoy most of the fables and always asks me why we are reading a poem everyday. Am I supposed to have him doing something with the poems and fables? Or just reading them to him daily, then having him narrate on the lessons that it says to do so? Does anyone skip reading the fables/poems, and if so, what do you do instead? Now, for my daughter, she does most of her ELTL lesson herself. She reads her literature assignment, does the exercises and writes in her commonplace book. My question for her is, when it comes to dictation and the condensed narrative, since she is a pretty poor speller, how would you go about doing both? So far, I've just been skipping the dictation and today, for the condensed narrative lesson, I had her just narrate to me instead of writing it all down. Is this ok to do until her spelling becomes stronger, or should I be doing something else? With RLTL, we are still just learning the phonograms. I've been going over 4 new ones a day with them both, having them review the ones we'e already learned each day, and writing them in their notebooks. And that's been it so far. It just feels like I'm missing something. Has anyone used RLTL with a struggling speller successfully, or should I supplement with a spelling program? If so, which program would you suggest? Again, I apologize for the length of the post, but appreciate any help you can offer.

Hi all; I need your help please! I'm going around and around and around in circles trying to figure out what my daughter's english sequence will be for high school. I'm feeling fairly pathetic right now. Here's some background: My dd loves creative writing and is finishing up the One Year Adventure Novel. I think she's behind in expository writing She's not done any real sentence diagramming before I am looking for her writing to be taught in a live class (online) and graded by the teacher My dd is college bound and science focused (but I want to keep a good focus on english as I think she has some aptitude in there) We'd appreciate curriculum that is secular-friendly Here's what I have come up with so far. Thoughts? Suggestions? Am I doing this all wrong? As far as I can tell there seems to be 4 sections to Language Arts. - WRITING: My dd loves the Bravewriter classes but I believe they only have one-off classes and not full semesters or a full year comprehensive class. 9th grade: IEW (I read somewhere a recommendation it's good to start here to get the structure down but it gets repetitive and good to move on after the first year. My dd would not do well with repetitiveness but needs help on getting the structure down.In October take: Bravewriter "Writing the Short Story" to prepare for the National Novel Writing Month in November. 10th grade: Well Trained Mind - Preparation for Rhetoric Writing 11th grade: Well Trained Mind - Rhetoric I 12th grade: Well Trained Mind - Rhetoric II - GRAMMAR: 9th grade: http://www.english-grammar-revolution.com/daily-diagrams.html (my son does MCT Grammar Town but not sure my dd would find it interesting enough to hold her attention.) or Analytical Grammar: https://www.analyticalgrammar.com/our-products/analytical-grammar/ - VOCABULARY: We're going to try http://membean.com this year and if it goes well, continue with it for the 4 years. - LITERATURE ANALYSIS: I'm not sure! Does anyone know of good, online discussion literature analysis classes? Is literature analysis a combination of reading comprehension, understanding literary devices and figurative language and reading into deeper meanings? On my current list to consider is (including non-online live classes because I haven't found anything that is ongoing): Holt Mcdougall Literature Student and Teacher books: ​https://www.amazon.com/Holt-McDougal-Literature-Student-Grade/dp/0547618395/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1467320584&sr=8-3&keywords=McDougal+Language+of+Literature%3A+Teacher%27s+Edition+Grade+9 I REALLY like LitCharts: http://www.litcharts.com but not sure if that is enough to suffice for literature analysis? ESC Novel Units: http://www.ecslearningsystems.com/webstore/store/showproductslist.asp?cmsAbout=1&idcategory=107& Skills for Literary Analysis: http://cathyduffyreviews.com/homeschool-reviews-core-curricula/phonics-reading/readers-literature/readers-literature-grades-9-12/skills-for-literary-analysis Teaching the Classics: http://cathyduffyreviews.com/homeschool-reviews-core-curricula/phonics-reading/readers-literature/readers-literature-grades-1-8/teaching-the-classics-a-socratic-method-for-literary-education-and-ready-readers (this sounds like the way to go but requires high involvement from the parent) Thank you!