SquirrellyMama Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 I posted a month or so back about wanting to love our book choices. Someone said that I just need to accept what I bought and stop looking to love everything (not the exact words). I have to say that was wonderful advice. I have worked at that and can finally say that I am really happy with what we are using. I do love FLL 1/2 though. I am using it with my 6 yr old ds and it is going great. I'm amazed at how short the lessons are and how he is memorizing the poems. I really thought he'd loathe that but he's enjoying it. Yay! Kelly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southmetromom Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 I love FLL 1/2 also! We finished the book (both children -- the youngest finished last May) but I cannot let go of it because it represents some of the happiest, most productive time I had with the children. I didn't have the same experience with FLL 3. Does anyone have a "happy" recommendation for grammar or language arts beyond FLL 1/2? Sandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irizarry4 Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 I am using FLL 1/2 with my 7yo and we are loving it also. This is their first year at home, coming from PS, so they had no formal grammar prior. I am using FLL4 with my 10yo 5th grader, also home from PS with no formal grammar prior. I am loving FLL4 too. My son is learning all his parts of speech. I am in awe of how they memorize all the definitions for nouns, pronouns, verbs. It is eye-opening, and yet so familiar. This is the way it was when I was in school. My son loves the diagramming he is learning in FLL4. Is that normal? LOL I plan on moving to R&S 5 with my oldest next year, but I am going to do FLL3 with my youngest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Testimony Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 We are using FLL 3. We are loving it! I cannot say enough good stuff. First of all, I love the short lessons. Second of all, my younger son, the reluctant learner, love it. He wants to do it everyday. He looks forward to the lessons. They teach it in a simple and easy format which makes it so attractive. I have added some hands on to the lessons. For example, my son kicks around his soccer ball as he recites the definitions of a verb, adjective, etc. He likes that and it makes doing the lessons funs. He keeps asking for more. When we sit down to do the lesson, he enjoys the diagramming. Just so that you know, I usually use manipulatives and hands-on ways to teach my sons. I know it is nuts, but it keeps the lessons fun. You don't want to know what I did to help my younger son memorize scripture!!:D Blessings, Karen http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquirrellyMama Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 We are using FLL 3. We are loving it! I cannot say enough good stuff. First of all, I love the short lessons. Second of all, my younger son, the reluctant learner, love it. He wants to do it everyday. He looks forward to the lessons. They teach it in a simple and easy format which makes it so attractive. I have added some hands on to the lessons. For example, my son kicks around his soccer ball as he recites the definitions of a verb, adjective, etc. He likes that and it makes doing the lessons funs. He keeps asking for more. When we sit down to do the lesson, he enjoys the diagramming. Just so that you know, I usually use manipulatives and hands-on ways to teach my sons. I know it is nuts, but it keeps the lessons fun. You don't want to know what I did to help my younger son memorize scripture!!:D Blessings, Karen www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony I try to incorporate some things too so we can keep lessons fun but I'm not good at advanced planning so I have things everyday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whereneverever Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 I really, really LOVE FLL, too! I was just talking about that last night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauracolumbus Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 I'm still lukewarm about it (getting really tired of what is a noun), but my dd loves it, so it's a hit here. I think she loves it b/c it's done orally. And she, too, loves learning the poems. Who knew? Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranberry Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 we really enjoy it too. Although I think it could move a wee bit faster. 45 lessons or so with the noun definition was a bit overkill. My 3 yr old had it memorized after a few days just from being around when we did it! DS was getting a little tired of the noun stuff. We just skipped some of the noun lessons. But we're now around lesson 65 or so and he still likes it and it's moving faster so it's all good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irizarry4 Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 I'm still lukewarm about it (getting really tired of what is a noun), but my dd loves it, so it's a hit here. I think she loves it b/c it's done orally. And she, too, loves learning the poems. Who knew? Laura I know there is a ton of repetition, you repeat the poems, repeat the definitions, repeat this, repeat that. At first it made ME squirm. But I decided not to question it until it backfired. Well, it hasn't backfired yet. The kids have not complained about it, and they have memorized their definitions perfectly. And as they continue to add new parts of speech, the repetition really pays off. (we do not repeat definitions 3 times if the kids were able to recite them from memory to begin with. But if the next lesson asks them to recite the definition, we do it again.) And yes, oddly enough, mine LOVE chanting helping verbs, memorizing poems. Memory work is so underrated in this 'just Google it' world, IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 I know there is a ton of repetition, you repeat the poems, repeat the definitions, repeat this, repeat that. At first it made ME squirm. But I decided not to question it until it backfired. Well, it hasn't backfired yet. The kids have not complained about it, and they have memorized their definitions perfectly. And as they continue to add new parts of speech, the repetition really pays off. (we do not repeat definitions 3 times if the kids were able to recite them from memory to begin with. But if the next lesson asks them to recite the definition, we do it again.) And yes, oddly enough, mine LOVE chanting helping verbs, memorizing poems. Memory work is so underrated in this 'just Google it' world, IMHO. I'll catch both of my sons chanting the helping verbs :lol: The youngest is under the impression that grammar is some great game he can't really play until he's a big boy, so he sneaks into the kitchen and very quietly does the memory work while his brother is reciting :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melenie Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 I am planning to get it for next year and am glad to see that so many like it. Both my kids love memory work, so I think they will enjoy it. I know it is recommended for grades 1-2, but somewhere I read it can be started after you have completed a certain amount of lessons in OPGTR, but I cannot find where I read it. Anyone know what I am talking about? TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa B Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 I love FLL 1/2 also! We finished the book (both children -- the youngest finished last May) but I cannot let go of it because it represents some of the happiest, most productive time I had with the children. I didn't have the same experience with FLL 3. Does anyone have a "happy" recommendation for grammar or language arts beyond FLL 1/2? Sandy We go from FLL 1/2 to Primary Language Lessons (Emma Serl.) It is very similar. But, we use the Davidson adaptation as it is a much larger book with better print, full page color photos and it is spiral bound so the kids can lay the book flat when they need to do writing assignments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 I also LOVE FLL1/2...and so do my 3 kiddos. we got sort of bogged down on the nouns...so after about 30 some lessons on nouns, I started to look ahead, combine a couple lessons together...still memorized the poems (which I think is so important...memorizing something of substance..not just lyrics to a silly song...)...but I figured if my early 5 year old could tell everyone he knew what a noun was and could identify it in a spoken sentence (and so could my others)...we could safely move one. I knew we would be hitting those ideas again later anyway. But when we are done with this book, I plan to move on to the next one...at least with my 2 bigger kids (ages 7 and 9) Kathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan25 Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Ok then, HELP!!! We hate it!!!! DD and I both are bored to tears. She HATES the memory work, the repetition, everything about it that makes it FLL. I'm bored with it and try really hard to make it sound fun, but sheesh. We've accelerated it, we've skipped lessons, we've eliminated the poetry completely. Any other suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland_Mom Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 We LOVE FLL, too! I like the repetion. Young kids usually don't mind the repeated exposure--plus it's good for them. I love the short lessons and the variety. (Poem memorization, chants, activities, copywork, narration, picture study, etc.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquirrellyMama Posted October 27, 2009 Author Share Posted October 27, 2009 Ok then, HELP!!! We hate it!!!! DD and I both are bored to tears. She HATES the memory work, the repetition, everything about it that makes it FLL. I'm bored with it and try really hard to make it sound fun, but sheesh. We've accelerated it, we've skipped lessons, we've eliminated the poetry completely. Any other suggestions? I don't know. I've had things before that had us in tears that other people loved. I switch and assume it just isn't for us. How far along are you? I let my son do some of the work in a book of his choice the other day. Instead of finding nouns in one of the stories in the FLL book I got his XMen book and did some of the work there. That was fun for him. All of his copywork is done on a whiteboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranberry Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Ok then, HELP!!! We hate it!!!! DD and I both are bored to tears. She HATES the memory work, the repetition, everything about it that makes it FLL. I'm bored with it and try really hard to make it sound fun, but sheesh. We've accelerated it, we've skipped lessons, we've eliminated the poetry completely. Any other suggestions? Could you pick poems that your DD chooses? I wasn't a fan of the days of the week poem, ds thought it was completely goofy, so I just picked another. Sometimes we do a psalm or just pick another poem from Harp & Laurel Wreath or any poetry book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 We love FLL 1/2 also. I have 2 boys - ages 5 & 6 and they're responding well to it. They love the poems and I love the gentle approach to the parts of speech. I also love the help they give with narration, both stories and pictures. I'm just not great at figuring that out and it's teaching me to teach them to narrate, which I appreciate. We're not doing as much narration as I'd like, but this is giving us a good start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Dominion Heather Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 We love it here, too. My son is fifth grade now and he still remembers the linking and helping verbs chant, the grammar definitions, etc... And I have to say that knowing those off the top of his head has REALLY helped him in Latin. He became a great proficient at memorization. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan25 Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 I don't know. I've had things before that had us in tears that other people loved. I switch and assume it just isn't for us. How far along are you? I let my son do some of the work in a book of his choice the other day. Instead of finding nouns in one of the stories in the FLL book I got his XMen book and did some of the work there. That was fun for him. All of his copywork is done on a whiteboard. We're just getting to the verb lessons. She's been doing some copywork in her notebook, which she doesn't mind too much. And I've been pulling appropriate worksheets from Teacher FileBox for nouns, pronouns, etc. It's been working ok; we just hate it. I hate tweeking it to make it work. Oh well. Lesson learned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan25 Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Could you pick poems that your DD chooses? I wasn't a fan of the days of the week poem, ds thought it was completely goofy, so I just picked another. Sometimes we do a psalm or just pick another poem from Harp & Laurel Wreath or any poetry book. You know, she loves Shel Silverstein. Maybe she'd be more interested if it were one of those........ Good idea. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in the UP of MI Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 We're just getting to the verb lessons. She's been doing some copywork in her notebook, which she doesn't mind too much. And I've been pulling appropriate worksheets from Teacher FileBox for nouns, pronouns, etc. It's been working ok; we just hate it. I hate tweeking it to make it work. Oh well. Lesson learned Does she like workbooks? I think FLL would have driven me nuts as a kid. The oral lessons would not have worked. I liked to be able to read and write. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan25 Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Does she like workbooks? I think FLL would have driven me nuts as a kid. The oral lessons would not have worked. I liked to be able to read and write. She does lean more in that direction. She wants to do it herself! :lol: I've been doing the oral parts from FLL for introduction, only reading them once or so during the lesson and then following up with a worksheet rather than all of that talking. She also does better with comprehension worksheets/workbooks as opposed to narration, so we've been doing that. I've pulled some of the copywork and put it in her special notebook, but only things I know she needs to work on. Address, phone number, days of the week, etc. It's working. I'm just so miserable!!! :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irizarry4 Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 You know, she loves Shel Silverstein. Maybe she'd be more interested if it were one of those........ Good idea. Thanks! "Ickle me, pickle me, tickle me too, went for a ride in a flying shoe" oh, can I come to your FLL lessons? :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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