CW-Homer...anything else for LA needed?

[sahm99]

This year, for ds' fourth grade, we are doing FLL4 and WWE4 together with WT2 (and SWO).

Next year I'm planning on doing Homer with him...

What else should we use, to make for a complete and challenging LA program?

Btw, ds will have finished Latina Christiana 2 by then, and we will certainly go on with latin (not sure about the program, though).

 

Thank your for your help!

[Amy loves Bud]

You will need to choose a grammar program. CW Homer suggests Harvey's and has the assignments all planned out for you each week.

 

Being one to make things more complicated, I've opted to use Analytical Grammar instead. We LOVE AG. Well, I love it, and Luke is doing amazingly well with it, though I don't think he would use love and grammar in the same sentence. He he.

 

We've also opted to use a separate spelling program. Spelling is part of CW, but Luke needs a more systematic approach, so we spend 10 minutes a day on Megawords.

 

Also, we used LCI and LCII and have moved on to First Form Latin this year. Very happy with it.

[siloam]

This year, for ds' fourth grade, we are doing FLL4 and WWE4 together with WT2 (and SWO).

Next year I'm planning on doing Homer with him...

What else should we use, to make for a complete and challenging LA program?

Btw, ds will have finished Latina Christiana 2 by then, and we will certainly go on with latin (not sure about the program, though).

 

Thank your for your help!

 

I would NOT recommend Homer for a 4th grader. 5th grade is the earliest I recommend it for. You can do Aesop A and Aesop B in a single year and easily start Homer next year in 5th. There are skills that carry over (vocab work, outlining if you do it in Aesop, beginning diagramming if you use in it Aesop B, use of direct quotes and adding descriptive detail).

 

If you use Aesop you might want a mastery based spelling program. Aesop does include spelling once a week, but it is much more a review that assumes the child has already covered an in-depth program. If your child hasn't then you want to add it.

 

With Homer you need a spelling program (no spelling is covered in Homer) and a full grammar program. They recommend Harvey's and have workbooks to go with it, but you can use a different text. You just have to be sure it covers the necessary skills. Homer A covers all the parts of speech, including verbals and how to both parse and diagram them. A child also works a lot with tense, plural/singular. They also have to be able to identify then analyze scenes, identify details that are necessary to the story and ones that are not and then summarize the scenes, sometimes and models that are 3-4 pages long. Homer B covers phrases of all kinds, again both parsing and diagramming (participles, gerunds, infinitives, appositives, ect...). I haven't looked at many of the other skills covered yet.

 

So much of what is being covered requires analytical skills that often don't develop until around 5th grade or later, and the volume of work is high. It is a lot for my 6th grader. She does the Beginning Poetry too and alternates weeks instead of doing them in blocks because it gives her a break from Homer. While she might have been able to do the work in 4th, she would have hated it. The only way I would consider doing Homer in 4th is if you did it at half pace, and then only after completing Aesop first. If you don't do Aesop first then the child has to learn all the skills taught in Aesop as well as the heavy load of Homer.

 

Heather

 

 

 

[Amy loves Bud]

Heather,

 

I think she is looking at it for next year in 5th. She's doing FLL4 and WWE this year in 4th.

 

SAHM99,

 

Heather is right about spelling. You do some vocabulary analysis that will cover spelling, but it is very sporadic and non-systematic. I do think that you need a spelling program unless you have an amazing natural speller.

 

Amy

[sahm99]

Thanks for your replies!

...yes, Heather, I am planning on doing Homer next year, for ds' fifth grade...

I hope that after FLL, WWE and WT he is going to be ready for it...?!?!?

 

Your replies were very helpful: We'll stick to SWO and add some grammar - probably R&S, if this is a reasonable choice with CW...?

 

Thanks again!

[siloam]

Thanks for your replies!

...yes, Heather, I am planning on doing Homer next year, for ds' fifth grade...

I hope that after FLL, WWE and WT he is going to be ready for it...?!?!?

 

Your replies were very helpful: We'll stick to SWO and add some grammar - probably R&S, if this is a reasonable choice with CW...?

 

Thanks again!

 

Lynette,

 

Sorry about reading that wrong. I don't know where my brain is today. I probably need another cup o' coffee. :D

 

Many people use R&S with CW, you would probably want to post a question as to which levels need to be done by when to make sure you student has the phrase work in time. That would be my only worry. I know R&S will have the parts of speech covered. SWO should work fine for spelling.

 

You will probably have a little more of a learning curve if you skip Aesop. The vocab work is introduced in Aesop, the rewrites are shorter, and they work on addition quotations and descriptive detail (just keep an eye on it, and if they need extra help adding either make it a step in their rewrites). They also get practice in writing outlines, if you do the outline work. I think you ds could probalby go straight into Homer, but he will probably need quite a bit of hand holding at first, and you might have to stretch the first 2-6 weeks out to two weeks. Once he has had a little practice he can probably come up to normal speed and not need as much help. If you are going to skip the poetry you will have 12 extra weeks anyway, so you could stretch for a while. If you do plan to do the Poetry I really recommend alternating it with the end of Homer. My dd started Poetry around week 8, just when the models and work was getting longer. It has really helped her keep running the race because now she has a heavy week doing homer and then a lighter week doing poetry. I probably would have had to slow the pace down if she were just doing Homer, because of the amount of work.

 

Heather