Switching Language Arts curr. mid-year?

[redsnapper]

I've been doing LLATL with my DD9 and DS7 this year...but I'm not happy with it. I am considering switching curriculum mid-year. Is that a bad idea?

 

This is our first year home schooling so I realize the problem may lay with me. But LLATL feels really choppy, the spelling feels really weak, and I'm just not confident in its quality.

 

I was considering switching to First Language Lessons and Writing with Ease.

 

I'd love advice of more experience schoolers... Help?

[HollyDay]

I did the same thing when my oldest was in 3rd grade. I love the concept of LLATL. In fact, I'm using it for high school now. But, I too found it choppy and dd needed more review. We switched to BJU that January. I chose this program mainly because it was one of a very few I'd seen in person. We did school LA throughout the summer that year without a break to complete the 3rd grade course prior to 4th grade. But, she started 4th with a nice solid understanding of grammar. For us, it was a great choice to switch.

[athomemom]

I'm switching mid-year with our history. When my boys were small I did the same for math. I was ever so glad I switched. I was nervous too, but my reasons were well founded and a change was needed.

 

I am not familiar with the LA you are switching to. We use BJU here. (5th/6th grade levels) We love it.

 

Trust your gut. It doesn't usually steer you wrong.

[redsnapper]

I guess my concern is that 1) I'll throw us all off and it'll take awhile to get into the new curriculum; and 2) that perhaps LLATL will be fine and it's my inexperience that's most of the problem.

 

But, read your replies, I'll think on it some more and see what my husband thinks, too. Thank you for replying!

-Melissa

[meet me in paris]

I've been doing LLATL with my DD9 and DS7 this year...but I'm not happy with it. I am considering switching curriculum mid-year. Is that a bad idea?

 

This is our first year home schooling so I realize the problem may lay with me. But LLATL feels really choppy, the spelling feels really weak, and I'm just not confident in its quality.

 

I was considering switching to First Language Lessons and Writing with Ease.

 

I'd love advice of more experience schoolers... Help?

I don't think it's a bad idea. I haven't used WWE, but I've used a few levels of FLL, and I can tell you that a lot of the concepts are repeated over the years. So don't worry if you switch to it and you don't get through the entire book this year - just start at the beginning of the next level next year (or just keep plugging through the level(s) you get this year until they're done). Either way it will all turn out fine.

[athomemom]

I guess my concern is that 1) I'll throw us all off and it'll take awhile to get into the new curriculum; and 2) that perhaps LLATL will be fine and it's my inexperience that's most of the problem.

 

But, read your replies, I'll think on it some more and see what my husband thinks, too. Thank you for replying!

-Melissa

 

It may take you a while anyways to get back into the groove after the holidays. I wish I could give you more advice about LLATL. Hopefully, someone with more experience with LLATL will chime in.

[LittleHouseHomeschool]

I've been doing LLATL with my DD9 and DS7 this year...but I'm not happy with it. I am considering switching curriculum mid-year. Is that a bad idea?

 

 

Why did you choose LLATL? Are you familiar with the Beechick method of Language Arts? Before you give it up, I would read "The Three R's," series by Ruth Beechick and possibly "You Can Teach Your Child Successfully: Grades 4 -8" by the same author. Debbie Strayer, personal mentor is Ruth Beechick. LLATL is the Beechick method.

 

LLATL is a wonderful curriculum if you stick with it over a length of time. It's a great tool, though it is definitely a slow and steady program, designed to be used over years of time.

Edited December 1, 2010 by LittleHouseHomeschool

[woolybear]

I think sticking with something that you don't like or think isn't working well is more of a bad idea. If you have a choice (financially) to switch, I say go for it. I'm switching a couple of things too.

[....]

I hate switching programs...:glare:...but, honestly, you might really like WWE and FLL. We rave that WWE has saved our writings' lives here in our household. :tongue_smilie:

 

I also did a big "methods approach" switch this fall and we are all very, very happy that I did. :D

[Poke Salad Annie]

You could spend the rest of the year using one of the grammar programs available for free on googlebooks.com. Sheldon's Primary Language Lessons and Maxwell's Elementary Grammar are two that are very nice. Mary F. Hyde has another that is good, and someone has mentioned the Rand McNally program. These are all free, except for your printing. You could print a page a day to see how you like it. If you have a Kindle or Nook, I think they could be downloaded that way too.

[Annabel Lee]

If you do a search on this board for LLATL, you'll find that many others have come to the same conclusion that you suspect - they suspect it's not enough. I agree w/ the idea to investigate the explanation of the methodology by reading some Beechick. If those ideas don't resonate w/ you, or if you like the ideas but LLATL dosen't fulfill those ideas in a way you like, then I wouldn't hesitate for a minute to switch.

 

If you're looking for replacements for LLATL, you'll need spelling, grammar, writing, phonics/reading/literature, and penmanship. FLL is just grammar and WWE is just writing, so a switch from LLATL to only those would mean you'd be dropping other subjects completely. I highly recommend reading TWTM and listening to Susan Wise Bauer's MP3 writing lectures if you choose to go w/ WWE. She also has one on literature.

 

To keep it simple, you could do reading/lit. per TWTM and for penmanship, you could make your own penmanship pages by hand on student lined paper or using a free online program (Zaner-Bloser has one on their site) and use the copywork from FLL & WWE, their spelling words, their memory work, or passages from their reading (or other subjects for that matter). For Spelling, I'd try the simplest programs first and only move to something more time-intensive if the simpler ones don't work. I'd start with Spelling Workout after completing a phonics program (OPGTTR is good). AAS is good too, but some people don't like that it's a little more teacher intensive.

 

Those are just my recommendations for things to look into. My biggest recommendation is to find what you like, a method/philosophy you can embrace, and what will work for you & your children - no matter what that ends up being. Best wishes - I know switching, even debating whether to or not, is hard.

[nikkid]

We're using FLL 1&2, WWE, Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading (OPGTR) and really liking it. We are doing just the fundamentals book for WWE instead of the workbook and that's working out great so we can count most of the copy work from books we're already reading in history and science and fun reading. We're also doing Loops & Groups to teach cursive and liking that a lot. (We got a copy at our library to teach from since it's so expensive.) These are really easy to use and require minimal prep time.

 

I also really like what I'm seeing about All About Spelling. Sequential Spelling is also near the top of my list, but I think I'm going to start AAS in January. With all five programs (grammar, writing, reading, spelling, penmanship/cursive) I feel like they'll complement each other very nicely and be very thorough in the language arts area, which was a priority for me over other subjects.

 

If things aren't working for us and we've tried for a bit and talked to other homeschoolers for advice and still nothing is getting better, we don't wait to change. It makes school time so much more enjoyable when you're teaching something that you and your kids don't hate. It may not even put you behind much because chances are if you like it you'll understand it faster and learn more quickly.

 

Good luck to you!