DragonflyAcademy Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Ack I'm feeling overwhelmed.. DS #1, 4th grade, is a good reader..although he does stumble over some words I think he should know..but he has good reading comprehension and enjoys reading. Up until this year, he was a strong speller.. but is struggling this year.. Grammar is a challenge for him.. he knows nouns and verbs but everything else seems to go into his head and right back out again... We have been using McRuffy LA grade 4.. although not their spelling lists as they were way too hard (used Steck V's spelling Linking Words to Meaning instead.. which our local public schools use). Writing.. he loves to write about what HE wants to.. but not assigned topics.. and I feel that overall, his writing skills are weak (not handwriting.. which is ok in cursive, but writing for meaning etc) Things need to change..this cannot continue.. I'd be doing him a huge disservice if I allowed this to keep going like this.. So.. Phonics Road?? I have 2 (hopefully 3 soon) other children who can also use the program as the get bigger (1 now, 1st grader).. Do I get PR 1 and accelerate him through it? How? It seems like a solid program but a bit overwhelming... I'm not a grammar/writing/spelling wiz either..I can swing the cost of 1 level at this time.. Today we switched to Down Write Funny, Hot Fudge Mondays and Unjournaling in the hopes to help remediate...until I can determine where we are going.. We've tried the following in the past.. with limited success: WWE FLL Abeka All About Spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelBee Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 :grouphug: Not sure about the details yet as I have not started, but I am going to be using this with my ds11 (5th) and dd9 (3rd). We will be starting in PR1. Like you, I have littles that will use it after. That is how I justified the cost to have them use it from PR1 up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveBaby Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Yes!! Yes! Yes! I'm using it with a 5th, 3rd and K/1st grader! If you do a search you should find lots of posts about how and why people are using it with older students. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonflyAcademy Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 I have been reading on it.. but haven't' found anything yet on the actual nuts and bolts of accelerating the older one.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelBee Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 I have been reading on it.. but haven't' found anything yet on the actual nuts and bolts of accelerating the older one.. This is what I am struggling with as well. I will have it in hand by end of week though, so that should help some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveBaby Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 I'll try to articulate something for you later this evening or tomorrow. I'm nursing a babe right now and typing one handed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenaj Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 (edited) I'm using PR with a 13yo, 9yo (fourth grader) and 7yo. Since you are dealing with a fourth grader I'll explain what we've done with that age. I started him in the summer with PR1 and did it sequentially as scheduled except that we did about 1 week's worth of assignments every two days or so. This did vary because at the beginning there are four weeks (if I'm remembering correctly) to learn the basic phonograms and I know that it only took us a few days to get those down fairly well. So, I would watch the videos and then do the lessons as Mrs. Beers had them sequenced but we would just do two, three, four or five days worth of work in one day's session. There were some slower times when we hit complicated Building Codes and we would slow down to Mrs. Beer's schedule for that section. That may not make sense unless you're holding the program in your hands -- Mrs. Beer's has the spelling lists broken up by week and then divided into five days worth of work. You watch the video for a certain week so all the material you need to teach for five days is in one video so it's easy to just keep going at the end of one day's lesson and continue on for an older child. My kids don't even realize they aren't doing the program as it is designed to be done. He finished PR1 right after Thanksgiving and we started right in on PR2. I did slow down the pace of the work in PR2 so right now we are doing one lesson every three days. In PR2 the grammar lessons are scheduled for four days work, the spelling list for five days and composition for one day. We do two "days" of spelling and two "days" of grammar work on the first day of a lesson, two "days" of grammar and two "days" of spelling on the second day of a lesson and then on the third day we do the composition for that week's work and the last "day" of spelling work. I'm hoping we'll be able to start PR3 before summer break but if not that's o.k. My loose (very loose) plan is to try to finish up the PR series sometime during his sixth grade year???? We'll see what happens. I know that this is laying a foundation that he needs so I'm not going to hurry the process. We'll just start Latin Road when it comes. Edited January 27, 2011 by JanOH Just trying to clarify myself :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgehogs4 Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnandtinagilbert Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 (edited) 4th grader: Phonics: We went through the phonics in Y1 through memorization, games and as we applied them in words we knew. Spelling: I began the spelling list b4 she memorized all the phonograms and used the envelopes (as Mrs. Beers teaches) to pull letters and focus on vowel teams in the spelling words by designing the words, similar to the tiles in AAS. By the time we got through the year 1 spelling lists (one list per day) we had memorized all the Rule Tunes and phonograms, marking, everything. Grammar: Very little in year 1, so we just did that as it came up in BC. We ended the year with a review by looking over every building code. This took us about 16 weeks total b/c some days we skipped one part, so we came to it the next. A day a week does take some time, more than you'll use when you go to the regular schedule. The bonus is getting through quickly and that the pace makes a regular PR day seem like nothing! We then went to Y2 and continued on the accelerated pace. We actually decided to the literature study first. DD loved this part, so we did every bit of the study first, then went back to finish the grammar and spelling. Spelling: continue on the week/day schedule, adding and learning Rule and Grammar tunes where applicable. Grammar: week/day...until about 23 or 24. At this point DD needed additional time on grammar. We began school Aug 1, 2009 and were finished with PR 1 & 2 by end of Jan., 2010. That was slowing down to regular pace halfway and easing through the spelling and grammar. I took almost a month off so she could rest from all her hard work! We have begun PR3 and I am pleased at the jump in requirements, her retention, and of course, the great program :) My blog has a TON of posts on PR through the levels. The address is in the siggy. Look right and you'll see archives for Phonics Road, PR1, PR2, PR3 and PR4. I have started planning level 4 already, so you'll get a nice idea of what's to come. The daughter mentioned above is just about finished w/ PR3 (we're on week 25 in spelling and 29 in literature). She should get started with PR4 end of year and finish mid sixth grade. We'll then switch to Write Shop I and start The Latin Road in 7th, maybe 8th grade (I want to wait on her brother, but that may not be possible, so I may just start her, I haven't decided). We have taken many days off and have practiced the skills learned in PR by applying them to science and history a great deal. I.e. if we do outlining in PR, we do outlining in history and/or science. When we do remodeling in PR, she will also do remodeling in history, etc. Remember, PR is a Level program, not an annual one, and since it's progressive, you simply move at your own pace and get through. It's good stuff! The above info came from this blog post. There is more to the post that describes how I accelerated older children, too who only needed spelling remediation. Edited January 27, 2011 by johnandtinagilbert added link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnandtinagilbert Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 This is what I am struggling with as well. I will have it in hand by end of week though, so that should help some. Look on my blog under Phonics Road :) Nevermind, here it is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelBee Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Look on my blog under Phonics Road :) Nevermind, here it is! Thanks :) I think I have been reading so much lately, that I am starting to forget information. :glare: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonflyAcademy Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 The above info came from this blog post. There is more to the post that describes how I accelerated older children, too who only needed spelling remediation. Thanks, I had read your blog about it..but it makes a bit more sense in combination with the other posts here.. I think this is the right program.. I am just worried I won't be able to teach it.. AAS was a dismal failure..and I tried to follow the program.. but it was.. well.. boring.. FLL3 is also a solid grammar program but it brought us all to tears with it's dry DRILL baby DRILL procedure.. and neither of us can tell you what a predicate nominative is.. :tongue_smilie:.. at $200 it's a leap of faith that this will be what he needs.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonflyAcademy Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 I ordered it today.. hoping it works for us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDmom Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Thanks, I had read your blog about it..but it makes a bit more sense in combination with the other posts here.. I think this is the right program.. I am just worried I won't be able to teach it.. AAS was a dismal failure..and I tried to follow the program.. but it was.. well.. boring.. FLL3 is also a solid grammar program but it brought us all to tears with it's dry DRILL baby DRILL procedure.. and neither of us can tell you what a predicate nominative is.. :tongue_smilie:.. at $200 it's a leap of faith that this will be what he needs.. I just started PR1 with my 1st grader last week. I am trying to figure out how to work my 4th grader in. For now, I am going to just have her in the room while I am working with him, so she can absorb some of how it works. She does not want to do PR, because she sees it as a big step down from where she is now. I think once we get through the phonograms, I may be able to start working with her more directly... But, I wanted to comment about the ease of teaching with it. I was really skeptical about a program without a written TM. I'm not an auditory learner, and I prefer reading to listening to someone else. I have to say that I think the DVDs are wonderful. She goes through the whole lesson with you. I take notes to help me remember what she says. A written TM would not be able to effectively convey all the techniques that you need. I can watch the DVD, then copy what she does with my student. If I was reading that info, I'd probably be scratching my head about how to go about teaching this or that. On a related note, I realized this week that I was having trouble teaching WWE (even though it's totally scripted) until I watched the video of SWB doing WWE with her son. Seeing someone else teach is so much more effective than reading about what you are supposed to teach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonflyAcademy Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 On a related note, I realized this week that I was having trouble teaching WWE (even though it's totally scripted) until I watched the video of SWB doing WWE with her son. Seeing someone else teach is so much more effective than reading about what you are supposed to teach. wow.. I didn't even know there were videos for WWE.. thanks for your thoughts.. I have the same concerns regarding no written TE..so it's reassuring to read your experiences. So..I should be able to accelerate my 4th grader through Level 1 between now and the end of this school year..then work on level 2 over the summer?? Then he can be in 5th grade in level 3.. does that sound right and do-able? then my current first grader can semi accelerate through level 1 until the end of the school year and finish it up over the summer.. and start level 2 in second grade next school year.. yes?? And this program will cover all my bases for LA right? So I don't need to add anything else in for my 5th grader.. right?? He'll have lots of literature with our history program.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDmom Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 wow.. I didn't even know there were videos for WWE.. If you're curious to see them they're on YouTube. Here's So..I should be able to accelerate my 4th grader through Level 1 between now and the end of this school year..then work on level 2 over the summer?? Then he can be in 5th grade in level 3.. does that sound right and do-able? then my current first grader can semi accelerate through level 1 until the end of the school year and finish it up over the summer.. and start level 2 in second grade next school year.. yes?? I've been wondering if that was a reasonable schedule, since that's about what I was planning. :bigear: For those of you that have done something like this, do you have both children working separately from the very beginning, or do you work with them together until it's obvious that the younger one can no longer keep up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4 Gifts Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnandtinagilbert Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Thanks, I had read your blog about it..but it makes a bit more sense in combination with the other posts here.. I think this is the right program.. I am just worried I won't be able to teach it.. AAS was a dismal failure..and I tried to follow the program.. but it was.. well.. boring.. FLL3 is also a solid grammar program but it brought us all to tears with it's dry DRILL baby DRILL procedure.. and neither of us can tell you what a predicate nominative is.. :tongue_smilie:.. at $200 it's a leap of faith that this will be what he needs.. The DVDs are such a nice model for the method. Before long, you'll see that you get it and you will be able to fast forward. I suggest you sit down and watch through the first handful of weeks. You'll see that the continual review, which is different than drill baby drill, will help b/c there isn't pressure to memorize something in a week. You will see via the DVDs that you'll hit the Rule Tunes again and again and again throughout the spelling lists. From what I gathered from my family and others here, in about 3 weeks, the Rule Tunes become second nature for you and dc. wow.. I didn't even know there were videos for WWE.. thanks for your thoughts.. I have the same concerns regarding no written TE..so it's reassuring to read your experiences. You get to see the DVD as a wonderful model, then you have the daily set up on paper (a lesson plan) with spots for notes. I like to have paper ready to jot down info. as I watch the DVDs. I put 3:4 (week 3, day 4) on top of the correct pages, write down notes, add the Rule Tune number to the music notes. This will all make sense when the program is in your hands. So..I should be able to accelerate my 4th grader through Level 1 between now and the end of this school year..then work on level 2 over the summer?? Then he can be in 5th grade in level 3.. does that sound right and do-able? Yes. I'd say by Sept or Oct. you could be starting level 3. If you have to go slower, it would be fine. If you get stuck somewhere, just ask about. There are many users here now that can help and we all love to talk about PR :D then my current first grader can semi accelerate through level 1 until the end of the school year and finish it up over the summer.. and start level 2 in second grade next school year.. yes?? And this program will cover all my bases for LA right? So I don't need to add anything else in for my 5th grader.. right?? He'll have lots of literature with our history program.. You'll be all set. No need to add a thing. By the time you finish level 4, you'll have a solid foundation in writing, grammar, spelling and reading. If you're curious to see them they're on YouTube. Here's I've been wondering if that was a reasonable schedule, since that's about what I was planning. :bigear: For those of you that have done something like this, do you have both children working separately from the very beginning, or do you work with them together until it's obvious that the younger one can no longer keep up? We started together and played bingo and memory and go fish until we learned all the phonemes, then we moved to separate times. My Littles had to focus to spell, but my dd could spell the words, so our focus was on learning songs and marking words. Additionally, I didn't need to go as fast w/ the boys as I did for dd. I have some samples on my blog that lay out the time frame of A Day in the Life so you can get an idea of how this will affect your day. Currently, I have 4 dc in 3 different levels and this week I actually have spent a little more time with one of my boys (who are in the same level) b/c he needs additional focus in a couple things. It's working out well and I remain pleased all the way around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelBee Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 My package came today! YIPPY! Can't get my computer to play the DVD, so having dh hook up DVD for me so I can watch and study til baby comes. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonflyAcademy Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 Can't get my computer to play the DVD, oh gosh.. I didn't think.. I have a Mac.. hope it plays in my computer!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelBee Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 oh gosh.. I didn't think.. I have a Mac.. hope it plays in my computer!! Honestly...I am sure it is me. My windows player keeps saying I need an add on or something. I am SOOOOOOO baad at computers! :lol: I have tried for about an hour, but can't figure out how to get it to work. I bought this computer from a company that wiped it clean before they gave it to me, so I may be missing a piece of program that allows it to read. I am sure yours will be fine. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmichigan Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Honestly...I am sure it is me. My windows player keeps saying I need an add on or something. I am SOOOOOOO baad at computers! :lol: I have tried for about an hour, but can't figure out how to get it to work. I bought this computer from a company that wiped it clean before they gave it to me, so I may be missing a piece of program that allows it to read. I am sure yours will be fine. :) Mine plays on PowerDVD 9, if that helps any. (I'm doing my "homework" as we speak. ;)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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