Does anyone NOT like FLL?

[Captivated]

Does anyone NOT like FLL? And if so, why and what did you use instead?

 

Thanks!

[Rhonda in TX]

She would cry when I pulled it out. She was in 2nd grade at the time. We switched to R&S 2 and she was happy as a clam.

 

I have since discovered that she is not an auditory learner. She does like read-alouds and books on tape, but doesn't like any kind of auditory learning (songs, chants, etc.).

[Narrow Gate Academy]

We didn't like FLL here either. It was too auditory for my oldest and too repetitious for my second so we dropped it for this year. Next year for 2nd, I plan to use parts of FLL but modify how I teach it.

[Trivium Academy]

Dropped it for Primary Language Lessons by Margot Davidson, FLL1 was fine but FLL2 we burned out.

[Sue G in PA]

That was our issue w/ FLL, too. Too heavy on the auditory learning. My sons are NOT auditory learners. We muddles through the first 30 lessons or so of FLL and then quit. I decided to hold off on grammar until 3rd. That being said, I DO like FLL3. My preference is a non-scripted program, but I just look over the lessons and teach it myself w/ my own words. I'm so torn btwn FLL3 and R&S3 so we'll see how it goes next year. PLL is also looking good. I will probably use PLL for my 2nd grader next year and use "some" of it w/ my 3rd grader. Many do like FLL, though, for its simplicity and ease of use.

[Hen]

I struggle on and off with this. I like how gentle it is, but I myself am not an auditory learner I think. I've used it with my second dd, and I just pulled it out to use with my 2nd and K students. It was going well, until we added a bonus student- 2nd grade, who has an auditory processing disorder. I don't know much about it (I need to do some research) but I could see after 2 minutes that he did not care for FLL and I lost him totally.

 

I am thinking I will switch to GWG for all of them this summer. (but I am going to continue with FLL with my younger two on days when the bonus student is not here, it really is a nice, gentle introduction to grammar.)

[linders]

Gentle is good, some spiral is good, but...I.Can.Not.Repeat.The.

Definition.Of.A.Noun.One.More.Time....Ever. We have gone through most of FLL1 and plan to do FLL2 next year.

 

My DS7 likes FLL, but probably because I put in a bit of time condensing multiple lessons, finding different poems (I don't care for the versions in FLL), etc.

 

I don't plan to switch, though. I don't want a workbook approach (I don't think he needs it at this point), PLL looks lovely but too scattered for me (I tend to like a methodical development) and too much writing for him. If I did anything different, it would be to make a list of the top ten grammar topics (e.g., parts of speeech, types of sentences, etc.) and go through them myself each week. In a way, that's what I use FLL for now, so I'll stick with it. I'll have to think hard about what to do after, though.

[Ann@thebeach]

It was OK, my DS didn't mind it that much but I really started to dislike it....maybe not dislike....but found it tedious. My son would start to roll is eyes at some of the repetition and I found some of the lessons overkill and would skip some here and there. The problem was that we would start to skip it for weeks since I wasn't into it and then we had no grammar at all.

I suppose as a parent/teacher I should have stuck it out despite the tedious nature of it-that's what some learning is I guess.

 

We switched to Growing with Grammar in 3rd after only doing about half of FLL and it's a better fit for us.

 

My DD is starting 1st this fall and I plan on doing GWG 1/2 with her but hanging onto FLL just in case that doesn't work for her.

[Academy of Jedi Arts]

My dd hated FLL. This pretty much sums it up

I.Can.Not.Repeat.The.

Definition.Of.A.Noun.One.More.Time....Ever.

 

We switched to Shurley, which she doesn't love but doesn't dislike either. Not sure if we will stick with it again this year (have used it for 2 levels now), but I have not really looked to see if anything else looks like a better fit for her.

 

But, I have been getting some great ideas from here and maybe I will eventually see something that makes me go hmmmm.....

[Kay in Cal]

I agree. It was fine when my ds was very young, but even then we had to condense, move faster, skip. Still, I think he got a good grounding before we started GWG3 this year--which we love.

 

For our next, I think I'll try FLL again (since we have it), and depending on how it goes maybe move to GWG 1/2. Younger ds loves to write, so I think he'll enjoy more of a workbook approach.

[Another Lynn]

I am liking FLL3 better than FLL 1/2. My 2nd ds will be first grade this fall and I haven't quite decided if I will try FLL 1/2 with him again, try something else, or just ignore grammar for a year or two. Hmmmm..... But I think FLL3 with the student workbook is working for us. I also think my 1st ds (finishing up 3rd grade) is more ready for the subject of grammar now than he was in 1st and 2nd grade as he was slower to learn to read than some.

[Cindy in FL.]

FLL didn't work for us. I just couldn't get into it. We love Rod & Staff for language.

 

Cindy

[Jenny in Atl]

Neither of mine liked it. I used SL with the dd12 and I'm now using GWG with my dd7

[A.J. at J.A.]

I did not like it and my kiddo certainly didn't look forward to it. I liked the idea of the memorization and copywork and such but the ideas just didn't stick with my kiddo and it started to be something we would dread. We did the whole 1st/2nd grade with it. I decided to switch to Growing with Grammar for 3rd grade and use the Growing with Grammar 1st/2nd for my 2nd son, I am very pleased with both grade levels of GWG and plan on continuing with it for 4th grade.

 

Angela

[MamaChristina]

I tried it w/ my middle dd and ditched it. She was bored to tears with the repetion and I despised teaching it. However, my youngest dd needed that kind of repetition and has done very well with it. I still hate teaching it, but she has thrived with it so I bite my lip and keep on.

[WTMindy]

We liked it, but at a much faster pace than it is written.

[Captivated]

This is what I was wondering about. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts.

[Captivated]

Thanks, I check GWG out.

[Captivated]

Thanks Ladies! I appreciate all the thoughts you've shared here. These were many of my concerns with the program. I'm going to keep hunting for the right program for my kiddos.

[HappyGrace]

we persevered and did both "years" in one by combining and smooshing. I was glad we did it because she got a perfect score in grammar on her 1st grade CAT test!

[SophiaH]

We find it *okay* here...DD6 is an auditory learner so maybe that is partly why it kind of works for us...I really like the integrated poetry memorization (I actually remember to include it in our day now!) and the picture study is a nice break from the other stuff...but I agree with the other posters...even in K, we have usually either condensed two days into one, or just skip every other lesson (like if is just going over what a common noun is...again!)...some of the questions are a little childish for my dd, so i think it would have been better for her had i started at the beginning of her K year instead of after spring break.

One other thing is that I had scheduled it for MWF, but after getting into it, the lessons are so short that we do it every day--even with skipping some lessons.

 

Just some more random thoughts...