Language lessons for the Elementary child

[Dolphin]

I tried doing a search on this, but came up with all sorts of things and only one small thread on this. Has anyone used it?

 

I bit off way more than I could chew for my first year of homeschool. I am looking at a way to simplify as we learn. I want to get back to the more rigorous, but I want to build up to it.

 

This year, vs. next year for Language Arts:

 

This year

FLL 3

WWE 3

AAS 1 and started 2

GD a and started c

 

Next year

Language lessons

AAS 2 and 3

GD C and D

 

We didn't get any type of Art study in this year at all and it looks like Language lessons has that too. Would this be a good switch, lighten the load etc...

 

So my next question, is that if I step off the FLL and WWE cycle for awhile, is there a place that is good to come back to it (Review and such for the older child)

 

Oh, and we just do tons of reading and will continue with that next year.

 

Thank you for any help

 

Nicole

[Dolphin]

Has no one used this course?

[Dolphin]

one last bump, anyone? Pretty please.

[Evergreen Academy]

I have never used this course, but do have a copy a friend passed on to me, after she found it was not what she was looking for. It wasn't quite what I was looking for either; I liked the picture study and gentle grammar approach, but I didn't love the way copywork was broken up or that some lessons seemed way too light for me.

 

We have used similar texts that I like much better. Our all-time favorites are Primary Language Lessons, for grades 2-3, and Intermediate Language Lessons, for grades 4-6. I love these preprints of old textbooks. They are gentle, yet not condescending in their tone toward children; they use proper, sometimes old fashioned language, and include classic poems and paintings. The paintings are printed in black and white, and we can sometimes find them online in color, to discuss on those lesson days.

 

I add some simple, supplemental grammar in grades 5 and 6, because the texts teach grammar usage, but not the terms the kids will need for testing here.

 

I have also used English for the Thoughtful Child volume 2, which I also liked better than the book you mentioned. It is similar to PLL but in workbook format and not reusable. We used it for 3rd grade with some of the kids here. Many people do love the Language Lessons books, but this is our experience - don't know if that helps any!

[lorrainejmc]

My dd used it and went through her first book in 2-3 months. We got the second elementary book and it was just the same level but different lessons, no progression at all. I don't even know why I bought the next level, just needed to get something I think. I would be inclined to stick at what you have done this year. If I had found all those resources on time, that's exactly what I would have chosen:001_smile:

[RainbowSprinkles]

I bought it for my dd to do mostly on her own. She likes it good enough and I like that she has something she can do on her own when I'm busy helping her little brother.

 

I usually have her do two lessons at a time, with the exception for the copywork which she doesone at a time because I want her to take her time and do her best. She could do more lessons than I give her at a time, but I feel like this a nice pace to work on your own.

[chiguirre]

I've used book 1 with ds and will probably use 2 with him at some point too. The lessons are VERY short, but it was what he could handle and it stuck at lot more than I thought it would. He really learned to differentiate between complete sentences and phrases, identify the subject and predicate, improved his ability to do copywork (which is a HUGE challenge for him) and enjoyed the art and poetry studies. We're using a special ed writing program now for a change, but I'll keep Queen's Language Lessons in my arsenal when we need a change. We did go through this doing 2 and sometimes 3 lessons a day, one copywork and one grammar.

 

I'm not sure I'd use this with a student capable of more rigorous work. Dd's never used them and I'd rather use other, more challenging things with her. OTOH, this would be good to keep LA skills fresh over the summer if you want to take a break. It's short and sweet and a nice mix of types of work and, surprisingly, it does stick. It just doesn't require as much effort as I'd like dd to exert at schoolwork.

[Dolphin]

Thank you all for your responses. I think what I will try after reading all of them is this. Have ds do one lesson at a time as part of his independent work (it sounds like he can do it by himself) This way if we don't get around to doing FLL and WWE (like this year) at least he is getting something. Then I will just continue on with level 3 of WWE and FLL next year and not stress it.