crosspost: continue WWE/FLL or go to WWS/ALL

[ktgrok]

My son will be in 6th grade this coming school year. 5th grade was the first year we homeschooled. Prior to that he had very little grammar or writing instruction. Heck, he had none. So we started out with GWG, but finally ditched it the last quarter of the year because he was not remembering any of it and he hated it. We switched to FLL, using level 3 as that was what was advised for someone with little or no background. We are only 1/3 of the way into it because we started so late. We started WWE style narration and dictation halfway through the year, but because he has working memory issues we got stalled for a while. I finally bought the WWE2 workbook because that is the level of dictation he could handle. We made it 3/4 of the way through that I think, skipping every other week once his dictation got better. So....what do I do next year?

My plan was to finish up WWE2, and then move into WWE3, moving quickly to finish both. And to finish FLL3, doing it 5 days a week instead of 3. But honestly, at this point shouldn't he be moving ahead in his writing into WWS? I probably will not be homeschooling him for high school, so these next 3 years are all I have to help him with his writing. And if we are going to move ahead in writing, shouldn't i just go ahead and start ALL as well, since they supposedly go together? I'm a bit afraid that the grammar will move to quickly for him, given his lack of earlier instruction.

 

Any thoughts?

[Haiku]

But honestly, at this point shouldn't he be moving ahead in his writing into WWS?

 

It doesn't really matter what he should be doing. All that really matters is where is is. If you buy into SWB's writing philosophy and don't just view FLL/WWE as "some curriculum to do," then you can't rush things. Writing is a skill that builds upon itself, and without the firm foundation you can't progress. I would proceed steadily at your son's pace and not worry about where he "should be." You "should be" instructing him at his level and gently stretching him. He'll get there eventually, and have a stronger foundation for it.

 

Tara

[Paintedlady]

It doesn't really matter what he should be doing. All that really matters is where is is. If you buy into SWB's writing philosophy and don't just view FLL/WWE as "some curriculum to do," then you can't rush things. Writing is a skill that builds upon itself, and without the firm foundation you can't progress. I would proceed steadily at your son's pace and not worry about where he "should be." You "should be" instructing him at his level and gently stretching him. He'll get there eventually, and have a stronger foundation for it.

 

Tara

 

:iagree: Beautifully said!

[Mallory]

For grammar you can move him on or not. ALL is supposed to be fine for a kid with no previous grammar. You can also make FLL3 quite a bit more difficult by not using the workbook- so that he has to write out all those diagrams by himself. ;) No matter what I would skip FLL 4.

 

But if he doesn't have some of those WWE3 skills, then he probably isn't ready for WWS. Things like reading the passage on his own and writing several sentance narrations on his own. There is no way you will mess up his writing by getting these skills down. I don't think WWE4 is as necessary. I think the dictations in the workbook are terribly hard, much more difficult then the levels laid out in the textbook and my kids always did fine with the narrations, so both skipped WWE4.

 

We beta tested WWS and I don't think they were hurt by going from WWE3 to WWS.

[ktgrok]

It doesn't really matter what he should be doing. All that really matters is where is is. If you buy into SWB's writing philosophy and don't just view FLL/WWE as "some curriculum to do," then you can't rush things. Writing is a skill that builds upon itself, and without the firm foundation you can't progress. I would proceed steadily at your son's pace and not worry about where he "should be." You "should be" instructing him at his level and gently stretching him. He'll get there eventually, and have a stronger foundation for it.

 

Tara

 

What you said is what I've always felt, and what my plan had been. But now that I feel we will not homeschool for highschool I'm feeling some time pressure. I have the next 3 years to prepare him. Which makes me wonder if I need to forget some of my idealism and move into ALL and WWS. Because unfortunately if I don't get to them in the next few years I won't at all.

 

Perhaps I will wait and see how we are doing at the midway point, and see if we are ready to move on then?

[ktgrok]

For grammar you can move him on or not. ALL is supposed to be fine for a kid with no previous grammar. You can also make FLL3 quite a bit more difficult by not using the workbook- so that he has to write out all those diagrams by himself. ;) No matter what I would skip FLL 4.

 

But if he doesn't have some of those WWE3 skills, then he probably isn't ready for WWS. Things like reading the passage on his own and writing several sentance narrations on his own. There is no way you will mess up his writing by getting these skills down. I don't think WWE4 is as necessary. I think the dictations in the workbook are terribly hard, much more difficult then the levels laid out in the textbook and my kids always did fine with the narrations, so both skipped WWE4.

 

We beta tested WWS and I don't think they were hurt by going from WWE3 to WWS.

 

Ok, that makes a lot of sense to me. I will work on getting through WWE2 at the beggining of the year (we are almost done) then move on to WWE3. Might as well finish FLL3. I think he will benefit from the slower pace compared to ALL. Then next year do WWS and ALL. That only gives us two years in that series, but they will be two good years. And who knows, if he has a huge develpmental leap we may be in them sooner than that, but I won't plan on it.