Mothersweets Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Okay, I have been trying to decide between Rod & Staff or Growing With Grammar for my middles and early high schoolers. I thought I had read somewhere that GWG is equivalent to Rod & Staff. Did I dream this up? I've looked through all the samples online and of course I can easily see that GWG doesn't have the writing lessons and is secular BUT is GWG as good as Rod & Staff? Will my dc miss something if we go with GWG? If we use Rod & Staff I wouldn't have them do the writing exercises (we will be using SWB's writing program). I have searched through threads on here and have noticed that many moms are happy with Rod & Staff but haven't seen a thread that compared it to GWG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxy Roller Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 (edited) Okay, I have been trying to decide between Rod & Staff or Growing With Grammar for my middles and early high schoolers. I thought I had read somewhere that GWG is equivalent to Rod & Staff. Did I dream this up? I've looked through all the samples online and of course I can easily see that GWG doesn't have the writing lessons and is secular BUT is GWG as good as Rod & Staff? Will my dc miss something if we go with GWG? If we use Rod & Staff I wouldn't have them do the writing exercises (we will be using SWB's writing program). I have searched through threads on here and have noticed that many moms are happy with Rod & Staff but haven't seen a thread that compared it to GWG. My oldest two used Rod & Staff last year. It is fabulous, but I found that I ended up doing most of it orally with them, so it was very time consuming for me. It is written for a classroom, so you do have to keep that in mind. We didn't use the writing in it, because it was very basic and we were doing writing in other subjects. Fast forward to this year, and can I just say that I love GWG, and my DC would agree. My four oldest are doing it independently, even the twins who have just started grammar. (I don't start grammar until 4th grade.) We are about 4 weeks in and I would say that it covers most of what R&S does and there is also plenty of review included with every lesson. Let me know if you have any questions. Edited August 18, 2011 by Roxy Roller correction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NittanyJen Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 My DC 8YO (just turned) is doing Rod and Staff 3rd level and DC 10 1/2 is doing GWG level 5; I wanted to compare the two. They are very similar programs if you eliminate the more repetitive drudge from R&S. GWG is written to be independent, and does very well. Both programs are solid, teach strong grammar, and neither is super exciting. I give the thoroughness edge to R&S, but rolling with GWG will not do a child any harm. The content covered is similar in both, and both emphasize diagramming. I feel as if the sentences in R&S are sometimes more complex for grade level, and the R&S TM is more than just a solution key, sometimes expanding the ideas or explaining them further. You do have to contend with some occasionally odd ideas presented in R&S, but I don't edit or hide those from my son; we just discuss them. For 8YO he is pretty good at discerning what we do and don't believe, and choosing to ignore something as irrelevant to grammar. We have had fun discussing the poems-- sometimes, parent intensive is nice ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mothersweets Posted August 19, 2011 Author Share Posted August 19, 2011 This is just the info I was hoping for. I have had the worst time deciding which one to choose. I really want to step up our grammar and your experiences make me feel comfortable choosing either one. Thank you both! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.