wy_kid_wrangler04 Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 We just BJU English and I LOVE the grammar! I just LOVE it. I don't so much love the writing. We are waiting to get meaningful composition in the mail then once we get that we probably will not do any of the BJU writing (or if we do, very select assignments) So here is my problem. I LOVE BJU grammar, and I LOVE the teachers edition. Can you recommend something similar to BJU grammar without covering writing? For those of you who do know know much about BJU grammar you can see it here. Maybe it will remind you of something that I am looking for. My plan is to alternate 1 week of grammar and 1 week of writing (there about, depending on the lessons, not set in stone but that is kinda the framework I want follow) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wy_kid_wrangler04 Posted October 5, 2011 Author Share Posted October 5, 2011 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamrachelle Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 wy_kid... I hate to hijack your post but I was looking at BJU for us next year. Can you tell me what you don't like about BJU writing? I'll have a 7th and 4th grader next year and I've heard that BJU really changes up their grammar/writing in 7th so I'm doubly worried about switching over to them next year. I stumbled across Analytical Grammar the other day. I haven't used it or seen it in person yet but I know it seems popular on the boards and it looks really good. Have you checked that one out yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wy_kid_wrangler04 Posted October 5, 2011 Author Share Posted October 5, 2011 wy_kid... I hate to hijack your post but I was looking at BJU for us next year. Can you tell me what you don't like about BJU writing? I'll have a 7th and 4th grader next year and I've heard that BJU really changes up their grammar/writing in 7th so I'm doubly worried about switching over to them next year. I stumbled across Analytical Grammar the other day. I haven't used it or seen it in person yet but I know it seems popular on the boards and it looks really good. Have you checked that one out yet? I just don't like that it starts so soon in 2nd grade with the writing topics it does and it just seems so disjointed. They work on sentences as part of grammar, that's fine- but it has them immediately starting in 2nd grade with writing a personal story, writing instructions, writing poetry, writing a book report, writing a friendly letter, writing a make believe story, writing a description, writing research report. It goes up from there (3rd grade writing a persuasive essay-but no real instruction on the essay mechanics itself, game instructions, a friendly letter, a story, a sound poem, a research report, a compare/contrast essay) In 3rd grade they do learn about paragraphs (we didn't do BJU last year but I kinda wish I did, maybe that is my problem and we just missed some foundational material? I don't know) It just seems to me that expecting all that writing from a 2nd grade and focusing HEAVILY on the writing process before teaching good sentence structure, paragraphs and outlining is backwards. The essay instructions are not the greatest. Again, its focus is more on the writing process (brainstorming, drafting, proofreading, revising, final draft) than the form (decide on topic, outline your information, write the body & make sure all paragraphs are on same topic, write your conclusion.) I guess I feel like they need more framework before diving head first into all the writing assignments. I can not tell you how frustrated dd was in 2nd grade trying to do the writing chapters without having the basic framework of good sentences and paragraphs. We ended up skipping the writing chapters and that is why we did not do BJU last year because if we were gonna skip so much it was just to expensive for me to justify. Last year I realized how much I LOVED the BJU grammar. This year is reminding me how much I dislike their writing :glare: I didn't do BJU with my oldest dd who was a 7th grader last year either but wish I did for the grammar. This year I LOVE the grammar but again, just not the writing. I guess it just seems like instead of doing a compare/contrast essay every year, writing a story every year and so on they should be teaching more form, does that make sense? They need to work on the framework of writing MORE than the process. If you go through BJU you will NEVER forget the writing process in your life :glare: After looking at Meaningful Composition it just shows me how much BJU writing is lacking I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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