ereks mom Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 (edited) I definitely want a workbook that students can do mostly independently. I also want something that is inexpensive. I've been considering CLE and ABeka, and I like both for different reasons. I like that CLE combines grammar, penmanship, and spelling in one book. I like ABeka because it teaches research writing. Last year we used Rod & Staff and I really like the thoroughness, but it's very teacher-intensive and time-consuming. We switched to a combination of Easy Grammar and Daily Grams, and I like the fact that it can be done independently and only requires a few minutes per day, but I'm seeing a bit of a problem with retention of concepts. I've looked at AOP & ACE but I don't like either of those. If you have used CLE and ABeka, which did you like better? How do you like BJU Writing and Grammar for 7th/8th? Is there another workbook/worktext program I should consider? Edited January 24, 2012 by ereks mom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 What? Nobody wants to play with me??? :D :bigear: :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetsouthern Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 after trying a whole bunch, we stuck with CLE :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5LittleMonkeys Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I'll play! We've used Easy Grammar, Rod and Staff, CLE and are now using Hake Grammar and Writing. Easy Grammar was too easy\not enough retention for one of my dc. I think a language intuitive student would do well with it though, especially if the teacher\parent is well versed in grammar. Rod and Staff was great but we finally hit the wall with the religious content and the endless writing. We tried switching to just doing the lessons orally and using the workbook pages for the lessons they were available for but my older dc ultimately decided that they wanted to be more independent. CLE (this turned out to be one of those what was I thinking purchases). Far too religious for our tastes, which I should have considered coming right out of R&S. The grammar instruction seemed lacking and vague. I didn't need the penmanship and I didn't like the spelling. Once you took those two things out of the picture my dc were left with about 15 minutes of grammar each day...just not enough imo for their ages. I know that CLE works beautifully for others though! Hake has just been started so I can't say too much regarding retention yet. So far, my dc have liked the lessons and have understood the instruction without me needing to extend it for them. There have been quite a few threads lately regarding it though so I would recommend you check those out to get the opinions on those who have used it longer than I have. Okay, so ultimately I don't think I was any help whatsoever to you...but thanks for letting me play!:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloggermom Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 WE LOVE CLE Language Arts. I plan to to stick with it. I also use Writing With Ease and First Language Lessons. I also plan to use Writing With Skill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Education Explorers Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Boy I was hopping a lot more people were going to chime in with lots of ideas and suggestions. We are in the same boat. I need a non-religious grammar program for next year for a rising 6th grader. I made an extremely poor choice for language arts this year, oops! Newbies will make mistakes and we chucked it at Christmas. We are just reading and writing A LOT! However, she is still going to need learn what a direct objects and participles are. So I need to find something... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5LittleMonkeys Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I need a non-religious grammar program for next year for a rising 6th grader. Hake is secular. A lot of those that were going to be using SWB's ALL are going with it for middle school. You can look at it here, and do a search for Hake on the Logic stage board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heidip2p Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 We are using CLE LA and love it. It is so thorough.....to me. Nobody gripes about doing it either. We have used Growing with Grammar, AOP Lifepacs and SOS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmom2011 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 We love Hake here! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 Hake sounds good, but is it a workbook format? I thought it was a textbook??? It does have a workbook component as well, right? Can the workbook be used without the textbook? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heritageofthelord Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 We switched this year from Easy Grammar/Daily Grams to Growing with Grammar for my 6th grader. So far we really like it. It is pretty much workbook style. He reads through the lesson in the student book and then completes the lesson in the student workbook so it is set up a little differently than other workbooks but is still done very independently, at least for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5LittleMonkeys Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 There are three components to Hake. The student text, the teacher's packet, and the student workbook. The student text is meant to be used as a textbook with the student transferring their work onto a separate notebook but I think the majority of those here using it, including myself, have the student do the work right in the text. The student workbook is where you will find the writing workpages and extra practice for grammar. If you don't want the writing element of Hake then you would not need to purchase the student workbook. However, the cost of purchasing separately vs. purchasing all three components as a bundle is only a difference of a couple of dollars and then you will have access to extra grammar practice if you need it. Hope that helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted January 26, 2012 Author Share Posted January 26, 2012 Thanks for the great info and suggestions. I *think* I've narrowed it down to Hake or CLE, but I'm still considering ABeka as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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