joyfulhomeschooler Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 We tried R&S english this year and although it was working my son was kind of bored with it and we didn't like what we had for writing so we switched to BJU english because we already had it. That is going really well... but I don't know much about BJU's english. Is it rigorous enough? Is it o.k. for certain grades and not others? What have been others experience with this? We also did primary language lessons ( in 2nd grade) and enjoyed that.. maybe we should go to Itermediate Language Lessons for 4th??? I just don't know. My friend tells me Abeka is the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smilesonly Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 bumping this for you! :grouphug: :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zebra Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 If you are using something mainstream and you like it, stick with it! You may hate Abeka, and then it's definitely not "the best" for you. I would only try something different if you don't like what you are currently using. FWIW, we like BJU too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athomemom Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 If BJU is working, I would not change. *I* think BJU's grammar/writing is way better than ABeka. (especially for under 6th grade) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 my daughter is in grade 4 and uses BJU (along with the dvd's). we love it. i find the grammar to be very solid. it has built in review as well. if you have specific questions, feel free to ask. hth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danybug Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 We switched to R & S after rereading the WTM recommendations. I am really happy with R & S English 5. It is very straightforward with no frills, which may be why some see it as boring. But my ds does great with it. And he has had impressive retention and eased right in to diagramming well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curlylocks Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 (edited) If BJU is working, I would not change. *I* think BJU's grammar/writing is way better than ABeka. (especially for under 6th grade) :iagree: -- we've used both and I definitely prefer BJU over A Beka. (I haven't used either above 6th grade so I can't answer your questions about that.) That being said, I find BJU to be pretty pricey -- especially the TMs. This coupled with the fact that my son is struggling with composition (probably because we've "hopped around" trying to find a good fit) has me looking at R&S for the long haul. It comes highly recommended. ;) Edited February 10, 2012 by curlylocks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 ILL is a different animal. You can't compare it to BJU or R&S. It's a gentle, but steady and still rigorous way of thinking about language and consistent practice with usage. We're using PLL right now, and will be transitioning to ILL next year in 4th. Here are the following that we do in PLL: Copywork Studied dictation (a la CM) Memorization (we need more work in this area) Picture Study Letter writing Poetry Grammar Usage Listening Speaking Conversation Oral reproduction Narrations Writing has increased recently in the second half of PLL, and I expect ILL will be even more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 There is no "best." :) BJUP's grammar/comp series is good. I prefer it over ABeka's. However, I prefer R&S over both of them, although BJUP is a close second. :) And you might consider the advantage of being consistent, and continue with R&S (you don't have to add anything for writing, you know). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joyfulhomeschooler Posted February 10, 2012 Author Share Posted February 10, 2012 O.K. so you have helped me to exclude Abeka. And I know my son would really hate going back to R & S so that is out too. I am still really torn between BJU and ILL though. I know they are two totally different types of learning styles. We did PLL the whole first half and a few weeks into the second half and like I said really enjoyed it.... but I felt I needed more help teaching writing. MFW recommends writing strands to go along with it so we tried that and it didn't really teach my son anything. Although we did writing strands 2 and they recommend 3 I think... I have that as well... maybe I should take a look and see what I think. So here are my two options. Stick it out with BJU and just admit defeat to the charlotte mason approach in grammar. OR Go with what my heart wants and do ILL with a writing program... or just ILL and try to wing the whole writing process. I was never a strong writer though. HELP lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Although we did writing strands 2 and they recommend 3 I think... I have that as well... maybe I should take a look and see what I think. I never recommend Level 2. There's just no point. Level 3 and above only. :) So here are my two options. Stick it out with BJU and just admit defeat to the charlotte mason approach in grammar. OR Go with what my heart wants and do ILL with a writing program... or just ILL and try to wing the whole writing process. I was never a strong writer though. HELP lol Here's the secret to choosing instructional materials. Are you ready? Just pick one. :D Go with you heart. I'm thinking, as far as writing, that maybe it would work to follow the directions, lol. So often, people just sort of skim over the instructions instead of reading them carefully and doing exactly what it says. This may not be true for you; I'm just saying it is often the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joyfulhomeschooler Posted February 10, 2012 Author Share Posted February 10, 2012 I never recommend Level 2. There's just no point. Level 3 and above only. :) Here's the secret to choosing instructional materials. Are you ready? Just pick one. :D Go with you heart. I'm thinking, as far as writing, that maybe it would work to follow the directions, lol. So often, people just sort of skim over the instructions instead of reading them carefully and doing exactly what it says. This may not be true for you; I'm just saying it is often the case. :D Thanks for the advice! I agree I need to pick one and stick with it. I have thoroughly read through PLL and level 2 of writing strands and all of BJU of course. BUT ;) maybe I should have gone with level 3 writing strands since that is what was recommended. That one I have not read through. That is why level 2 didn't work... it seriously taught him NOTHING. Anyhow, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ummto4 Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 We're doing ILL here and we love it. Looking through the ILL (writing part), I can see that it teaches writing skills through varied assignments: picture studies, dialogue, rewrite using other POV, paragraph summarizing skills, writing from outline, non-fiction writing (expository essay and descriptive essay, some persuasive essay),and completely creative writing assignment. But of course, it doesn't have the step-by-step instruction on how to do it. Therefore, you have to work together with your dc on how to approach an assignment. You may want to start brainstorming together, research the topic (if it's an expository essay), then make an outline together. I use ILL alongside some lessons from Meaningful Composition 4. MC 4 reinforces ILL paragraph summarizing skills and get the children to really understand the concept of paragraph unity. MC4 also gets children to practice to make topic sentences, closing sentences, and transitional sentences (in multi paragraph essay). Later (we're not there yet!), it also teaches on how to make a nice introductory paragraph. WS 3 is also good for supplementing ILL because it teaches children to think about words and sentences they use. It also teaches organization skills. All in all, I use ILL as the spine, and once a week, I would add select lessons from MC 4 or WS3 depending on needs. At the moment, I'm focusing more on structure. So I've been adding bits and pieces from MC4 for practice. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joyfulhomeschooler Posted February 10, 2012 Author Share Posted February 10, 2012 Figures ;) I got on here to post that I had made my decision to stick with BJU and of course there was a positive comment encouraging ILL lol. I really do love PLL & the looks of ILL... but I am just not confident enough in my writing skills to teach it with such little instrucion from the curriculum. Therefore I am going to have to pick BJU. :( I am kind of sad about this choice.. but I have to think of what is best for my child and not what is more interesting or fun for me. Afterall, my heart desires more for my child to succeed than for the use of a curriculum that makes me feel warm and fuzzy :) I do love Emma Serl's books though and maybe with one of the younger kiddos I will feel more confident in teaching writing and be able to use them. I do know I will get to use at least the first half of PLL with my second grader next year... so in the end I am happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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