joyfulhomeschooler Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Has anyone on here used either english all the way through? We are going into 4th next year and am trying to decide for sure on these programs. I really want something we can stick with for the long haul. I want to make sure to pick a strong program that will help my child succeed with writing the most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 We liked BJU Grammar/Comp. At a quick glance, the grammar seemed very similar to Rod and Staff, but we prefered BJU's workbooks so we didn't have to copy from a text. I will admit I didn't compare the writing assignments so I can't comment there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orangearrow Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Well, we've used rod and staff through 8th grade so far and plan to use it through 10th grade! I have 2 more kids coming up and plan to continue with rod and staff with them also. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 As a homeschooler with one graduated and in a selective college, another getting ready to graduate and in an excellent engineering program, and two more in high school, my advice would be to choose what works for you this year and not what might work for you in high school. It's not a bad thing to switch programs; often it's a good thing. New programs can come out, etc. We used Rod and Staff until about 8th grade--until I was sick of it. It is a good program, but it got old after a while with having so much of the content from the rural Mennonite culture. I enjoyed that for a while, but like I said, it got old. Rod and Staff is not a stand-alone writing program. You'll need to do more. The practices SWB recommends in WTM are excellent (copywork, dictation, narration). Once my kids got to the high school level, we took advantage of a local literature and writing teacher, who was excellent, so I can't recommend writing sources for high school because we used her! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joyfulhomeschooler Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 We liked BJU Grammar/Comp. At a quick glance, the grammar seemed very similar to Rod and Staff, but we prefered BJU's workbooks so we didn't have to copy from a text. I will admit I didn't compare the writing assignments so I can't comment there. How long did you use BJU Grammar/Comp for? My son prefers the workbooks as well and doesn't grumble when it comes out... but with rod and staff he grumbled. I am not going to base my decision on that though :) He will just have to make do with the choice I make. I guess I am just wondering if both programs will get him to the same place in the end. I am interested to know for how long you used BJU for and how it helped with their writing ability and test scores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joyfulhomeschooler Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 As a homeschooler with one graduated and in a selective college, another getting ready to graduate and in an excellent engineering program, and two more in high school, my advice would be to choose what works for you this year and not what might work for you in high school. It's not a bad thing to switch programs; often it's a good thing. New programs can come out, etc. We used Rod and Staff until about 8th grade--until I was sick of it. It is a good program, but it got old after a while with having so much of the content from the rural Mennonite culture. I enjoyed that for a while, but like I said, it got old. Rod and Staff is not a stand-alone writing program. You'll need to do more. The practices SWB recommends in WTM are excellent (copywork, dictation, narration). Once my kids got to the high school level, we took advantage of a local literature and writing teacher, who was excellent, so I can't recommend writing sources for high school because we used her! Thanks for this experienced advice :) BJU is currently working for us... but it doesn't seem as strong in grammar. What would or did you add for writing? Did you just make your own copywork, dictation, and narrations for them to do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 BJU high school grammar has a reputation for being rigorous. There is little composition instruction at the high school level. We are sticking with R&S English for high school. We do roll our eyes at the example sentences, but it's a good program, and the teacher's manual makes it very easy for me to teach. I didn't find BJU to be as easy to teach. (we considered it for awhile, but went back to R&S) We don't use R&S's writing assignments. We use IEW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 How long did you use BJU Grammar/Comp for? My son prefers the workbooks as well and doesn't grumble when it comes out... but with rod and staff he grumbled. I am not going to base my decision on that though :) He will just have to make do with the choice I make. I guess I am just wondering if both programs will get him to the same place in the end. I am interested to know for how long you used BJU for and how it helped with their writing ability and test scores. Ds used it for 2 yrs., used A Beka for 2 yrs., he had high SAT scores and ended up majoring in English. Dd used BJU for 5 yrs. and tested well on SAT writing. I do feel you need to invest in at least one year of DVD or online DVD, the teacher is excellent. Both dc did one year with the teacher. Both write well, but have creative genes to work with! I didn't do all of the writing assignments. Dd is a senior and I am not using BJU this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joyfulhomeschooler Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 Ds used it for 2 yrs., used A Beka for 2 yrs., he had high SAT scores and ended up majoring in English. Dd used BJU for 5 yrs. and tested well on SAT writing. I do feel you need to invest in at least one year of DVD or online DVD, the teacher is excellent. Both dc did one year with the teacher. Both write well, but have creative genes to work with! I didn't do all of the writing assignments. Dd is a senior and I am not using BJU this year. Is there certain years that would be better to do the DVD or online english? I was kind of mulling the idea over for next year but that would only be 4th grade. Is the teacher the same throughout? Can I ask what grades you used BJU for and what years you used A Beka for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Is there certain years that would be better to do the DVD or online english? I was kind of mulling the idea over for next year but that would only be 4th grade. Is the teacher the same throughout? Can I ask what grades you used BJU for and what years you used A Beka for? Ds used A Beka Grammar in 10th and 11th grades (a year ahead), then BJU for 11th and 12th. We got whole grade BJU for 12th, so he watched the dvd for English then. Dd used BJU English 6 in 7th grade, Writing & Grammar 7 in 8th grade, Writing & Grammar 9 in 9th, 10 in 10th, then we used the 12th grade one in 11th and did the dvds then. Dr. Siebert is the teacher we saw and liked. I think Mrs. Vick does some of them, she is a good teacher as well. (I didn't see any dvds earlier than high school level). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joyfulhomeschooler Posted February 14, 2012 Author Share Posted February 14, 2012 Ds used A Beka Grammar in 10th and 11th grades (a year ahead), then BJU for 11th and 12th. We got whole grade BJU for 12th, so he watched the dvd for English then. Dd used BJU English 6 in 7th grade, Writing & Grammar 7 in 8th grade, Writing & Grammar 9 in 9th, 10 in 10th, then we used the 12th grade one in 11th and did the dvds then. Dr. Siebert is the teacher we saw and liked. I think Mrs. Vick does some of them, she is a good teacher as well. (I didn't see any dvds earlier than high school level). Thanks again :) Just one more question I think. What did you use for english/grammar/writing for your children for the younger grades? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omma Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 We switched from R&S to BJU in 4th grade. I enjoyed R&S, but my ds did not like it. The colorful workbook pages in BJU's English were a joy to my ds, and I really appreciated the writing instruction that BJU provided... specifically in laying out all the steps of rough draft, revising, proofreading, etc. Also, I found the various graphic organizers that BJU uses to be quite helpful, too. We have used BJU DVD's from 4th grade up to grade 6 so far. Since grammar is not my ds's strong suit, I do find I need to either sit with him or closely watch his progress in English, and I will sometimes reteach the lesson or use frequent pauses on the DVD lesson to make sure he is tracking with the lesson. My dd, OTOH, is easily comprehending things and can work quite independently with the BJU DVD's. Brenda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 I will try to remember, its been awhile, and there is a lot available now that wasn't then. I agree with the above poster, the BJU English series for elementary kids is great. The new English 6 had just come out when dd was 7th grade, and it was wonderful! Before that, she did Easy Grammar. Ds (very long time ago), Keys to Good Language (??), Great Source (again, ??), then I did Easy Grammar Plus in 8th grade, then the A Beka 10th grade grammar (see previous post for rest). Thanks again :) Just one more question I think. What did you use for english/grammar/writing for your children for the younger grades? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joan in GE Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 I have to put in a vote for R & S.... Ds3 used it through 10th level...his grammar is excellent. We did do extra writing - an online comp class in 9th and AP Eng Lang in 11th. Dd is using it and now in 8th in the 8th grade book. I find it so thorough. And in the TE, there is an oral review for each lesson - which my dd really needs. We don't do all the writing work - mostly we do the exercises orally or she'll put it lightly in pencil in the book and then erase. What she does do by writing are the diagramming exercises....much too hard to do orally:001_smile:. Having her do most of the work orally really gives me a better idea of how well she is doing and comprehending. With ds3, he didn't do nearly all the exercises - as he didn't need to. For dd now, if we don't finish the book this year, we'll continue next year. (We haven't been able to keep up the pace enough to finish it, and after the 8th level, there is much less grammar. I want to make sure she has thoroughly covered all of it.) HTH, Joan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotAVampireLvr Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 I will try to remember, its been awhile, and there is a lot available now that wasn't then. I agree with the above poster, the BJU English series for elementary kids is great. The new English 6 had just come out when dd was 7th grade, and it was wonderful! Before that, she did Easy Grammar. Ds (very long time ago), Keys to Good Language (??), Great Source (again, ??), then I did Easy Grammar Plus in 8th grade, then the A Beka 10th grade grammar (see previous post for rest). We've just started grade 2 (and I have the grade 1 book) I love that BJU introduces writing at the very beginning. Their workbooks have them writing sentences at every lesson. I'm not sure about the other grades, but grade 2 is set up as a grammar chapter and then a writing chapter, and then back to grammar - I love that it flips back and forth. The workbook pages are colorful - my son loves them. In the back of the teacher's guide there is a CD with extra worksheets you can print out if your child is struggling with a concept. LOVE IT! We do not use the DVDs at this level. The teacher's manual is excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joyfulhomeschooler Posted February 14, 2012 Author Share Posted February 14, 2012 Which of these programs gears the child up for writing the best. Not grammar only but writing? This child loves to write. I have to take his journal away at night because he would stay up all night writing stories. I myself am not a writer and have never been very good with it. I am nervous of which one to pick because I want a program that is thorough in both grammar and writing. It will need to be very specific on how to teach the writing process. I know BJU does this in younger grades as we have BJU English 3 and it is very good with the writing instructions at this level. Our Rod and staff 3 that we have doesn't look like it teaches the writing process at all. It teaches grammar very well, but when it comes to writing the instructions say " Write a short story about... " and that is all. I need more handholding than this. So does Rod and staff give more handholding in upper grades with writing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 I see your oldest is 3rd grade? You will probably change programs several times before you are finished homeschooling! And in about 7th or 8th grade, draw up a rough plan for high school (even that will change as you go through). Don't feel you have to be loyal to one publisher. Sometimes it is a good thing to switch things around. Also, you need to watch to make sure what you have chosen is still serving you well. The BJU elementary English workbooks are great. When we went through English 6, dd wrote on her own, the directions were that thorough. I wish they had something similar for middle school, but it really was fine. There are separate books on writing that you can do as well. Sometimes we break away from the grammar and pick out things in a writing book to do. Remember, the texts are your servants, not the other way around! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joyfulhomeschooler Posted February 14, 2012 Author Share Posted February 14, 2012 I see your oldest is 3rd grade? You will probably change programs several times before you are finished homeschooling! And in about 7th or 8th grade, draw up a rough plan for high school (even that will change as you go through). Don't feel you have to be loyal to one publisher. Sometimes it is a good thing to switch things around. Also, you need to watch to make sure what you have chosen is still serving you well. The BJU elementary English workbooks are great. When we went through English 6, dd wrote on her own, the directions were that thorough. I wish they had something similar for middle school, but it really was fine. There are separate books on writing that you can do as well. Sometimes we break away from the grammar and pick out things in a writing book to do. Remember, the texts are your servants, not the other way around! Thanks :) I guess I do feel like I need to pick one and stick with it. I feel like I keep jumping around. We used one thing for 2nd grade and then this year (3rd) we started with R&S and then switched to BJU so we are a little behind in Enlgish at the time. It makes me feel better when someone points out that I don't have to be in it for the long haul :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Pssst..... you are probably not behind at all, there is a lot of repeat!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joyfulhomeschooler Posted February 15, 2012 Author Share Posted February 15, 2012 Pssst..... you are probably not behind at all, there is a lot of repeat!! :D Thanks for pointing that out! Sounds like I am stressing too much, must be why I keep waking at night from curriculum nightmares. I think I will just go with whatever sounds the best for next year and then re-evaluate after that... and MAYBE just maybe we will skip some lessons here and there in English that are repeats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzielou Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 I vote for R&S! We have used it from the beginning with DS12. He is now using the 7th grade book for 7th. My DD8 is at the end of the 2nd grade book with her younger brother(7) trailing 2 units behind.. As far as the writing, I found that as it gets to the older grades, the amount of writing increases, which is great, but they don't give you a clear definition of what to expect or how to grade. "Answers will vary" doesn't help me much. However, it is so strong in grammar that my DS has all of the tools he needs to be a great writer, he just needs to know how to use them. I picked up the program Jump In: A Workbook for Reluctant and Eager Writers​ this past week and have found it to be a big help. DS had two composition lessons that he was a bit reluctant to finish. After skimming through those sections in the workbook, he knew how to get his thoughts out. He even thanked me for buying it (very strange) and then a couple of days later asked if we could start doing it every day. We may stretch the R&S out a bit to make time for the added writing program, but we will definitely continue using R&S. Starting in 3rd they include a worksheet packet. Some days, depending on the lesson, I will elect to have them do the worksheet in place of written practice, if they have demonstrated mastery during the class practice. DS12 would rather diagram all of his sentences on the white board (immediate feedback) than put them on papers that I am behind in grading. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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