m0mmaBuck Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 I'm on the hunt for a different grammar program since DH doesn't "get" R&S. The samples of LLATL that I found online click with him. What are your pros and cons? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keyjoh62080 Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 I am using the yellow for 3rd grade. I love that everything is all in one book, it's laid out for me and easy to teach. I do not use the student text--I just do everything from the teachers guide. I'm always tempted to add on after reading reviews from others saing that it's too light. I am going to finish out the year as it is and then see if I need to supplement next year as I plan to stick with it. I almost forgot that I did add a cursive workbook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UmMusa Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 I used it for my 3rd and 4th graders last year, but after 3 months I felt like it wasn't enough. It was my first year homeschooling, but I still felt like it wasn't enough. THey'd be done in like 15 minutes with the entire Lesson! I mean the weekly lesson. I'm glad we switched to TWTM rec's of FLL, WWE, and other sources for literature. I should've maybe gone a grade level ahead, but it still would've been easy for my 3rd grader. I also felt the grammar portion was not taught in a way that my kids could retain the info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunnyDays Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 We used LLATL a grade ahead this year, and it's a good program. But for some reason, it just didn't click for us. Plus, we had to add in spelling, cursive, and such anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superfly Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Pros: Easy for mom, little to no prep time, DD likes it, can be used without the workbook, DD can do mostly on her own if I'm busy We also do WWE2 sometimes, HWOT and extra grammar practice sheets. I really like that if i don't get to the supplemental stuff, LLATL still has enough of everything to cover all our bases. I think it could be used alone for most kids. My kid has learning issues so we need to supplement. The workbooks do have review questions and enrichment activities for kids that need more practice. Cons: the literature studies aren't as comprehensive as I would like. That may not be a con for everyone. I just ordered the Memoria Press guides and plan to do 2 deeper literature studies each year. Some of the copywork/dictation passages aren't the best choices IMO. This has been my experience with the yellow book, but after looking through some of the older levels I think they improved on their selections. The workbook is enormous. I split it into two parts and had it spiral bound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 I have done the Gold Brit Lit book and the Green book. Loved the High School gold book and will be doing the American this year with ds. However the green book was just blah. I felt like we were hitting things here and there but there was no flow. No connection. Felt more like a review book then a main text. The spelling was a joke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lily_Grace Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 We started with the Tan book. What I wanted: an integrated literature program that covered grammar, spelling, and writing styles. What I got: a disjointed series of "book studies" (no real direction or interpretation of the books, a handful of text questions, and a few games/activities) interspersed with week-long extra topics. The parent's text added nothing to the program. The spelling was a farce. There weren't clear directions on how to accomplish a different writing style or what the week was supposed to study outside of the rote work. We ditched it for Moving Beyond The Page lit studies. Exactly what I wanted from LLATL and we got to go deeper into the books. There were enough hands on projects to keep The Kid interested and the vocab, spelling, writing styles, and grammar are all integrated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Peach Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 We used the red, yellow, and tan levels last year. It was not enough, imo. We had some catching up to do this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in MS Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Love it! It is a sweet program that will get the job done over time. Because it is an all in one there will be some areas that will fit one child perfectly yet, he may be a bit above or below another area. There is not a program that I don't tweak anyway. LLATL is based on methods Ruth Beechick teaches. It is a not a program that will pound language arts into a child. So if a person is looking for rigorous this will not do. My oldest 3 used levels Tan thru Gold and use beautiful English and have great writing skills. In fact, my oldest enjoys correcting the college professor's papers! :lol: I have plans to use Red for my little one, but I am torn between that and PLL. Plus we use FIAR which covers so much already. So, it is still up in the air, but I would not hesitate to use this program if I didn't already have the other two. LLATL is excellent in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in MS Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 I wanted to add the testimony of a dear friend of mine. This lady was a ps teacher before she had children. What she chose to use for LA in her home was LLATL from beginning to end. One year I remember that she supplemented Daily Grams for one of her dss. These boys turned out very well spoken and educated. One of them even reads the REAL 1611 KJV for fun! I took a peak at that Bible and WOW! I think LLATL served them well. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khall Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 We love LLATL here. It's not a program that is ever going to have the student find and circle the noun in 30 different sentences. You can take that as a pro or a con, depending on how you approach LA. We have used yellow, orange, & purple, and plan to continue with it because it works well with both my kids, and I see how well they are retaining. The little bits of new information, short lessons, and extras that aren't in other programs (poetry, using a phone book, etc) are all pros for us. We do supplement with other spelling programs because my kids stink at spelling, and they also read constantly, so they are reading much more than the books included in the program. If you have a child who doesn't read for pleasure, or you aren't reading other selections for history or other subjects, than I would say LLATL could be too light on literature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5 Hikers Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 We started with the Tan book. What I got: a disjointed series of "book studies" (no real direction or interpretation of the books, a handful of text questions, and a few games/activities) interspersed with week-long extra topics. The parent's text added nothing to the program. The spelling was a farce. There weren't clear directions on how to accomplish a different writing style or what the week was supposed to study outside of the rote work.. :iagree: I have also tried the Blue and Red books. I really felt it didn't flow properly. The kids were done everyday within 15 minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidbits of Learning Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Love it!!!! They are supposed to be done quickly. They are short, quick lessons that work. As said before, it follows Ruth Beechick. I consider it to be a Charlotte Mason type of lesson. I would read Ruth Beechick before trying it and make sure that is what you are wanting. We do add the How to Teach Any Child to Spell and the Tricks of the Trade student's individualized spelling notebook (also by Common Sense Press) which takes the student's own work and has them categorize and study their own misspelled words from the context of their own writing. I find using words my children actually misspell much more beneficial than practicing 20 words they may or may not know each week. YMMV. The grammar is not drill and kill but it is very efficient. I would use a grade level ahead if your child has used rigorous language arts prior. My dd10 took the 4th grade ITBS this summer and did excellent on Language Arts. Her reference materials score was off the charts. I credit that to the state report and reference materials unit in LLATL Orange. She went to the library and really learned how to use the reference material as directed by LLATL. We have used red, yellow, orange, purple, and tan. I love it. My children are thriving with Language Arts. We have tried R&S and I found it to just be overkill. There was a lot of busy work and drill and kill. We have also done Abeka Language A. IMO my children got more from LLATL than they ever did from the busy work programs that really burned you out and took the love of learning away. As long as the results are there, we don't need to beat it over their head for them to learn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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