A rich LA program that I don't have to be rich to buy :)

[heidip2p]

I have everything planned out for next year except for language arts. It is driving me batty. I love the idea of MCT but it is just out of our price range. I am ok with piecing things together for la. Just not sure which way to go.

We have grades K, 2, 4, 6 and 8.

I know we will use AAS at various levels so spelling is covered.

I am using EFTRU so vocab is covered.

We are using Getty-Dubay for handwriting

 

I am looking for something solid in grammar but not a bunch of busywork.

I need something for writing.

I would love to include poetry as we really haven't done that.

Good literature....maybe just a list of suggestions for each grade??

Something for phonics too. We have used a few different things but nothing worth using again.

Not too teacher intensive.

 

Any ideas?

 

This is our last whole to fill for next year.

 

Here is what is on deck for next year incase that helps.

MFW 1850 to modern times

Road Trip USA

Apologia

Bible Study Guide for All Ages

Getting Started with Spanish

EFTRU

MUS

TT

MFW K

AAS

AAR

Getty-Dubay

[TracyR]

Hmm,

Rod and Staff or Christian Light

The two aren't very teacher intensive. With Christian Light being less so than the other .

 

For Literature I like Sonlight's list. I just get their catalog each year and we read the books from that.

[Mandylubug]

Well, I felt MCT was comparable price wise when you considered the grammar book, writing book, vocabulary and poetry included. I also felt I could use it all with two of my kids. That made it affordable for me and it is non consumable minus one book I believe so my younglings can use it as well.

 

However, looking at your kids ages, it doesn't seem like you would be able to combine it with any unless your six year old is super advanced. My six year old girls (nearly 7) just don't get MCT but my 8 and 9 year olds LOVE it.

 

Have you considered FLL and WWE? If there is too much busy work, you could always only assign specific assignments. I am considering FLL for my younger two gals after we are reading a bit more fluently

 

eta: Phonics wise, I was under the assumption that AAR and AAS would cover the phonics basics?! We are currently using Phonics Pathways and LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

[momto2Cs]

Brave Writer?

 

Grammar Land for grammar?

[lotsofpumpkins]

For solid grammar, you can't go wrong with Rod & Staff. Your Kindergartener doesn't need grammar though, just phonics. Your 2nd and 4th graders can jump in at grade level. If your 6th and 8th graders haven't had a strong grammar program before, you'll need to start lower. Many people start at the 5th grade book with older children. It's an advanced program, and I've heard that if you complete through book 6 by the end of 8th grade, you are doing well! If they have had a strong grammar foundation, they can use it at grade level. I've found that R&S does not take much time for the teacher each day; for younger dc we do a lot of it orally. My older two dc are able to read the lessons themselves and complete the assignments without much assistance. (I go through ahead of time and tell them exactly which sections to complete. We also use the worksheets; when there is a worksheet for a particular lesson, they don't have to do any of the writing from the text, just the worksheet.)

[boscopup]

I love KISS Grammar. Free, easy to use (once you get past the horrible website - it's better now though... Just pick the appropriate grade level workbook in KISS level 1 - 2nd, 3rd, or 6th - they all teach the same things but with different sentences... 2nd grade is slightly different in some manner, but I haven't looked at that yet... I think it was originally intended for kids to start grammar in 3rd, AFAIK). If you have a tablet, this is really fun to do on a tablet, and then you don't have printing costs. ;)

 

For writing, Writing With Ease is awesome and relatively inexpensive. If you used the instructor text, you could probably pick roughly the same passages for your combined kids, but just vary the length. Or you can use the workbooks for easy open-and-go. The instructor text covers grades 1-4 in one book, but you have to pick the passages. The workbooks are graded individually, but the passages are picked out for you.

 

You have spelling and handwriting covered.

 

MFW covers the lit, right?

[heidip2p]

We have always used grammar of some sort. I think the biggest thing we are lacking is the poetry aspect. Maybe I just need to look further into that.

[abacus2]

We have always used grammar of some sort. I think the biggest thing we are lacking is the poetry aspect. Maybe I just need to look further into that.

 

FLL has poetry, memorization anyway, and I'm pretty sure the level 3 sample of WWE was a poetry lesson.

[livingmydream]

For poetry we just like to read a lot of poems and lightly discuss. I like to have them try to write their own at some point. I really like Easy Grammar or daily grams you can get that pretty cheap for a good supplement. It takes very little time to complete each day and it really is EASY! We used CLE for a few years, very inexpensive, but too diagram heavy.

[ElizabethB]

If you just want poetry, the MCT poetry book is well worth the money. It is not consumable, so you can use it with everyone eventually.