SL LA?

[frugalmama]

It seems to me that no one uses the SL LA program - why? I was given the 2nd grade LA and we're going to start it next week hopefully, it looked okay to me but maybe I'm missing something about it.

[KirstenH]

I am a professional writer and editor, so my standards for LA are based on that. The samples of SL's LA I've looked at online have not impressed me. As an example, there was a lengthy exercise on "using adverbs to make your writing more interesting." The exercise consisted of modifying everything you possibly could with adverbs. This is the opposite of good writing. You don't make verbs interesting by modifying them with adverbs. You make verbs interesting by choosing better ones in the first place. That example was all I needed to convince me that SL LA would not work for us.

[Mommy22alyns]

I hated it. The writing instruction was nil. The grammar was scattershot. We tried it for 20 weeks and then I dropped it to go back to WWE and R&S.

[kolamum]

We use it and enjoy it thus far. :)

[wintermom]

I've been using it for several years. I like the variety all in one place. Spelling (for the first couple years), copy work/dictation, beginning grammar, creative writing, poetry, etc. It may not be perfect in all these areas, but it's been working well for us. It also incorporates the history and literature we're already doing into our LA. I can choose to drop or change certain exercises if I wish, or use it in combination with other curriculum.

[wintermom]

I am a professional writer and editor, so my standards for LA are based on that. The samples of SL's LA I've looked at online have not impressed me. As an example, there was a lengthy exercise on "using adverbs to make your writing more interesting." The exercise consisted of modifying everything you possibly could with adverbs. This is the opposite of good writing. You don't make verbs interesting by modifying them with adverbs. You make verbs interesting by choosing better ones in the first place. That example was all I needed to convince me that SL LA would not work for us.

 

I'm not a professional writer, but my children have done exercises similar to this for other reasons, such as learning how to identify adverbs in a sentence, and increasing their vocabulary. And who's to say that there is only one way to make a sentence more interesting? I wouldn't necessarily discard an entire curriculum based on a single exercise one sees in a sample.

[KirstenH]

I'm not a professional writer, but my children have done exercises similar to this for other reasons, such as learning how to identify adverbs in a sentence, and increasing their vocabulary. And who's to say that there is only one way to make a sentence more interesting? I wouldn't necessarily discard an entire curriculum based on a single exercise one sees in a sample.

 

I'm not an adverb hater (many editors are), but the way the information was presented, I felt as if a kid would come away thinking there was something wrong with his writing if he DIDN'T pepper it liberally (See? I don't hate adverbs) with adverbs. There was one tiny disclaimer about not overdoing it, while at the same time, the children were given exercises like "Take this passage and rewrite it, making it more interesting by adding adverbs wherever you can." I found the approach uneven and confusing. As with anything else, YMMV. I just knew it wouldn't work for me.

[jer2911mom]

We tried LA 1 for 18 weeks this year and dropped it. I found the phonics instruction completely ambiguous. I couldn't tell what the instruction actually was. I thought the copywork sentences were too long for a first grader. The grammar/usage topics covered on the student sheets were generally good and well-defined. I probably liked that part the best. I thought the creative writing assignments were too much for a first grader. When they showed the sample of what the child's writing might look like, I felt like it was miles beyond what an average first grader could do. I align more with the WTM philosophy of just using copywork, dictation, and narration in the early years, so part of the problem was that all that creative writing just contradicted what I felt was appropriate.

 

We did not use the spelling.

 

I looked at the samples for the new LA and I didn't see where it would be much different, unfortunately. I think all that creative writing will still be in there. My dd loves to write creatively on her own, but when I gave her these assignments, I got the deer-in-the-headlights look and she froze. I did not want her to hate writing because of it, so backed off. We just continued with WWE instead. We also continued with FLL and started CLE LA.

 

HTH,

Kathy