has anyone used wwe/fll a year behind?

[iona]

My second child is in first this year and i just started wwe/fll 1 this week. I bumped it to mid year to try and solidify his letters. He still prefers to trace over writing freehand from a copy. He is also just not as interested in words as my first child. We have restarted opg twice to go back and solidify because his focus is just not there. I was thinking if we just kept on with tracing and copying letters and single words, maybe he'd be ready next summer. He'll be seven in June. Any thoughts or experiences.

[redsquirrel]

I started WWE with my older son when he was in third grade. It wasn't available before then. I started him in second because he was one of those 'my hand is gonna fall off if you make me write any more! Waaaah" kind of kids. It was a great decision and I am glad we were in WWE4 in 5th grade. We started WWS in 6th grade and that was a great fit.

 

My younger I started in WWE1 in first. It was ok, so we went to second grade. Bad. Too much too fast. He got very anxious with the dictation, convinced he couldn't spell 'the' etc, etc. I went back to WWE1 and I am very happy we did. He is doing great.

 

With both kids I did FLL at grade level. But, I did FLL 1 & 2 all orally. I never had them do anything but the oral stuff. Well, ds2 is in FLL 2 right now and yesterday he did have to look at text and point to some verbs, so that was more than oral, I guess. But no writing or anything like that. It is easy to do with a kid who isn't great with writing or reading yet. And if there is something in FLL that is beyond him, it is ok to just skip that exercise. I sometimes skip the narration exercises in FLL. He has narration twice a week in WWE1 and a couple times a week in SOTW. I think we are solid on narration, kwim? Sometimes the narrations in FLL get referred to in later exercises so I don't skip those.

 

So that is my experience. Do not worry about using them a year 'behind' or at different levels or anything like that. Nothing bad will happen. I honestly think that slow and steady (and consistent) wins the race here. My second grader is chugging along and sustained silent reading is clicking with him these past couple weeks. All of a sudden he was BOOM reading chapters for fun and writing his own plays. My 7th grader is writing 500 word assignments and calling it a piece of cake. I don't think being 'behind' a year in composition hurt them at all.

[iona]

I was thinking the same thing, especially about it not being an issue of being "behind" but just on a different timetable. I'm happy to hear how you've used it in your hs. So you went ahead with fll, hmm, so far we have done it orally (with my first). I'll think about that option. Thanks for sharing.

[...................]

I do and I'm very happy with it! My 3rd grader uses WWE2 and FLL2.

[ChicoryChick]

I am using FLL3 and WWE3 with my 4th grader and it is working out very well.

[Lots of boys]

I start WWE and FLL 1 in second for my kids and it works wonderfully. They just are not ready in first. I am hoping it works well to bridge into WWS too in 6th rahter than 5th.

 

FLL moved faster for us than WWE so we are actually only about 1/2 year behind in FLL now for my oldest but I stay a full year behind for him in WWE.

[NittanyJen]

We started homeschooling when my kids were halfway through 2nd and 4th grades. I started them both in WWE1!

 

We began at 'quadruple speed;'. We completed one 'week' each day, 4 days per week through WWE 1, then DS8 slowed to double speed. DS10 continued at quad speed until he finished WWE3, skipped 4, and went into WWS a far better writer.

 

We are currently taking a short break and using IEW, but may go back to WWE/WWS next year.

 

Nice thing about the program is that the reading selections can appeal to a wide variety of ages, and yes, it is better to start where your kids' needs are. If you think about it, there is no such thing as av"grade level" now that we home school! The only time that matters is the final last four year countdown before graduation, so that you can designate those as Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior year for transcript, testing, and scholarship purposes, whether for employment, insurance, college, or whatever. Other than that bit of administrivia, and faking out the occasional form (hey, DS, I'm signing you up for an activity-- what grade kids do you want to hang out with?) grade levels in homeschooling really do not exist.

[Amy M]

Thanks, I was wondering as well. I haven't started them yet with my 1st grader, because I didn't think he was quite ready yet.

[UrbanSue]

IME, FLL is easier than WWE. My dd6 is flying through FLL and might do better with FLL 2 and WWE is a good challenge for her. The consensus here seems to be that WWE 4 is optional and that sixth grade is optimal for WWS. That gives a five-year span to cover three levels of WWE. Plenty of wiggle time there.

[FairProspects]

FLL is definitely easier than WWE. I don't start WWE before age 7, partly because I have pencil-phobic boys, and partly because Levels 2,3,4 are such a jump up from 1. FLL can be started any time and is easy to adapt to skill level. :)

[freesia]

 

So that is my experience. Do not worry about using them a year 'behind' or at different levels or anything like that. Nothing bad will happen. I honestly think that slow and steady (and consistent) wins the race here. My second grader is chugging along and sustained silent reading is clicking with him these past couple weeks. All of a sudden he was BOOM reading chapters for fun and writing his own plays. My 7th grader is writing 500 word assignments and calling it a piece of cake. I don't think being 'behind' a year in composition hurt them at all.

I agree. My first son was "behind" for first through fourth grade. We kept working at it steadily out not at frustration level. He now writes really well, at least on grade level, in the seventh grade. My second son is following in his footsteps. Although I do have OT concerns with him, I am not worried about the writing path we are taking. We are on week 23 of WWE 1.