Guest PBombMom Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 My daughter will start her first year of homeschooling in the fall for 1st grade. I have already purchased All About Reading Level 1 (for a quick review and to fill in gaps from public school) and Level 2 (planning on starting about 2 months into the school year). I am planning on doing All About Spelling Level 1 as well. What would you recommend for grammar or writing to round out her Language Arts? Do I need to have her practice handwriting still? I had initially considered having her do Growing with Grammar and Winning with Writing but after seeing some responses on this forum, I'm second guessing that thought. Thank you for the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 Welcome! :) The AAR and AAS is a great start. (I don't use them ,but they get great reviews). I do still keep up with handwriting at that age. Handwriting Without Tears is an excellent program. I don't have any experience with the Growing With or Winning With books, but I plan on using FLL with my 1st grader next year. Also JotItDown from Bravewriter and hopefully some WWE. Add lots of great read alouds. (picture books and chapter books) and that's basically enough for a 1st grade language arts. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PBombMom Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 Thanks! I definitely have lots of read alouds planned, I'm hoping to use some that will tie in with her other subjects. Right now she loves the Magic Treehouse series and is starting to get into the American Girl doll books. How much parent involvement is there with FLL and WWE? I have two smaller children that like to monopolize my time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five More Minutes Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 Welcome! And I agree with Walking-Iris. I was able to use the AAR readers here, and they were a great success; AAS has been a good program, too. My daughters still need handwriting practice; I expect we'll continue with direct instruction on that through Gr. 3/4, once they've completed cursive. But some people are able to achieve the same thing with their copywork. As for writing options for Gr. 1 -- I've used WWE and have been impressed, because it uses copywork and narration to slowly build their writing skills and stamina. Lessons are very short each day. If you choose this, I would wait until your student is very comfortable with all of her letter formation before starting this; some advise waiting until the student is able to copy full sentences. I used FLL for grammar in Gr. 1. I also wouldn't hesitate to skip grammar in Gr. 1 and Gr. 2 if it's too much. FLL is very gentle, but quite repetitive. And lots and lots and lots of good books! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MommaOfalotta Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 My dd will be in first as well! We are using Zaner Blosers 1st grade book for handwriting, First Language Lessons for grammar and Writing With Ease for writing/composition. I've never used AAR or AAS but a lot of people here seem to love them. Welcome! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five More Minutes Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 How much parent involvement is there with FLL and WWE? I have two smaller children that like to monopolize my time. Sorry -- I see we cross-posted. FLL is meant to be done orally, with the parent reading from a script. WWE requires the parent to sit with the child as they do copywork to make sure that they are doing it correctly (this requirement eases off as the student becomes more accurate with copywork); for narrations, the parent reads passages, asks questions, and writes the child's narration for her. I think that almost anything involving writing and reading in Gr. 1 requires parental involvement. The good news is, the lessons are very, very short. FLL was typically 5 min/day; WWE was about 5-10 min/day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimberlyI Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 I really like The Primary Arts of Language for that age level. http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/pal It is coordinated with AAS. It includes handwriting, some basic grammar and writing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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