"Learning Language Arts Through Literature" NEED HELP!!!!

[Lanette]

First of all, I'm brand new to this forum and I really hope I'm posting this in the right location....

 

I will be homeschooling my two sons, ages 6 & 8, in the fall for the first time. They are both kind of advanced for their age groups, but I don't want them moving ahead too quickly because I want them to have firm foundations in language arts. Both boys LOVE reading, writing, etc. but one prefers non-fiction and the other prefers fiction. So when I ran across LLATL, I thought I'd found the perfect curriculum for their likes! I wanted some type of curriculum that allowed me to customize it as needed, but something that wouldn't leave me spending hundreds of dollars. And for our first year homeschooling, I REALLY don't want to do that because I know how common it is for home school rookies to discard stuff after the first year and I don't want to waste a lot of money.

 

I found the red (grade 2) set at a library and after going through it extensively, I thought it would be perfect for my 6 yr old. It does seem to be a little below grade level and he's supposed to be going into the first grade. Well, he just took it upon himself to read one of the books a few minutes ago that's meant for like week 16. He read one of the stories and understood it (with ease) and was able to understand the comprehension questions with ease. He's a super speller and while some exercises (like the handwriting) look like they may be useful, I'm wondering if this level will be too easy for him. BUT I don't want to move him up to the next level because I feel like that would be jumping him head too fast and I could cause him to not cover important material.

 

I hope someone can help me and keep me from stressing out even more so than I already am! Thanks in advance! :)

[m0mmaBuck]

I've used LLATL (4th and 5th grade versions) for my son because he struggles with LA and I would say that the entire curriculum feels a bit "easy." That said, i choose to stick with it because my son is learning and he is not crying through every LA lesson like he used to. I choose to supplement with additional reading, writing, MadLibs (for parts of speech practice), and vocab and spelling from various sources (history, science, other reading). Personally I would not feel li ke LLATL alone was enough but with a little effort from me it is the best thing I have found for DS thus far.

 

Conversely, my first grader is learning very well from Christian Light Education's Language Arts program and has a deeper understanding of the rules of spelling and grammar than DS does even though there is a 4 year age difference. It may just be the kid, or it may be the curriculum (CLE brought DS to tears). Rod and Staff is another inexpensive but thorough option (that also brought DS to tears).

[AK_Mom4]

The years we used LLATL, we always had to work above grade level. There is certainly plenty of review of topics, so skipping the Red book and doing the next one up would not be a problem.

 

There are many elementary curriculums out there and it can be overwhelming. For 2nd and 3rd grade, we used McRuffy Language Arts and liked it very much. DD loved the little books that came with the program. We used LLATL for 4th and 5th, but ended using the purple and tan books since everything in the 4th grade Orange book was a review.