trulycrabby Posted June 9, 2013 Share Posted June 9, 2013 I am very new to homeschooling, and of course did not heed the warnings not to purchase a lot of curriculum. For the most part, I have been extremely happy with my purchases...Except Shurley English... Perhaps because it's scripted, cumbersome, I have to move back and forth between the Teacher's Manual and Student Workbook, and DS9 does not like the jingles...at all. I can work around the jingles (ignore them), pick and choose which script to use, etc., if I hear enough feedback that it is a solid curriculum and worth the initial hassles of getting accustomed to something new. However, if another, more user-friendly curriculum exists, please tell me! I'll sell the books and not look back. I chose Shurley English because it is for the most part secular curriculum, mainly because I like to separate the subjects, but have changed my mind on this matter. I just want good, solid curriculum, religious orientation does not matter. The Well-Trained Mind recommends Rod & Staff or First Language Lessons. I will be reading reviews of both, but if anyone else has recommendations, then I am open to ideas. Thanks in advance for any help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted June 9, 2013 Share Posted June 9, 2013 We've been very happy with Rod and Staff. The TM has a reduced image of the student page, so there's no flipping back and forth. It also has an optional scripted plan for each new concept, an oral quiz of previous concepts, and a full answer key. The student text has a reading portion that explains the new concept, an oral/class drill section, a written drill section, and a review section. The oral drill section lets you check for understanding before they jump into the rest of the work. No jingles or extra parts. Well, there is a workbook with even more practice for some of the lessons, but it's optional. Some secular options you could look at are Hake or Junior Analytical Grammar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trulycrabby Posted June 9, 2013 Author Share Posted June 9, 2013 We've been very happy with Rod and Staff. The TM has a reduced image of the student page, so there's no flipping back and forth. It also has an optional scripted plan for each new concept, an oral quiz of previous concepts, and a full answer key. The student text has a reading portion that explains the new concept, an oral/class drill section, a written drill section, and a review section. The oral drill section lets you check for understanding before they jump into the rest of the work. No jingles or extra parts. Well, there is a workbook with even more practice for some of the lessons, but it's optional. Some secular options you could look at are Hake or Junior Analytical Grammar. Thank you! I especially like the reduced image of the student page in the Teacher's Manual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFM Posted June 9, 2013 Share Posted June 9, 2013 I used Shurley English for about a day. I did not like the jingles, I wanted diagramming. It just wasn't for us. I tried it another time and it just isn't our thing. I moved to FLL and loved the first two and then moved to R&S and love it, it's thorough, easy to implement, and inexpensive. I recommend it to most everyone after FLL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dewdropfairy Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 It wasn't our cuppa, either. We're trying FLL and Jr. AG next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PIE! Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 Michael Clay Thompson! English went from dd's least favorite subject to what she loved the most. It is rigorous and interesting. I can't say enough good about it. Just search for MCT and you'll see threads and threads about it on these boards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trulycrabby Posted June 10, 2013 Author Share Posted June 10, 2013 Thank you very much for your suggestions! I'm off to investigate R&S, MCT, and MCT! I slogged through the first two chapters of SE level 3 tonight, basically crossing out everything but the essesentials of the teaching text. I think I can use it it for summer review because we will be moving very quickly and skipping material DS9 already knows, but I'm definitely changing to something that's simpler to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trulycrabby Posted June 17, 2013 Author Share Posted June 17, 2013 I decided upon Michael Clay Thompson, ordered Grammar Town, but they sent me Grammar Island, and I love it. It.s all review, but we will blast through this book asap and move on to Grammar Town in about a month. It's sooo much simpler to use than Shurley English, and more engaging for the learner. DS9 giggles at the silly, fun sentences! I may still order a copy os R&S grammar because I think they do sentence diagramming, which MCT does not do. Thank you to everyone who made suggestions! :hurray: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peplophoros Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 Thanks for posting this. We also ditched Shurley, and FLL was too scattered (and repetitive, if you're also doing SOTW and WWE). We're trying R&S next year. Fingers crossed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatmansWife Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 I decided upon Michael Clay Thompson, ordered Grammar Town, but they sent me Grammar Island, and I love it. It.s all review, but we will blast through this book asap and move on to Grammar Town in about a month. It's sooo much simpler to use than Shurley English, and more engaging for the learner. DS9 giggles at the silly, fun sentences! I may still order a copy os R&S grammar because I think they do sentence diagramming, which MCT does not do. Thank you to everyone who made suggestions! :hurray: This is great to hear. I'll be ordering Grammar Island soon. I'm hoping my dd age 9 will enjoy it too! ETA: Wow...you received it fast too, huh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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