pjssully Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 I am looking for a complete English program that is similar to Rod and Staff but ISN"T Rod and Staff- I was thinking about using Analytical Grammar, but I want something that includes proper english/grammar (example who, or whom) punctuation etc. Does something like this even exist? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmos Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 How do you want it different from R&S? Secular? Less thorough/more thorough? Faster/slower? It would help to know why R&S *isn't* what you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 Well, what part of R&S is the problem? I think AG and Hake are the more popular secular options. AG doesn't include composition, and it seems most Hake users don't care for the writing lessons in it anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjssully Posted August 27, 2013 Author Share Posted August 27, 2013 Well...it doesn't have to be completely secular but Rod and Staff has an abundance of religious sentences in every single set of problems. It is just a bit too much for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 I haven't found anything that meets our needs as well. We are very, very secular, so we just skip some questions or entire sets of questions. The good thing about R&S is that there is more than we care to use, so skipping over the religious sentences cuts it down to size quite well. You might want to look at Hake grammar. That seems to be the most popular secular grammar option for those looking to avoid R&S. I feel your pain. There was much gnashing of teeth and rending of garments in this house over grammar choices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 Bob Jones is not as bad. It covers what R&S does but at a bit slower pace because the books go through 12th grade, not 10th. It is easy to teach but $$$ even without distance learning. I have often considered rewriting R&S to be secular or less religious over the years but it is copyrighted. SIGH! WTM suggests Voyages in English. It is $$$ though, too. Hake is a great option IF your kids do well with spiral like Saxon math spiral. Mine do not so finding an alternate later is going to be a bear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 We just got Abeka grammar workbooks in the mail today. We did R&S 2 last year, and I heard that the religious aspect got better in 3, but I found it to grate on me a lot more. We did 6 weeks of R&S 3, and I ordered Abeka. It is a workbook format, it is still Christian, but I am hoping it won't bother me as much. ETA: Oh, so sorry! I just realized this was in the logic stage forum, and we definitely aren't logic stage. I was afraid that was going to happen if I read them via View All Content I'm following. Disregard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 Have you looked at Christian Light? Yes, there is some religious content, but much of it is not. You should look at the samples. I tried R&S last year and liked it, but I needed something more independent this year, and CLE is working out nicely. I don't mine the religious content, though. http://clp.org/store/by_subject/3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
housemouse Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 How about Climbing to Good English- I found it easier than Rod and Staff to teach, yet it seems to be about the same rigor as Rod and Staff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TracyP Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 How about Climbing to Good English- I found it easier than Rod and Staff to teach, yet it seems to be about the same rigor as Rod and Staff. What ages have you used? Did you feel like your kids retained it well? Does it include diagramming? Sorry to pelt you with questions. :) I started out with CTGE but dropped it in part because I couldn't find any btdt reviews. I would love to hear any info you could add. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 Warriner's. The Introductory course is designed for 6th grade. http://www.amazon.com/Holt-Traditions-Warriners-Introductory-Mechanics/dp/0030986265 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
housemouse Posted September 1, 2013 Share Posted September 1, 2013 We did gr. 1, 4, and 5. Gr. 1 is just phonics review, spelling, making simple sentences that are complete and written correctly, and some short stories to complete (2-4) sentences based on picture. Ds 6 finished it in one semester. Grade 4 and 5 are fairly self explanatory that we could follow for the most part and usually we did not need TM (other then for grading tests or figuring out some of the diagraming- I am terrible at it so I needed help explaining it). Instructions for writing assignments were very well explained. The only reason I changed this year because ds needs more help with writing portion. He does not do well with "write a research report on animal/country/person from blank even if there is many sections and subsections and samples how it is done. This year we are trying WWS level 1 and see how he does with it. I do have CTGE grade 6 ready just in case WWS does not work. I hope it makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nansk Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 I am looking for a complete English program that is similar to Rod and Staff but ISN"T Rod and Staff- I was thinking about using Analytical Grammar, but I want something that includes proper english/grammar (example who, or whom) punctuation etc. I would second Analytical Grammar. It is secular and includes lessons on punctuation and usage. The only downside is that AG is expensive. If you want a cheaper, secular option, you can get Warriner's used on Amazon (older editions of what CrimsonWife linked will be way cheaper). Another secular option is the Good Grammar Set from Walch. Even if you get just the first book in the set, Steps To Good Grammar, you can cover a lot of what AG covers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sew happily ever after Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 I'm really loving AG this year for my 8th grader. It's quick and to the point. I also love the philosophy that once u know it there's no reason at alto keep drilling it, just keep it fresh with review. I like that you can do it all in 1 year or pace it out over 2 or 3 years. Anyway it's totally do-able, mostly independent, and gets done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ameena Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 We're in the same boat - I like the solid instruction that R&S gives, but all the religion in it drives me NUTS! Right now we're using just the R&S 2 TM as a guide, and I copy onto the dry erase board with liberal edits to remove religious content. DD never reads from the actual book or the TM - just what is on the board. I know there is probably something else out there that would work better with less work, but I already have R&S so I am trying to make it work for the sake of our budget. We tried CTGE last year for 1st, and it had WAY too much phonics review for us. We quickly pulled it and did nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 See the linked thread below for more options. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/487007-we-dont-like-hake-grammar/?do=findComment&comment=5176777 Also, First Language Lessons. Ameena, FLL2 costs less than $15 and you would not have to edit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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