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I may have found what I'm looking for in a program that truly uses literature to study LA skills.


5LittleMonkeys

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I bought levels 1&2 to use with my fourth grader when she was beginning first grade, but I never got around to using it.  I am using it now with my current first grader, and it is easily his favorite part of the day.  At this level it is short, sweet, and the bulk of the grammar instruction comes from the copywork.  My son doesn't do the copywork yet, he is still working on forming his letters correctly, but we discuss the punctuation, capital letters, etc. as they come up in the lessons.

 

Do you have any specific questions? 

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It doesn't really specify what grade levels this is for. It seems to suggest that the levels don't match up with grade levels, but since I can't see the samples, it's hard to tell. You seem to be saying that you're using levels 1 and 2 for a first grader, is that right?

In the description on amazon or lulu, it says that the level is supposed to correspond to grade level.

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Well, I'm glad to see a couple people using this. :)

 

Right now I try to cover as much grammar, spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, etc., as I can using my kids writing (copywork, summaries, original writing).  from across the curricula. However, I don't have a plan to follow so that I remember to touch on specific areas.  For example my 2nd grader has never put anything in alphabetical order or looked anything up in a dictionary.  

 

Do you talk about the punctuation, grammar, sentence structure, spelling and vocabulary from the literature and the students own writing? 

 

Are the passages from books assigned reading, or are they just used in isolation ala WWE.  Meaning - would I still have to choose books to use for our literature reading?

 

How long per day?  

 

Would a 3rd grader start with the 3rd grade level or need to start with the first level in order not to "miss" anything?

 

How much writing per day\week?  Would adding in writing from history and science each week be too much to add?

 

Is there any original writing in the levels available so far or is it all copywork\dictation? 

 

 

I may post more questions later...that's all I can think of right now. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Bearing in mind I have only used part of the first level, here are my answers to your questions:

Well, I'm glad to see a couple people using this. :)

 

Right now I try to cover as much grammar, spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, etc., as I can using my kids writing (copywork, summaries, original writing).  from across the curricula. However, I don't have a plan to follow so that I remember to touch on specific areas.  For example my 2nd grader has never put anything in alphabetical order or looked anything up in a dictionary.  

 

Do you talk about the punctuation, grammar, sentence structure, spelling and vocabulary from the literature and the students own writing? In the first two levels it is just from the literature.

 

Are the passages from books assigned reading, or are they just used in isolation ala WWE.  Meaning - would I still have to choose books to use for our literature reading? The books are read through completely, one chapter per day.

 

How long per day?  Level one takes about fifteen to twenty minutes, including the day's reading - but my son does not do the copywork, that will probably add about five more minutes when he starts doing it.

 

Would a 3rd grader start with the 3rd grade level or need to start with the first level in order not to "miss" anything? I would think a child could start at grade level.

 

How much writing per day\week?  Would adding in writing from history and science each week be too much to add? There is copywork five days per week, that is all the writing that is included.

 

Is there any original writing in the levels available so far or is it all copywork\dictation? Just copywork and dictation in levels 1&2.

 

 

I may post more questions later...that's all I can think of right now. :)

 

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Help!  I'm lost.  I can't find the samples.  What am I doing wrong?  

Did you find the books on Lulu?  If so, follow below what I'm about to say.  ;)

 

I found where they are supposed to be at Lulu.com but when I clicked on preview it just made the cover bigger.

 

At Lulu, click on the word "preview" underneath the picture of the book.  It opens up with a larger picture of the cover.  Look at the top right, there's a number 1 in the box....click on the arrow to the right of it to advance through the sample pages.  I only looked at level 3, but there are over 40 pages of samples for that level.  Amazon also has some samples.

 

I need more kids so I can try more programs!

 

I already have 6. :laugh: But, 2 sets of twins...so I will be going through each grade 4 times.  Do you think I could sell my husband on more so I can try out more curricula? ;)

 

I think you'll have plenty of opportunity to use different, and new, programs.  My baby is 10 and in 4th.....so looks like I probably will never get a chance to try this program. 

 

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I've spent the weekend looking at this. I'm on the cusp of buying level 2 but I really don't want to have to buy the workbook. It does say it is optional but am I going to end up skipping stuff because I don't have a convenient worksheet to whip out? That is the question.

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Wow,this looks like exactly what I want- a kind of "leader" in doing narrations and copywork. Do you feel, those that have the program, the workbook is necessary?

 

No, I have not found it necessary.

I've spent the weekend looking at this. I'm on the cusp of buying level 2 but I really don't want to have to buy the workbook. It does say it is optional but am I going to end up skipping stuff because I don't have a convenient worksheet to whip out? That is the question.

I glanced at some of the exercises in level two, and you can easily do them orally - it is mostly identifying different parts of speech in a given sentence.

 

How much of this is based on the Bible? I am secular but the program looks like something I want for my son. He is severely dyslexic and the Language program I used didn't help him. I would start him with level 1 and just read everything to him.

Occasionally the copywork is a Bible verse, but that is it (and usually that day has a sentence from the literature assigned as copywork as well, so it would be easy to skip).  The lessons are all based on literature, a poem, and a fable, with the occasional picture study.  The grammar instruction is based on examples from the literature read that day.

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The previews look really nice like WWE + FLL w/out the terrible repetition, perhaps an updated PLL. The author post on here sometimes but I cannot remember her name.

The author/Hive member is KathyJo, perhaps someone can PM her if she wants to chime in on this thread? 

 

Another happy user here. We have Level 1 and 2, but are still in Level 1 because I didn't start my (now 2nd grade) DS on this from the beginning.

 

Positives

1) Literature selections are both challenging and interesting

This book expanded our horizons in terms of read-alouds, e.g. it starts with Beatrix Potter's stories and I didn't think my DS would understand the main story behind the advanced vocabulary, but he did. Since then, we've done the Jungle Books, Five Children and It and are now doing Pinocchio. For longer works, she breaks down the reading schedule into a number of chapters so it is do-able.  

 

2) Poetry and Aesop Fables

I appreciate that every lesson has poetry and Aesop Fables. The poems have been by well known poets like Robert Stevenson, Christina Rossetti and Sara Teasdale so DS has received a systematic exposure to good poems, even if we don't go into depth. I do like to spend a few extra minutes discussing some imagery if the poem was especially abstract. 

 

3) Copywork

Copywork is taken from the literature reading, sometimes an additional verse/sentence from Poetry/Bible is added. So far the copywork has emphasized punctuation, and it seems to be working - DS knows to check his copywork for correct capitalization, paired quotation marks and punctuation within quotes now. 

 

Neutral/Negatives:

1) Formal grammar

In Level 1, it doesn't cover anything formal but I think that is par for the course for a CM-approach . It does cover some basic facts such as Days of the Week, Seasons of the Year which we skip. 

 

2) Picture study

I appreciate that there is picture study, and the pictures are nice but hard to see in the print edition; also the questions are rudimentary. Like poetry, I would love to see these sections fleshed out with questions for non-CM trained parents (ahem, like me) to spark deeper discussion. 

 

I think the program does blend Classical and CM well. Looking forward to see how narration and formal grammar are handled in later levels, so I hope the author pops in here too. :)

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Hey, ladies. I got a request to come answer questions.

 

Re: the secular question, I think it depends on how sensitive you are regarding the Christian faith. In addition to the copywork, and some of the dictation in Level 3, some of the poetry mentions God. I think it would depend on whether a person is just secular/another faith or actively anti-Christian. The former could probably use it, the latter would probably be annoyed. Although I did not want to exclude our faith from the curriculum, I also have a few dear online friends who are pagan, and I didn't like the idea of writing something they would be uncomfortable using. The middle ground is tricky. In either level 1 or 2, there's a single lesson on the Ten Commandments, in connection with command sentences, but it could be skipped. Plus, it's just factual in nature: "The Bible says," kind of thing.

 

Re: levels and corresponding grade levels, this is a personal decision. I don't mean to be confusing, but it depends so much on one's philosophy concerning when to begin formal studies. The levels can correspond to grade levels; I know of people who use them that way. We use the books a year behind, so my second grader is in Level 1 right now, and my fourth grader is in Level 3. My older two boys hated the grammar program that I bought for them, probably because it was one of the first bona fide text books they'd ever seen, which is why I'm writing levels for older children. So, I have a seventh grader and an eleventh grader doing Level 5 as I write it, plus my sixth grade nephew, though only the younger two are doing the writing exercises. My oldest just needs a better grammar foundation. (Yes, the cobbler's children have no shoes.) What I basically had in mind for the upper levels is a series that can be used right after Level 4, but could also be used by Latin-Centered or others who prefer to have a quick run through grammar in late elementary/junior high instead of teaching it every year in elementary.

 

In Levels 5 and up, I am stressing the use of commonplace book entries based on the child's preferences. It seems to me that if we're attempting to instill the habits of a lifetime, then they need to move on to keeping a book of passages that actually mean something to them instead of just continuing to do regular copywork. I am including a basic copywork suggestion for the child who is sure he's never read anything meaningful, at least not that he can remember.

 

Re: the workbooks, they are completely optional. I made them because I needed them, but I did not want them to be necessary in order to do the program. Older children can copy the sentences straight from the book or tablet screen; that's what my fourth grader does. The Level 3 workbook includes the lines for the diagram, but the parent could easily draw those into a comp book if desired, using the answer key if she doesn't know how to diagram herself.

 

Re: the art, the original version of Levels 1 and 2 did have more specific questions about each painting. However, while I was revising it, I read more about what CM had to say about picture study. My overall impression was that the important things were to have the child study the picture closely and describe the picture from memory. She said in Home Education, "We cannot measure the influence that one or another artist has upon the child's sense of beauty, upon his power of seeing, as in a picture, the common sights of life; he is enriched more than we know in having really looked at even a single picture." So I changed the format to keep it more simple, to ask just a few simple questions that might help a child think about, and appreciate, a painting more rather than turn the picture studies into actual art lessons. In all honesty, I'm not fit for the latter anyway.

 

Re: Level 4, my plan is for it to be available by next September since I need it then, too. :-) 

 

In the early levels, copywork is the only handwriting, but there are oral writing exercises, e.g. oral narrations and, beginning in Level 3, playing with sentences by restating them. The new levels will have some beginning literary analysis type questions and also some descriptive passages to imitate. It's not a full-on progymnasmata program, but the narrations move on to condensing, amplifying, slant, etc. I'm still working some of this out.

 

You can start in any level with the early books. Level 5 will be a pre-req for Level 6 because there will be no review. I will probably do a Level 7 which will repeat the advanced grammar lessons from Level 6 with new literature. It seems odd to cover basic grammar so thouroughly, and then expect them to get the advanced stuff all in one go. And I'm considering a review book. IF I do that one, it will have a literature reading followed by some diagramming just to keep the skills sharp. So you could choose just one or two books each school year, in any order, until you're finished.

 

Did I miss any questions? :-) 

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These look great!  Has anyone combined kids with these?  I have a grade 2 and a grade 4.  Is it possible to just use, say Gr. 3? Or would my younger kiddo be lost?  She hasn't had any formal grammar at this point.  Also, do you get the workbook? 

 

I would not use Level 3 with a second grader unless she was very advanced, or unless you were content to let her follow along orally and absorb as much as she can. She would not be ready for the diagramming, and you'd probably have to adjust the amount of copywork. Level 2 could work for the fourth grader if she hasn't already learned the parts of speech, though it will likely feel slow to her. 

 

We use audio books to make multiple levels easier. Since the books are in the public domain, free audio versions are usually available at Librivox.

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Hey, ladies. I got a request to come answer questions.
 
Re: the secular question, I think it depends on how sensitive you are regarding the Christian faith. In addition to the copywork, and some of the dictation in Level 3, some of the poetry mentions God. I think it would depend on whether a person is just secular/another faith or actively anti-Christian. The former could probably use it, the latter would probably be annoyed. Although I did not want to exclude our faith from the curriculum, I also have a few dear online friends who are pagan, and I didn't like the idea of writing something they would be uncomfortable using. The middle ground is tricky. In either level 1 or 2, there's a single lesson on the Ten Commandments, in connection with command sentences, but it could be skipped. Plus, it's just factual in nature: "The Bible says," kind of thing.
 
Re: levels and corresponding grade levels, this is a personal decision. I don't mean to be confusing, but it depends so much on one's philosophy concerning when to begin formal studies. The levels can correspond to grade levels; I know of people who use them that way. We use the books a year behind, so my second grader is in Level 1 right now, and my fourth grader is in Level 3. My older two boys hated the grammar program that I bought for them, probably because it was one of the first bona fide text books they'd ever seen, which is why I'm writing levels for older children. So, I have a seventh grader and an eleventh grader doing Level 5 as I write it, plus my sixth grade nephew, though only the younger two are doing the writing exercises. My oldest just needs a better grammar foundation. (Yes, the cobbler's children have no shoes.) What I basically had in mind for the upper levels is a series that can be used right after Level 4, but could also be used by Latin-Centered or others who prefer to have a quick run through grammar in late elementary/junior high instead of teaching it every year in elementary.
 
In Levels 5 and up, I am stressing the use of commonplace book entries based on the child's preferences. It seems to me that if we're attempting to instill the habits of a lifetime, then they need to move on to keeping a book of passages that actually mean something to them instead of just continuing to do regular copywork. I am including a basic copywork suggestion for the child who is sure he's never read anything meaningful, at least not that he can remember.
 
Re: the workbooks, they are completely optional. I made them because I needed them, but I did not want them to be necessary in order to do the program. Older children can copy the sentences straight from the book or tablet screen; that's what my fourth grader does. The Level 3 workbook includes the lines for the diagram, but the parent could easily draw those into a comp book if desired, using the answer key if she doesn't know how to diagram herself.
 
Re: the art, the original version of Levels 1 and 2 did have more specific questions about each painting. However, while I was revising it, I read more about what CM had to say about picture study. My overall impression was that the important things were to have the child study the picture closely and describe the picture from memory. She said in Home Education, "We cannot measure the influence that one or another artist has upon the child's sense of beauty, upon his power of seeing, as in a picture, the common sights of life; he is enriched more than we know in having really looked at even a single picture." So I changed the format to keep it more simple, to ask just a few simple questions that might help a child think about, and appreciate, a painting more rather than turn the picture studies into actual art lessons. In all honesty, I'm not fit for the latter anyway.
 
Re: Level 4, my plan is for it to be available by next September since I need it then, too. :-) 
 
In the early levels, copywork is the only handwriting, but there are oral writing exercises, e.g. oral narrations and, beginning in Level 3, playing with sentences by restating them. The new levels will have some beginning literary analysis type questions and also some descriptive passages to imitate. It's not a full-on progymnasmata program, but the narrations move on to condensing, amplifying, slant, etc. I'm still working some of this out.
 
You can start in any level with the early books. Level 5 will be a pre-req for Level 6 because there will be no review. I will probably do a Level 7 which will repeat the advanced grammar lessons from Level 6 with new literature. It seems odd to cover basic grammar so thouroughly, and then expect them to get the advanced stuff all in one go. And I'm considering a review book. IF I do that one, it will have a literature reading followed by some diagramming just to keep the skills sharp. So you could choose just one or two books each school year, in any order, until you're finished.
 
Did I miss any questions? :-) 

 

Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions!  This has been very helpful!!

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Kathy Jo - Thank you so much!  Everyone else has been asking the questions I have so I don't have any thing else to ask, but wanted to chime back in to say that it seems you've produced what I've been trying to implement in my home.  Mine being very disjointed and following no sensible order. LOL!

 

I'm excited to use this for my 2nd grader and eventually my 5yo. :)

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You're welcome. :-) It's more of a niche program than most grammar options out there, so I appreciate the opportunity to explain it better so that people can decide if it's a good fit for them. I hate wasting money on curricula I can't use, and I assume y'all feel the same way. 

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I bought level 2 and am pleased so far-plan to start Monday :). Couple of questions though--I don't see explicit instructions as to when to read the literature. Also on the pages where the child is supposed to do some work on the printed work like on page 896 what's the large blank box for? Thank you!

 

At the beginning of each lesson, the topic of the lesson and the literature reading for the day are both listed. And the blank boxes in the workbook are for pictures. My kids like to draw. :-) 

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They sound very, very similar, only LLTL includes fuller passages???

 

Not fuller passages, exactly. 

 

Each level has a few books to read, generally one chapter per lesson day. The grammar concept for the day has examples taken straight from the literature. (Usually; occasionally, this just isn't possible.) The exercise and copywork will also be from the literature.

 

The narrations are from Aesop's fables and short stories, so it's not fuller passages. Rather, it's an entire fable or story. These stories are included as part of the text. 

 

Does that help?

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I don't know how I missed that, thank you! :) Excited to start with this.

 

Hope y'all enjoy it. :-) We try to stay one day ahead of the reading so that we can do the lesson in the morning without me having to wait until the reading is done. So ideally, on each lesson day, they read or listen to the chapter for the NEXT lesson after they've done that day's lesson. This just helps me stay focused on actual formal lesson time in the mornings.

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From what I've seen of the samples, each lesson in LLTL has several works being studied at once (e.g., a chapter of a novel, a poem, a fable, a memory verse), and they're not necessarily connected to each other, though many of these separate "threads" will continue over multiple lessons.     This is different from some of the other literature-based LA curricula, which tend to base each lesson on one passage.

 

I think the former approach will make some people happy, and others not so happy.   :001_smile:  It depends on whether you prefer to study literature in short bits, or do a more intensive exploration of one work. 

 

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At Lulu, click on the word "preview" underneath the picture of the book.  It opens up with a larger picture of the cover.  Look at the top right, there's a number 1 in the box....click on the arrow to the right of it to advance through the sample pages.  I only looked at level 3, but there are over 40 pages of samples for that level.  Amazon also has some samples.

 

 

****************************************************************************************************

 

 

Thanks!!!!

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Oh, maybe I missed it... did anyone answer on the Student books? Are they necessary? Are there sample pages to check them out? Thanks!

 Kathy Jo said:  

Re: the workbooks, they are completely optional. I made them because I needed them, but I did not want them to be necessary in order to do the program. Older children can copy the sentences straight from the book or tablet screen; that's what my fourth grader does. The Level 3 workbook includes the lines for the diagram, but the parent could easily draw those into a comp book if desired, using the answer key if she doesn't know how to diagram herself.

 

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I bought level two and began today. I wrote the sentences for the grammar work up on the whiteboard for DS to mark since I didn't get the workbook. After that he copied the copy work from the iPad onto a notebook.

 

I quickly realized what an awesome idea it was to be a chapter ahead on the reading in order for the morning to flow smoothly with all my little ones because we find it best to get all the seat work done before we snuggle up to read (DS actually has time to read before his time with me but I haven't read the Wizard of Oz yet so I want to read with him). Thanks for that idea, Kathy!

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I bought level two and began today. I wrote the sentences for the grammar work up on the whiteboard for DS to mark since I didn't get the workbook. After that he copied the copy work from the iPad onto a notebook.

 

I quickly realized what an awesome idea it was to be a chapter ahead on the reading in order for the morning to flow smoothly with all my little ones because we find it best to get all the seat work done before we snuggle up to read (DS actually has time to read before his time with me but I haven't read the Wizard of Oz yet so I want to read with him). Thanks for that idea, Kathy!

 

Glad that helped. :-)

 

The exercises could be done orally, too. That's probably what I would have done, but I was making copywork pages anyway.

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Oh, maybe I missed it... did anyone answer on the Student books? Are they necessary? Are there sample pages to check them out? Thanks!

 

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/barefootmeandering?searchTerms=language+lessons

 

Each workbook has a preview on Lulu. Just click "Preview" under the image, then navigate with the < and > buttons on the top right had side of the pop up. Lulu used to let me put up a PDF preview, which I preferred, but they stopped that now. 

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Can someone compare this to WWE? I have WWE sitting on my shelf waiting to be used come January, but I am liking the idea of this. They sound very, very similar, only LLTL includes fuller passages???

This program looks like a combo of WWE and FLL to me. I used both with ds and am strongly considering buying this for dd.  WWE has excerpts from various books and poems, a different one each week, whereas this program uses excerpts but then schedules reading of the full piece.  The plus of WWE is that the excerpts are within the workbook.  However, this program uses literature that are classic works in the public domain.

 

Re: writing program- I am considering this for my daughter and I am planning to use it by itself w/out another writing program (although our LA has some writing w/ it).  I'm thinking of using it this for the rest of 1st and 2nd and then to move onto CAP's WR1 sometime in 3rd or 4th depending on when she is ready.  

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I think that sounds great Kathy.  On Lulu it says that it is unlimited devices would that still be the case? I usually use my chromebook b/c it is easier to use but I want to be able to download it on the laptop too so I can print if I want.

 

Yeah, it's DRM free. You can print enough copies to wallpaper a room, as long as it's not your neighbor's room. :-) I don't like DRM because I think it does more to punish honest people than it does to stop pirating. 

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