happyhome Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 So I'm planning out a bit for my rising 4th and 6th graders. Ds, the 4th grader, has done WWE 2&3. Dd, the 6th grader, has done WWE 3 and part of 4 as well as IEW SWI B. I have W&R 2 and 3 and have printed the sample of Book 1. I also have the elementary and middle school Killgallon books. I currently have dd working through the Killgallon books this summer before she starts WWS later this year. I thought that plan was done. But now that I have the W&R books in hand, they look good too. So, I thought, maybe do the W&R books this summer. Then begin WWS 1 with Killgallon as a break from the rigor (read monotony) of WWS1 next year? Is that just crazy overkill?? Would it even be a good idea to start W&R with her if I'm planning on WWS for the next three years? Having worked with WWS last year (failure with the eldest), I don't think she can do the two concurrently, and there's probably no reason to, right?? I just love these books and I feel like she's missing out. I even thought of scrapping the WWS idea and sticking with the W&R sequence, but I think she may out pace publication dates. For the 4th grader, he wasn't crazy about Fable. It seemed a bit too easy for him. Would I be missing anything great if I skipped it? He did do two levels of WWE and can summarize pretty well. I also have Killgallon on the radar with him too. My thought was to stick with the W&R program with this kid. I don't think he'll like WWS. He's wired like his oldest sister. So I thought we'd use the W&R sequence as they get published and Killgallon to fill in the gaps. Overkill again? By the way, we use MCT for grammar. I'll be doing Town with both of them starting later in the summer. Am I suffering from classic homeschooler curriculum addiction? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 I have come to the conclusion that W&R Narrative 2 is the ideal program to do before WWS. Whether you are just using it as a bridge between the WWEs & WWS, or whether you plan to switch to WWS and go through all 3 levels of that, doing the Narrative 2 book before you start will make WWS much easier. The Narrative 2 book cements summarizing skills, introduces outlining, and then has the student do several kinds of story expansions and story re-tells, and introduces basic literary analysis and basic chronological narrative. These are all skills that get covered way more deeply, and with much more difficult materials/models, in WWS. Going through these new skills/techniques with the easier and very engaging stories in Narrative 2 will make WWS seem much less daunting. So if I were you, what I would do with your dd is just have her do Narrative 2 this summer; and then do the combo of WWS1 and Kilgallon next year. Don't bother with all 3 books for a 6th grader, but narrative 2 will be a very useful bridge for her. The next W&R book comes out in June, when you see it you can decide whether to do it, too, before WWS, or even instead of. It's hard to say where that one will fit in terms of difficulty, etc. - I am eagerly looking forward to seeing it, trying to figure out if it will be a part of my 7th grader's writing program for next year. For your 4th grader, try skipping Fable and starting him in Narrative 1. If he does Narrative 1 & 2 in 4th grade, he should be able to follow the publication cycle and do two W&R books each year, if they keep working out for him. I agree in both cases that Killgallon has its subtle effect - I've really seen its impact on my 6th grader's writing this year (she did Grammar for Middle School). I don't think your plan seems crazy, as long as you don't try to do multiple programs each year, just let each take how long it takes. So if your 6th grader does Narrative 2 this summer and Chreia/Proverb in the fall, she will only get through half of WWS next year. Just be ok with that, and let her do half this year and half in 7th! Does that make sense? Just line the things up in the order that you think they make sense, in terms of skills and difficulty, then just march through them at the pace that's right for your kid, not worrying about what grade level you think they "should" be using them in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhome Posted June 4, 2014 Author Share Posted June 4, 2014 Oh Rose, I was so hoping you we're lurking about. I love your idea of letting it take as long as it takes. I tend to be a box checker and sometimes I miss the forest through the trees. The truth is, I'm not sold on WWS. I thought I'd try it again next year because this dd is much more incremental than her sister. We'll see. But I just don't want.her.to.miss.these.books. I wish I would have had W&R two years ago when I finally gave up on the progym because I couldn't find anything that didn't make my eyeballs bleed. Now to figure out how to get my 6th grader to agree to do the same book as her younger brother. I may have to resort to bribery :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 Well, you could give him Narrative 1 and give her Narrative 2 . . . ;) I feel your pain - as you may have heard me say, I've given up on WWS after really trying with it. It wasn't horrible, and she could do it, but it was very dull and joyless. The spark in her eye when she does W&R (or writes about something that interests her) is so refreshing! I don't think I can go back to plodding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhome Posted June 4, 2014 Author Share Posted June 4, 2014 Well, you could give him Narrative 1 and give her Narrative 2 . . . ;) I feel your pain - as you may have heard me say, I've given up on WWS after really trying with it. It wasn't horrible, and she could do it, but it was very dull and joyless. The spark in her eye when she does W&R (or writes about something that interests her) is so refreshing! I don't think I can go back to plodding. I think I'm going to make another pass at Fable for him, maybe at a quicker pace. I like that book and I think it will be a gentler entry point. I've skimmed all the way through Narrative 1 and while it starts off slowly, it picks up speed quickly. He's a reluctant writer (even though he's good at it) and I don't want him to get overwhelmed. Regarding WWS, I love the skills but I agree on the joyless part. DD is a wonderful writer and she enjoys it. She may either like the step by step adding of her skills or she may decide, as her sister did, that there has to be a better way to attain them. Honestly, if the Chreia book is as good as the others, the jump will be an easy one. I believe in the pro gym, but a writing program does my dc no good if they learn to hate writing in the process, hence why we didn't continue with CC or CW. WWS seemed a bit better but we started "plodding" pretty quickly and none of us like that. So here's my plan: 6th grader W&R 2 and 3 over the summer through the fall term Try WWS 1 with Grammar for Middle School as a break beginning after Christmas and pull what we can from it Keep Chreia as an option when it's published (you said this month??) MCT Town with mom 4th grader Fable over the summer Narrative 1 and 2 through 4th grade with Killgallon SG as a break MCT Town with mom Thanks for helping me work this out. Now on to the 8th grade plan for the eldest…..much bigger headaches on the way :confused1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 Sounds like a great plan! And yes, my understanding is that Chreia is to be released in June. Woo-hoo! And good luck with the 8th great plan - it feels heavier as they get older, doesn't it? :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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