Does anyone have ANY knowledge of any of these LA programs??

[PeacefulChaos]

The good, the bad, the ugly - They've all come up in conversation or I've seen them somewhere but know nothing about them.

 

I'm looking for something for my 3rd grader, if that helps.  I'm not even sure if some of these are for that age, like I said, some just popped up randomly and I didn't know what they were but figured I should at least ask.

 

Christian Light language arts

 

Essentials in Writing

 

Hake Grammar

 

Easy Grammar

 

Galore Park Junior English

 

Moving Beyond the Page

 

Logic of English

 

Phonics Road

 

Language Lesson series (Sandi Queen)

 

Language Mechanic

 

Language Quest

 

MCT

 

Serl's Language Lessons

 

Shurley English

 

Voyages in English

 

 

 

Please, any info AT ALL will be helpful.  If you know how they work, whatever, if you hated them, loved them, didn't try them because you thought they looked weird, if you've never  even heard of such a thing --- all of that!

Astro has been doing Total Language Plus so far and, while I like it, it's just not quite the right fit for him.  

 

LMK!!!  

[Mbelle]

We've done Easy Grammar at the same time as Shurley English.  It took a little learning curve to do Shurley and we did with a co-op.  After about 6 weeks we really got into a groove with it.  I don't know that I would have stuck with it without the co-op.  My kids did learn a lot from Shurley and it stuck.  I didn't really see the point of Easy Grammar to go with it. Shurley was enough by itself.  From what I remember Shurley does parse sentences, but does not diagram, at least that is what I remember.   Easy Grammar is easy and might be good for summer or for review. 

[Ellie]

We've done Easy Grammar at the same time as Shurley English.  It took a little learning curve to do Shurley and we did with a co-op.  After about 6 weeks we really got into a groove with it.  I don't know that I would have stuck with it without the co-op.  My kids did learn a lot from Shurley and it stuck.  I didn't really see the point of Easy Grammar to go with it. Shurley was enough by itself.  From what I remember Shurley does parse sentences, but does not diagram, at least that is what I remember.   Easy Grammar is easy and might be good for summer or for review. 

 

There was a learning curve with Easy Grammar? :huh: Easy Grammar was my favorite. :-)

 

And why on earth someone thought that Shurley needed to be supplemented with EG, I cannot imagine. :huh:

[Vida Winter]

Christian Light is one of the easiest to implement.

[Ellie]

The good, the bad, the ugly - They've all come up in conversation or I've seen them somewhere but know nothing about them.

 

I'm looking for something for my 3rd grader, if that helps.  I'm not even sure if some of these are for that age, like I said, some just popped up randomly and I didn't know what they were but figured I should at least ask.

 

Christian Light language arts:Includes grammar, composition, spelling, etc. Reading is a separate, additional series. Published in 10 individual "Light Units" per grade

 

Essentials in Writing

 

Hake Grammar: Grammar and composition; some spelling, but not a complete spelling (although it might be enough for some children); needs reading/literature to make it a complete English course. (I linked the scope and sequence so you can see what it covers)

 

Easy Grammar: Grammar, punctuation, and capitalization; no writing (my favorite grammar)

 

Galore Park Junior English

 

Moving Beyond the Page

 

Logic of English:

 

Phonics Road: The complete title is "The Phonics Road to Spelling and Reading." A Spalding spin-off, teaches children to read by teaching them to spell, and includes grammar, composition, and introduction to Latin.

 

Language Lesson series (Sandi Queen): These look very good. If I were homeschooling again, I'd be tempted to try them out, at least for my littles. :-)

 

Language Mechanic

 

Language Quest

 

MCT

 

Serl's Language Lessons: There is the "Primary Language Lessons" by Emma Serl and the "Intermediate Language Lessons." Serls' books use narration and copywork, which are favorite things for classical and CM hsers. :-)

 

Shurley English

 

Voyages in English

 

 

 

Please, any info AT ALL will be helpful.  If you know how they work, whatever, if you hated them, loved them, didn't try them because you thought they looked weird, if you've never  even heard of such a thing --- all of that!

Astro has been doing Total Language Plus so far and, while I like it, it's just not quite the right fit for him.  

 

LMK!!!  

 

 

[Mbelle]

There was a learning curve with Easy Grammar? :huh: Easy Grammar was my favorite. :-)

 

And why on earth someone thought that Shurley needed to be supplemented with EG, I cannot imagine. :huh:

 

It was the opposite of this.  Shurley had a learning curve and I also did not think it needed any supplementing. 

[Crimson Wife]

I actually have Shurley 1 packed away in one of my boxes. It's time for me to pass it along to a good home like a generous HS mom with older kids passed it to me back when I was a newbie HSer. I found it too difficult to implement and at this point, I have stuff I like better for that stage.

 

The old Catholic edition of Voyages in English is one of my all-time biggest flops. I almost never switch programs mid-level but we could only stand about 6 weeks of ViE. It was that dry.

 

MCT I have a love/hate relationship with. Love, love, love the Caesar's English books. The poetry is good as well. Sentence Island and Paragraph Town are engaging, though the writing assignments are too open-ended for my tastes so we just use the grammar portions. The practice books are good. The grammar is "meaty" in terms of the concepts covered, but he leaves out a lot of stuff in the elementary books. Magic Lens 1 is much more comprehensive but I don't understand why MCT leaves things like mechanics for middle school rather than including them in the elementary books.

[Ellie]

It was the opposite of this.  Shurley had a learning curve and I also did not think it needed any supplementing. 

 

DOH. sorry!

[Aurelia]

Easy Grammar - grammar only, uses a workbook (or you can photocopy the pages in the TM for the student), pretty much open and go. We used grade 5. It was not my favorite, especially since we had to add writing and spelling and literature.

 

Galore Park Junior English - covers everything except how to write. Has writing prompts, but you would need to teach paragraph structure, etc. Very thorough, includes dictionary skills, spelling, vocabulary, grammar, mechanics and has literature suggestions. I liked it, and it is one of the less expensive curricula. We combined it with WWE, but Treasured Conversations would also go well with it.

 

Moving Beyond the Page - literature based, varied activities, for some reason each lesson took us a long time to do. I like this for an occasional break from our regular curricula, but I don't think we could use the full program. DD found the work very challenging. 

 

MCT - lots of reading and discussion, does not cover mechanics, good for students who pick things up quickly. We did the Island level and DD liked the story. Literature is separate, and we didn't use it.

 

Serl's Language Lessons - Good lessons, old fashioned. We used Intermediate Language Lessons and they were a stretch for DD. 

 

[sewingmama]

We use 3 of those currently.

 

Moving Beyond The Page, Essentials In Writing, CLE LA.

 

MBTP is more like unit studies. We have only used the younger levels so the writing hasn't been huge so far. Apparently they do teach everything you need BUT so far I haven't found it specific enough. For example...they will list a task such as write a paragraph about x but don't specifically teach how to write a paragraph. It might be more specific in older levels...I haven't got there yet. My kids needed more detailed instruction hence we started....

 

EIW. Very easy to use. Pop in the DVD and do the worksheet after. Covers all grammar but does not diagram sentences etc. Very bare bones but covers all the skills...which is what I wanted ...no fluff. Bonus...My kids love Mr. Stephens and get exposed to another teaching style beside mine.

 

CLE LA...again very easy to use and content filled. Fills in the gaps of the above two programs. Includes spelling, copywork, writing. Very spiral...which my kids need. We love this and I think we will never leave it.

 

My kids are very much bare bones skill learners ...if there is a lot of fluff they get confused...especially my DD. They need programs that break the skills down into tiny steps that build on each other which is what EIW and CLE do. MBTP I like not so much for their LA but for their integrated learning and hands on projects as well as their emphasis of thinking outside the box. Also love their literature approach. I can't say enough good things about their 4-5 level but you won't be needing that for a 3rd grader lol.

 

i feel we have everything covered properly using these 3.

[Farrar]

Just adding a little...

 

MBtP is a lot of writing without a lot of step by step support on the how to write. That's the main complaint I've seen about it. As others said, it's part of an all-in-one unit studies kind of thing (all but math). The lit units can be bought separately though.

 

MCT is whimsical at the Island level. Lots of grammar analysis but presented in a way that is maybe more fun and challenging for many kids than most dry grammar programs. The writing was very odd though. Just completely wacko assignments, IMO, that were meant to illuminate the grammar concepts, but didn't really help a kid learn better writing. The poetry and vocab were gentle in contrast to the more in depth grammar.

 

And I didn't see anyone try to explain...

 

Logic of English is an intensive phonics program with cards and games, but it also covers spelling and writing mechanics.

 

Essentials in Writing seemed very workbooky when I looked at it, but I could be wrong there...

[Orthodox6]

Comments embedded. Sorry that iPad does not let me change colour of the font.

 

EDIT:  Came to the PC where fonts can be changed.

 

The good, the bad, the ugly - They've all come up in conversation or I've seen them somewhere but know nothing about them.

I'm looking for something for my 3rd grader, if that helps. I'm not even sure if some of these are for that age, like I said, some just popped up randomly and I didn't know what they were but figured I should at least ask.

Christian Light language arts

Essentials in Writing

Hake Grammar -- I have not looked at the third grade level to comment. We have used grades six and higher. We liked the grammar and ignored the writing lessons.

Easy Grammar -- Loved by many. Did not work at any level for my four because of the program's premise of starting with prepositions. I could "see" the point when I thought about it; however, the program never clicked for the kids.

Galore Park Junior English

Moving Beyond the Page

Logic of English

Phonics Road

Language Lesson series (Sandi Queen)

Language Mechanic

Language Quest

MCT

Serl's Language Lessons -- "Sweet" gentle program but too old-fashioned in tone even for us.

Shurley English -- Never in a trillion years am I going to teach ANYTHING by singing jingles! . . . and I am a trained musician.

Voyages in English -- Which one? There is a modern, secular series which I tried once and thought it public schoolish and dull. There also is the original Catholic series from the 1950s (?). Good for Christian use, but "dated" and it shows.



Please, any info AT ALL will be helpful. If you know how they work, whatever, if you hated them, loved them, didn't try them because you thought they looked weird, if you've never even heard of such a thing --- all of that!
Astro has been doing Total Language Plus so far and, while I like it, it's just not quite the right fit for him.

LMK!!!

[Insertcreativenamehere]

I'm using CLE language arts with my 2nd and 4th graders. It is very thorough in terms of grammar, handwriting and spelling but weak on writing. Very easy to use and inexpensive. I am happy with it. I'm supplementing it with Writing and Rhetoric: Fable and some Evan-Moor writing materials for my 4th grader. 

[Peaceful Isle]

The good, the bad, the ugly - They've all come up in conversation or I've seen them somewhere but know nothing about them.

 

I'm looking for something for my 3rd grader, if that helps.  I'm not even sure if some of these are for that age, like I said, some just popped up randomly and I didn't know what they were but figured I should at least ask.

 

Christian Light language arts

 

Essentials in Writing

 

Hake Grammar

 

Easy Grammar

 

Galore Park Junior English

 

Moving Beyond the Page

 

Logic of English

 

Phonics Road

 

Language Lesson series (Sandi Queen)

 

Language Mechanic

 

Language Quest

 

MCT

 

Serl's Language Lessons

 

Shurley English

 

Voyages in English

 

 

 

Please, any info AT ALL will be helpful.  If you know how they work, whatever, if you hated them, loved them, didn't try them because you thought they looked weird, if you've never  even heard of such a thing --- all of that!

Astro has been doing Total Language Plus so far and, while I like it, it's just not quite the right fit for him.  

 

LMK!!!  

 

My son used the Voyages in English first and second grade books. We loved it. It is very colorful, and includes writing as well as grammar. It is consumable, unlike the 3rd grade and up. He is now using FLL3 because I needed something consumable that he could write in,

 

We tried Queens language lessons a few years ago for my oldest dd. It wasn't for us. Too light. 

 

We are also using Essentials in Writing. I like that there is a video to watch each day or every other day, depending on the lesson. It works and my kids like it. It is nothing fancy, but it get the job done for this busy mom. It is also reusable for my younger kids, so that is a bonus for my budget. 

[sbgrace]

I'll reply for the ones I've used. If you need more information about a certain program, do google search the forums.

If you haven't done that before, it works better than the search here. in google: easy grammar site:forums.welltrainedmind.com

All your hits will be from the well trained mind about the program you search.

 

The good, the bad, the ugly - They've all come up in conversation or I've seen them somewhere but know nothing about them.

 

I'm looking for something for my 3rd grader, if that helps.  I'm not even sure if some of these are for that age, like I said, some just popped up randomly and I didn't know what they were but figured I should at least ask.

 

Christian Light language arts

 

 

Essentials in Writing

Easy to use, painless for my kids, felt a bit school at home/scripted. Covers grammar and composition. You can start at grade level, even if you lack previous instruction.

 

Hake Grammar

 

Easy Grammar

 

Galore Park Junior English

 

Moving Beyond the Page

 

Logic of English

 

Phonics Road

This is a reading/spelling program using Spalding type methods.  My boys were reading already when we started, so I was using it for spelling. After two levels, I decided rules based spelling wasn't the best fit for one of mine. I think the grammar and composition instruction is weak. Most kids would need something more for retention. I have a close friend who is finishing the final level with her daughter. She would agree with my assessment of the grammar/composition instruction, but the spelling worked well for her daughter.

 

Language Lesson series (Sandi Queen)

 

Language Mechanic

 

Language Quest

 

MCT

I love the grammar. I think you'd need more for composition. I don't see it as a complete program for most kids, though it's supposed to be.  It's pricey. I am only using the grammar now.

 

Serl's Language Lessons

 

Shurley English

 

Voyages in English

 

 

 

Please, any info AT ALL will be helpful.  If you know how they work, whatever, if you hated them, loved them, didn't try them because you thought they looked weird, if you've never  even heard of such a thing --- all of that!

Astro has been doing Total Language Plus so far and, while I like it, it's just not quite the right fit for him.  

 

LMK!!!  

 

[idnib]

MCT, although I really like it, can be a bit confusing to implement. I found this file (pdf) to be most helpful.

[MiMi 4under3]

Hake grammar is open-and-go, like Saxon math. Can be done independently by the student, and includes 2 vocabulary words per lesson. (We didn't use the writing portion last year.)

[kbutton]

We love MCT grammar, and I supplement with Daily Grams (by Easy Grammar) for mechanics. My son did Shurley in school and liked it. If you could borrow MCT or really look at samples, that is always good--it's quite a leap if it won't suit you. My big beef with Easy Grammar is that it doesn't use the official grammar terminology, at least in third grade (statement vs. declarative sentence, etc.). We did find after we used MCT for Island and Town, my son (now in 5th) has been able to use the Easy Grammar Ultimate books for mechanics--the first book is an 8th grade book that is written at a 4th grade reading level (If I remember correctly). It uses the technical terms for all grammar concepts. The format is like Daily Grams, but the ultimate series has more instruction.

[....]

Christian Light language arts

 

Easy Grammar

 

Galore Park Junior English

 

Language Mechanic

 

MCT

 

Serl's Language Lessons

 

 

Ummm, this is embarrassing, but we've used all of these (ok, in my defense, I have 4 kids...so they've tried different things).  Here's our experience:

 

1.  Christian Light - very good, probably one of the best on the list...but was not developmentally appropriate for my son when he was younger.  It moved too quickly, too early.

 

2.  Easy Grammar - also pretty good, but just covers grammar.  If you want to cover all of grammar in one year, you can use EG Plus (my 7th grader is currently doing this).  I use a transparency and dry erase marker for the workbook exercises so I can reuse the workbook (sorry, Easy Grammar People).  There is also a high school workbook series that reviews everything in just 5-10 minutes a day.  

 

3.  Galore Park Junior English - my son really enjoyed this one.  It's a small, non-consumable, paperback textbook.  It has writing exercises, vocabulary exercises, spelling, etc.  The books are kinda thin, though.  I think you would need 300 Galore Park books to equal one Easy Grammar Plus workbook.

 

4.  Language Mechanic - my kids really enjoyed this, too.  It's very non-sequential, though - just warning you.  It gives you sentences or paragraphs and you have to use reasoning to answer questions about the grammar.  

 

5.  MCT - I think this is the best on the list, although it's incomplete.  We stopped using it at the voyage level, because I couldn't afford it anymore.  It is very expensive.  My daughter was retaining things so much better with the way they show you to do sentence analysis.  Some kids might not like grammar as a story, though.  My son wouldn't even look at it.  Also, this program doesn't cover *everything*.  There weren't exercises in punctuation, vocab, etc.  It was more about parts of speech, parts of a sentence, parts of a paragraph, etc.    

 

6.  Serl's Language Lessons - my 9 yro is currently finishing up Primary Language Lessons and my 11 yro is in the middle of Intermediate Language Lessons.  These are very good.  They are full of writing exercises. In fact, I think there's more writing than grammar.  ILL has vocab, poetry, punctuation...  PLL is very light/non-overwhelming to work through, but it still covers a lot of writing.  I do change around exercises sometimes, though.  I've turned things into dictation or copy work, etc.  We've also discussed things out loud, instead of writing them.  I really like these two.  These are probably my favorite on your list.  

[whitestavern]

Christian Light language arts - we did a writing unit; it was okay.  We prefer secular so...

 

Essentials in Writing - currently using.  Seems very easy right now (we're doing 7th grade) but hopefully will ramp up

 

Galore Park Junior English - haven't used, but it was on the short list.  Not sold in the US (Ray @ Horrible books doesn't carry or didn't when I wanted it)

 

MCT - love love love the grammar, vocab and poetry; literature good as well.  Did not enjoy the writing at all

[Space station]

We absolutely love MCT, and it the only one on your list that we have used, but it is very expensive. Hake grammar is generally considered to be a grade level behind whatever it says, so you would use Hake 5 for a 4th grader, etc.

[happyhappyjoyjoy]

I've been very happy with Shurley English.  We do not do the jingles.  I had memory work cards from when DS1 did FLL1 and 2.  I modified them a bit to match Shurley and we go over those with our daily memory work.  We are only on week 6 or so, and both of my boys have learned a tremendous amount.  I also love how she teaches vocabulary with antonyms and synonyms and they are cumulatively reviewed on the weekly tests as well as the practice/improved sentence writing activities.

[Laura Corin]

I also used three years of Junior English.  I found it very good, particularly for my sons who picked up English quite intuitively, and on whom I didn't want to impose years of drill.  The emphasis is on comprehension, writing in a variety of situations, reading good prose and poetry, speaking, and (light) grammar, spelling and vocabulary.  The first chapter of Junior English 2 (for age 8-9) is here; each chapter is in the same format.  There is no explicit instruction in writing a paragraph or a longer piece - that has to come from the teacher.  I was very pleased with the course - it fitted our needs exactly.

 

Hobbes (who used the Junior course - it was not available when Calvin was that age) was very well prepared to enter private school at 10.

 

L

[MamaAmy]

I listened to an hour lecture from Logic of English at a classical education conference, and the lecture was incredibly thorough. The program teaches all the rules--defying the often quoted myth that English rules are somehow highly illogical. My daughter is in a hybrid schooling program, and we teach what the school does for LA, which is Writing Road to Reading. I am very impressed with WRtR for much of the same reason, but if I were solo homeschooling, I would want to seriously consider Logic of English. I am a big fan of students knowing language precisely as it helps later on when students are learning rhetorical devices or being corrected in their writing. It can be difficult to explain to a student why a sentence doesn't work; for example, just the other day, I had a student put an oppressed character in the direct object slot of a passive construction--all I had to ask was whether she thought her syntax mirrored her content; she understood immediately that she was obscuring the agency of the oppressor, and she went on to revise the paper. While that's not a spelling example, so I'm afraid I've strayed a bit, it does, I think, help to show how helpful it is to have a precise understanding of language.

 

I'm also familiar with Shurley Grammar--very familiar, having taught it. The jingles are catchy; its level of detail is sufficient; its call and answer flow is very good, I think, for reinforcing the function of parts of speech. I do personally favor diagramming, ultimately, and would ideally culminate a Shurley Grammar study with a study in diagramming. I can see the reasoning behind parsing linearly first, however, and I think that makes sense. But once basic parsing is established, I think a deeper understanding of grammatical constructs and particularly their relationship to one another (how dependent clauses are anchored to the independent clause) is best understood through a visual diagram.

[Pen]

bold for ones I have used with comments after in red

The good, the bad, the ugly - They've all come up in conversation or I've seen them somewhere but know nothing about them.

 

I'm looking for something for my 3rd grader, if that helps.  I'm not even sure if some of these are for that age, like I said, some just popped up randomly and I didn't know what they were but figured I should at least ask.

 

Christian Light language arts

 

Essentials in Writing

 

This briefly seemed good, esp. that my ds was willing to use it, but later fizzled. For him, not a lot seemed to be learned from it--more busy work than learning. But I have heard others who have used it longer and reported that their dc gained skills from it.

 

Hake Grammar

 

We are currently using this (6th grade book). It seems to be going well for the grammar and dictation parts. We have also used some of the writing, which is pretty dull, but ds has been able to apply it to more interesting content. It has been easy to implement following it pretty much as written, including setting up a notebook as they describe. It is too early to know if it will have skill learning that will transfer to real world in terms of the grammar part.

 

Even though the writing part is not all that fun or inspiring, it was from its writing for the first time that when ds got to Hogwartsishere.com and had an assignment to write an essay, and said to me, "Mom, what's an essay?" (Like um how many years have we been trying to do them and how many programs have we used?) ... when I replied, "Well, you need to start with an introductory paragraph that gets the reader interested in your subject, and then follow that with some more paragraphs to build up and explain your thesis topic, and then finally write a concluding paragraph to sum it up." He said, "Oh, I know! That's what my book says to do!" and proceeded to actually do it.  I cannot say for sure if it was the Hake that helped this to finally click, or just the accumulation over the years has gradually gotten to where he can now write a nonfiction essay,  with Hake what happened to be the program being used at the clicking for him moment.

 

We are doing it by a length of time each day (and allowing real writing to take the place of this if he chooses), rather than trying to do a lesson per day. This seems manageable even with dysgraphia. Since the levels seem to repeat much of the same information, it is fine with me if he takes more than a year to do the 6th grade level. I chose this level mainly because the dictations I saw in a sample seemed like they would suit him.

 

Easy Grammar

 

Galore Park Junior English

 

Moving Beyond the Page

 

Logic of English 

 

short try for phonics spelling... we needed things more suited to dyslexia

 

Phonics Road

 

Language Lesson series (Sandi Queen)

 

Language Mechanic

 

I think this is a fun book to have. It isn't a full grammar program IMO, but makes a nice workbook for a year when grammar is not a main focus, and which then becomes a personal reference book. It has some funny examples.

 

Language Quest

 

MCT

 

We loved Sentence Island and the Poetry parts we got. I think it greatly enhanced my ds's feeling and appreciation for language. I don't think the writing assignments were very useful for him, and the way it presented grammar exercises did not work as well for him as Hake seems to at the moment. If it were less expensive though, I would be buying all of it even if we did not find all of it useful. This is the only grammar program that I can say evoked a sense of "love." 

 

Serl's Language Lessons

 

Shurley English

 

Voyages in English

 

 

 

Please, any info AT ALL will be helpful.  If you know how they work, whatever, if you hated them, loved them, didn't try them because you thought they looked weird, if you've never  even heard of such a thing --- all of that!

Astro has been doing Total Language Plus so far and, while I like it, it's just not quite the right fit for him.  

 

LMK!!!  

 

[AdventuresinHomeschooling]

We use Shurley.  My son loves the jingles, as he is more musical, and it is amazing what they can learn.  It teaches them how to analyze a sentence through a question and answer flow that parses out each part of speech by asking questions and labeling the parts.  The writing instruction is included, but it is very formulaic (7 sentence paragraph, friendly letter, etc.)  My son enjoys them on occasion, but we use WWE and CAP WR more for writing and skip some of their writing assignments.  There are some activities I skip that are extra, but some are really fun.  There tends to be a pattern in the weekly lessons that you pick up after a while.  There is a weekly test.  There are 8 vocabulary words a week that they look up.  It is scripted.  The practice booklet helps to not have to write out all the sentences every day, but it's not essential.  You can usually find the teachers manuals used and then just buy the workbook, making it more affordable.  We never use the cd's.

 

I was fortunate to have a son that already knew the jingles from school, so this was really easy for me to implement.  However, I am a little daunted at teaching my next son the first level, but it is all scripted.  The homeschool versions are a little clunky in their layout with only black and white pages and having to flip back and forth between sections.  My only other main complaint of Shurley is the lack of diagramming sentences.  Also, it moves very slowly  from year to year with a lot of review.  This means that your child will really get all of the basic grammar down, but some of the more complex grammar is only in the 7th book.  Some people skip levels because it is so incremental.  We are skipping from Level 2 to Level 4 this year.  After Level 4, we plan to switch to Michael Clay Thompson.

 

After a while, the jingles can get old.  I don't do them every day.  But they are in memory, which is important.  I am waiting for my son to blank on a test later in life and then recall his Shurley jingle drilled in his head.  If you have more than one student in Shurley, it may be a bit time intensive.  

 

My second child is very different from my oldest, and I considered a different program.  But there is little that is this strong in first grade, except maybe FLL.  FLL looks interesting, but the dryness of repeating definitions three times is still too much for me.  I did find an elementary diagramming book that I am thinking of introducing as a supplement.  MCT does not do diagramming either, but labels the sentences.  I think this is fine, but I do want my kids to be familiar with diagramming.

[Caviar]

We're currently using Shurley English 2.  My two dd's hate it, BUT it gets the job done!  Maybe I'll switch next year to MCT, not sure (but it appears that a lot of replies here are in favor of it).  Shurley does not diagram sentences, it parses them.  Also, with Shurley English you do get some composition in, so you do not need to add that.

 

We also use Spell to Write and Read (SWR), which is very similar to Writing Road to Reading and Logic of English.  SWR would be less expensive than LOE, as it's a one time buy, and can be used for ALL grades.  It is Not open and go, and is very teacher intensive, but well worth the effort.  SWR encourages students learning to write Cursive First - which is a program that can be implemented separate from SWR, but goes specifically with SWR.  SWR is considered an intense phonics instruction program.  It does incorporate composition and grammar, but does not exist for that purpose.

 

We tried Serl's Language Lessons, but my dd's were not into it at all, they like the strict stucture of Shurley English better (even though they fight it).  Serl's is more of a Charlotte Mason approach as well as the Queen Homeschooling Language Lessons.

 

I have a sister who swears by CLE Language Arts as it is COMPREHENSIVE - you need nothing else to supplement - that alone may be a big plus.  I looked at it, but didn't really like how it was set up.  (I do like their math though.)

 

HTH

[MeAndTheBoys]

I really like Christian Light because it is easy to use, complete, high level grammar--

 

We were eclectic until last year--I have used Queens, FLL, various spelling curriculums (Rod and Staff, Spelling Power, workbooks from Barnes and Noble), Primary Language Lessons, probably more--I got very weary! and last year, my baby turned 5 and I needed time with him.  So I put the big boys into CLE Grades 4 and 5.

 

It is nearly totally independent and it covers all the cool diagramming that their logical minds enjoy, and they "get" it.  It covers a lot, but CLE is such a friendly, sweet company that it doesn't feel as strict as it really is.

 

Like others said, the writing is weak--it does cover writing paragraphs, essays, outlines, reports--one or two structured writing assignments that are explained fairly well, but it just isn't really enough.  There is a go-along creative writing text that was not user friendly.  We were in an IEW class last year to supplement, and this year we are starting Apologia "Jump In" and I have some "Imitation in Writing" books to use--

 

But other than the writing, CLE is a complete program and it's easy to use, and my boys don't complain about it.  And it makes sense to them, and is pretty much self-teaching.

 

B--

[Nicholas_mom]

First, you really need to know what kind of learner you have and what does he/she know intuitively.  My son is a visual/spatial learner and whole to parts learner.  He is a natural writer.  That is what MCT materials are good for.  Not to say if you have a different type learner MCT can't work, but that's who the program is meant for.  He does not need endless mechanics practice and intuitively knew how to punctuate.  He constantly corrects my grammar, which is really bad because English is not my first language.

 

MCT Island was great.  You have:

Grammar Island

Building Language (Vocabulary)

Music of the Hemispheres (Poetry)  (Love it but went over his head for concepts.  I am going to finish it hopefully this year.  He is in Grade 6 and we started Island in Grade 4 - we did MCT Town for Grade 5)

Sentence Island (sentences) (we did it orally because at the time he wasn't liking writing assignments)

Practice Island (practicing grammar)

MUD trilogy (for literature)  LOVE IT!!!!  Atleast here.

 

MCT Island does not have capitilazation but my ds knew this intuitively.

 

MCT Grammar Town:

Grammar Town (grammar)

Ceasar's English (vocab)

Building Poems (haven't done it yet.  I want to finish the 1st book)

Paragraph Town (grammar and paragraph writing)  The 1st 10 lessons are great.

Practice Town (grammar practice)

APM Literature (Literature)  LOVE MCT Literature program and so does ds.

 

DS loved Grammar Town but he also read Moby Dick himself (his choice) which Grammar Town had a lot of references to the book.

 

We are going to do Voyage next year in Grade 7.  we are doing WWS Modified approach, so half the program in half the time.  Grammar VOYAGE starts writing essays and my son needed more practice with writing across the curriculum for 3 paragraphs for academic writing.

 

Grammar Voyage

Ceasar's English 2 (vocab)

A world of Poetry (poetry)

Essay Voyage

Practice Voyage

SEARCH (Literature books to read - treasure Island, A Call of the Wild, and Invisible Man.  We are doing treasure Island but ds didn't want to read the other books so I am using a different program for literature.)

 

ILL - was too old language for us and all over the place.  Plus, like I said before, he knew grammar and mechanics intuitively.  So, to us it was busy work for this child!

 

Good Luck!

 

[Momof3littles]

MCT has been absolutely wonderful for us.  We do our own writing.  I have used MCT with Writing and Rhetoric, WWE, and WWS at different points.  I started with MCT when my oldest was in third, and he learned so much.  We've used Island and Town; we are currently pausing and doing other work this semester like WWS (he's in 5th). 

 

My DD started with some of MCT in a co-op setting in first and second, so much earlier than DS1.  Her knowledge of poetry by even this age has just been incredible, and she really knows a tremendous amount of grammar.  By the end of first/beginning of 2nd, she was easily identifying things like prep phrases, direct objects, linking verbs, subject complements, etc. That has given us a wonderful base of knowledge to work with when we study Latin (GSWL) or discuss her writing.  Having that early, solid base has been wonderful.  I wish I had learned grammar in the way MCT teaches it, as the logic involved is appealing to my kids.  It has been a tremendous success for us.  The poetics as well.  I envy my kids' exposure.  Having that base level of knowledge has really given us so many things to talk about when we read poetry or prose outside of the MCT materials.

 

We supplemented with things like Daily Paragraph Editing to work on punctuation on occasion, as well as Jensen's and Killgallon.