ByGrace3 Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 I know this question has been asked a million times...but I can't decide for next year... I have plenty of time I know :lol: We are working through FLL 4 right now...next years main options are Hake and GWG..though R&S may be an option if someone can convince me that it is perfect for us. :) I have also had brief thoughts about Abeka or BJU... Ideal would be: -A lot of built in review -Mainly independent though I don't mind and even would like a short interaction in each lesson in the beginning as long as the bulk of it can be done independently -- workbook format a bonus but not a deal breaker --include diagramming Deep understanding and application of grammar is important to me. I went to a private Christian school and went through the entire Abeka language arts series and feel like I have a pretty good grasp of grammar, and I want my kids to be solid as well. What do I need to know to make this decision? Oh, and for reference, other LA will include: R&S Spelling 6 CAP Narrative 2 and Chreia & Proverb Lit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 R&S English is excellent. That is all I have to say. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasperstone Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 When researching grammar awhile ago, GWG really appealed to me.But the postage to Australia was too high. :-( From personal experience, R& S works great when half is done orally. As it had too much writing out for mine. We are doing CLE LA, but changing when dd finishes yr 5. It's getting way too tedious for us now.And year 6 is worse, apparently. Wish we could afford GWG's postage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amira Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 We used GWG with my two who are in high school now from 3rd grade through 8th grade. It was quick, simple, and comprehensive. It prepared them well for their high school writing classes and I'll use it again with my youngest if he's homeschooling at those ages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeghansMom Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 Love Rod and Staff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByGrace3 Posted December 27, 2014 Author Share Posted December 27, 2014 I appreciate a couple of good experiences with GWG. It appeals to me but I have read a lot of people say they had little retention...that made me nervous. I understand R&S is well loved here, but does it meet my criteria? How much mom involvement is needed? Is it 5 days a week and if so how much time would I be needed to be involved? I don't mind teaching new material, but I need it to be a shirt teach the lesson now you go practice. From what I have read R&S is often done a lot orally to cut back on the writing...that is not independent. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 I understand R&S is well loved here, but does it meet my criteria? How much mom involvement is needed? Is it 5 days a week and if so how much time would I be needed to be involved? I don't mind teaching new material, but I need it to be a shirt teach the lesson now you go practice. From what I have read R&S is often done a lot orally to cut back on the writing...that is not independent. :) The R&S English series was written specifically to *not* require teacher involvement. Everything the children need to know is right there in their texts. The very excellent teacher manuals do have scripted oral classtime, which adds some warm fuzzy facetime if you want to, but it is *not* necessary, as it is just repeating what is in the student text. Also, IMHO, to do it orally is to miss out on the importance of actually writing on paper. I would expect a 10 or 11yo child to be writing everything. ETA: R&S's English is not a workbook, but I think that is an advantage. I think having to write on actual paper is valuable when it comes to building English skills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnMomof7 Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 We use CLE. It is very independent, includes review, and is quite rigorous. We also use Rod and Staff spelling alongside and scratch out the CLE assignments. Now, I will say...*I* am having a tough time with the 600s, because my formal grammar skills are low. Thanks, public school in the 80s/90s. I'm knuckling down and learning it myself now. I have many more children and need to be able to teach this stuff when they run into tricky spots. You would likely do just fine with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollyhock Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Climbing to Good English fits the criteria, except perhaps having a lot of built in review. It has some but I'm not sure I would call it a lot. It also gets bonus points for being super cheap. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasperstone Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 We use CLE. It is very independent, includes review, and is quite rigorous. We also use Rod and Staff spelling alongside and scratch out the CLE assignments. Now, I will say...*I* am having a tough time with the 600s, because my formal grammar skills are low. Thanks, public school in the 80s/90s. I'm knuckling down and learning it myself now. I have many more children and need to be able to teach this stuff when they run into tricky spots. You would likely do just fine with it. That's how I'm feeling at the end of CLE LA 5! So won't be attempting year 6! Looking at Easy Grammar Plus now. Though it looks too easy after CLE, lol!!!! Can't win! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 With R&S English, I take a couple of minutes to read through the review questions in the TM and have my child answer them. Then my child and I take turns reading through the lesson in the textbook, such as I read one paragraph and he reads the next. Most of the time the concepts are clear after just this reading, and no further time is needed on my part. Occasionally I get out a white board and explain a little more if my child doesn't understand a concept, but that usually is not necessary. For the younger grades, this step takes about 5-10 minutes. I am doing 6th grade this year with one of my kids, and the lessons take a bit longer to read through, sometimes 15-20 minutes. Then my child does the exercises on paper independently which (like Ellie said) is very important. I usually have my child do the odd or even written exercises, but not all of them. Then I have to grade the lesson which takes a few more minutes, including time for my child to correct mistakes. Once in a while we spend 15-20 minutes correcting mistakes if there is a significant lack of understanding of a concept. OP, I read through your criteria, and I think R&S English would fit as long as you are okay with putting a little time into it. I skip most of the composition lessons since we use other programs for this subject. We do a grammar lesson every day, and we finish the book usually at some point in March. After that, I have my kids do the Extra Worksheets as a review until the school year is ended. If you want to do grammar less than five days per week, R&S would likely fit into your school year well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmstranger Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 I'll chime in since no one has mentioned much about Hake yet. This is my first year homeschooling and my 5th grader had little to no grammar instruction in ps. We chose Hake b/c it does a LOT of review and I knew he would a lot of instruction. I feel like it does review well and it is a workbook requiring very little teacher time. In that respect, it meets your qualifications. However, my younger son is doing FLL2 and his grammar retention is MUCH better than my older son's (and the older is my gifted kid). I would think that after FLL4, Hake would be painfully repetitive and boring for your child. I like that I feel he is getting a good review with every single lesson, but it may be a bit much for someone who has already received good grammar instruction previously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 We tried Hake and GWG neither of which were a good fit for my kids. Two that we do like are Easy Grammar and Language Fundamentals (Evan- Moor). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Hake would be my vote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAinVA Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 We use Hake and love it! It has reviews in each lesson. My daughter (10) gets compliments about how well she writes and speaks for her age. It is a workbook format too. It has a list of journal topics, dictations, diagramming, and there is also a couple vocab words in each lesson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiMi 4under3 Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Ideal would be: -A lot of built in review -Mainly independent though I don't mind and even would like a short interaction in each lesson in the beginning as long as the bulk of it can be done independently -- workbook format a bonus but not a deal breaker --include diagramming Have you looked at Hake? It's all of the above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByGrace3 Posted December 30, 2014 Author Share Posted December 30, 2014 I thought Hake was a Textbook? As was Rod & Staff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 I thought Hake was a Textbook? As was Rod & Staff? It's a large paperback book. I think it might say textbook, but my dd wrote in it and used it as a workbook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByGrace3 Posted December 31, 2014 Author Share Posted December 31, 2014 Is the writing portion of Hake easy to identify and skip? We have a separate writing program we are happy with... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewellsmommy Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 We have used GWG. Both dc have done well with it. It can be done completely independent, introduces diagramming gently and effectively, and includes consistent review. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MommytoFour Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 As I understand it (I don't own it but saw it a while back), the writing is in a separate book.. the "Student Text" is the grammar portion, and the "Student Workbook" is the writing portion. Is the writing portion of Hake easy to identify and skip? We have a separate writing program we are happy with... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 Is the writing portion of Hake easy to identify and skip? We have a separate writing program we are happy with... The writing portion is in a separate book. We never used it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murrayshire Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 After reading your post, Analytical Grammar came to mind! I know it wasn't even one of your options so just ignore me if you will! Hope you find the right fit!😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByGrace3 Posted December 31, 2014 Author Share Posted December 31, 2014 After reading your post, Analytical Grammar came to mind! I know it wasn't even one of your options so just ignore me if you will! Hope you find the right fit!😉 I have actually wondered about this, but haven't looked too closely. My sister used it and was pleased with it...it is on my list to check out at convention in the spring. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 [First time I can post in three days] Ideal would be:-A lot of built in review-Mainly independent though I don't mind and even would like a short interaction in each lesson in the beginning as long as the bulk of it can be done independently-- workbook format a bonus but not a deal breaker--include diagrammingDeep understanding and application of grammar is important to me. GWG meets all of your 'ideal' checklist but would not fit the "deep understanding and application of grammar" part unless you are using other materials. It is superficial, spiral, and mostly independent. For an every-other-year, keep-it-fresh grammar, it works great for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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