my3daughters Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 I am really struggling with making decisions about how much language arts to do. It seems like such a HUGE overwhelming umbrella of curriculum when you include reading, spelling, writing, grammar, literature study, etc…. Right now I have a few different options I am thinking of: 1) CLE LA (minus spelling), R&S Spelling by sound and structure, TC (first 1/2 or so), W&R Narrations 1 (after TC), MP Poetry, reading lots of good literature using Figuratively Speaking and Deconstructing Penguins for analysis 2) Same as above except: not doing much analysis (still reading lots) and instead use CLE Reading (wondering if this is too much overlap with things taught in W&R) 3) keeping it REALLY basic CLE LA, R&S Spelling (at least for 1/2 the year then maybe continue with CLE LA only), CLE Reading, TC at a slow pace, lots of good literature 4)Any other ideas you all might have…. Any and all thoughts are very much welcome! I have talked myself into and out of many different options and can see pros and cons to everything I keep coming up with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 I am really struggling with making decisions about how much language arts to do. It seems like such a HUGE overwhelming umbrella of curriculum when you include reading, spelling, writing, grammar, literature study, etc…. Right now I have a few different options I am thinking of: 1) CLE LA (minus spelling), R&S Spelling by sound and structure, TC (first 1/2 or so), W&R Narrations 1 (after TC), MP Poetry, reading lots of good literature using Figuratively Speaking and Deconstructing Penguins for analysis 2) Same as above except: not doing much analysis (still reading lots) and instead use CLE Reading (wondering if this is too much overlap with things taught in W&R) 3) keeping it REALLY basic CLE LA, R&S Spelling (at least for 1/2 the year then maybe continue with CLE LA only), CLE Reading, TC at a slow pace, lots of good literature 4)Any other ideas you all might have…. Any and all thoughts are very much welcome! I have talked myself into and out of many different options and can see pros and cons to everything I keep coming up with. I have to keep things simple; that includes using something to its fullest extent instead of trying to skip some things in it and add yet another thing, so for me the choices would be one of these: Rod and Staff English, Spelling by Sound and Structure, reading good trade books and discussing them sometimes, maybe doing occasional Love to Learn Place book reportsor Doing Spalding for a couple of years, then Writing Strands, Easy Grammar, and reading good trade books and discussing them sometimes, maybe doing occasional Love to Learn Place book reports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 K12 Lang Arts is what I finally decided on. If this is a no-no for you, how about just CLE LA and Reading with whatever writing program you wish? The fewer books you have to buy and juggle, the simpler the plan and the more likely you will be to carry that plan out long term. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
my3daughters Posted February 2, 2015 Author Share Posted February 2, 2015 I do agree using something to its fullest potential and getting rid of adding in extra stuff is the way to go. It is actually one of the reason I am considering CLE reading and getting rid of too many extra curriculums. It is also the reason I am thinking reading good literature and using that good literature to its fullest potential is the way to go instead of adding in reading. See…I confuse myself :confused1: Unfortunately R&S English isn't the best match for us. DD1 is doing fine with it this year but she is the kind of kiddos who initially easily understands things and will "master" them (i.e. does excellent on the lessons in R&S) but retention is a struggle. She does well even on the tests in R&S but I know that waiting an entire year before re-visiting certain topics just doesn't work for her. I am really finding that a spiral approach is best for her which is why we are switching to CLE. I very much want to stick with the rules based spelling of R&S versus the topical lists of CLE right now. Possibly in the future we will go the route of only CLE but not yet. I honesty haven't looked into K12 much other than knowing their language arts is a package deal and I can't get the literature separate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Well, first, what age/grade are these kids? I use Figuratively Speaking as a 6th-8th book, but the writing choices are for younger kids. Not knowing age, I'd choose a tweaked option one. Being under the impression that Treasured Conversations covered grammar, I'd drop CLE entirely. Writing: TC/W&R, good combo from what I've seen on the board Grammar: TC, perhaps a daily review book after that if you're concerned about it (Evan-Moor Daily Language Review for example) Spelling: R&S, my personal favorite Literature: read high quality children's literature and discuss it, asking questions the whole time, Do read Deconstructing Penguins for yourself, absolutely, but don't do that with every book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 (edited) . Edited July 9, 2022 by SilverMoon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
my3daughters Posted February 2, 2015 Author Share Posted February 2, 2015 Oh yes, sorry age….It will be for my oldest who will be in 4th grade. I am not sure how much of Figuratively Speaking she will use but more as a guide for me right now. TC does cover some grammar in the first section but I don't feel like it is enough for us for a full year. From the lessons I have read so far it looks like it will be more of a good review for her at the beginning of the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
my3daughters Posted February 2, 2015 Author Share Posted February 2, 2015 Fwiw, my teens never ever did a "reading" curriculum. They mostly used the lit lists from Veritas Press (no guides) and discussed them with me in elementary. One of them is currently reading Pride and Prejudice for the fun of it, and the other is on a medieval mythology in the Middle English kick. They are thriving in the Great Books, and do fine with lit terms. We did do portions of Figuratively Speaking in 7th-8th. Thank you. That is helpful to hear! I am really leaning towards not needing it. It really does look like over time W&R would also touch on some of the things I am looking for from a reading or literature curriculum. The draw of a reading curriculum is certainly the open and go nature and knowing the bases are covered. I also run an in-home daycare so open and things that can be more independent in nature are very helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 To keep lit open and go for my fourth grader I collected the books I wanted her to read this year and put them on a specific shelf. She is required to read the book of her choice from that shelf for a developmentally appropriate amount of time. Daily. When she's done she comes to me and tells me about what she read. I listen and ask questions that can't be answered with a yes/no. "Why did she do that?" "What would you have done?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByGrace3 Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 We use several of the things you are considering. For 4th this year we are doing the following LA: R&S spelling Writing: TC and W&R Narrative 1 Grammar: FLL 4 (but we took a break from this while in the first section of TC which is grammar heavy-- the rest of TC is not) Cursive copywork And lots of good books Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
my3daughters Posted February 2, 2015 Author Share Posted February 2, 2015 We use several of the things you are considering. For 4th this year we are doing the following LA: R&S spelling Writing: TC and W&R Narrative 1 Grammar: FLL 4 (but we took a break from this while in the first section of TC which is grammar heavy-- the rest of TC is not) Cursive copywork And lots of good books Thank you….that is encouraging! Part of me wishes FLL was still a good match for us. We used it for 1st and 2nd grade and by the end DD1 very much complained about it. Too scripted and no choice for being independent. Oh well…. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abacus2 Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 I recommend CLE LA, spelling replaced by Rod & Staff, and lots of reading. I think the rest is overkill for 4th grade. Just spend some time talking to her about what she is reading and include some poetry in your book selections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kateingr Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Have you looked at the CLE writing assignments at all? You might be able to use them as your main writing curriculum. I've only used the 2nd grade LA, but I'm pleased with the writing assignments in each Light Unit so far, and I like the looks of the writing projects that come up in the future grade levels (especially the research project in 5th grade.) They're not flashy or exciting, but they seem like good solid writing exercises. I've been combining it with a cheap and simple workbook (Common Core Writing Handbook, Grade 2) that provides lots of writing samples as models. It's working great for teaching my son the basics of a paragraph. I'm on the fence with CLE spelling, too. I'd love to just use CLE to keep things simple, but AAS has worked really well so far. Now that my son is so used to the very clear rules in AAS, I worry that the CLE lists would seem too random. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
my3daughters Posted February 2, 2015 Author Share Posted February 2, 2015 Good to know about CLE's writing exercises. I really haven't gotten a good feel for their writing. I did know about the 5th grade project (the 1 that is an entire LU). I don't feel like their LA samples really give me a good sense about how we would like the writing. We are absolutely loving W&R. DD1 tells me all the time how much she loves it . I think I will have a much better sense about CLE's writing component once I have the teacher manual and all the LU's in my hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmseB Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Sorry to hijack the thread, but I had this question in my LA thread too, and people are recommending it here too, so I'm still curious. :) Why do so many swap out CLE's spelling for R&S? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
my3daughters Posted February 3, 2015 Author Share Posted February 3, 2015 I can't speak for others but for myself I would like to continue rules based spelling lists beyond 3rd grade. Starting in 4th grade CLE's spelling lists are topic based not rules based. I also feel like the weekly exercises are stronger in R&S versus CLE. This is based on only the samples from CLE as compared to our experience with R&S (have both 3rd and 4th grade books). We will be ready for 5th grade R&S sometime mid-year next year so we shall see then if I decide to switch to the topic based CLE lists or stick with R&S. R&S is just such a strong spelling curriculum in my opinion. It is hard for me not to use it. I would be sticking with all R&S language arts if DD1 didn't need a spiral approach so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmseB Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Ah, that makes sense. Thanks for the explanation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dentdiva5 Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Quick question- I know all the other acronyms, but what is TC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
my3daughters Posted February 3, 2015 Author Share Posted February 3, 2015 TC= Treasured Conversations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dentdiva5 Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Awesome!! Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnMomof7 Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 We do option 3 without TC. Works well for us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanchy Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 I'm not familiar with TC. Is there any other curriculum similar to TC.... or maybe better to ask what curriculum is similar to TC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My3girls Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Our 4th grade LA plans for next year: Writing & Rhetoric Narrative 1 & 2 FLL3 Spellwell C & Cc ETC 7 & 8 Write from History for cursive copy work & dictation lots of good books that we discuss as we go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dauphin Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 ETC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 I think exploding the code. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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