Shurley vs FLL... I need help deciding

[Canada_Mom]

I'm currently using FLL for gr.1 and it's going alright. I like it, but I'm not as enthusiastic about it as some others on these boards seem to be. DD doesn't seem to care either way. Atleast she doesn't cringe when the book comes out. :rolleyes: I'm not sure if this is a sign that it's not really a good fit for us or if grammar just isn't that exciting to begin with ;)

 

I'm trying to put together my plans for next year. Can someone help compare FLL part II to Shurley 2 for me. I've heard really good things about Shurley being a strong grammar program but have never been able to actually get my hands on it to look at. Given the cost of it, it's not something I want to purchase and regret if I can help it. Thanks.

[Heather in VA]

JMHO but Shurley seems like overkill grammar to me at that age. I know the 'eh' feeling that can come with using FLL but it seems more appropriate for that grade level. Shurley is very grammar focused rather than the combination of copywork, poems, grammar, mechanics. Shurley is really good but 2nd graders need to have a lighter approach (again JMHO).

 

If you can do it without pulling your hair out I'd stick with FLL and save Shurley for 3rd or 4th grade.

[PeterPan]

Just trim how you're using FLL and cut out a lot of the repetition. SG isn't worth it in 2nd, imho, and not even really 3rd. In the 4th grade book it's much better. Then you could proceed 4, 6, 7, or at least that's my plan. You could do FLL1 and 2 in 1st, FLL3 in 2nd, and then go to SG4 in 3rd along with WT.

[Storm Bay]

Just trim how you're using FLL and cut out a lot of the repetition. .

 

I agree with this. Our plan for ds, 7 is FLL 2 (he's done with 1) with no writng, then Easy Grammar with writing for Gr. 3 & 4, then R&S for 5 on. I do grammar light in the first few years and so far it's worked well for us. I've never looked at Shurley Grammar itself, but when I researched it, it didn't look like it would be as good a fit for my dc as it is for some.

[Marie in Oh]

We switched from FLL to Shurley 2. FLL was painful for all of us. My kids wanted more at that age and SG was just the right fit. We switched in 3rd to R&S becasue everyone here liked it so well. We are now doing Shurley 4 and plan to stick with it. It is a nice fit for us and it integrates with Latin for Children. I also have a 1st grader using Shurley 1.

[SBP]

I'm a big fan of Shurley, so that would get my vote. In fairness, though, I've only seen the first FLL and wasn't even aware that there were sequel(s) out.

 

We switched to Shurley in second grade and have used Levels 2-4. Next year I plan to skip Level 5 and go to 6, since there is a lot of repetition from one level to the next. However, I've never regretted starting Shurley in second grade and didn't feel that it was overkill at all. One of my children is working a grade ahead, so she did Shurley 2 as a six year old and did just fine with it.

 

Shurley is also incredibly easy to teach, even for moms who are intimidated by grammar. And my kids don't turn cartwheels over it, but they don't complain about it either. It's been a wonderful program for us :).

 

SBP

[Audrey]

I guess I'm on the other end of the spectrum in that I'm not fond of Shurley -- no disrespect intended. I think it's very expensive for what it is, and I don't think it's necessary for elementary. FLL was good, and although I haven't seen the levels for 3 and 4, I'm sure it will follow the same standards.

 

Personally, I really like Growing with Grammar best.

[keithfamily5]

I'm also using Shurley 4 with my older daughter. They both like it. However, I'm thinking that I'm going to be burnt out on grammar by high school! We may take the year off next year. I don't think it was all necessary for my 2nd grader. We could have held off. However, I have enjoyed the writing instruction. My kids like having a form to learn how to compose their paragraphs and (my older) essays.

 

Not sure if that helped. I haven't used FLL, so I'm no help there.

[Wildiris]

I've used both FLL in the lower grades and Shurley starting in the 4th grade. I like Shurley English, and I do modify the writing selections because they can be a bit dry. Overall, Shurley does an excellent job of introducing grammar and making it stick, but kids don't seem to be too fond of it. I also take the sentence patterns introduced and combine it with the vocabulary for sentence writing practice. After using Shurley for over a year I am impressed with not only the retention, but the fact that my DD uses what she knows when writing.

 

I do not make a big deal out of grammar. In fact, a week can go by without doing grammar and all is well. We just continue to move forward. Thus far I think grammar is one of those topics that can always be revisited; the more one learns to write the more grammar make sense. I'm not sure skipping levels is advantageous. I think this depends on your over all goal.

 

For your situation: I moved from FLL into Shurley 4 without difficulty, and my DD was in the second semester of 3rd grade. We drug our feet through FLL and it worked out just fine. I don't think my DD is behind. Perhaps waiting until grade 3 or 4 would be to your advantage. It may give you time to find Shurley used on ebay.

 

Good luck,

Iris

[WTMindy]

that really the only good part is the question and answer flow part. I started doing all of it and then shed the writing part, then the vocab, then most of the grammar became tedious. But, I do LOVE the Q/A flow. However, if you do one level of Shurley you have to start over the next year. I did year 4 which was good, but when the kids found out that they have to start over in year 5 they protested. So, I moved to R&S, which I like much better. The other thing about Shurley is that the Q/A flow only works when sentences are in certain patterns (which most sentences aren't). That is why I like the diagramming in R&S better.

 

All that said, I think one year of Shurley is good because it does help kids to identify basic parts of speech well.

 

I actually used FLL with my kids in a very condensed way when they were in Kindergarten. My kids didn't need the repitition but I liked what it offered. I have not seen FLL 3 so I can't give my opinion.

[ourjourneys]

I want to jump in here with Shurley Grammar. I also think it is extremely expensive and too rigorous for my homeschool setting. We enjoy learning, reading, writing and spelling. But Shurley English took the enjoyment out of it for all of us. I like Susan Bauer's new grammar books and Practical Language Lessons. Those just seem like more natural learning versus boring public school learning.

We do use Latin for children which we love and I have heard that Shurley goes well with it, but we are learning so much grammar from latin that I do not know how we would have time to do both.

Good luck in your choices.

[jec3113]

So, here is what I did and will continue to do. Both. I used the poems from FLL and the grammer from Shurley, which I love. We did not do any of the writing sections and my kids HATE the CD's that recite the jingles. Yes, this might seem like grammer overkill. However, PS wasn't teaching any grammer at all and I felt like we needed to go heavy into it. We didn't do any writing this year, again b/c of PS. PS made the kids hate writting, so we took a break and will now start IEW in the fall. We will also continue Shurley, only doing the grammer parts. We will also continue FLL and WWE.

 

I love Shurley. My ds, just turned 8, can label a sentence like you wouldn't believe. It is amazing. I don't even remember learning all these parts when I was a kid, so I have enjoyed learning it with them. We did Shurley 3 this year. Rainbow Resource has good prices on the Shurley. I purchased the practice booklets in addition to the kit b/c I got tired of listening to these children complain about having to write the sentences and then label them. $ well spent! :001_smile: