My3girls Posted September 10, 2015 Share Posted September 10, 2015 I'm considering trying arrow and/or boomerang to go along with books we are reading. I haven't seen much discussion of these on the boards so I was just wondering if anyone had any experience or thoughts that they would like to share about them. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted September 10, 2015 Share Posted September 10, 2015 I will be using some boomerang guides along with Faltering Ownership this year with my 4th grader. We haven't started yet, so I don't have much to say about it. I just finished The Writer's Jungle, and I'm really inspired! I wish there was more talk about BW. There are some threads, but it's not a very popular curricula here, or if it is, people just aren't posting about it. (Unless I'm missing it!) I do get the impression that a lot of people like the idea of it, but have trouble implementing it. I think sometimes it's not what people were looking for. It's not open an go, and it can be vague from what I've seen. I like this aspect, but it's not for everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted September 10, 2015 Share Posted September 10, 2015 Isn't there a free copy of the Arrow that you can download? Possibly it is free with a purchase... We did the James and the Giant Peach (free) one. When I got it I didn't think it was enough, but ended up being surprised at how much we got out of it. I recently bought Faltering Ownership and it includes a schedule incorporating Boomerang and other ideas. That makes LA seem much more meaty. You want to find Farrar's blog, I Capture the Rowhouse. She is a big use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted September 10, 2015 Share Posted September 10, 2015 We have been using the Arrow lessons for years (and just this year I'll be using Boomerang with my dd12. I think they are great! I love how they incorporate copywork / dictation with grammar. My ds9 just learned what an em dash really is because of our Arrow lesson (and then saw an em dash in his book and for the first time understood it exactly!) She does have samples of each of the Arrow and Boomerang to download, so that should give you an idea if it's something you're interested in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted September 10, 2015 Share Posted September 10, 2015 I will be using some boomerang guides along with Faltering Ownership this year with my 4th grader. We haven't started yet, so I don't have much to say about it. I just finished The Writer's Jungle, and I'm really inspired! I wish there was more talk about BW. There are some threads, but it's not a very popular curricula here, or if it is, people just aren't posting about it. (Unless I'm missing it!) I do get the impression that a lot of people like the idea of it, but have trouble implementing it. I think sometimes it's not what people were looking for. It's not open an go, and it can be vague from what I've seen. I like this aspect, but it's not for everyone. Arrow lessons are definitely open and go (as opposed to the Writer's Jungle, which is a whole different animal). I think you will see more posted about it in the general section vs the curriculum section. I see Bravewriter discussed quite a bit here! Oh, and there's also a good deal on Arrow and Boomerang lessons over at homeschool buyer's co-op. That's usually where I buy all mine! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My3girls Posted September 11, 2015 Author Share Posted September 11, 2015 Thanks, yes, I saw them on homeschool buyer's co-op and is where I would purchase them if I decide to go that route. I did download the sample, and I like what I see. I was expecting them to more of a literary guide, but they seem to have more than that. Do you all use them as your sole language arts curriculum or in addition to? I was planning to use them in addition to, but maybe, that would be overkill? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 It's my core language arts curriculum. We do have Killgallon and I yank that out and we do it instead of dictation for a week or two and then alternate back to BW style dictation for a few weeks. I don't use the Arrow/Boomerang, though I have in the past. I choose our own based on what we're reading and then do it much the way the Arrow/Boomerang present it. And I have an approach to literature - we read one short story a month and I do free reading for an hour a day - none of that is specifically BW, though I think it all fits with BW if that makes sense. That's the thing about "doing" BW - it's not just one thing and it's meant to be really flexible and adaptable to the student and the family, so it's likely that no family doing BW are quite alike. There's going to be a bigger range of what BW looks like in implementation than most other language arts programs. I think if you're really doing the dictation from a BW supplement (or DIY'ing it like I am), doing the monthly writing project from a BW projects book (or, again, DIY'ing that based on The Writer's Jungle) and doing some of the other BW lifestyle elements such as poetry tea, family movie day, freewriting, etc. then that is absolutely a full language arts program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 I will be using some boomerang guides along with Faltering Ownership this year with my 4th grader. We haven't started yet, so I don't have much to say about it. I just finished The Writer's Jungle, and I'm really inspired! I just wanted to point out for anyone new to BW and reading this that for most 4th graders the right level programs would be the Arrow and Partnership Writing. I'm sure you've absolutely picked the right things for your child - one of the nice things about BW is how flexible it is and how it's totally about doing what's right for your kid with writing. But I wouldn't want anyone to be intimidated... the Boomerang dictations are long and some of the books are YA novels (like Fault in Our Stars or Hunger Games) and are generally meant for 6th grade and up - as is Faltering Ownership. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByGrace3 Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 We did a lot of BW 2 years ago and last year I moved away. We are back this year. I am doing a BW inspired Narnia study with my kids and it has been so much fun! I have used Arrows before and will again, but for now I have picked my own dictations and copywork passages and projects. All of our grammar, writing, vocab comes from our Narnia study. We will do poetry teas 1-2 x's a month as well as other components -- movies, freewrites, projects etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 We've added in BW this year but not Arrow or Bommerang, we are doing copywork and narration from our own books and BW lifestyle activities(weekly poetry tea, copywork, narration and freewrite) along with Jot it Down and other resources for ideas for our monthly writing projects(we are doing the 90 Second Newberry as our first project), of course ds is technically too old for JiD but I already owned it and I want something that is easy and fun for him, I will say that this is our family writing and my 2 oldest are also doing a separate writing time that is at their level, although I can see going to straight BW for my daughter perhaps(although she enjoys the vintage program we are doing together), my son needs help with structure and explicit instruction so I don't foresee doing just BW but I want to have some writing time that is just about having fun and enjoying words. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 We've added in BW this year but not Arrow or Bommerang, we are doing copywork and narration from our own books and BW lifestyle activities(weekly poetry tea, copywork, narration and freewrite) along with Jot it Down and other resources for ideas for our monthly writing projects(we are doing the 90 Second Newberry as our first project), of course ds is technically too old for JiD but I already owned it and I want something that is easy and fun for him, I will say that this is our family writing and my 2 oldest are also doing a separate writing time that is at their level, although I can see going to straight BW for my daughter perhaps(although she enjoys the vintage program we are doing together), my son needs help with structure and explicit instruction so I don't foresee doing just BW but I want to have some writing time that is just about having fun and enjoying words. 90 Second Newbery! That's our current project too! :D What's your book? We're doing One and Only Ivan. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 90 Second Newbery! That's our current project too! :D What's your book? We're doing One and Only Ivan. I know I got it from you :) I *think* it will be Cricket in Times Square, I am reading it to everyone now(although ds read it before), we've got to get it finished but this week was crazy busy. I'm not expecting anything super fantastic but I just want to have fun with it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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