Melora in NC Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 that we could easily move on to CW Homer B in 6th grade if ds does the WT2 in 5th? I was just looking at the CW series from a link in an earlier thread, and I hadn't quite realized that the program went all the way through 12th grade! I like that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pensguys Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 NO! Far from it. It is more like Aesop B. I wouldn't hesitate to do WTII or Aesop B with a 5th grader although it may be on the easy side...you could go ahead with Homer A in 5th (we're doing that this year). I've read that you don't want to get to Diogenes before 8th grade so I'm going to do Homer A/B and Beginning Poetry A/B between 5th and 7th so we can do Diogenes in 8th. They are still working on all the levels up through 12th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melora in NC Posted February 10, 2008 Author Share Posted February 10, 2008 Ack! Thank you! But now ALL IS Lost! I have doomed my ds to a lifetime of bad writing! We found Aesop dull and slacked off on our writing, and now I am planning on Writing Tales II for 5th grade (ds has seen it online & says it looks good to him -- this is a Big Plus!). So I wouldn't be starting Homer A until 6th grade. And I don't see any slack in the CW writing progression. What do I do? (Okay, I Could go to Homer next year instead of Writing Tales II. But Homer seems so Intimidating!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pensguys Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 I think using WTII for 5th would be fine. We ended up not starting Homer A until Jan of this year (we tried the beginning of the year, but ds just wasn't mature enough) so I have this year to get through part of it. I'm not planning any more than 9-12 weeks of it for this year, (the models are really long after the first few weeks and I'll be splitting each CW week into 2 school weeks) then we'll finish it in 6th, do some poetry, start Homer B in 7th with more poetry and then go into Diogenes in 8th. I still think you'll be fine. Maybe contact Amy (of WT) and see if there are lessons that could be condensed and then you could start Homer A mid-5th grade year. And I don't think it would be HORRIBLE if you didn't get to Diogenes until 9th grade too. I would ask Lene (CW) about that though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in VA Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 Ack! Thank you! But now ALL IS Lost! I have doomed my ds to a lifetime of bad writing! We found Aesop dull and slacked off on our writing, and now I am planning on Writing Tales II for 5th grade (ds has seen it online & says it looks good to him -- this is a Big Plus!). So I wouldn't be starting Homer A until 6th grade. And I don't see any slack in the CW writing progression. What do I do? (Okay, I Could go to Homer next year instead of Writing Tales II. But Homer seems so Intimidating!) Writing Tales II is perfectly appropriate for a 5th grader. Then in 6th do Homer A, 7th Homer B and start Diognesis in 8th. There is no reason that isn't perfectly acceptable. The key to CW is the understanding and analysis of the writing. If a child does it too early they will either find it dull and uneffective or just plod through getting nothing from it. I'd go with WTII and get all you can from it. I have it and my 3rd grader was doing ok with it but I realized that more maturity would yield even better results so we are waiting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pensguys Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 I agree totally with Heather. We tried starting Homer A the first part of this year and my ds was just too immature....midyear has been a better start for us. He is nearing 11 so some maturity is definitely helping him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melora in NC Posted February 10, 2008 Author Share Posted February 10, 2008 That is an excellent idea -- thank you! I had planned to do Writing Trails with Men of Science from Logos to finish us out this year and jump start our writing, and then start up WT2 next year (5th gr). Now I think I'll return the Writing Trails to Rainbow Resources (unopened, as I just placed the order last week!) and order the Writing Tales II right away. If we start now & work at it through the summer, we should be ready to start Homer by the middle of 5th, and if we keep going through the Next summer, we should be back on track. How I Wish I were a good planner, and didn't put poor ds through all this silliness! Again, I really appreciate your advice! Wait! I just read your follow-up post, and now I am waffling again! My ds will be 10 during 5th grade, and he is Not particularly mature. So do I save Homer A for 6th? Oh the agony of decision making! I guess it is time to look for some online samples of Homer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melora in NC Posted February 10, 2008 Author Share Posted February 10, 2008 The key to CW is the understanding and analysis of the writing. If a child does it too early they will either find it dull and uneffective or just plod through getting nothing from it. I'd go with WTII and get all you can from it. I have it and my 3rd grader was doing ok with it but I realized that more maturity would yield even better results so we are waiting. This plodding is what I am afraid of! But if I don't start Diogenes until 8th grade, won't I have to drop something from the progression? Aside from that worry, I like the idea of doing WT2 in 5th! Now I'm unsure again! Is there something further along in CW that I might not mind dropping? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 Melora, I agree with the others about not spending your time on Writing Trails, since you know you want to go into Writing Tales. Don't swing to the other extreme and whomp your ds with all summer writing to make up on past failures on your part either, if you don't normally school in the summer. Just pick a reasonable schedule and be CONSISTENT. Small, consistent effort on your part will build and pay off in results. It doesn't MATTER if you don't get through the entire CW sequence, my lands. Even someone who gets their dc through Homer will have done more than most people ever do. Pick a practical goal (one lesson a week of WT2) and be consistent in doing it. As the others said, you don't know when the maturity will come to be ready to do Homer. On the other hand, gentle, consistent application nurtures that readiness. Just get started and do it, that's my two cents. BTW, in my little WT2 class this year I've had 3rd-6th graders, and I have some who could go on to Homer and some who can't. I didn't think my dd could next year. Nuts, I wasn't even sure I had made the right choice to keep her in WT2 this year (3rd). Reality is though, as you nudge them gently and consistently forward, they progress. The key is to just be doing it. You're going to love WT2 and it's going to give you a better vision for where Homer is going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy in ME Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 This is exactly what we are doing. WT1 4th, WT2 5th, Homer A and Poetry A 6th, and Homer B and Poetry B 7th. We are currently in WT2 with 5th grade ds and it is just right for him and he likes it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melora in NC Posted February 11, 2008 Author Share Posted February 11, 2008 OhElizabeth & Wendy -- Thank you both! We do school through the summer anyway, so ds won't feel punished doing WT2. After reading your replies, though, I will feel confident moving through the program at a comfortable pace, not rushing on to Homer! It really is so helpful to me to hear from other people who are using these programs with their dc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susie in tx Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 My 12 yo is working through WT2 at a pretty quick pace. There are weeks when we do two weeks of work in one. I certainly think you could do that if you wanted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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