blue daisy Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 Please share any thoughts ideas, suggestions for what I have selected (or in some cases what I need help choosing!) I've marked my questions with an *. DS11, 6th grade, high functioning ASD. He reads very well, is a good speller, has a very strong vocabulary. Writing is hard for him, but I asked about that in another thread, so I have some ideas. My plan: 8-10 good books to read throughout the year (still working on this), light discussion, maybe write something about 2-3 of them. Writing - probably IEW or EIW *Do I need a separate grammar program for him? *Anything else? His handwriting is beautiful so I don't need anything there. DS8, 3rd grade, very strong reader, speller and writer. 8-10 good books to read and discuss, maybe write something for 1-2 of them ETC 8 to make sure phonics are solid *Maybe a word study program to follow ETC? Greek/Latin roots, something like that? Grammar - FLL 3 His printing is atrocious. I'm going to skip to cursive. I have Simply Charlotte Mason cursive for him. *Do I need a separate spelling program for him? Last year, his teacher let me send in spelling lists for him and we were doing middle school level words. He can spell these words almost perfectly, but doesn't always apply to his writing. *Writing - ??? He enjoys writing and does it for fun. DD6, 1st grade - reads about a grade level ahead, good speller and writer Daily reading to me from a variety of sources. I'm going to print books from Progressive Phonics as part of this and I have other resources at home. ETC 3 looks to be at her level. Grammar - FLL1 Handwriting - she writes pretty well. Do I do something separate for this, or just focus on it with FLL? *Spelling - need suggestions. Something quick and easy. *Writing - do I need a formal program at this age? I'm trying to decide if I need a writing program for the younger two. I had planned on using BraveWriter for the family, but after thinking about it, I don't think it will be a good fit for my oldest so I'm not sure I want to invest in it for my youngers just yet. Not sure what I should do here. Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue daisy Posted June 5, 2016 Author Share Posted June 5, 2016 Anyone? This is our first year and I'm feeling stressed about making sure we're hitting all our bases but not overwhelming them with the amount of work. Is this too much for my first grader? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiara.I Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 (edited) For the grade 1, no, FLL won't provide much handwriting practice. Maybe consider using Writing With Ease? And I'd consider skipping spelling until grade 2, unless you'd think she'd focus... Mine didn't, at that age. Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk Edited June 5, 2016 by Kiara.I Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue daisy Posted June 5, 2016 Author Share Posted June 5, 2016 For the grade 1, no, FLL won't provide much handwriting practice. Maybe consider using Writing With Ease? And I'd consider skipping spelling until grade 2, unless you'd think she'd focus... Mine didn't, at that age. Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk It was starting to look like too much for first grade anyway, so I have no problem taking that out. She has been picking up on spelling/word patterns pretty easily on her own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiara.I Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 DS8, 3rd grade, very strong reader, speller and writer. 8-10 good books to read and discuss, maybe write something for 1-2 of them ETC 8 to make sure phonics are solid *Maybe a word study program to follow ETC? Greek/Latin roots, something like that? Grammar - FLL 3 His printing is atrocious. I'm going to skip to cursive. I have Simply Charlotte Mason cursive for him. *Do I need a separate spelling program for him? Last year, his teacher let me send in spelling lists for him and we were doing middle school level words. He can spell these words almost perfectly, but doesn't always apply to his writing. *Writing - ??? He enjoys writing and does it for fun. I'm trying to decide if I need a writing program for the younger two. I had planned on using BraveWriter for the family, but after thinking about it, I don't think it will be a good fit for my oldest so I'm not sure I want to invest in it for my youngers just yet. Not sure what I should do here. Thanks in advance! For your DS8: I haven't used ETC so no idea. A word study program could work. We postponed ours until Grade 4, as that was the level Vocab From Classical Roots starts, so I figured we'd just wait until then. I know some people do word study earlier though. Up to you? FLL3 , we're liking it, although my son likes to be more independent with it than it's written. He races ahead through the diagramming without being asked the questions. And then sometimes gets it wrong. Alas. ;) Spelling program...up to you? You could have him start to proof-read his writing and find his own mistakes, maybe. If you like the BW idea (and I do think it might work well for your son, since he already loves writing...) you could glean an awful lot of it from reading her blog posts or signing up for her "tips" e-mails. Incorporate it as a "lifestyle" even if you don't buy the program? Also, there are usually discounts on Homeschool Buyer's Co-op, if that would help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 The vast majority of your programs I've never used, so I don't really have an opinion. For the 8yo: I wouldn't do a spelling program. If he really likes language, I'd lean away from FLL and ETC and more towards Michael Clay Thompson for his LA. MCT *loves* language and it shines through in what he writes, and the program would cover grammar and word roots among other topics. Brave Writer might be a good fit for him. Or you could do an entire year around National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo is in November, but they have a great workbook to guide character and story development that could be done beforehand, the first draft could be done in November, and then time afterwards for revising, editing, and illustrating. Voila! A year filled with no formal writing program! For the 6yo: Instead of FLL, I would lean towards something with an emphasis on good copywork. The Quiver of Arrows from Brave Writer could fit, or you could easily create your own. It would reinforce handwriting, and you can discuss grammar and cover a bit of spelling within the passages. I don't see anything wrong with the choices you already have. These are just suggestions from my own personal preferences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertflower Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 Please share any thoughts ideas, suggestions for what I have selected (or in some cases what I need help choosing!) I've marked my questions with an *. DS11, 6th grade, high functioning ASD. He reads very well, is a good speller, has a very strong vocabulary. Writing is hard for him, but I asked about that in another thread, so I have some ideas. My plan: 8-10 good books to read throughout the year (still working on this), light discussion, maybe write something about 2-3 of them. Writing - probably IEW or EIW *Do I need a separate grammar program for him? *Anything else? His handwriting is beautiful so I don't need anything there. DS8, 3rd grade, very strong reader, speller and writer. 8-10 good books to read and discuss, maybe write something for 1-2 of them ETC 8 to make sure phonics are solid *Maybe a word study program to follow ETC? Greek/Latin roots, something like that? Grammar - FLL 3 His printing is atrocious. I'm going to skip to cursive. I have Simply Charlotte Mason cursive for him. *Do I need a separate spelling program for him? Last year, his teacher let me send in spelling lists for him and we were doing middle school level words. He can spell these words almost perfectly, but doesn't always apply to his writing. *Writing - ??? He enjoys writing and does it for fun. DD6, 1st grade - reads about a grade level ahead, good speller and writer Daily reading to me from a variety of sources. I'm going to print books from Progressive Phonics as part of this and I have other resources at home. ETC 3 looks to be at her level. Grammar - FLL1 Handwriting - she writes pretty well. Do I do something separate for this, or just focus on it with FLL? *Spelling - need suggestions. Something quick and easy. *Writing - do I need a formal program at this age? I'm trying to decide if I need a writing program for the younger two. I had planned on using BraveWriter for the family, but after thinking about it, I don't think it will be a good fit for my oldest so I'm not sure I want to invest in it for my youngers just yet. Not sure what I should do here. Thanks in advance! Here is what I'm going to do with my 1st grader. 1. FLL 2. Continue All about spelling 3. Continue progressive phonics with nora gaydo books. 4. We used Zaner-bloser for handwriting this year, so I'm going to ramp things up and do copywork. It will either be from WWE 1 or sentences from sotw. 5. We are using jot it down from bw for all 3 kids. 6. Read books to her. 7. Memorize some poems This child is very creative. This is just what I will be doing. Things of course can change. I'm not saying that this is what you should do. I think what you have is fine except I would do something for handwriting. Since her handwriting is pretty good, you could start her on copywork. Copywork for me, practices not only on handwriting, but grammar as well. Good luck and enjoy the journey. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 (edited) Please share any thoughts ideas, suggestions for what I have selected (or in some cases what I need help choosing!) I've marked my questions with an *. DS11, 6th grade, high functioning ASD. He reads very well, is a good speller, has a very strong vocabulary. Writing is hard for him, but I asked about that in another thread, so I have some ideas. My plan: 8-10 good books to read throughout the year (still working on this), light discussion, maybe write something about 2-3 of them. Writing - probably IEW or EIW *Do I need a separate grammar program for him? *Anything else? His handwriting is beautiful so I don't need anything there. DS8, 3rd grade, very strong reader, speller and writer. 8-10 good books to read and discuss, maybe write something for 1-2 of them ETC 8 to make sure phonics are solid *Maybe a word study program to follow ETC? Greek/Latin roots, something like that? Grammar - FLL 3 His printing is atrocious. I'm going to skip to cursive. I have Simply Charlotte Mason cursive for him. *Do I need a separate spelling program for him? Last year, his teacher let me send in spelling lists for him and we were doing middle school level words. He can spell these words almost perfectly, but doesn't always apply to his writing. *Writing - ??? He enjoys writing and does it for fun. DD6, 1st grade - reads about a grade level ahead, good speller and writer Daily reading to me from a variety of sources. I'm going to print books from Progressive Phonics as part of this and I have other resources at home. ETC 3 looks to be at her level. Grammar - FLL1 Handwriting - she writes pretty well. Do I do something separate for this, or just focus on it with FLL? *Spelling - need suggestions. Something quick and easy. *Writing - do I need a formal program at this age? I'm trying to decide if I need a writing program for the younger two. I had planned on using BraveWriter for the family, but after thinking about it, I don't think it will be a good fit for my oldest so I'm not sure I want to invest in it for my youngers just yet. Not sure what I should do here. Thanks in advance! Does the 11 year old write grammatically? I wouldn't necessarily add grammar for him, particularly if he needs writing focus. I think I'd pick IEW over EIW perhaps, if he struggles with what to put on a page and similar. I'm using IEW and have used EIW in the past. I think your plan sounds good for him. Third grader sounds really solid. I wouldn't add stuff just for the sake of adding. I don't think I'd do roots at his age. What's your goal for him in grammar instruction? Composition...hmmm....I really loved The Greatest Writing Lessons Ever for that age, but my kids needed actual instruction and it sounds like he might not. Could you just do writing in the curriculum--writing about science or history or whatever he's studying or interested in? If I could rewind, I would use Getty Dubay (Italic print coverting to italic cursive). I think my weak handwriting kid would have been better off now. The first grader. I prefer to have reading really solid before I work on spelling. It worked out fine to delay spelling. So my preference would be to focus on her reading development this year. I used Progressive Phonics to teach both of mine to read. I don't think you need a formal writing at her age. If you did try it I would do it gently. I got reading solid before I did anything like that, and started with WWE when I did begin, but not in 1st grade. Maybe you could use copywork for handwriting practice with her? Anyone? This is our first year and I'm feeling stressed about making sure we're hitting all our bases but not overwhelming them with the amount of work. Is this too much for my first grader? I think you're smart to ease into things. I think most people make curriculum choices early on that don't end up being good fits. I know I did. So don't be discouraged if that happens. You learn what works and doesn't by trial and error sometimes. Try to see it as a learning experience for all of you if you can. Edited June 6, 2016 by sbgrace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertflower Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 I think I should explain why I do AAS. First, we don't do it everyday. Secondly, it reinforces her Phonics. For example, I think the first 12 lessons are on cvc words. My dd is almost on the expert level in PP, so this is like review for her. Almost like teaching math with one book behind a year for review. It is what I am doing with singapore math challenging word problems. But I agree with a pp, spelling is not necessaey for a first grader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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