Saxon grammar and writing

[coloradomomof5]

Anyone use this? Thoughts? Likes? Dislikes?

[caithness5]

We will be starting our third year using this curriculum.  I really like it.  My kids are able to do this fairly independent.  They will read the lesson and if they have questions we discuss.  The lesson is followed by a short Practice section and often there is a More Practice section if they need it.  There are then 30 questions for the kids to do on their own.  It's in typical Saxon fashion with the constant spiral review.  A lesson usually takes my children about 30 minutes to complete.  This curriculum is thorough!!!  My children know grammar like nobody's business.  :-)  It only goes up to 8th grade or Book 8, but I wouldn't worry about that.  Just go at your child's pace and if you hit Book 8 in 8th grade or 10th grade that's fine.  My daughter (13) can easily complete a book in a year.  My son (11) needs longer.  (He's more of a math/science guy.)  A lot of the concepts repeat book to book.  Some people say the books can be similar.  I don't mind that.  I have found that it has just solidified the concepts for my children.  I like that there is some vocabulary incorporated into the program.  There are journaling prompts and dictation passages included if you want to use them.  I tried the writing portion but ended up dropping it.  It was my first year homeschooling and I felt it just didn't have enough instruction for me as the teacher to teach my children how to write.  I needed more handholding than what they offered.  My only suggestion would be that if you're starting this out with a child who really hasn't had any grammar GO SLOW!  Take two years if you need to.  Once they get through that first book and understand those concepts the rest of the books won't be a problem for them.  

[coloradomomof5]

Thx! You said you moved on to another writing program with more structure. What did you choose?

[mom2vikha]

My daughter started Hake 6 few days back and she hated it. She didn't like the too much repeatation. Now she is happily settled with MCT town. She loves it. She has a strong Grammar foundation with Mifflin Hartcourt and always worked a grade level ahead.

Edited July 22, 2016 by mom2vikha

[caithness5]

My daughter is using Writing With Skill and my son is using IEW.  My son also likes Paragraph of the Week and Essay of the Month, both found at Teachers Pay Teachers.  They really broke the process down into very small chunks which he needed at the time.  I actually found Paragraph of the Week online as a pdf.  Here is the link.

 

http://www.thomas.k12.ga.us/userfiles/452/Classes/24257/ParagraphoftheWeek.pdf