FLL Alternative

[macmacmoo]

I'm are doing the WTM FLL and WWE combo. Things are going well with WWE, but not so good with FLL. Any recommendations on what to replace FLL with? The repeat after me is really grating to him.

 

[hollyhock2]

What grade is he in? If he's in 1st or 2nd, you might not need to replace it with anything. You can just work on reading and phonics if he still needs that. If he's past that, or in 3rd grade or up, then any other English program should work. I like Rod & Staff English, but there are lots of other options that are more popular these days. (I hope more people reply with those suggestions.) :)

[Farrar]

I also vote don't replace it with anything if he's in early elementary.

Read a few books about parts of speech from the library, such as the Ruth Heller books and the Brian Cleary books. Be mindful about the grammar in the WWE work.

At some point, you can introduce more, read Grammarland or do The Sentence Family or something along those lines. If it's important to you, you can dive in with a formal grammar program for a year or two in fifth grade or middle school. That's really plenty. There are plenty of workbook style options out there... but I'm convinced that they really aren't necessary.

[macmacmoo]

He is seven, and reads chapter books. 

We are required to do an end of year standard test each year. He did very well on everything this year but mechanics and usage was dreadful. I added in FLL and WWE because I knew they were quick and fit nicely into his work load. 

[freesia]

If your goal is just the mechanics, try daily language review from Evan Moor.  I’ve found quick daily review the most effective.

However, having taught second grade for 7 years in schools and four times homeschooling, I can say that those sections on standardized tests can be confusing to seven year olds—particularly those who rush—because of the no mistakes section.  Maturity helps a lot.  I never feel that standardized tests are very useful before fifth grade in really being representative of what my kids know.  Those ages can be less flexible in vocabulary and get tripped up by small differences in presentation.

Edited April 24, 2019 by freesia

[Farrar]

If your goal is test prep, FLL teaches in a completely different way. If you have a 7 yo who is reading chapter books, then he’s going to meet your state’s minimum standards anyway, so you really don’t need to do a whole year’s program if it’s not what you want.

[mommysanders]

If it's just the "repeat after me" that's bothering him, is it because he already has it memorized? Or another idea is to get the FLL CD and let him listen to it, instead of repeating you. Just some thoughts.

[TheAttachedMama]

My kids LOVED sentence family:   https://www.rainbowresource.com/product/Sentence+Family/058940

 

[sweet2ndchance]

You can get The Sentence Family for 40% off right now at Currclick if you order and download before they close down next week.

[blondeviolin]

Just skip the repeating part. Or ask him if he can say it alone instead. 

[PeterPan]

I would just have him memorize the definitions from the back of the book (or at least it was in the back in my combo 1/2 book from the old days, haha), do only the *first lesson* for each part of speech, and then move on. That's what I did with my dd. She just didn't need all that repetition.