happynurse Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 ...please. 🙂 This year for 4th we are doing TGTB LA 3 (he likes it), CLE 400s (he retains it), Pentime 4, Abeka Skill Sheets 4, homespun spelling using various 4th grade lists, some fun creative writing on Nightzookeeper. Next year I'm starting IEW to introduce some formal writing. On my shelf for next year I have: IEW SSS 1A, Fix-It Grammar The Nose Tree, CLE 500s, TGTB 4, Abeka Skill Sheets 5, Pentime 5 and a spelling workbook (180 days of spelling 5). Now, I don't plan on doing all of that. IEW SSS and Fix-It are the only things I'm set on. Is Fix-It strong enough that I can drop the other grammar programs? He likes TGTB, but his retention isn't great with it, so...ugh. Also, I don't have much planned for literature, as far as formal literature teaching goes. Can anyone give this poor, ADHD-plagued momma some direction? I need it. 😅 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertflower Posted March 3, 2022 Share Posted March 3, 2022 I think IEW, Fix it, abeka, pentime and spelling is good. You definitely don't need TGTB if you use all of those. I don't know what abeka sheets are. I would add vocabulary and books for literature.   But it sounds like a good plan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nwahomeschoolmom Posted March 3, 2022 Share Posted March 3, 2022 (edited) We actually had a hard time with Fix It Grammar at our house even though my son is advanced in grammar. Will it be your first time with it? My son didn't like that the sentences included grammar concepts that he wasn't taught in the book. There were notes like "If your student is ready, tell them about this..." but it would just scratch the surface and not plan to teach him about it. Sentences would have many exceptions to the rules, and it drove him crazy!  (For example, "If your child says some word is a noun, congratulate him, but guess what it is actually a possessive pronoun" (just a random example.)) I saw Fix-It Grammar praised over all these boards, so many people do like it, but we stopped it after a week. Even though the story concept is nice, my son just wanted sentences that contained the concepts that he was being taught. We are Rod and Staff / CLE people for LA all the way. We like going back and forth between Rod and Staff and CLE for different subjects because it's similar, but a slightly different approach. Edited March 3, 2022 by nwahomeschoolmom typos... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happynurse Posted March 3, 2022 Author Share Posted March 3, 2022 29 minutes ago, desertflower said: I think IEW, Fix it, abeka, pentime and spelling is good. You definitely don't need TGTB if you use all of those. I don't know what abeka sheets are. I would add vocabulary and books for literature.   But it sounds like a good plan. Thank you! The Abeka Skill Sheets are basically timed reading comprehension worksheets. You read a passage on the front and flip it over and answer questions on the back. I appreciate your feedback. That definitely sounds doable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happynurse Posted March 3, 2022 Author Share Posted March 3, 2022 11 minutes ago, nwahomeschoolmom said: We actually had a hard time with Fix It Grammar at our house even though my son is advanced in grammar. Will it be your first time with it? My son didn't like that the sentences included grammar concepts that he wasn't taught in the book. There were notes like "If your student is ready, tell them about this..." but it would just scratch the surface and not plan to teach him about it. Sentences would have many exceptions to the rules, and it drove him crazy!  (For example, "If your child says some word is a noun, congratulate him, but guess what it is actually a possessive pronoun" (just a random example.)) I saw Fix-It Grammar praised over all these boards, so many people do like it, but we stopped it after a week. Even though the story concept is nice, my son just wanted sentences that contained the concepts that he was being taught. We are Rod and Staff / CLE people for LA all the way. We like going back and forth between Rod and Staff and CLE for different subjects because it's similar, but a slightly different approach. You know, I wondered about this. We've never used any IEW products before, and when looking through it I thought of these concerns that you expressed. For that reason I thought it might be better suited as a supplement (it looks quick enough to complete) but I have a hard time imagining letting go of another program. Thank you for your feedback! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brittany1116 Posted March 3, 2022 Share Posted March 3, 2022 How do you both feel about that load for LA? Because my son did an almost IDENTICAL year in 3rd or 4th (just sub RS for CLE) and it was too much work. I didn't care for how TGTB was jumpy and level 4 had a very different feel, so combine that with his retention, and I'm an advocate for dropping it. Also, is he a natural, average, or struggling speller? Doesn't CLE still have integrated spelling and handwriting at 400s? I did like the Abeka sheets for what they were and I wouldn't drop them since they only require 5 minutes a couple days a week. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happynurse Posted March 3, 2022 Author Share Posted March 3, 2022 (edited) 41 minutes ago, Brittany1116 said: How do you both feel about that load for LA? Because my son did an almost IDENTICAL year in 3rd or 4th (just sub RS for CLE) and it was too much work. I didn't care for how TGTB was jumpy and level 4 had a very different feel, so combine that with his retention, and I'm an advocate for dropping it. Also, is he a natural, average, or struggling speller? Doesn't CLE still have integrated spelling and handwriting at 400s? I did like the Abeka sheets for what they were and I wouldn't drop them since they only require 5 minutes a couple days a week. Yeah I'm concerned with bogging him down because he does have ADHD (like his mother) and can burn out quickly. That's definitely why I need help streamlining. He is ahead of CLE's spelling. I don't know if he's a natural speller, but certainly average to above average...he's a very visual learner, so once he sees spelling words they usually stick. As for penmanship, we started Pentime 1 in kindergarten, so we've just stuck with it. TGTB is a conundrum for me. He needs a very tight spiral for retention of grammar, and TGTB doesn't offer that for him. My thought is that it adds a little color and "pizzazz" to an otherwise black and white language arts package. I can make a case for any one of these programs, but if I stuck with all of them it would be too much. 😒 Edited March 3, 2022 by happynurse Typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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