Christian Light Language Arts

[Elizabeth86]

What’s your opinion on this curriculum. I was mainly looking for grammar, but it seems to include spelling and penmanship as well. I would use what we currently using for writing

i meant to put this in k-8 section. Sorry if that’s a problem,.

Edited August 18, 2023 by Elizabeth86

[Brittany1116]

I tutored a friend's kid who used it. It was nice because it was all included. The penmanship and spelling are minor players. It is far less intense in those areas compared to what Rod and Staff English, spelling, and penmanship would be. You could always get just one Light Unit to try before deciding. 

[cjzimmer1]

My kids have all used it through 6 grade.  My goal was for grammar too so we just skip all the penmanship stuff (we also skip the creative writing stuff).  My kid sometimes have complained that there is too MUCH grammar practice but when they switch to online classes in 7th grade, they have all done very well and notice that they seem to have a much stronger grasp on sentence structure both in identifying parts as well as crafting them compared to many of their classmates. 

[Elizabeth86]

1 minute ago, cjzimmer1 said:

My kids have all used it through 6 grade.  My goal was for grammar too so we just skip all the penmanship stuff (we also skip the creative writing stuff).  My kid sometimes have complained that there is too MUCH grammar practice but when they switch to online classes in 7th grade, they have all done very well and notice that they seem to have a much stronger grasp on sentence structure both in identifying parts as well as crafting them compared to many of their classmates. 

I didn’t know they had online classes or do you mean a different curriculum?

[Elizabeth86]

2 minutes ago, cjzimmer1 said:

My kids have all used it through 6 grade.  My goal was for grammar too so we just skip all the penmanship stuff (we also skip the creative writing stuff).  My kid sometimes have complained that there is too MUCH grammar practice but when they switch to online classes in 7th grade, they have all done very well and notice that they seem to have a much stronger grasp on sentence structure both in identifying parts as well as crafting them compared to many of their classmates. 

R & S is pretty teacher intensive isn’t it?

[cjzimmer1]

11 minutes ago, Elizabeth86 said:

I didn’t know they had online classes or do you mean a different curriculum?

Other providers.  I don't like grading writing nor discussing literature so I outsource English starting in 7th grade.

10 minutes ago, Elizabeth86 said:

R & S is pretty teacher intensive isn’t it?

I've never used R &S so I can't say. 

 

My kids mostly use CLE on their own.  I will provide clarification if they are struggling with a concept but the lightunits provide enough instruction that my kids don't need much instruction from me at all.

[Elizabeth86]

1 minute ago, cjzimmer1 said:

Other providers.  I don't like grading writing nor discussing literature so I outsource English starting in 7th grade.

I've never used R &S so I can't say. 

 

My kids mostly use CLE on their own.  I will provide clarification if they are struggling with a concept but the lightunits provide enough instruction that my kids don't need much instruction from me at all.

Thanks. I’m trying to find some independent stuff for my oldest this year because I’ve got 4 in our homeschool plus the baby and there just isn’t enough time in the day.

[Brittany1116]

32 minutes ago, Elizabeth86 said:

R & S is pretty teacher intensive isn’t it?

R&S is more teacher intensive than CLE because CLE is largely written to the student. I love R&S English so we continue to use it, but CLE is more independent. 

[ktgrok]

CLE LA are very rigorous when it comes to grammar. We actually slowed down and did it a year behind I think, because it honestly was more grammar than most people ever learn. LOTS of diagramming. 

[wisdomandtreasures]

Scope & sequence pages for both:l, if it helps:

https://christianlight.org/shop-curriculum/scope-sequence

https://info.milestonebooks.com/rod-and-staff/samples/english/

[Garga]

CLE has placement tests so you know where to start. https://christianlight.org/shop-curriculum/diagnostic-tests

Their grammar is intense, so, when my kids were in 7th and 8th grade, we split the 7th grade book into two years and didn’t bother with the 8th grade book. We stopped grammar in high school. 

My oldest is in college now and has beautiful grammar. The youngest just graduated from an online high school, and his grammar is also beautiful. They’ve both commented that their grammar is better than other people’s grammar and they’re pleased with that.

As others have said, it was written for the student, and I was only as involved as I wanted to be. I even stopped trying to keep up with diagramming, so they were on their own for that part. 

No complaints from me about grammar! 

We skipped the writing portion, but only because I was trying other curriculums. If I had another child, I’d probably just use the CLE writing to keep it simple.

[Brittany1116]

I just realized my second kid used CLE LA last year in first and I totally forgot. I confused it with the CLE Learning to Read we did the year prior. 

Spelling lists are brief. 3 lists per unit. Penmanship isn't more than a line a day IIRC. That was in first. The kid I tutored did third. 

We own RS English 2-8 and I was just wondering what he did for 1st last year. LoL

[prairiewindmomma]

We enjoyed CLE math, but did not enjoy the LA program.  It's affordable and adequate, but so dang repetitive feeling.

[MercyA]

We loved CLE LA and used it from kindergarten through 9th grade. So easy to teach, just open and go, and when she was older DD did it entirely on her own. I love, love, love that I didn't need separate grammar / writing / spelling / penmanship / vocabulary courses. Some elements of literature were included as well. Very well-done and well-organized curriculum. The amount of work per day was very doable. And because CLE is a non-profit, the prices are amazing.

Edited August 18, 2023 by MercyA