Red Dove Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 I am tired of piecing together language arts elements with multiple ages to teach. I have been looking into Rod and Staff and Christian Light. Which one would be better to use if I want something that is an all-in-one language arts that is open and go? And if you know off hand, what grades are they for? I will have 1st graders all the way up to a 10th grader. I would prefer to find something that I can stick with for all the grades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneGG Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 CLE Language Arts covers spelling, penmanship, grammar and composition. Rod & Staff English covers grammar and composition. There is a lot of copy work in R&S so it could be used as penmanship, although they also sell a separate penmanship program. They also sell a separate spelling program. Both are a little light on composition compared to some other programs, but it will be enough if you write across the curriculum or do other supplemental writing activities. Both R&S and CLE have separate reading programs. I haven’t used R&S reading, but we have used CLE. It is very thorough. I prefer CLE’s Learning to Read program over Rod & Staff’s phonics. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Langell0002 Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 Cle!!!!!!!!!! Not biased at all. Lol. We love it and have tried both! Cle hands down!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brittany1116 Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 On 3/22/2024 at 2:12 PM, Red Dove said: I am tired of piecing together language arts elements with multiple ages to teach. I have been looking into Rod and Staff and Christian Light. Which one would be better to use if I want something that is an all-in-one language arts that is open and go? And if you know off hand, what grades are they for? I will have 1st graders all the way up to a 10th grader. I would prefer to find something that I can stick with for all the grades. You want CLE then. I LOVE and use Rod and Staff English but it only covers grammar and basic composition. CLE will do it all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Dove Posted March 25 Author Share Posted March 25 Thank you all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Servant4Christ Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 (edited) Rod and Staff, hands down. We've used CLE's learn to read (along with every single other subject they offer) all the way through fourth grade before switching to R&S. I loved CLE learn to read, but did not like their language arts. In R&S English, the student has to write on notebook paper. This means the student has to really think about how to draw the correct skeleton for each diagram. CLE gives a blank skeleton and my oldest figured out how to just plug in words without understanding why they went where. To my surprise, I've learned that I actually like having Spelling separate from English. We've used R&S English and Spelling grades 3-7, Reading grades 5-7, and plan to use grade 8 in all three next year along with starting one of my youngers in R&S grade 1 reading/phonics and another in R&S ABC series. Edited March 25 by Servant4Christ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 Another thing to consider-CLE is designed to be consumable, so are an ongoing expense. R&S books will probably outlive your homeschooling career, so finding them used or buying them for the oldest child and passing them down is much easier. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Servant4Christ Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 (edited) 9 hours ago, Dmmetler said: Another thing to consider-CLE is designed to be consumable, so are an ongoing expense. R&S books will probably outlive your homeschooling career, so finding them used or buying them for the oldest child and passing them down is much easier. This was one of the driving factors for us to switch to R&S permanently, after trying/loving their math for a year when my oldest was struggling with math facts after completing CLE 3. With the exception of history/geography, I now own nearly every R&S text available. Edited March 30 by Servant4Christ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Dove Posted March 31 Author Share Posted March 31 Thank you for your input! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 (edited) On 3/22/2024 at 1:12 PM, Red Dove said: I am tired of piecing together language arts elements with multiple ages to teach. I have been looking into Rod and Staff and Christian Light. Which one would be better to use if I want something that is an all-in-one language arts that is open and go? And if you know off hand, what grades are they for? I will have 1st graders all the way up to a 10th grader. I would prefer to find something that I can stick with for all the grades. The reason I perfer R&S's English series is that it is a textbook rather than a workbook. I believe there's value in having to write out assignments on actual paper. And I believe the writing requirement to be age appropriate. That the English series "only" goes to 10th grade is irrelevant; students who complete up to or including that book will have a really excellent working knowledge of grammar and of all sorts of writing. You could do nothing but literature after completion of the last text and it would still be more than fine. Also, the series starts with 2nd grade, which is fine, because your 1st grader doesn't need to know the grammar and whatnot covered beginning with 2nd grade. You would need to add the Spelling by Sound and Structure series; and if you really wanted to pile stuff on, the Bible Nurture and Reader materials. I don't actually recommend SSS until the 4th grade book. I'm not a big fan of basal readers, either, so I might or might not use the BNR series, but you might like them. 🙂 You could add the penmanship, but I don't love that, either; the primary letters are much too big, IMHO, so that the dc are drawing letters instead of writing them. And R&S thought it was important to have a transitional, slanted penmanship between manuscript and cursive. IDK why. The cursive is a traditional hand, and the dc are taught to reduce the size of their writing. I just think it unnecessary to do such large writing in the beginning, and I don't like the transitional writing. Edited April 11 by Ellie 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneGG Posted April 9 Share Posted April 9 On 3/29/2024 at 1:08 PM, Servant4Christ said: This was one of the driving factors for us to switch to R&S permanently, after trying/loving their math for a year when my oldest was struggling with math facts after completing CLE 3. With the exception of history/geography, I now own nearly every R&S text available. Do you use R&S science? If so, how is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Servant4Christ Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 2 hours ago, AnneGG said: Do you use R&S science? If so, how is it? Yes, my oldest is currently in 7th grade working through the R&S grade 8 science course. We started using R&S science (grade 3 book) when he was in second grade and he's asked not to switch every year since. He likes that he's not confined to just one branch of science for an entire year. Each unit is different. He also prefers not having to use a curriculum that uses the discovery approach. R&S teaches the lesson and then most times will give activities you can choose to do (or not do) to illustrate concepts. We accidentally managed to bust a mason jar (in our kitchen sink, thankfully) when learning about the boiling point of water at higher elevations and my younger two boys thought it was fantastic to guess which color would spread fastest in cold/hot water, while Oldest told them why, in the energy unit. I recently looked into Berean Builders Earth Science for highschool and was surprised that the sample shows a lot of the same stuff Oldest just learned in the weather unit of the R&S grade 8 book. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneGG Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 @Servant4Christ Awesome! I think my 4th & 5th grader will like it. We do nature study, but I want a little more variety & depth. My kids don’t seem to enjoy discovery science either. It ends up being me that makes the discovery and they watch me do it. I was hesitant to order it because it doesn’t get glowing reviews, but I like the samples. You sold it to me with your review though. lol! Thanks! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Servant4Christ Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 14 hours ago, AnneGG said: @Servant4Christ Awesome! I think my 4th & 5th grader will like it. We do nature study, but I want a little more variety & depth. My kids don’t seem to enjoy discovery science either. It ends up being me that makes the discovery and they watch me do it. I was hesitant to order it because it doesn’t get glowing reviews, but I like the samples. You sold it to me with your review though. lol! Thanks! I think it really just boils down to preference in how topics are presented. Some find it dry, but we like it and it gets done. If you have specific units you'd like to see a lesson from before you make a purchase, pm me and I'll take some pictures for you. I have all the science texts from grade 2-9/10. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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