How is R&S Preparing to Build (English 2) going?

[annaz]

Are there activities for this from Carrie in the TM? This looks effective and I like the scope and sequence, but it looks....well....boring. On another note it gets grand reviews. So, how is it working for all of you?
Thanks.

[inHistiming]

R&S is not a fancy curriculum...colorful or exciting to look at. It is, however, very thorough. We are loving it. My dd has not done grammar except for what was covered in Beyond...and my son has done some, but not extensively. So, we decided to use level 2 with dd 8 and level 3 with ds 10...then moving into level 4 after Christmas. He's doing 2 lessons a day because most is review for him at this point. I didn't want him to miss the diagraming that's introduced in level 3 though.

Both kids enjoy the lessons...they are fairly short...and you have the option to do much of it orally, or skip a lesson entirely if it is has already been mastered by your dc. It is a Christ-centered curriculum with a focus on doing what is right and true. And it is relatively inexpensive. I would highly recommend it just from the few weeks we've been using it. HTH

I almost forgot...there are no special activities in the TM for the English lessons, but it is listed each day what pages should be done. Bigger...starts with level 2, but you can use whatever level suits your child, and create your own schedule if necessary.

[netpea]

I think it is good. We have moved to doing it almost 100% orally as my son does not like to write. I have learned to put his poems and bible verses into StartWrite to get him to do those, but he does not like to write. Anyway, we started at level 2 which is turning out to be too easy for him, so we are doing more than one lesson each day. I think we will finish 2 before Christmas and move into level 3 which is where he probably should have been.

My son does seem to enjoy it, as long as we do it orally.

[lovetobehome]

I love it! Question for Carrie, though. Should I allow my 8.5 yo son to do most of it orally? He hates to write, but I insist he do about half or 2/3 of it written, because I think he needs to develop those muscles and writing skills. We are doing Bigger....he balks at ANY writing assignment, but I feel he is capable, his hand doesnt seem to get sore, he just doesnt WANT to do it. What is the way I should handle the writing? He is writing 25 spelling words daily (and does fine); he writes the answers to about 60 math drill facts, does his math assignment, and any other written work in Bigger (notebooking or vocab or science). How much should I expect him to do? I just feel mos tkids, including him, will complain about anything that isn't "fun" and will try to get out of it. Any advice?

[Natreez]

After a rocky start to our year...we are loving the quick but very in depth lesson R&S has to offer. I love the extra review that has already cropped up in lesson 8 and my son likes that the writing portion of the assignments are not so long that it makes his fingers hurt. Thank you Carrie for such a wonderful well-thought out program!! We are really loving everything in Bigger.

Natreez

[my3sons]

We did English 2 last year, and I'm impressed with the retention - even after the summer break. We're doing English 3 right now, and equally happy with that. R & S is thorough and easy to teach - as inHistiming said - it's not flashy, but it really gets the job done. We do 2/3 of it on the markerboard, a bit from each section, sometimes me writing the answers, and sometimes him writing them. Then, about 10 problems or so (which is usually about 1/3 of the work), he does independently in his notebook. I think it's especially important for him to write a portion of it now that we're doing diagramming. I also love that it's God-honoring - this is one of the ONLY grammar programs I've seen that manages to do that well too!

In Christ,
Julie

[Carrie]

Ladies,

I'll paste in a past thread here as to why we chose Rod and Staff with our own kiddos:
I used First Language Lessons with my first-born son when he was in the early years. We made it all the way through 1 and 2, except for the last few lessons (we were weary of listing the prepositions by then).

At the time, I felt pretty good about First Language Lessons, as my son didn't mind the lessons, and I felt there was pretty good coverage. We enjoyed the poetry memorization and the picture narrations. First Language Lessons 3 was not available then, so we switched to Easy Grammar's "Daily Guided Teaching and Review". I could see very quickly that my son hadn't retained even the basics of grammar like I'd thought. He ended up redoing more and more lessons as time went on.

After a year of that, I wasn't sure there was much retention going on in English of any kind, so we tried Bob Jones' new English and writing text for grade 4. By this time we were both very frustrated (me with the time I had already spent teaching English with little results and him with the amount of written work and drill with no understanding).

In grade 5 we made the switch to Rod and Staff 4. When we began Rod and Staff, my son struggled to define a noun or a verb. By the third lesson he understood and could define both. By the middle of Rod and Staff 4, he was diagramming direct objects! So, long story short, I feel that Rod and Staff connects the dots better in English than any program I've seen!

As we have been writing our guides Charlotte-Mason style, we have been adding in much of what was included in First Language Lessons (narration, poetry, dictatation, copywork, and even an introduction to grammar, mechanics, and usage in "Beyond..."). So, we only needed a solid English and writing component - not all of the rest. This is why we chose Rod and Staff and why we no longer recommend "First Language Lessons".

Meg,

Here's a thread that may help with your question:
viewtopic.php?f=12&t=113

I have my kiddos do very minimal writing with Rod and Staff English, basing this decision on the fact that the goal is correct understanding and usage of grammar (and knowing that there is a good balance of other written work scheduled throughout our guides). I do have my kiddos do some of the diagramming on paper, but we even do some of that on the markerboard together as well. If too much written work is causing grammar to drag on or to become a negative part of your day, by all means adjust the written portion! Short lessons always win out for me over a written product. We've had very good retention with the English even with minimal writing.

Blessings,
Carrie

[annaz]

As we have been writing our guides Charlotte-Mason style, we have been adding in much of what was included in First Language Lessons (narration, poetry, dictatation, copywork, and even an introduction to grammar, mechanics, and usage in "Beyond..."). So, we only needed a solid English and writing component - not all of the rest. This is why we chose Rod and Staff and why we no longer recommend "First Language Lessons".

Interesting. Thanks Carrie. I didn't know this. I like what it covers. And it just has rave reviews. I'm a "where are the fun puzzles?" sort of person. My dd likes that sort of thing as "twaddle-ish" as it may be. I have yet to hear that it hasn't worked. Just trying to get everything squared away for our level change in January.

[wisdom4us]

We are doing R&S English 2. This is our 2nd week and we have started doing the lessons orally. I was making him write it out in a notebook but our days were dragging on, and on and on and you get the picture! Then I read the front part of the manual (I recommend reading that first now LOL!) where Carrie said to do the lessons orally unless you feel your child can do them written.

I am learning to use the manual as a "guide" and not a leader that I *HAVE* to follow. I'm learning to adjust to my child, this is our 3rd year hsing and I think we are still learning the balance. I look at it as a journey. The title of my blog is On Wisdom's Path. We are on the path to learning God's wisdom and along that path there are ups and downs as we learn to teach our children and how we learn FROM them as well.

[jsusgrl]

Hi there:-)
i just wanted to say that we are loving the Rod and Staff English. This was a HuGE change for us this year because my kids were used to the Abeka language arts type worktexts, that were filled with color, puzzles, etc. But, we became soooooo burned out on those last year. This year, witht he R&S, we just get down to business with our lesson and they are so simple and easy to teach following the Teachers Guide. We do much of it on the marker board and then finish the lesson having my children doing some of the work in their notebooks. it's great beacuse I know they are understanding what they are being taught and it makes my job so easy. For years, i heard friends reccomend Rod And Staff, and this is the first time we have ever used it in our 11 yrs of homescholing ( and believe we, we've tried almost everything!) I give 2 thumbs up for Rod and Staff English 2!!
God bless you!
Angie

[Kathleen]

Ann,

We're using R&S for the 1st time this year, too. I had looked at a book several years ago as I had a friend who had used it and raved about how much she liked it. She said that her husband had looked through it at a homeschool fair and said, "This has exactly what the kids need to know in it." I glanced at it and had the same thought you did..."But, it looks so BORING." It doesn't have flashy pictures that are bringhtly colored. But it is simple, to the point, and easy to use. The material is great! We are really enjoying it!!! (Be sure to do most of it orally. My ds writes one section on a markerboard and we do the rest aloud. This makes it "painless" for us. ) And I trust that Carrie knows what she's talking about when she says the retention is also good. (We're still on the beginning of that journey...)

I'd say give it a try!
Kathleen