LA in Beyond as written, and ETC

[Motherjoy]

I've done ETC with all my kiddos. They love it, think its fun, and a big-kid part of school. Also, I haven't really been doing the LA as written in Beyond. Mostly out of a combination of necessity and laziness. we've had a couple of difficult pregnancies in a row, and it's easier just to stick an ETC workbook in front of them than to do copy work and spelling words.

That said, I want to start doing the LA as written. We are in Unit 20, so I'll have 15 units to work on their copy work and spelling. I have three doing Beyond, a 8yo, 7yo, & 6yo. Any tips? The 7 and 6 are pretty much on the same level, with the 7yo being ahead in TRL andETC. Do I do a different list for each kid? Start at the beginning or whichever list seems to be a challenge?

Also, what is your opinion of dropping the ETC? I'm afraid to, it's sort of a crutch, plus they love it and really look forward to finishing all 8 books. My 8yo will start book 8 soon, so I'll definately let him finish.

[Mercy]

I am not familiar with ETC, but I can give you some ideas on how to begin the language arts journey.

Copywork: Set the timer for 10 minutes and have them copy the poem each day. Whatever gets done (according to ability) is done.

Spelling: This can also be done together. Everyone will take a few minutes to study. Maybe you can lead, taking time to point out difficult words and have them write those on the whiteboard. When someone makes a mistake, possibly add the word (s) to the study/lesson for the next week. You will have to break your kiddos up to work individually once they begin dictation, but thid might be an idea to help you for now.

Language arts: You can add this in as a group right before beginning spelling. These are so simple and short you can zoom through these until you get to the unit you are working on, then just follow the guide.

I just want to caution you against feeling behind and needing to catch-up. Just work where you are. This will take away the urgency to rush. Language Art skills take time to grow into sometimes. They all flourish at their own pace. When you are working as a group it is a little harder, but I think this plan might help you to meet your children where they are at, yet still progress steadily.

Take care,
Mercy

[my3sons]

double post

[my3sons]

Mercy had some great thoughts already! We have done ETC workbooks before. They provide a basic phonics review, are short, and are fun. They take about only 5-10 minutes or so to do, so your dc can certainly continue with ETC along with Beyond's LA, as long as it doesn't prevent them from doing the skills in Beyond. Beyond's copywork and LA helped prepare my dc well for Bigger Hearts, so I'm glad your kiddos will be doing it now, as there are many good solid skills taught through them. The way that spelling is done in the LA box helps prepare dc nicely for the dictation in BHFHG. The daily copywork has them writing longer lines of sentences or phrases, which prepares them nicely for the upped writing in BHFHG. Likewise, the grammar lessons each week lay the foundation for R & S English. The Storytime follow-ups are pretty important to do too. They helped our dc learn solid beginning skills to orally narrate well. I'm not sure if when you say you have been skipping LA if that means dc have not been doing the Storytime follow-ups, but I just wanted to mention them as they were awesome helps for our kiddos as they moved into the upped oral narration skills in BHFHG. I am so sorry to hear of the difficult pregnancies - I've had my share of those too, and I know how that can add stress to life and to health in general. I hope you are feeling back to normal and healthy once again!

I am thinking your older dc could do Spelling List 2, from start to finish, not rushing or double-timing it. Your 6 yo should probably do Spelling List 1. It is not a big deal to do round table lessons with the different lists at the same time and will not add time to your day. Next year, your dc can finish out their spelling lists along with the LA plans for them at the start of BHFHG. Whenever they finish, the older 2 dc can do Dictation Level 2 in BHFHG, and your younger child can do Spelling List 2. For grammar, I would probably do 2 lessons a week instead of 1, working through the Day 5 plans in the guide doing 2 of those lessons each week, so you finish the grammar introduction prior to dc beginning R & S English 2 in BHFHG. I have a goal to have our dc copying the entire poem each week by the time they finish Beyond. This is a personal goal- not an HOD goal necessarily, but I have found it helps them be ready for the increased writing in BHFHG nicely. For your older duo for sure, that would be a good goal. For your younger child, perhaps less would be fine. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

[Motherjoy]

Thank you! That is very helpful. We will start next week!

Julie, how old were your kids when you finished Beyond? How long do you allow for copy work?

[my3sons]

Oh boy, you are asking me to think back and rely on my long term memory - dangerous now that I am in my 40's. Ok, I found my old schedule for Beyond. Riley was 6 yo, and I allowed 10 minutes for copywork...
http://s268.beta.photobucket.com/user/h ... 6106689572

Here is an old post where I took pics of Riley's progression of writing, as it came less naturally to him than it did to my oldest ds Wyatt when he did Beyond...
Pics of progression of writing:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5605&p=41147#p41147

Wyatt was almost 7 yo when he did Beyond, as he has a Dec. b-day, and we started in Sept. He loved writing early on, so he was copying the poem in its entirety fairly quickly. I can't remember how long I alloted for him to do it though. That's waaaaaaaay back. Hope that answers your questions!

In Christ,
Julie