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And this is not a typical one. LOL

My ds is almost 9 and doing wonderfully in Preparing as this is his 4th year using HOD guides. We completed R&S English 2 (last year when he was in "3rd grade") suring Bigger Hearts, but on his standardized test at the end of last year, he scorec lower English/Grammar than I expected. After looking at the questions missed, 99% of it was stuff that we just didn't cover in R&S 2, but that we would have covered had we done R&S 3 (like quotation marks).

When we started Preparing, I automatically just went on to the next level of R&S English (3), but now I am second guessing that choice. I feel he is ready for the more intense instruction in English and my degree is in English, so I do not struggle to teach it at all. Is there any reason I would NOT want to skip R&S 3 in order to move on to one that is more on level for him? Also, if I moved him on up to level 4 English, he would be on target with the other guides to do the half pace English that is scheduled in the later years (starting with CTC next year).

Any opinions or BTDT advice is much appreciated!

I'm not for sure how it would work to skip a level, but I'm thinking you would be fine given the circumstances and your background. I am trying to remember the differences between R&S3 and R&S4. I know they do tend to cover a lot of the same topics each year just going a little deeper and adding a bit more each time. I believe that R&S3 is the book that introduces diagramming. It is reviewed somewhat in 4 but that might be an area that you would have to work a little more beside him to get him up to speed. You could try browsing through the table of contents of both books and see the differences. It seems there was some really good introductory writing instruction in 3 like using more descriptive, power words that wasn't talked about again in 4. Again, I think I would just look through the table of contents or scope and sequence of both and make a decision from there. I know it's hard not to be upset if your dc don't do as well as you think they should on the state tests. It's probably especially difficult for you with a degree in English to have him score a bit lower in that area, but really it doesn't matter. Like you said, it is just because you hadn't covered that yet and you will be covering it eventually. So eventually it will all even out. So I would try to keep that in mind too when making a decision about whether to skip ahead. HTH a little.

This is our first year to use Rod and Staff. I have a DS 8 (soon to be 9) and a DD 11. Since we had done Shurley English in previous years, this has been their first year with diagramming. Even in the R&S 5, which is what I am using with her, they start the diagramming out slow and easy. I am no help with advice about whether to skip or not, but just thought I'd throw that bit at you in case it was helpful.