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Hi all! I am just curious if anybody else's kids really dislike/dreads R&S English? Did u continue making them do it anyway or looked for something else? And if so, what did u choose? TIA!

Are you doing any of it orally? Before finding HOD I tried R&S with my oldest. She hated it because I made her write everything out! Oops! With HOD, they recommend doing most of it orally. I do that now. My kids write out one section only for R&S. And my kids don't hate it at all now either. The lesson only lasts about 15 min.

I have looked at other curriculums as well. But after researching the entire Language Arts area (spelling, writing, grammar and literature), I found the HOD selections to fit very nicely together. It balances my day and I feel like my kids are growing and don't have gaps. HOD recommends a creative writing program along with the writing in the R&S book. If you chose a different grammar program, you may miss out on some of the writing activities found within the R&S book as well.

Doing 2/3rds of it orally seems to make a big difference in how dc feel about Rod and Staff. It really should only take 15-20 minutes. As Daneale said it balances grammar with writing assignments which many grammar programs don't include. HOD takes this into consideration when scheduling the writing program. Carrie will skip some lessons in the writing program if she knows they are covered in Rod and Staff. My ds used something different when we first started HOD, but I soon found that although it was easier, he didn't have the retention. Rod and Staff is very thorough and challenging. I know it is teaching everything my ds will ever need to know about grammar. I didn't feel that way with some of the other programs.

If done the way Carrie suggests, it's short, easy to follow and gets the job done. Since Carrie is assuming you are doing the suggestions she gives, not one aspect of English studies is left out or overkill.

Oh, Thanks guys. Where did I miss Carrie's suggestion to doing most of it orally? That does help a lot! And I need a creative writing book to go along with R&S? Thanks!

No you don't need a creative writing program to go with Rod and Staff. All you need is Rod and Staff and Write with the Best for CTC. There is a different writing program scheduled each year, but only one year is creative writing only and that is Rev to Rev has scheduled "The Exciting World of Creative Writing" for the writing program along with Rod and Staff.

Ok, Thanks!

Doing a large portion of it orally has made R & S English easier to do in our home! We can clip along with it quite quickly. I also wanted to mention that HOD's guides plan for some years to utilize R & S English half-speed, meaning one level of R & S English is spread across several years so that the subject of writing can be focused on more heavily in those years. Here is a thread that briefly explains this...
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5494

Here is an excerpt from a post where I described how we do R & S English, in case something here may be helpful...

For R & S we usually read the first part together together. We do the first half to 3/4 of the first section (i.e. A. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) either orally or I write his answers on the markerboard (whichever seems to fit best). Then, he numbers his paper to write the last part of that section: (i.e. A. 6, 7, 8, 9). Then, we orally/or on markerboard do same amount of the next section (i.e. B. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), then he numbers his paper to write the rest of that section (i.e. B. 7, 8, 9, 10). We do the same for the remaining sections if there are any. Then, he just does his written part that's left for each section on his own. My teaching time varies, but typically it's around 10 minutes. Doing a good portion of it orally/on markerboard, and then requiring a bit of each section to still be written by the child has worked well for us. R & S is an awesome English program, and cutting down on the writing time by doing portions of each section orally/me writing on markerboard has made it a perfect fit for our dc.

Here are my reasons for enjoying R & S English...

1. it's SO academically sound; it lays the groundwork for each student to be successful with grammar forever - even in high school or college
2. it integrates WRITING with GRAMMAR in a way that shows good grammar can be used to create excellent writing; I like that the 2 are not taught separately but grammar is instead taught with the purpose to create successful writers
3. it's Christian! no silly sentence examples where my child has to diagram sentences about parties, boyfriends/girlfriends and it doesn't glorify public schools - really look ahead when you're looking at grammar - middle school and high school texts are often extremely inappropriate in this area
4. it's short to do and can have the bulk of it done on the markerboard with retention still being sound
5. it keeps the lessons focused on writing and grammar, without throwing in a whole bunch of other skills I'm covering in another way well already (i.e. dictation, copywork, oral/written narration, etc.) which is again what keeps lessons SHORT
6. I never have to prepare to teach R & S and it's easy to teach several levels
7. once I've taught my short part, it's very independent

I know there are flashier programs - maybe more colorful with more bells and whistles, but I don't need a grammar program to be flashy. I need it to be solid, short, doable, and Christian. Now, history - science - I NEED those to be flashy, and thanks to HOD, they are! That's where I like the bling,but not so much in the grammar.

I'll also add that my oldest ds is completing R & S English 7 this year within the WH guide. It is second nature to him to do, and he has super strong English skills because of all of his previous years of doing it. It has been so worth the time. But, definitely, for sure, 100% - do most of it orally!

In Christ,
Julie

Thank you so much Julie for such a thorough explanation . I think the only question I have is what if your child is behind? My ds is 12 yrs old/6th grade (really "supposed" to be 7th) and just began English 4. So, I was thinking he should do English daily, so he can be on book 6 by 8th grade? Thx again!

my3sons wrote:Doing a large portion of it orally has made R & S English easier to do in our home! We can clip along with it quite quickly. I also wanted to mention that HOD's guides plan for some years to utilize R & S English half-speed, meaning one level of R & S English is spread across several years so that the subject of writing can be focused on more heavily in those years. Here is a thread that briefly explains this...
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5494

Here is an excerpt from a post where I described how we do R & S English, in case something here may be helpful...

For R & S we usually read the first part together together. We do the first half to 3/4 of the first section (i.e. A. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) either orally or I write his answers on the markerboard (whichever seems to fit best). Then, he numbers his paper to write the last part of that section: (i.e. A. 6, 7, 8, 9). Then, we orally/or on markerboard do same amount of the next section (i.e. B. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), then he numbers his paper to write the rest of that section (i.e. B. 7, 8, 9, 10). We do the same for the remaining sections if there are any. Then, he just does his written part that's left for each section on his own. My teaching time varies, but typically it's around 10 minutes. Doing a good portion of it orally/on markerboard, and then requiring a bit of each section to still be written by the child has worked well for us. R & S is an awesome English program, and cutting down on the writing time by doing portions of each section orally/me writing on markerboard has made it a perfect fit for our dc.

Here are my reasons for enjoying R & S English...

1. it's SO academically sound; it lays the groundwork for each student to be successful with grammar forever - even in high school or college
2. it integrates WRITING with GRAMMAR in a way that shows good grammar can be used to create excellent writing; I like that the 2 are not taught separately but grammar is instead taught with the purpose to create successful writers
3. it's Christian! no silly sentence examples where my child has to diagram sentences about parties, boyfriends/girlfriends and it doesn't glorify public schools - really look ahead when you're looking at grammar - middle school and high school texts are often extremely inappropriate in this area
4. it's short to do and can have the bulk of it done on the markerboard with retention still being sound
5. it keeps the lessons focused on writing and grammar, without throwing in a whole bunch of other skills I'm covering in another way well already (i.e. dictation, copywork, oral/written narration, etc.) which is again what keeps lessons SHORT
6. I never have to prepare to teach R & S and it's easy to teach several levels
7. once I've taught my short part, it's very independent

I know there are flashier programs - maybe more colorful with more bells and whistles, but I don't need a grammar program to be flashy. I need it to be solid, short, doable, and Christian. Now, history - science - I NEED those to be flashy, and thanks to HOD, they are! That's where I like the bling,but not so much in the grammar.

I'll also add that my oldest ds is completing R & S English 7 this year within the WH guide. It is second nature to him to do, and he has super strong English skills because of all of his previous years of doing it. It has been so worth the time. But, definitely, for sure, 100% - do most of it orally!

In Christ,
Julie

Thank you so much Julie for such a thorough explanation . I think the only question I have is what if your child is behind? My ds is 12 yrs old/6th grade (really "supposed" to be 7th) and just began English 4. So, I was thinking he should do English daily, so he can be on book 6 by 8th grade? Thx again!

Carrie and I just chatted about this, and we both think it would be best to follow what is scheduled in each guide your ds is doing, which would be the following...

For 6th grade in CTC: Do 1st half of R & S English 4
For 7th grade in RTR: Do 2nd half of R & S English 4
For 8th grade in RevtoRev: Do all of R & S English 5
For 9th grade in MTMM: Do all of R & S English 6
For 10th grade in WG: Do 1st half of R & S English 7
For 11th grade in WH: Do 2nd half of R & S English 7
For 12th grade in AH: Do 1st half of R & S English 8

This schedule would have ds only omitting the last half of R & S English 8. If you decide you instead want him to do all of R & S English 8, he can do all of it his 12th grade year instead. Omitting the last of R & S English 8 would be rigorous enough, and this schedule will allow you and your ds to take advantage of using each guide's plans for R & S English each year. This will keep intact the balance of LA Carrie writes to maintain in each guide. HTH - now it's just smooth sailing ahead!

In Christ,
Julie

my3sons wrote:Carrie and I just chatted about this, and we both think it would be best to follow what is scheduled in each guide your ds is doing, which would be the following...

For 6th grade in CTC: Do 1st half of R & S English 4
For 7th grade in RTR: Do 2nd half of R & S English 4
For 8th grade in RevtoRev: Do all of R & S English 5
For 9th grade in MTMM: Do all of R & S English 6
For 10th grade in WG: Do 1st half of R & S English 7
For 11th grade in WH: Do 2nd half of R & S English 7
For 12th grade in AH: Do 1st half of R & S English 8

This schedule would have ds only omitting the last half of R & S English 8. If you decide you instead want him to do all of R & S English 8, he can do all of it his 12th grade year instead. Omitting the last of R & S English 8 would be rigorous enough, and this schedule will allow you and your ds to take advantage of using each guide's plans for R & S English each year. This will keep intact the balance of LA Carrie writes to maintain in each guide. HTH - now it's just smooth sailing ahead!

In Christ,
Julie

Wow! Thanks soo very much to both you and Carrie for your help here!!!

So glad to have been of any help! God bless!

In Christ,
Julie