Using a different Language Arts than what is recommended

[kidsforHim]

Has anyone done this?? In the guides it reads 'or your own program'. I have read enough on this board to know that HOD's recommendations make the flow of the day, that most of you would tell me to consider doing it the way the guide is written. I would really like to hear from anyone who has used something different, your experience, pros and cons, etc. I am looking at using the CLE language arts.
Thanks!
You can PM if you'd like

[LynnH]

We used CLE for about half of a year when we first started HOD. It was fine, but my problem with it was first it didn't include writing so I had to add Igniting Your Writing to get the same amount of writing that the typical kid going through Preparing was getting. Also I knew I wanted to do dictation for spelling because he had come from public school and I had seen how just memorizing a spelling list for a test had zero carry over no matter what spelling program his school tried. His teacher told me that none of those programs worked well for the kids which is why they switched programs every year. That meant I dropped the spelling part of CLE and it seems like we dropped something else also, but I can't remember what, because it was also duplicated within the rest of the HOD program. Once I looked at all we weren't doing and the fact we were missing writing I decided to give Rod and Staff a try and do most of it orally and it worked much better.

[StephanieU]

I haven't done it, but I know some that do. The key is to compare what is in the other program with what HOD has where. You want to balance the time, the amount of writing, and the actual skills. CLE for example includes spelling, grammar, and some writing. I would venture to guess the grammar and writing are similar to what is in Rod and Staff. You may still want to do the writing program Carrie has planned, as it adds more formal writing. Then you would have to decide if you want to do CLE's spelling or HOD's dictation. CLE also has some penmanship in it, something I personally would skip as HOD has enough writing already in other areas with copying for notebooking, etc.

[Mommamo]

We're currently finishing out the CLE workbooks we already had, but we're about to switch back to R&S. CLE worked well for us while we were doing something other than HOD, but now that we're back, I just think we need to switch back to R&S. Yes, it is possible to use your own program, but I truly think it just works better to have the flow that is scheduled. I also feel like there is so much I cross out--same things as were mentioned above. It just seems a bit wasteful to me to not use it. So anyway, I already have 2 more of the little workbooks, but as soon as we've used them up, I'm ordering R&S.

[shellbell]

I sent you a PM, as I have good experience with both. (And I do think that they are both great programs, just depends on your needs what works best for you and your child!)