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I am planning on doing Preparing next year with my 3rd grade dd, but I am not sure which R&S level to put her in (3 or 4). I looked at the index of each book, but I'm still not sure where she should go. When I look at their scope and sequence charts, she seems to fit mostly in level 4. Except we have done nothing about direct objects and parts of a sentence (or diagramming). I've never used R&S, so I'm not sure how much review there is in the beginning of each level and if we could catch up with that.

Would it be worth it to get level 3 this summer and go over things we haven't done yet? Is it better with R&S to err on the easier instead of the harder side? Thanks!

Maria

I think most 3rd graders would be in Level 2 or 3. 5 is a HUGE jump so there's no reason to rush to it. R&S is generally a rigorous grammar program.
It might be smart to just start in 3 in the fall, not worrying about covering it this summer. Cover what you haven't covered in 3 then move into 4 at a slower pace once you finish that. You just need to finish to Level 6 by the end of 8th grade to be WELL prepared for high school! So, you can see there is no rush, even if you went with level 3 for the whole 3rd grade year. I think Carrie says to take 2 years on level 5 as well b/c of how rigorous it is. My dd is rather advanced and is going to be doing R&S 3 with Bigger for 3rd grade. It's a good fit for that age/ability and retention has been incredible with R&S! Part of that is just from following the lesson sequence and timing...not going too quickly through a concept by doubling up or skipping, but not overkill either. It's quick and straightforward-- She's already diagramming sentences which many programs don't cover. You won't be behind by doing level 3!

HTH!

That helps so much--thanks!! I wasn't worried about her getting behind so much, I just didn't want my dd to be bored. I've seen that happen in other subjects where we started too easy, and she tended to get a little "lazy" thinking she didn't need to try hard. I think I will just start out with level 3 and take it as it goes. It didn't occur to me until now that if we worked through it before the year was up, that I could just move ahead with the next book. I'm still transitioning from the "take the number of lessons, divide by the number of days in school and don't get behind" school of thought! I'm trying hard to go more with the flow these days, if you know what I mean.

Tamara gave you great advice! I'd agree that English 3 would be a good placement for your daughter.

Blessings,
Carrie