Carrie---another R & S question.....

[SMiles]

Carrie,
You mentioned in a previous post options for finishing the R & S 6 by the end of grade 8. I was wondering why each grade of R & S would not be finished in the it's proper year? Is it because you add other elements in your guides or because you have found half pace to be the norm for folks using the program? We started with R & S 2 in 2nd grade (but we did not find HOD until later so we were already using R & S) and we have not found it terribly time consuming or difficult. We do some work orally that the book may say to do as written, but that is due to motor skills. I do have the kids do some written problems everyday though. I have read reviews from folks saying that R & S covers creative writing completely as well. As you have used it with your kids, have you found it to be lacking? I am just wondering as I am prepared to do R & S as is, but am always open to more information in making those choices.

Carrie, I am also wondering when you find time to write your curriculum. I am amazed at the guides you put out and am thankful for the talents God has given you. I consult for our homeschooling missionaries over here and always recommend they go to your websites first to check out your programs.

Thanks for your response and God bless you,
Sherry

[Daisy]

I know you addressed this to Carrie but I hope you won't mind my jumping in.

Guide 8 is definitely High School level work.

The conservative Mennonites only go through 8th grade with their education, so although R&S English 2 is nice and gentle, R&S does move at an advanced pace. They want their children to have had a full education by the end of 8th grade.

I do believe it is possible to do R&S on grade level especially if you started with them from the beginning. Such a pace is just not necessary. You'll get the same High School level grammar by stretching the books out a bit and have more time to enjoy the rabbit trails.

I took Structures of English in college and tutored other students in sentence diagramming. I have never seen a high school text as advanced as R&S English 8.

[Jen in Va]

Absolutely agree with the previous poster. Both my older two (20 and 17 now) used R&S grammar the whole way through. I saw things in their grade 7 and 8 texts that I've never seen in any other grammar book. While I covered the texts on grade level with the older two, they both covered the 8th grade text twice. Then I used either BJUP or ABeka grammar for the other high school years--waste--didn't even review all that they already knew from R&S. With my youngest I plan on finishing grade 6 at the end of 8th grade and then taking two years to cover each of grade 7 and 8 texts--two days a week of grammar and two of composition minimum. I do get the supplemental worksheets and tests for each grade. This way I won't be floundering around for something (inferior, imo) to use for grammar for the rest of high school.

[Carrie]

SMiles,

I completely agree with the wise advice the ladies have shared in their responses to your question! While you can certainly do Rod and Staff on grade level, it is a very full program and continues to get more and more meaty as you go through the years. We find completing R&S 6 by grade 8 the equivalent of freshman grammar and then some!

In order to balance grammar instruction with other subjects we recommend a half-speed pace for a couple of years. This allows for additional time to teach writing in a bit more creative manner, also continue with dictation, and teach formal literature study to prepare kiddos fully for the needed skills required in high school. The writing lessons within Rod and Staff English are outstanding, however they are very structured, so we like a bit more exposure to variety within writing and love using models from excellent literature (as Write with the Best does)!

At HOD, we're always looking for balance, making sure one subject does not overshadow others.

Blessings,
Carrie