Grammar question for CTC
Posted: Fri Jun 04, 2010 3:39 pm
I am still researching carefully whether HOD is right for us for next year. Sorry for all the nitpicky questions, but I have a tendency to change curricula, and I really want to be sure before I order.
I will be using CTC with my 4th grade ds and 5th grade dd. I was planning to use R&S 4 with both of them. Do I understand correctly that you do R&S 4 at half-pace through CTC - i.e., it takes you 2 years to finish it? I bought a student book yesterday at a used-curriculum sale, and, as I look at it, we have already covered much of this material in Easy Grammar this year. I don't want to lose a year. I suppose I could do R&S4 with my son, and R&S 5 with my daughter. Are schedules for both in the TM? A friend here whom I respect greatly in her homeschooling is highly recommending I use Shurley Grammar, which looks a little intimidating, but good. Is it an HOD "sin" to deviate from the author's selections? (I'm being facetious, but you know what I mean). I know probably those of you who are long-time HOD users recommend staying with her suggestions, but I am just really trying to do the right thing. I lean towards wanting to be fairly rigorous in our grammar and writing; thus the selections I'm considering.
Any help would be great. If there are too many things about this curriculum that don't "fit", then I will conclude it's not the right one for us, but right now I'm still thinking it is.
Thanks again! Tracey
I will be using CTC with my 4th grade ds and 5th grade dd. I was planning to use R&S 4 with both of them. Do I understand correctly that you do R&S 4 at half-pace through CTC - i.e., it takes you 2 years to finish it? I bought a student book yesterday at a used-curriculum sale, and, as I look at it, we have already covered much of this material in Easy Grammar this year. I don't want to lose a year. I suppose I could do R&S4 with my son, and R&S 5 with my daughter. Are schedules for both in the TM? A friend here whom I respect greatly in her homeschooling is highly recommending I use Shurley Grammar, which looks a little intimidating, but good. Is it an HOD "sin" to deviate from the author's selections? (I'm being facetious, but you know what I mean). I know probably those of you who are long-time HOD users recommend staying with her suggestions, but I am just really trying to do the right thing. I lean towards wanting to be fairly rigorous in our grammar and writing; thus the selections I'm considering.
Any help would be great. If there are too many things about this curriculum that don't "fit", then I will conclude it's not the right one for us, but right now I'm still thinking it is.
Thanks again! Tracey
The thing I like about their suggestions is that they do a great job teaching the subject while keeping a great balance in our day. Anyway, you are absolutely free to use whatever your family desires...just keep in mind that if you're choosing something that takes a bigger chunk of time your overall school day will be longer. (And, this could affect how happy everyone is with school - at least it would in my house. 
) I don't have the CTC manual in hand yet, but I'm quite sure that it has both R&S 4 and 5 scheduled. And, I do believe that they're scheduled at a pace to make them last 2 years. CTC and RTR are the only 2 HOD guides to do it that way. (The others have you completing a level of R&S per year - including the HOD guides yet to come, I believe.) If you choose R&S, I'd start wherever it seems like your kids fit. If it looks like you've covered what's in level 4, choose level 5. And, I know that you could choose to complete the entire R&S book as well, you'd just need to do it daily (and figure out a pace to complete it), if that's your desire. This would make your day a little longer on the days that CTC doesn't have grammar scheduled, too.