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My ds13 in 8th grade will be doing R&S English 6 from start to finish next year while doing Res to Ref. It won't be scheduled in the manual. What I am wondering is this; since he is going to be doing the Medieval writing program and also has written narrations to do, does he still need to do all the writing assigned in R&S? I'm not sure how Carrie has been assigning R&S since my kids have been doing English books that don't match up to their manuals. I also think the fact that they are not doing the R&S books half speed may affect the amount of writing that should be assigned...Hope this makes sense.

My dd12 in 7th grade will be doing R&S English 5 while doing Preparing so hers won't match up to the guide either...

I guess what I'm wondering is; WWCD (what would Carrie do?) All other's advice welcome too!

I'm also interested in the answer to this, as my 8th grader will also be doing R&S 6 full speed with RTR next year.

I know Carrie will be answering this as time allows, but I'll throw in my 2 cents, which will be worth less than hers! I would still do all of the writing in R & S English, as it covers different skills not in "Medieval History Based Writing". On days that a writing assignment is assigned, you may want to make sure to do the entire rest of the R & S English lesson orally or on markerboard, clipping along with you leading it. HTH, but Carrie will certainly give her advice too soon!

In Christ,
Julie

Thank you, Julie! That is useful to know that they cover different skills in writing. I am definitely going to try to do better at helping English clip along faster. It is so easy to get lazy and let them take over again, but then they take longer and seem to learn less. Oh, and I value your two cents just as much as Carrie's.

Leah,

Julie gave you great advice! I agree that the writing skills within Rod and Staff will be so important, along with the Medieval Writing Lessons. I would likely lean toward doing Rod and Staff more slowly if needed in order not to get too heavy in the writing area, rather than skipping the writing lessons within Rod and Staff. Perhaps, you could do Rod and Staff English 6 three days a week and then throughout high school do a 3 times a week grammar plan instead of a two times a week plan? While we encourage families to strive to complete Rod and Staff 6 by the end of grade 8, it is only a hopeful guideline to shoot for and may not happen for everyone. I would always lean toward balance first, making sure not to overload a child in the language arts area, while still getting a well-rounded language arts education. Secondly, I would strive toward doing the lessons in order, rather than skipping, as there is much meat in Rod and Staff and much thought in its step-by-step design.

If, for example, your child does not complete English 6 by the end of grade 8, I would just continue on in high school, thinking of it as a continuum. In that mind-set, however far you get into Rod and Staff English 7 and 8 is a wonderful benefit most high school students are not currently getting! Even if your student didn't make it all the way through English 8, he/she would still be getting an excellent English foundation through Rod and Staff.

Blessings,
Carrie

Thanks so much, Carrie! That is so reassuring to know what a great benefit they are getting with each level we can get through. I feel better about it now and we'll just keep plugging away at it slow but sure. Thanks for the great ideas for scheduling! We will probably shoot for finishing Level 6 next year, and it's good to know that we have some leeway if it winds up being too much.