Is that the one by Queen Homeschool? If so, I used it with Phillip for 1st grade. It was a good, gentle start. I also bought the next one for second, but only got half-way through it. I guess I got to the place where I wanted a little more for him at that point. But, yes I would recommend it if you wanted something that was very Charlotte Mason, and wouldn't bog down a young child.
I can totally tell you are reading WTM I haven't used the program and I noticed that a lot of people use different things on the actual WTM board (which I did find interesting and thought spoke volumes) I am working on getting Rod & Staff for both kids as it seems more intense on it. BUT then I see the one over at queens homeschool site and that looks pretty good as well - though it is very similar to Primary Language Lessons by Emma Serl I believe...
First language lessons is for 1st AND 2nd grade, with 100 lessons for each grade. My son used it for a while...I DO like it a lot, I'm not really sure why we didn't continue - I think it's more because we missed a few weeks and it was hard to restart. Overall, the concept of the book is great. Falls right inline with classical/CM style homeschooling. EAsy to implement and follow. I havent decided if I'm going to hold onto for my youngest or not.
Thanks everyone. I feel drawn to the classical approach, I'm going to check out CM as I've heard they are similar. I looked at the sample pages at Amazon and I really like it, DS didn't have a good foundation last year in PS on grammar even though it's a advanced / gifted school. So I was thinking of starting with the 1st grade and working from there.
We used it this year for first and liked it ok. We skipped some lessons after DD started fussing about it - "I know what a pronoun is, can we just move on already?" If we continue to HS I will use it again. It's very quick, short lessons, easy to teach from, and my DD learned a lot.
what other grammar books would you recommend as well? I've been using first english lesson. it goes all the way to 4th grade. I agree with Jackie. I need more for my 4th grader.
I switched to Rod and Staff. It's definitely NOT like First Language Lessons!!! Not at all laid-back, no narration or copywork, not Charlotte Mason at all. But it has worked very well for me this year. If you want something more CM, try "Simply Grammar" or "English for the Thoughtful Child".
This is what I said about it FLL1&2. We just finished with FLL3 last week. This program is geared for first/second grade. There are 100 lessons for grade 1 and 100 lessons for grade 2. It has memory work, copy work, dictation, and narration. (Dictation starts in second grade). There is alot of repetition in the book. Personally I got tired of saying, "Let's repeat the definition of a noun, or verb (what ever the lesson is about) three times. It didn't bother my daughter at all. She was really proud of herself when she had the work memorized. I really liked how it was pretty much open and go. I was able to give some toys to my younger kids and then sit next to my daughter on the couch and do the lesson. We did most of the writing on a dry erase board that I hung up on the wall and we used different color markers. This made the lessons more enjoyable. I plan on using this book with my younger kids. One of the best things about this book is that you can use it over and over. For more information about this book you can go to following site-http://www.peacehillpress.com/ I have FLL4 and Learning Langauge Arts Thru Literature (orange). I will be using them both when when we start up her fourth year after our vacation.
I like "Easy Grammar". I got it rather cheap at a used sale, the same time I got a free copy of Abeka's "God's Gift of Language". I started Rachael in EG, and Faythe in God's Gift. EG starts by having you learn the prepositions, and then crossing out the prep. phrases. This gives you less words to work with. After a few weeks, I swtiched Faythe to it, too. It really worked well with both girls. Even now doing R&S, I'm telling Faythe to put the prep. phrases into parentheses first. This was right after Rachael took her grammar class, and she says she wishes she had done EG BEFORE the class. EG is more "drill and practice", btw. It is NOT CM at all!
Oh, one more question Jackie, I looked it up,it comes with work book and a test book. Do I need all that?
Am not sure. I have the OLD version, before it was divided for grades. Mine has a big, thick book that has all the answers on the next page and tests included. It also had a workbook, or you could copy the blank pages in the big book. (Actually, I did both. A friend gave me a used workbook that Rachael did finish, but I also made copies for Faythe.) You didn't need a test booklet. But with the new ones, I'm not sure.
Yeah...EG is not CM or Classical! That would have you learning good grammar etc through narration, copywork and dictation. Right? We do those TOO....but when I was growing up my dad was a total stickler for good grammar. I tend to be as well! LOL