One of the best things about LoE has been that it covers all of language arts: reading, writing, literature, handwriting, grammar, vocabulary, phonics, and of course spelling. It is great to have all those bases covered for now, and it would be amazing to find another single program to do it all again. I am still on the lookout for that perfect program to combine all that and not be prohibitively expensive. But in the meantime, I'll be piecing together what I know, what I have, and what I feel can give us a simple but thorough approach.
I know I will continue to use the tools from LoE to practice phonograms and probably move on to the advanced ones to give my kiddoes a good base, coupled with review work on spelling rules. So, my primary focus has been on finding something to cover the other areas of LA like literature, grammar, and writing.
I've decided to jump in with both feet and try out Language Lessons Through Literature for our primary curriculum. This will determine our readings, grammar practice, copywork, and additional narrations. It even includes some picture study for a little bit of art appreciation, which has certainly been missing from our schooling.
We'll be coordinating our language arts work with our read-alouds. LLTL covers one grammar concept at a time using examples and practices from those readings. The kiddoes will also need to begin doing oral narrations based on fables as well as some from the picture studies. LLTL also includes a daily copywork or dictation assignment from those readings and narrations. It does a very nice job of tying all the learning to the literature selections, which I really appreciate (and those selections are all public domain books, which keeps the expenses down). This allows the kiddoes to see grammar and literature elements in their actual reading, rather than random exercises, so they can more easily connect them to something real.
Copywork and dictation are the basis for writing in LLTL, and should be plenty for the boys. I'm still looking for something to add in a little more structured writing work for Athena. I may just choose one concept (outlining, introductions, etc) to work on and assign a monthly project (a la BraveWriter), rather than trying to find another full program to add in, although this is definitely up in the air (I'm having a lot of fun researching programs, even though I still haven't found one I want to use).
We'll continue with our poetry and hot cocoa days, since the kiddoes love those, but LLTL also includes a poem to read with each lesson. If they don't enjoy having it as part of their daily work, we can always skip it; and I'll make sure to read those poems during our usual poetry time. :)
The best part of LLTL, for me, is that I can begin to add it in now. The program is laid out for only 3 days a week and can be very flexible. I have been meaning to give the boys the chance to slow down in their progression through LoE Foundations, and this should be a good way to substitute a day or two a week and still be doing something worthwhile. A gentle introduction to grammar and an increase in their writing awareness should be just the ticket to keep everyone working without getting burnt out.
--Little Miss Crazy
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