Looking for good LA curriculum

[TN Mama]

I recently (ok, yesterday!) posted in the curriculum section about being new, overwhelmed and excited about our decision to homeschool our oldest dd next school year.

I have looked into the LLATL program and what I've seen looks good, but I've heard mixed reviews. I haven't really seen any one curriculum that is just great. Am I going to have to pick one for grammar, one for handwriting, one for spelling, etc?

A note about Claire: She can read well above grade level, but that doesn't necessarily translate into her writing/grammar/spelling skills. I looked into using Sonlight just for LA, but the readers look like they might be too easy and then would they match up with the other LA components?

Anyone with some insights to share? They are much appreciated.

Laura

[sunnie_skys]

we use LLATL and love it! We have used it for 3 years. Great program!

[TN Mama]

Thanks, Sunny! What grade levels have you used it for?

Laura

[sunnie_skys]

1st, 2nd, 3rd and now we are on 4th.

[Dianne Dachyshyn]

We used the original LLATL with our kids and many of the homeschoolers that I work with today use the newer version, which is very nice. One thing that I always suggest, however, is to add more writing exercises with it. One selling feature of the curriculum is that it is brief and easy to manage. The kids aren't overwhelmed with hours of fill-in-the-blank questions, and it is so well laid out that Mom isn't burdened either. The downside, however, is that most often they do not get enough practice in composition.

It's not that difficult to find meaningful activities to give the kids opportunities to write. I believe that kids need to write something meaningful every day. If there is a purpose to the task, all the better!

[Jill]

TN mama-
We had the same problem with LLTAL. Both my kids were excellent readers, but their spelling and grammar skills weren't as advanced as their comprehension. The books that were assigned for 2 days, took them about 20 minutes to finish, but if we advanced the grade to fit the reading level, the spelling/grammar was too hard.
We used LLATL for awhile, but ended up using so many different things for spelling, grammar and handwriting, we ended up dropping LLATL altogether.
I only had them do one year of (cursive) handwriting instruction, then they were expected to use what they learned in their other work. We never did "manuscript" writing instruction...started with cursive when they were young, and the "manuscript" just "came on it's own."
We use All About Spelling for spelling now and it has done wonders for their spelling.
We are using Sonlight for the literature part.
As far as grammar, this is my older daughter's first year of formal grammar. (She's in 6th grade.) I read somewhere you only need a year or two of formal grammar if you start when they are older...there are only so many rules, once you learn them, you're done. (We'll I guess you could study it for a long time, but for most pratical purposes a couple years is plenty.)
It definately takes time to figure out what is going to work for your family, I wish you the best of luck!

[Dianne Dachyshyn]

I'm not big on cursive writing, at least the way it is taught in some curricula. My kids used Italics Handwriting and loved it.

[Deanna Willis]

I use LLATL with all 3 of my kids. They all read above grade level, too. This is my first year with LLATL, I just ordered a year or two ahead for each one. The best way to decide what level to order is to look at the book studies for each one and pick the one that best matches your child's reading level. It has worked well for us as a Reading Curriculum, but I'm not crazy about it as a Grammar, Vocab, Writing, etc. I'm supplementing for all those subjects. I really like Shurley English for grammar and writing and Wordlywise for vocab.