Aesop A or B?

[Pensguys]

Hi!

We used some of CW-A the beginning of this school year. I really liked it but I chose to put it away for awhile. We continue on with part of a different grammar program and just did mostly copywork and freewriting and spelling.

I actually sold my CW-A set, and now I'm wondering if I should start my ds in CW-B in the Fall.

His main complaint (which we talked about this morning) is that he has to write too much. We did start some typing lessons for part of the year, but I let that get away from us. I told him that we can either do this program (and he could type) or we will be doing another program in our co-op and it would all have to be handwritten (probably). He chose CW. ;D

We started back with typing practice today and he was proud of his score. I plan to continue typing practice through the summer along with math.

So, I'm not sure where to begin again. Grammar-wise, we've covered most of what is in CW-A with the exception of probably some of the verb things toward the end of A. Writing-wise, we worked through Goldi-locks (Week 7).

I read on the samples that the first lesson in CW-B can be done and you take as long as you need to do that....that it is like a review before you start the next writing projects.

Thanks!

[Lene Mahler Jaqua]

Let me describe what is in Workbook B and then perhaps you can make an "intelligent" decision as to whether this would meet his needs. (Not knowing how old he is I hesitate to recommend moving into CW Homer Workbook A... certainly if he is 9 or under, I would not recommend this).

Workbook B is recommended for older beginners, who have not been exposed to our methods before, or for students who have completed Workbook A. It contains 18 lessons, varying fables, some folk tales (like Gingerbread Boy, Billy GOats Gruff, Three little Pigs), some historical tales from England's medieval times, and three Gospel stories.

Workbook B spends a few lessons recapping what was learned in Workbook and then goes on to new stuff. Workbook B also adds on the feature of "writing across the curriculum" designing some lessons to be work from other subject areas that the student writes about as his CW Asop assignment.

Workbook B contains the rest of the grammar that Workbook A did not cover: adjectives, linking verbs , adverbs, prepositional phrases, interjections, and conjunctions. At this point the student identifies them in the model, and then Kathy added optional diagramming lessons with this, a wonderful feature for a student of Workbook B, and she included a complete answer key in the back of the instructor's guide for all diagrams.

And of course, Workbook B completes all skill levels of CW Aesop and finishes all writing projects as well.

Does this help?? If not, ask more.

Lene

[Pensguys]

Oh, I'm sorry!!! I meant to say that he will be in 4th grade...9 yrs old.

[Lene Mahler Jaqua]

Penny,

For 4th grade 9 years old, I would think Aesop B would be a good fit.... UNLESS... he is both exceptionally bright and well schooled in both writing and grammar such that anything you did in Aesop A was way too easy.

Some students do move into CW Homer in 4th grade, it's possible. I had one who did that and did fine, but even so, the writing projects were too long for his immature typing, not to mention his typing. He actually did great with the grammar, even though that is advanced, but the stories drove him crazy.

Lene

[Pensguys]

Thanks, Lene....I'm thinking we probably need to finish up A...or at least jump toward the end.....at least starting around lesson 10 or so. and then go into B later on in the year.

The grammar that we covered in the lessons we covered was too easy, and he was able to retell and retell with dialogue very easily too...we didn't get into adding the descriptive detail very much though.

[Pensguys]

Lene, I'd like you input on this since I added more info...thanks.

[Lene Mahler Jaqua]

Sure,

I would work on descriptive detail and then go to the last few lessons, say, starting a couple of weeks from the end and see if that work in "A" is still easy for him. If so he is ready for "B".

He sounds like "B" won't be hard for him either. The nice thing about "B" is that diagramming is added, which is an incredibly valuable tool for understanding sentences and their combinations. "B" does this. IF he is already beyond that too, I'd take him into CW Homer A instead.

Lene

[Pensguys]

Ok, thanks....looks like I'll be ordering both CW-A to finish it up and CW-B.

[Patty in WA]

You know what I did when A was moving too slowly? We did the analysis work for three models, but only did the writing for one of the three models. We did this over 2 weeks. I am doing the same thing for B, now. We will finish B by the end of the year/end of January (depending on unpredictable but not impossible to foresee complications of life) and then go to Homer. I don't think we will do the same thing then, but it will depend.

BTW, my son is 11, has been, until this year, pencil-phobic, but I know from the way his mind works that he will be a fabulous writer. The analysis goes very well, and so I am focusing on making that interesting and getting the grammar and analysis and word-play under his belt without increasing his pencil animosity, which seems to be curing itself.