would CW be feasible with our family?

[razorbackmama]

I love love love the idea of CW, but I'm needing more information as to whether it would be realistic for us.

I am currently teaching 5: 7th, 5th, 4th, 1st, and K. I also have a very busy 2yo and am expecting another baby in early Jan. My oldest is in the logic stage by age but not by actual thinking - he still very much thinks very "grammarly." He struggles greatly with logic and vocabulary (which naturally causes comprehension problems).

How much teacher time would it take to do Older Beginners with him? I'm assuming I'd use Aesop B with the 4th and 5th graders...would I be able to do it with them at the same time? How much teacher time would it take to do with them? Would I be able to eliminate other courses that they are doing, such as vocabulary and grammar, since CW incorporates those things? Or would I still need to keep those?

STUDENT time isn't as much of an issue...it is direct teacher time that I'm most concerned about, since there is only one of me and so many of them. My husband works long hours, so I have lots of other things to do also besides school.

Like I said, I love the idea of CW but am concerned that it would just require time that I simply don't have, so I'm trying to get a realistic picture of how much time it would take.

[razorbackmama]

I'm pondering some other combinations, after reading more of the FAQs and such.

None of my 3 older kids have had a lot of writing experience. I have been working through Writing With Ease with them, and they are up to level 3. So right now they are reading a passage about 35 lines long and narrating a 2-3 sentence summary. Then they dictate a sentence approximately 12-15 words long. The 7th grader does this without a hitch. The 5th grader is decent but not as good at it. The 4th grader struggles with the concept of "summary."

The 4th and 5th graders' vocabulary is average. The 7th grader's vocabulary is POOR.

The 4th and 5th graders haven't had a LOT of grammar, though they have had some, especially when it comes to proper sentence structure, etc. The 7th grader got about 3/4 through Easy Grammar 6 last year, so he has at least a familiarity with nouns, verbs, prepositions, adjectives, and adverbs. Really he's done more, but I know those things have not been MASTERED.

So, all this said, I'm contemplating putting them all in Aesop A? My only concern is that I wonder how to move one of them at a faster pace (I'm hoping it would be the 7th grader because I'd love to see him up to grade level, though I *am* more concerned about quality work from him) if the time comes.

Also, I saw in one of the FAQs that a separate grammar curriculum isn't needed with Aesop? Would that hold true for an older student using it as well (like my 7th grader)?

OR should I go with another plan? And again, I'm concerned with how much "mom" time these things would take. I've been told by some that it only takes about 15 minutes of actual INSTRUCTION on my part (but of course way longer for the student) - would that be accurate?

[greengables]

I would probably start the 4th and 5th graders together in Aesop B. You will not need additional grammar at that level. Since you are new to CW, you could also start your 7th grader in Aesop B. This would make it an easier transition for you. When it becomes too easy for him, either pick up the pace for him in Aesop B, or move him to Aesop & Homer for Older Beginners - just transition him whenever it makes sense. The grammar in Aesop is all reviewed in Homer, so he will be fine with that.

When you are done with Aesop B, you should just move 4th & 5th grader to Homer A. I would try to keep those two together as much as possible - it will simplify your life!

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Kathy

[razorbackmama]

Thanks so much, Kathy. Sorry it has taken me so long to respond. Life happened, and I forgot to check back for a reply LOL!

I think it might be best to tackle this at the beginning of our new school year. So in that case I'll have 8th, 6th, and 5th graders that I'm dealing with, and they'll all have completed WWE level 4.

Would you still recommend having them all start with Aesop B, even the oldest one? How would I go about switching over to the Older Beginners book when he's ready - would I start with week 3 with the Homer portion of the book?

[razorbackmama]

Bumping...even MORE life happened (dd's appendix ruptured and then I had a baby ), so here I am back to check on this, months later LOL.

I'm still intrigued and leaning toward CW, but the "mom time" factor is HUGE for me. How much time would it take for ME to teach Aesop B? How about Older Beginners?

Thanks!

[greengables]

Yes, I think you could still start with Aesop B for everyone to get your feet wet. And yes, when you switch to Older Beginners, you may skip the first two weeks, but you may just have your student do them for a quick review, particularly if you didn't finish all of Aesop B before switching over.

Aesop B can take between 20 minutes and 45 minutes per day of YOUR time depending on the level of independence of your students. Expect Day 1 to be longer than the other days. Of course, as you are learning the program, expect it to take longer, and once you get the hang of it, most days should not exceed 20-30 minutes of your time.

You can also just work for however many minutes you have time for, close things up, and pick up where you left off the next day. You may not finish a week's worth of work each week, but you will make steady progress, and that adds up! I have found, especially with younger students, that this works very well.

[razorbackmama]

Feb 26, 2010 11:26:33 GMT -5 greengables said:

You can also just work for however many minutes you have time for, close things up, and pick up where you left off the next day. You may not finish a week's worth of work each week, but you will make steady progress, and that adds up! I have found, especially with younger students, that this works very well.

Ah, thanks! This is what we do for spelling as well.

How much time would OB most likely take for me as a teacher?

Also, if, for some weird reason, we don't start with OB until the fall of 2011, when my oldest is in 9th, would that be enough time for him to finish the whole CW series? I definitely want him to do some sort of research paper in high school, so I'd like for him to make it through all levels. But I wasn't sure how long Herodotus, Plutarch, and Demosthenes would take.

And totally unrelated, I noticed that the main CW website is down. Will it be coming back soon?