Okay, I'll be first!

[Amy Beth]

I'm schooling 2 dc right now, a ds 2nd grade and dd K. (I also have 3 other munchkins running around.) I'm trying to decide if CW is right for us for next year. Both of my children are reading above grade level, so I don't think that will be a problem. I must admit, I'm a little scared by the amount of time CW Aesop will take out of our day, but even more so by the amount of prep time it will require of me! Let's see if I can remember all of the questions I've had running around in my head.

1. My kids are not very skilled at identifying parts of speech. Do they need to be solid in this skill before beginning?

2. Can you compare Rod and Staff to CW? I mention this program in particular because WTM recommends it.

3. RE: Harvey's grammar. Is this suitable for kiddos as young as mine? Any suggestions for something better? In particular, I've looked at KISS grammar, if someone has experience with that.

Thanks to all for your help! I must admit to feeling like my head is swimming on this one!

Amy Beth

[Martha]

Hello Amy Beth,

Just to introduce myself, I'm a hs mom who has used Aesop and CW both at home and in a co-op class. We are just beginning Homer--don't ask me too many questions about that one--we're only now settling in.

I've got a couple of quick suggestions for you; then I need to start dinner for the family. First, once you are familiar with the rountines in Aesop you won't have to spend all that much time preparing. I usually took about 30-34 minutes each week--that is after I figured things out. All the grammar you need for Aesop is included in the text so you wouldn't need to familiarize your children with parts of speech before starting. This is just my own opinion but I wouldn't use a separate grammar program until 4th or 5th grade. That's about the time you would want to start Harvey's. The only problem I see, down the road, with using a modern grammar text is that they wait too long to introduce all the grammar and syntax that students really need to be familiar with before moving into the logic stage. It's not a matter of quality of the instruction, but the timing.
When you get a chance, you might browse around the Aesop forum just below this one to see some questions other people have asked.

Martha

Er...make that used "Aesop and CW Poetry at home and a co-op class" and 30-45 minutes of prep. time.

[Lene Mahler Jaqua]

Amy Beth,

You got good answers from Martha

I would concur. We don't start grammar until about 4th grade. Aesop requires no grammar that is not already in the text and requires no previous experience with grammar. Aesop starts with simple phonics-spelling exercises.

I cannot compare Rod and Staff to CW. I have never used it, nor have I really looked at it.

It is my impression that CW has a reputation for being time intensive. Our guidelines in our introduction say 2 30 minute sessions per day and some preparation time each week. BUUUT, all our users say that once they get the hang of it, the preparation is minimal, if you use the models provided and the schedule in the back AND the lessons themselves can be as short or as long as you choose. This may be hard to visualize, but most of the skills your children are working on are skills which are applied to a short fable. YOU choose how many words to practice spelling on or how many prepositions you want to find (3 sentences worth or 20 sentences worth). This will depend both of the amount of time you have available that day, but it will also depend on the needs of your kids.

If, f.ex. you are hunting for prepositions in a short passage and you have very little time set aside for it AND your student is not getting the concept,... CW is set up in such a way that you would just practice that skill the next day you do CW, you would not move on. Likewise, IF you are doing a lesson on phonetic spelling and your student already reads like an 8th grader, you can either skip that lesson or you can go over it very quickly to get to stuff which challenges your student more.

Our program is very flexible, which means a little bit of preparation, but it also allows you to teach to your student's needs and move at your student's pace, rather than follow a schedule set up for an entire classroom of 3rd graders.

Thanks for visting our boards. Please ask if this didn't answer what you were concerned with, or if you have more questions,

Lene