Rod and Staff English question

[rfhsmom]

HELP!! We got behind grade level in English over the couple of years and I am trying to catch up. My boys 11 and 12 just finished R&S 4, so now my question is should I skip a level or could I skip some of the beginning lessons in 5 that may be a review of what we just finished? They didn't do terrible in state testing, but my goal is for them to score solid and high! We have been doing a lot of R&S verbally 2-3 lessons a day to get caught up. I wish that I would have started with R&S English from the beginning~it seems to work for us. Any input would be helpful. Thanks!:bigear:

[strider]

The middle year R&S books are meaty. We got a little behind as well, but ended up skipping four with no problem. As such, you may be able to skip five, but my gut is to tell you to continue doing 2-3 lessons a day, doing a lot orally. You'll whip through five quickly that way and will then be in good shape for six.

JMHO.

[VaKim]

I agree. I'd not skip 5. A lot of people use R&S a year behind anyway. We even go a couple years behind in the upper levels. Level 6 had stuff in it that I never even saw in all my 12 years in ps.

[anissarobert]

My dd14 is finishing up R & S 7 and starting 8, even though she is in 9th grade. We started this program with year 6, so we were behind from the beginning. This does not worry me for two reasons. First, these books are difficult. The 7th grade book is teaching me things I never learned in high school or college. Second, the books only go through 10th grade anyway, and the 9th and 10th grade books look like they are grammar review and writing books for the most part. The 7th and 8th grade years are difficult enough that I would want to be prepared for them. You might be able to combine or skip lessons, but I would be afraid to skip a whole book. ( Unless it is the 2nd or 3rd grade year. My son has been doing these and they are similar to other programs for this age, but with more writing.)

HTH

[rhrice3]

I agree about NOT skipping 5. As I remember, 5 was very meaty. I tried to skip 4 and start my second child in 5 (don't ask why this happened), and it was a mistake. I started my other children in 4 when they were in 4th grade and then continued through until 8th grade. The dd I tried to skip into 5 ended up stopping 1/3 way through and going back to do 4. She did fine with it then. It is a very good curriculum and builds on itself each year.
IF you get through 7 by high school, I think that you have had a solid grammar background. My oldest finished 8 in 8th grade, and I thought that he had grammar that I never saw.
My kids do well with grammar and diagramming, but I personally think that a good intensive writing program with some solid grammar works the best.
Good luck
ReneeR

[Staci in MO]

:iagree:

With my oldest, we were very spotty with R&S 3 and 4, but started 5 at the beginning of 5th grade with no problems. I wouldn't skip that 5, though, because like the others said, that seems to be the year that things ramp up a bit.

[Mapi]

So happy to hear good reviews about R&S. We are doing English 3 and even though it seems good I kinda just grabbed this curriculum at the last minute while at a hs bookfair. I'm doing R&S English 3 along with Easy Grammar and Daily Grams.
I know this has nothing to do with OP but thought I'd share :)

[Christine]

HELP!! We got behind grade level in English over the couple of years and I am trying to catch up. My boys 11 and 12 just finished R&S 4, so now my question is should I skip a level or could I skip some of the beginning lessons in 5 that may be a review of what we just finished? They didn't do terrible in state testing, but my goal is for them to score solid and high! We have been doing a lot of R&S verbally 2-3 lessons a day to get caught up. I wish that I would have started with R&S English from the beginning~it seems to work for us. Any input would be helpful. Thanks!:bigear:

My 10th grader just finished R & S 7. So, I'm behind everyone on this board it seems. I make them do the full book, and I didn't skip anything. We only do the oral section orally, the rest is written because my kids retain information better that way.

And. . .I'm okay with that. My kids' grammar is excellent, far above their public school counterparts (and mine).

DS1 (above mentioned 10th grader) took a standardized test when he was in 8th grade (he had just finished R & S 5). He scored very high in the grammar / mechanics section (95th percentile). . . .

All my other kids will be finished with R & S by the time they hit 10th grade (because I "saw the light"). But, I'm not rushing any of them.

[sweetbaby]

:iagree:no skipping

[rfhsmom]

Thank you all so much for your answers and encouragement. I am happy to hear that I finally found a solid program! Thanks again. :D