Tell me about Abeka LA

[Alenee]

We've been using Shurley English w/o the writing portion. That leaves the parts of speech through classification, vocab., and tests. Because of the vocab. we haven't had time for the TOG vocab. If I switch and do TOG vocab., that really doesn't leave much to do with Shurley.

So tell me what you get in Abeka LA. I have a 4th grader who can work far ahead in this area so we've been doing Shurley English 6. I'm not sure where we'd start in Abeka LA.

[dhudson]

My oldest uses Abeka LA. We started out in Abeka LA and just haven't switched him. It's thorough but boring. I always go through the pages and mark every other one out because it can also be overkill.

That being said, he tests extremely well in all his LA and shows understanding so we have left him in it.

For my twins I am using PLL with Abeka LA thrown in for extra practice.

[Ellie]

I assume you're asking about ABeka's grammar/composition? IMHO, it beats grammar to death, and doesn't have enough writing (unless you buy the teacher's curriculum, which most hsers don't need, or enroll with the Academy, which most people don't do, either).

Have you looked at Growing With Grammar? or if you only need grammar, Easy Grammar?

[dani3boys]

I have one 6th grader and two 4th graders. It is very thurough, but sometimes it is overkill. I sometimes let my boys do their work orally. We also skip some of the work if I know that they have a good grasp on it already.

Danielle

[Annabel Lee]

I have a friend IRL who uses all 3 of Abeka LA, Shurley English, and IEW with her 6th grade dd. They don't skip anything, and somehow they do all this. :confused: She says the programs "fill in the gaps for eachother". I looked through some of it one time and have to agree Abeka is lacking in building writing skills.

[NJKelli]

We also used PLL with Abeka LA 2 last year. Dd really misses her Abeka Language workbook but we're trying Calvert this year but probably won't continue. Next year, I'm thinking of using the 4th grade level of their language book but skipping the writing section. Would that work?

I thought about Growing With Grammar but I like that Abeka covers punctuation and dictionary use. Does GWG cover those topics as well?

I may also use Intermediate Language Lessons next year. I found PLL required a lot of parent involvement so the Abeka workbook format is a good supplement for those times I have to work with another child.

Kelli