Anyone use the Stewart English Program?

[matroyshka]

Link here. (http://www.epsbooks.com/dynamic/catalog/series.asp?subject=71S&subjectdesc=Spelling+%26+Grammar&series=2344M)
It's recommended in TWTM for high school.

The description of Principles Plus (1st book) sounds like it might be mostly review for kids who have had a decent grammar foundation, but the next two, Grammar Plus and Writing Plus, sound interesting. I'm looking for something to do after Easy Grammar 6, other than more of the same (ie Easy Grammar Plus), but that does not do diagramming.

Annoyingly, can't find a sample page anywhere.

Anyone have opinions/feedback? Or other ideas of a good curriculum to use that would fit my goals?

[Ellie]

Janet in WA used it and liked it very much. I saved some of her comments about it from another forum (q & a from another poster):

***I had not realized that this was from EPS -- I've loved everything from them we've ever used.***

I like everything from EPS too. I started buying directly from them before homeschool vendors were selling their stuff. They were a wonderful company to work with -- unlike many mainstream publishers.

***did you find it sufficient for high school level English?***

Yes. But not everyone would agree. It's not full of picky detail (in other words, it's not Abeka). It just adresses the stuff you need to really write clear, correct sentences.

***did you use one book per year or stretch each book out for two years (each book is listed as 7/8, 9/10, 11/12 -- I wasn't sure if that was just a grade level guide, or if each book was intended to last two years).***

Those grade recommendations are "ballpark". They mean that those grades are the appropriate time for the material in the books -- not that the books would actually take 2 years to complete. Each workbook can easily be completed in one year. We actually spent 3-4 months on each workbook. But we used the books every day (typically one exercise per day) until the book was complete. Then we moved on to writing for the rest of the year.

***Also, if I decide to go this route for junior high/high school, I will need something for sixth grade. I was thinking of just using a fun workbook that covered all eight parts of speech, capitalization, punctuation, etc. Would that be a good foundation for beginning the Stewart English in 7th?***

Yes. That would be a good preparation. We actually used another 3-workbook grammar program from EPS (love that company) called Rules of the Game -- recommended for, if memory serves me, grades 5-10.

As Maggie mentioned, Stewart can be challenging to use. I didn't find checking the exercises to be much of a problem, though. But be warned that many people are quite frustrated with it.

[Jane in NC]

Stewart was listed in the first edition of TWTM as a grammar program for 7th grade which was when we began using it. I found, however, that my son had some weaknesses from his previous schooling which were not being addressed. Thus I pulled in other resources (a punctuation book from EPS for example) and used the Stewart I book over 7th and 8th. Somewhere along the line I picked up the 2nd edition of TWTM and saw that the recommendation for Stewart had changed to high school.

Anyway, my son used Grammar Plus in 9th and is now using Writing Plus in 11th. I like the books but agree with the other comment that they are not "picky in detail". Because my son also studies grammar in Latin, I feel that he has a fair background, but every once in a while we do need to pull out something basic and dry for review.

I think my son must have some sort of grammatical amnesia. Thank goodness he can use the language correctly for the most part, but he forgets the names of structures. In fact, I recently wrote a Latin test for him that includes a number of questions on basic grammar. "What is a gerund? Give an example in English and in Latin." Do all teenagers immediately identify active and passive voice when they read a sentence? It would seem that mine should be able to do so automatically, but these things take analysis for him.

Does this mean Stewart has not worked for us? I suppose one needs to look at the end goal, which in my case is developing a more confident writer. I do think that Stewart has helped him use grammatical devices more effectively, in part by example. (We also used Sentence Composing as part of the mix.) But my kid is not a grammar whiz. Whether this is the fault of Stewart or a personality defect is the question.

This is not to say I don't recommend Stewart. It seems to work for us but whether there is a better program, I don't know. I tend not to be a curriculum shopper so I have not compared a long list.

If you want to ask specific questions on Stewart II, perhaps you could PM me. I can pull the book off the shelf and give you more of the low down.

Best,
Jane

[Gwen in VA]

We used it with the older two kids, but they absolutely hated it.

My younger two use R&S for upper elementary and 7th and then use Warriner's 3rd Course for 8th. then they are done with grammar.

My older two didn't like it because --
1) Lots and lots of writing, but they weren't actually arguing an essay or anything fun like that. They were coming up with sentences that fit certain parameters, and they found that BORING!
2) My ds would try to use minimalist sentences; I tried to make him create original detailed sentences. WW3 was breaking out here!
3) For what it taught, it took a lot of time.

FWIW, my current 9th grader has a stronger grammar background than my older two kids even though he is not as strong a stduent overall.

Stewarts certainly didn't hurt my older two kids, but I'm not sure it helped them (or their relationship with their teacher!)

You may decide that Stewarts looks great for you -- I just thought I would contribute our experience. JMHO

[Dot]

We tried it for eighth grade and my son found it boring and tedious. I disliked the amount of time it took, saw more cons than pros, and dropped it after three months.