Shurley drop out! A Beka vs. First Language Lessons Grammar?

[eclecticmom]

My children are 2nd and 4th grade next year. My son, the early reading scholar, is doing fine with Shurley Grammar but he's growing tired of the repetition. My daughter, the social wiggler, didn't do well with it at the beginning of this year so I just did A Beka Language 1 again with her. I decided to slow her down a year and let her body and mind catch up.

I'd like to get into a gentler curriculum and was attracted to First Language Lessons. It seems to be "to the point", yet interesting ... and it includes diagramming, which Shurley did not.

Both of the kids did well with A Beka in Kinder and 1st, and fondly remember it. They wish they could go back to it.

How do these two compare? Am I going to be satisfied that they are meaty enough after having done Shurley Grammar?

Thanks!

[OhElizabeth]

Well I like FLL before Shurley, so definitely recommend that. You can do FLL1/2 and then go into SG4, no problem. Or keep going with FLL and go into Shurley later. Why are you having so much repetition? Cut down the exercises. You can also skip levels with Shurley. (2,4,6,7 or 3,5,7) You could do a writing program like Writing Tales 2 that would have grammar integrated and not even do a separate grammar next year. Then go back to grammar the year after that. I've been having dd diagram one sentence each day in Shurley, which has been no problem at all.

Not really saying what you should do, just tossing out some more options.

[eclecticmom]

Those are good ideas. I think we're just burnt out on Shurley. We're part of a Co-op that expects all of the work on each day to be finished. What are you using for a diagramming guide? I don't remember doing it in school and went through A/P classes all the way, so I need a reference. Also, what do you think about Rod & Staff Grammar as another alternative?

[Lovedtodeath]

You could go with Abeka Grammar and Writing With Ease.

[Ida]

I tried Shurley with my oldest for a while ages ago, liked it for a while, then got bored with it. We also tried FLL back when it first came out. Somehow it just didn't click for us either. We've dipped our toes into so many grammar programs! Anyway, my 2nd grader recently started Growing with Grammar, and so far we are really liking it. Each lesson is short, sweet, and to the point. There's a short written explanation of the day's topic, then a few practice exercises, and you're done. Diagramming starts in grade 3. Just something else to consider.

[OhElizabeth]

Sorry, I'm getting ready to go to the convention tomorrow and have to be fast! All roads will get you to Rome on this one. You'll notice some of those options I gave you (Writing Tales, FLL) were grammar-lite or no textbooky/written grammar at all. Dropping grammar for a while can be a good thing when you're burnt out. :) Sure R&S is fine. My dd enjoys the short lessons, interesting sentences, etc. of Shurley better. Maybe your co-op's approach was the problem? For us it's very enjoyable. But I think we take a light touch, inject humor, and keep it informal. We diagram a sentence on the whiteboard. I didn't start till this year (late 4th), and I started by doing it myself. She wanted to take over, so I let her, no pressure. Small gentle doses, that's what I suggest. No need to pound or make it hard at this age. Pick something you like, or even just take a year off and come back to it later. As long as they've memorized the defs in FLL (the defs of the parts of speech, a few basic lists, etc.), and as long as you apply it a little in your writing time (find the adjectives in this story, that sort of thing), you can keep things pretty gentle for a while.

[Lovedtodeath]

Well, FLL is full of repetition. A lot of people get burnt out on Rod and Staff. If Abeka is anything like their other programs, it will have a lot of repetition and busy work. Reading over what you say about your kids and your problems with Shurley, I would recommend either GWG or WT. (From the programs that I am more familiar with, I am no expert.)