Anyone NOT start spelling/dictation at 10 yrs old?

I do not want to hijack this tread but I am a little confuse about this subject!

After reading this post I went back to the SCM curriculum guide. Somehow I thought CM style was to wait for formal grammar instructions until 7th grade. Just realized there should be grammar in 5th and 6th grade, nothing in 7th and then back in 8th grade.

Can someone explain me what it all means!?!

I have a son going to 6th grade so I am also wondering what to do!

Last year was our first year homeschooling. We did dictation and written naration, going over spelling mistakes. Am I suppose to do more then that.

We do spelling too. Now wondering if I should add Story Starters (which we had started and then stopped last year because I thought it was too much).

petititmom, I was thinking of just spelling when I answered. I can tell you after pushing the grammar with our oldest, I am all for a more delayed approach to it. I have an English degree and just have a hard time with so much of the curriculum I bought. I finally realized it wasn’t out there b/c I realized for us, delaying formal instruction (and putting away the worksheets) was the best for our family.

I do use PLL with our 12YO son, who has been speaking English for 2 years now since coming home from China and reading independently for about 15 months and increasing in level all the time, and I use ILL with our 10YO son, but a very gentle approach. We more than not do this orally and skip lessons I feel are not necessary or too much or whatever. There was another thread you’d probably like to read (not sure how to find it) where we talked about this. A few of the posters said they didn’t need PLL and ILL b/c they already do what these books lead you to do with books they are reading with their children. I totally think you could do this, but I know I’m not disciplined enough with 5 students.

Other than PLL with our 12YO and Alpha-Phonics (later lessons) and ILL with our 10YO son and Grammarland right now with him too, we don’t do anything else. I still have them both doing copywork and we have narration after family read-alouds.

As to Story Starters, I use this only with our 13YO son. Our 10YO son would get frustrated and he has his own series he is working on with a charcter named “Max” so I just am letting him do that. I do like Story Starters though, just was too overwhelming for our 10YO. Might try again after Christmas with him on it though.

Alicia I hope you get or got the answer you needed, I am sorry for hijacking your tread. Next time I start another one promise…

Thank you Rachel and LDIMom, so I guess I was on the right track, good to know.

I actually dread doing any formal grammar instructions, if there is a way to not ever doing it I’ll be most happy!!

I do not remember what PPL and ILL stand for. I had started Writing Strands and 1st English Lesson (the well trained mind) and gladly dropped that.

I’ll start another tread about Story Starter because I still have questions…

Thanks Sonya, I didn’t see your post, we must have posted at the same time!

I think I’ll have to look more into it for the future although the words “analytic grammar” sound scary to me!!

Thanks Sheraz!

LOL petitemom!  Sounds scary, indeed!    I start feeling anxious everytime I read those words.  

My 6th grade dd will be working on ILL, we purchased the workbook version (another homeschool mom used the original text but added lines to make it easier for her, plus put the pictures in color).  I plan on her doing it mostly independent. =)  We are also working with Writing with the Best, Vol. 1 – I know that they cover some of the same information, but I think it will help her as she is going to really pick up on written narrations this year.

Alternatives to Analytical Grammar can be Our Mother Tongue and Winston Grammar.  I am looking at those.  

Jump In is an Apologia course for writing.  I like the Write with the Best Vol 1and 2, which can be used for 3-12 grade. 

petitemom: For grammar, we’ll be using two years of Our Mother Tongue when each is in the 7th-9th “grades”. Until then, we’re finishing Grammarland, ILL, then Meaningful Comp.( just first and second semesters) then Write with the Best Vol. 1 and 2 (WwtB in 7th or 8th)

My dd doesn’t need any additional spelling instruction beyond dictation; it’s my son who will use Megawords for as long as he needs.

To be honest, when my son was a fourth grader, I didn’t require that he write enough when I should have, even though he didn’t like it either. I didn’t start written narrations then or this past year as I should have and didn’t have him do enough of the written in ILL, either. I wouldn’t have started MC at that time, though I wish I had this past year. Getting through their book reports for their Bar/Bat Mitzvah class was tortuous because they didn’t have the tools to put their thoughts on paper in an organized manner even though their oral narrations had always been organized and chronological.

I wouldn’t back-off too much-within reason so you don’t completely turn him/her off-but have high expectations anyway, IMO. That’s why you may just do Story Starters every other week in place of some other writing assignment for variety and also not to overwhelm him/her. I don’t think reading and oral narrations are enough for an average, just-dislikes-writing child.

With Grammarland, I used the worksheets, too.. They are also free.

4th-6th is usually when ILL is used and I think it, combined with Grammarland either in 4th or wait till 5th, oral narrations and copywork are fine. There are Dictation exercises in ILL that you can use if you don’t want to get Spelling Wisdom; I’d suggest doing those if you don’t have SW. I think you could wait until 5th to start written narrations. This line-up is not too much to ask of a 4th grader. The written work in ILL gives frequent, yet short lessons in writing.

I don’t plan to go any further than 5 (first semester) at the most (I haven’t decided yet, I may stop at second sem. 4)). I got both 4 and 4+ used, so at a substantial savings.  I’m choosing MC 4/4+ because it teaches the very basics of sentence structure and paragraph, as well as self-checking techiniques and outlining in a more independent and incremental fashion. Then WwtB delves into writing instruction in a very different manner-I wanted both sides.

I forgot to mention I’m using Simply Grammar next; to fill in-between GrammarLand and OMT for their 5th/6th grade year and WwtB Vol. 1 in 7th and WwtB Vol. 2 in 8th. I’ll have written narrations start after MC so that they can reinforce the skillsleanred in it; plus, continue oral narrations.

My suggestion is to use ILL along with GrammarLand this year and Simply Grammar next year or the other way around (but I think GL is gentler and SG a good and gentle step-up from GL). ILL doesn’t have enough grammar in it; that’s my only complaint. You don’t need to add another writing curriculum to it on a regular basis (hence Story Starters every other week or so for a change of pace).

I hope I answered your question without overkill.