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Anyone tried LLATL or Jump In Writing or English for the Thoughtful Child??? Thoughts, Opinions?
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Hello Everyone,
Just wanting your wise opinions on Learning Language Arts through Literature, Jump In Writing, or English for the Thoughtful Child.
I am considering the first two for a mostly independent study for my two older kids (5th and 6th grades)- I know they are a bit workbooky, but I need something that will help them get independent in their English and composition, with a gentle grammar program, as well.
The English for the Thoughtful Child would be for my 3rd grader, and I would be working with him through it. Is it worth it, or am I better off just sticking to the SCM program exclusively?
Has anyone out there used them? Loved them or hated them? Any thoughts at all appreciated!!
We are currently in EFTTC 2 w/ my 10 yo having already used vol 1. We have moved through it very slowly
. My oldest (14) is using Write w/ the Best and I have no experience w/ LLATL or Jump In. But, I do plan to use Jump in w/ my 10 yo because I think he would enjoy it much more than WWTB. In EFTTC we do skip some of the poetry memorizations, picture studies, etc, because we use SCM curriculum guide for those. We also do some of the lessons orally, use a composition book, or write in the book. My son seems to like it just fine, never complains. He also enjoys MadLibs, Grammarland, and those grammar books by……Ruth Heller. I also have him signed up for Study Island and he frequently chooses grammar over any other subject.
There have been many discussions about Jump In and EFTTC so you might find some old discussions that could prove helpful to you.
I have used all of the above.
EFTTC — we liked it, but ended up skipping things like the poetry memorization and the picture study because we do that type of thing in a family setting and so it was redundant.
Jump In — I need to admit that I didn’t follow through with this one and because I didn’t take the time for it, my boys were inclined to do just the minimum and didn’t really get much out of it.
LLATL — I have used this for years and years and years…. I do not like the new version. It is very workbooky and just overwhelming imo. I use the version from the early ’90’s, very straightforward. There is copywork to be used as copywork or dictation and then there are very short daily activities. Easy to teach, easy on the budget. I’ve heard complaints that it is too light, but I think it accomplishes its purpose and I think that language arts should be taught across the curriculum anyway.
I briefly tried the younger-years versions of LLATL long, long ago–it didn’t fit us but I’ve never tried the ones for older childen. We did not like EFTTC. We have used Jump In–I use it in 7th and 8th grades, with good success. I feel it is very good for a reluctant writer–which is what I have, x3.
Bookworm, can I hijack the post and ask you what you liked best about Jump In? I am considering just grabbing the Teachers manual for the years worth of 10 minute writing prompts and wonder if you used that part of the program or just the workbook? I have an 8th grade dd who is very compliant, she just doesn’t like anything! Sounds funny but she will not fight me on any suggestions, nor offer opinions as to whether she likes them or not, she just is very ‘bleh’ about it all. She loves to read, is an excellent natural speller and tends to be naturally grammatically correct as well. She just doesn’t want to write- about anything- ever…sigh. I think I am getting lazy as she is the last of 5 at home and I don’t like to push the issues when she is so compliant about most things. However, she will need to learn to write an essay and though we are going through Writers Jungle and I am enjoying it, I have yet to see much from her end of the table 😉 would love some more comments on Jump In 🙂
I personally am not a big fan of the writing prompts, so I’ve only rarely used them. So I did use both parts of the program, but I must confess I rarely use the teacher guide anymore. What I did like about Jump In is that is breaks each writing assignment down into small, much more manageable pieces, and begins the entire book plus many of the segments by getting at what the child would LIKE to write about, getting at his or her preferences and ideas and finding out how they like to organize information. I myself am very much an outline person 🙂 but none of my children have liked this method and they have all, following Jump In instruction, chosen other methods. I’d not have thought to include that if I were doing this all by myself.
This thread caused me to do a search online. I discovered a writing program that seems very different than the norm. I wanted to share it and ask if anyone has used it. I can’t tell if it has CM ties or not.
http://www.advanced-writing-resources.com/homeschoolspecialoffer/
. My oldest (14) is using Write w/ the Best and I have no experience w/ LLATL or Jump In. But, I do plan to use Jump in w/ my 10 yo because I think he would enjoy it much more than WWTB. 
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