LLTL works for me, but I kind of use it how I want. 😉
There are no spelling lessons in LLTL.
I like the poetry since it is an easy way to keep appropriate and fun poetry going daily. Then I chose one longer poem to just focus on for about 6 weeks to read and memorize. We have poetry tea time once a week where we focus on our term poet, so if I miss a day, I do not stress about it.
I use the fables to continue practicing detailed oral narrations. I have the Milo Winter version, so I usually look them up in that for the illustrations and because I bought the book to use before I started LLTL. Gotta get my money’s worth. :} Last week one of my daughters was acting it out with her stuffed animals.
I use the picture study along with my regular selection – I have 2 going each term, but I alternate the weeks. I display each picture in a frame until we trade. I made small versions of each picture the kids put in their own art book each time. I like her choices and they generally aren’t ones that SCM has porfolios for yet. The author has them available as free full color, full size pictures on her lulu site, so I use them. I do not do the picture study the day it is listed in the lessons, I wait and do it the day I have assigned to picture study.
I haven’t overly stressed the grammar part, but they are learning some of it. We talk about it and do the lesson orally from the teachers book. We will cover it in more detail later.
I use audio books for a lot of her choices because the chapters are so long. The kids eat breakfast and do copywork while they listen. It sort of eases them into school mind set and gives me a chance to finish getting my ducks in order for other subjects.
I do have other books that I want my kids to listen to, so I use LLTL 3 times a week and do other literature the other 2 days. On those days, copywork might be their names, addresses, and phone numbers, a scripture we are memorizing, or I will find a sentence from the book to do. Right now, LLTL has them listening to The Wind in the Willows and on the other days, I have them listening to Heidi.
For the most part, I like the organization and selections of LLTL. I do not have to make lots of daily decisions about what we are doing.