We use both the spelling and the English. Others may not agree with me, but I feel we have been able to use both in a CM way. I like the spelling because it is more than just a list of rules and words. The exercises are thoughtful and help them really think about the sound and structure of the words. (hence the name 🙂 ) We use it very simply, doing just a portion of a lesson each day. (there are 3 parts to each lesson) It only takes my girls about 5-10 minutes. We don’t do tests or quizzes or even review the words. They do it completely independently, and one of the reasons I don’t mind using a workbook in a CM education is that I like that it teaches them to follow directions carefully.
For the English, we sit on the couch and read through the lesson together. Then we do a few of the exercises orally so that I can see they understand the concept. After that, I send them off to do just a few of the written exercises. I generally skip the exercises that just call for short answers. Instead, we focus on the ones that have them demonstrate their understanding of a new concept with a writing exercise. I would say that we do about 2/3 of it orally with a short amount of written work. It only takes them about 10-15 minutes. I remember reading examples once of Charlotte’s grammar lessons and noticing that they looked very much like the lessons in our R&S books.
We use the spelling books from 2nd grade through about 5th grade. English we start in 3rd and will continue through at least 8th.
