Lang. Arts ? for 2nd graders

[Melanie]

We are planning to use Beyond LIttle Hearts next year. I have twins who will be 2nd graders and a 1st grader. For those who have done Beyond, is the lang. arts in there enough for a second grader? or should I go to Rod and Staff English? Should I use a different spelling? Are the imergent readers enough for 2nd grade? HELP!!! We're using LLATL blue level now, and it's perfect. I just want to keep everything light, but make sure it's enough.

Thanks, Melanie

[Carrie]

Melanie,

I'll give you my two cents, since you haven't gotten a response yet. I'm sure everyone's still recovering from Thanksgiving and getting back into the routine of things.

As far as "Beyond..." goes, the language arts is meant to be a gentle introduction to grammar, mechanics, and usage to give your kiddos time to cement the language arts skills of reading, copying, and narrating (before jumping into a more formal grammar study).

I followed the plans as written in "Beyond..." with my second son when he was in 2nd grade, and we are now doing Rod and Staff English 2 as planned in "Bigger..." with him as a third grader. It's going well, and I'm glad we didn't rush into it. Rod and Staff is advanced in scope and sequence, so there's no need to hurry through the levels. All of your first and second graders could do the language arts in "Beyond..." and then move into English 2 together as scheduled in "Bigger...".

As far as the "Emerging Reader Set", if your second graders are finished with phonics and still emerging as readers, the set should be enough for them. If they are actually more independent readers, you may want to take a look at "Drawn into the Heart..." and the Level 2 Book Pack instead. Here's the link for that:

http://www.heartofdakota.com/drawn-into-optional2.php

On a sidenote, we did use about half of LLATL Blue with our first son before switching to something else, and I think the Emerging Reader set would pick up well after the Blue level. You may want to continue with some sort of phonics practice as well using something like "Explode the Code" or "MCP Plaid", as I believe LLATL Red finishes the formal phonics instruction that was begun in Blue.

Lastly, as far as spelling, there are two spelling lists provided each week that follow the same spelling rule. One list is more appropriate for first grade and the other for second grade, so the spelling should be fine for your kiddos.

Hope this helps!

Blessings,
Carrie

[Melanie]

Thanks Carrie. That was exactly what I needed to know. We may be ready for the emergent readers after Christmas (or maybe not), and will work on those along with LLATL for extra reading practice. I'm not sure about the remaining phonics instruction...my dd loves ETC, but my ds would rather put out one of his eyes!! He is not a very strong reader, my 5.5 dd doing K this year is actually a stronger reader. That's why we dropped ETC and went to LLATL, it is a very gentle program and my ds enjoys this approach much better. I even bought some of the Language Lesson books from Queens in an attempt to find something that would "float his boat".

Well, I still have some time to decide and 6 mo. could make a big difference in reading ability (hopefully!) and hopefully I won't be completely bald from pulling out my hair by then!!

Thank you, Melanie

[Carrie]

Melanie,

I understand what you mean about ETC! My first son didn't like it all and my second loved it. (Although, we only used it as a supplement to practice the written portion of phonics).

Another option you may want to consider would be using the last half of "The Reading Lesson", in order to complete your phonics instruction (unless you are planning to use LLATL Red to do that). The guide is around $28.00, which provides a pretty economic way to finish phonics instruction. The child reads to you right from the book. It is a pick-up-and go program with short notes to the parent. We have often recommended that option to moms who are switching phonics programs and need a program you can easily pick up in the middle.

Blessings,
Carrie

[my3sons]

Hi Melanie!

Carrie gave a great answer here! When I was doing Little Hearts... with my oldest son, he was ready to jump into the emerging readers about halfway through Little Hearts... So, I just bought the Beyond... guide and the Emerging Readers set in the middle of my Little Hearts year. We used the discussion questions and the pace for the Emerging Readers in Beyond..., but kept doing the rest of Little Hearts with it. Then, when we finished the emerging readers, we began Level 2/3 of Drawn into the Heart of Reading.

In Beyond..., we did the upper level spelling list the next year, and thought that was fine. We also did ETC and kept up with that until Level 4... youch! That was too much of a jump for us!

Now, my second son is totally different than my first, and all of that would be over the top for him! I may be bald from pulling my hair out with him! He is my little "player", which is a blessing actually. He just loves to play... all day. He may actually take after me... I could "play" all day on my computer if I didn't watch it! I just love this community of HOD users, and homeschooling in general. It's fun getting to know you and everyone here.

[Melanie]

Thanks Julie! Yes, he is a "player"! It was freezing cold today, and he's all bundled up with his double-barrel shotgun jumping from tree, to big rock, to fence shooting at bears. Oh, I want him to stay this imaginative and playful forever, but I know childhood is too short.

So, yes, I am afraid the emerging readers may have to wait till 2nd grade for him. I may even go ahead and use the red level of LLATL just b/c this is the best reading program for him so far, and my two dd's excel with whatever I throw at 'em.

Thanks for your ideas, I may be back in a few months with a totally different game plan and more questions!