Help Me Choose ELA Curriculum | Homeschool Language Arts | 9th, 5th, 1st, and Kinder | 2024 - 25

[@i_redd_itt]

The neat thing about EIW is once you purchase a level you always have access to that levels videos. You would only have to buy new books or pdfs of the books if you want to use it for another child. Also- your content is so relatable, thanks for making these videos.

[@Homeschoolology]

Thank you for sharing this information! I've been considering it again. LOL. And thank you for the wonderful compliment!

[@practicalandplannedhomeschool]

For my son who prefers typing, I started converting pdfs to Google slides and then putting text boxes over the places for writing. It does take some time, but copy and paste is my friend, and it really isn't too terrible. I put the slide file in our Google classroom. Good luck making your picks!

[@Homeschoolology]

That is a fantastic idea! Thanks for sharing! I

[@Mombritwood]

I have heard building writing skills from critical thinking co is good! We plan to try in a few years.

[@Homeschoolology]

Interesting! We really like Critical Thinking Co things. I will check it out! Thanks for sharing!

[@Michelgia523]

I really like Moving Beyond the Page’s poetry units

[@Homeschoolology]

Added to my list of ones to check out! Thanks for sharing!

[@schultesweeties]

We actually received several vocabulary options from The critical thinking company (including word roots and this detective one you mentioned). I will do some comparisons soon! Maybe I’ll try to record that and get it out this next week. Hope that can help

[@Homeschoolology]

Crossing all the all the things! That would be wonderful! I'll be on the look out. Thank you!

[@schultesweeties]

Writing is so hard! Ugh. We’ve used EIW the last year and half but my daughter is over it. Next year we are using Cover Story by Clearwater press but that has religion in it. I’m not sure what we will be using for high school though

[@Homeschoolology]

That is kind of what I am afraid of with EIW. My daughter doesn't do well with things that are really repetitive. Luckly I'm a year ahead of you, so I can do some of the dirty work research for you. HAHAHA. Thanks for sharing your experience!

[@schultesweeties]

@@Homeschoolology haha yes! You better believe I will be following along! I feel like our oldest daughters in particular seem very similar in likes and dislikes and your style of homeschooling is very similar to mine too. This is why I love watching your videos to see what works and doesn’t work!

[@Homeschoolology]

@@schultesweeties I agree! Same to you!

[@jordanbochart3714]

Have you used Wand? We have loved pinwheels and I want to do Wand with my oldest.

[@Homeschoolology]

I have not yet had the chance to use wand, but I do plan on using it with my upcoming kiddos. I looks wonderful.

[@melissamoore280]

I came to ask the same question. I have already purchased The Wand. I’m deciding whether to finish AAR4 or move on to The Wand. Thoughts? My daughter did finish Pinwheels. She’s 7.5.

[@Homeschoolology]

@@melissamoore280 I'm not sure what is covered in AAR4, but I'm sure Wand will have a review at the beginning, so you could cover anything you missed. How much does your child enjoy AAR? If they enjoy it, keep going. If not, then I would go ahead and switch. Hope that helps!

[@mamamatheson1889]

We also love Moving Beyond the Page. Have you looked into The Well Trained Mind? Writing with Skill is wonderful.

[@Homeschoolology]

I tried Moving Beyond the Page a really long time ago. It might be time to give it another try. I did look into Writing with Skill last year. I don't remember 100% all the reasons I choose not to go with them, but I remember being concerned about if they program was truly neutral. We used Story of the World, and I did not feel it to me neutral enough for us. I may look more into it now. Thanks for sharing!

[@mamamatheson1889]

Do you know of any classical curriculums that are secular?

[@Homeschoolology]

@mamamatheson1889 Unfortunately, other than Well Trained Mind as a neutral option, I do not. I did find a website called classicalcurriculum.com that seemed to have some decent options. So maybe start there as a starting point.

[@Hot_Springs_Homeschool]

There’s a poetry unit in Moving Beyond Page high school 9th grade level.

[@Homeschoolology]

Oohhh! Thanks! Checking that out for sure!

[@Hot_Springs_Homeschool]

There’s a book on Rainbow Resource that I’m considering getting. I haven’t used it, but it looks good to me for 7th-10th graders, and it’s meant for both middle and high school. It’s called “100 Ways to Improve Your Composition and Creative Writing.” It’s published by Oak Meadow, but it stands alone…you don’t have to use it with Oak Meadow. It’s written to the student and starts with short, varied exercises and then builds from there. Good luck! I look forward to seeing what you choose! For 8th grade, we are mostly likely going to use Grammar Galaxy and Mosdos, and whatever my daughter wants to write with a couple units thrown in from Layers of Learning Writer’s Workshop.

[@Homeschoolology]

That sounds interesting! I will add it to my list to check out. Thanks for sharing! I've heard good things about Grammar Galaxy as well.

[@andreaashley2638]

Layers of Learning has a poetry section in the Writers Workshop...of course I have a 10 year old so not sure if it's meaty enough for a freshman but it says it is meant for that age range...😅 teachers pay teachers could be an option for poetry as well!! Good luck 😊

[@Homeschoolology]

Thank you for the tips! I'm going to check into those.

[@elonas9487]

We are planning to use the writing and literature bundle from Essentials in Writing. It is as close to all in one as you can get! The grammar portion is only the first few weeks, and its not extensive. There's no subscription aspect - once you own it you can renew your access to the videos for free for as long as you want. I am not worried about the number of writing assignments because i am totally comfortable stretching the material out or eliminating certain assignments, etc. I really like how open and go it is.

[@Homeschoolology]

Thanks for the recommendations on novel studies! I've considered EIW quite a bit.

[@elonas9487]

@@Homeschoolology I just edited my response above with a little more about EIW. It really sounds like it might be a good fit for you, even if you stretch it out over more than a year as you use other resources here and there.

[@Homeschoolology]

@@elonas9487 Thanks for the added info. I didn't know you could renew! I will be taking another look at it for sure!

[@user-ss1jf1df4u]

I am going to try this out. I bought the dvds. You can also call them and have them extend out your membership anytime for the level you bought.They have great customer service.They are offering 25% off right now.

[@elonas9487]

​@@user-ss1jf1df4u I will just mention that the 9th and 10th grade levels of the writing program are being updated with new video and the books are being reformatted to the new style. I think there may be some content changes as well (according to customer service) but I don't know to what extent. They said they expect to release the new versions this summer.

[@CP-fo5sy]

The Writing Course Book by, Dr. Fred Ray Lybrand, Jr. is an option. He teaches the students to write one good essay and work from there.

[@Homeschoolology]

Thanks for the suggestion!

[@SydneyWooten]

We used IEW Structure and Style for my son as per a recommendation when we first started homeschooling. Oh, it was miserable. The long videos! I eventually found someone who would grade his papers, and he had to suffer through it alone. He's the type of kid that doesn't want to try a different curriculum. He wants to stick with what he knows regardless of how mundane it is. I know some people have great success with IEW and I am grateful that Andrew attempts to make the classes fun, but for us, it was a miss.

[@Homeschoolology]

That is what I know my kiddos will not like. We don't do long around here! LOL. Thanks for sharing your experience!

[@RockSimmer-gal4God]

Nothing wrong with buying book studies throughout the year!!! We tried AAR but it was too intense for us but we use a program that encourages letter tile activities!!! We love TGTB language arts for high school but we found that some parts of the curriculum wasn’t as useful for my oldest!!! I had to supplement!!! We loved compass classroom vocabulary that picks words apart from the Latin and Greek!!! He dressed differently to be the Latin and Greek expert!!! I had to outsource writing!!! Idk if we would use a curriculum tho!!! My colleague’s dad loves write by number and he teaches it, I think that’s what my oldest is doing in his class!!!

[@hannahhensley8497]

What is the alternative to AAR that you use?

[@Homeschoolology]

Yes, I love that we can just pick up lit guides as we go along throughout the year. Thanks for sharing your experiences and suggestions!

[@RockSimmer-gal4God]

@@hannahhensley8497 the ordinary parents guide to teaching reading

[@user-ss1jf1df4u]

I bought EIW to try this year for my third grader

[@Homeschoolology]

That seems like a really great option!