EGR and/or R&S English

[Jessica Louise]

We used Rod & Staff English last year. Looking ahead to 3rd grade, I'm not sure what to do. I have both R&S English 3 and EGR. I don't want to pile on more than I need to, but I am not sure which one to cut. I like EGR, but there are lessons in R&S Grammar that I don't think are covered elsewhere in MP 3rd grade. Does anyone have experience with both of these resources. Does anyone have any advise?

[Anita]

Following.
We are in the same situation. The only perspective I can give is that Simply Classical 7/8 uses Rod and Staff English 4 in their curriculum package but they don’t cover EGR at the same time. (EGR is used in previous and subsequent levels, however). But because Simply Classical is for students with special needs, the reasoning for that may be different.
We are doing R&S English 4 this year for the composition exercises it contains (and because I can use it as a transition with my kids from SC7/8 to SC9/10 when the time comes; I can also use the lesson plans from SC7/8 to guide our studies.) But I’m wondering the same as you: Do I keep EGR while we do R&S? Or set it aside for a year?

[Jessica Louise]

Anita Thank you for sharing that info! I also wondered if EGR would be something nice to do over the summer, between R&S books. The truth is that I don't have any experience with EGR (I just own the first level), and I don't have experience with higher grades to know what is reasonable or helpful. EGR looks pretty quick. My daughter is quick with memorization, so that would be easy. However, when it comes to applying the simpler lessons, such as capitalization and punctuation, I wonder if R&S might make more sense to her right now. A lot of EGR, of course, is knowledge for the future; that makes sense. However, with my daughter's dyslexia...I just wonder if R&S might help her keep up with what she needs to be able to demonstrate right now. I really don't know.

[Anita]

We have EGR and have used it for about half of an academic year (we had to pause school for a big move). I really like the format. It’s not just “memorization”. There are examples to follow in the instruction book and you can quiz your child in how to apply each rule that they learn. My kids all picked up on it pretty quickly. (And I learned some things I didnt know before, too!) But looking at a “total approach” to English grammar instruction, I will probably shelve EGR until we are through with R&S 4, simply because R&S is so comprehensive and has so much application work (a textbook, worksheets and tests). As I said in my first response, it also covers composition, which we REALLY need right now. That enables me to opt-out of Intro to Comp and move straight in to CC Fable when we are done (which is taught along with EGR II). So R&S is a stepping stone right now. It’s going to get us where we need to go. That may or may not apply to your situation. Here’s a but of a cross post from the SC forum that may help you (it regards R&S 4, not 3 — so keep that in mind):

[Jessica Louise]

Having a big interruption in the school year is tough.