Rod and Staff burn-out: Thank you my3sons!

[LovingJesus]

Thank you, thank you Julie for talking so much about the benefits of Rod and Staff English in your recent March 14th - 18th week in review. I read your words last night, and I was truly blessed by them. I felt like the LORD was answering all of my March prayers about Rod and Staff English through your week in review. Thank you!

I have 3 now doing Rod and Staff English. My oldest is doing the second 1/2 of R&S 5 this year. My second born in doing R&S 4 and my third born is doing R&S 3. I have truly been burning out on Rod and Staff English this month. I have been thinking isn't CM language arts enough on its own? I have been praying and asking the LORD if I could quit R&S English. Like you though I have seen the fruit of R&S English so many times. I have seen the wisdom Carrie had when my oldest was doing CTC for 2015 of having him slow down to 1/2 speed for grammar, for CTC, when he reached book 5. It was the perfect timing for slowing R&S grammar down! About the time he was tiring of it the days dropped and Write With the Best stepped in. The timing really was perfect.

If any one is burning out on the grammar in R&S English I encourage you to read Julie's words in March 14th - 18th week in review. She mentions multiple times all of the benefits she has seen from many years of using it. I was ready to start a thread asking if anyone has dropped Rod and Staff English, and not regretted it. Julie's words encouraged me to keep going.

Thank you Julie~

[MelInKansas]

I feel just the same way - love and hate R&S English. It is one of the more teacher-intensive and time-consuming parts of our day and my children don't love it. But I have not ever heard of a grammar program that children LOVE (at least not one that I feel actually teaches it at all thoroughly). I too see how my children are understanding grammar and getting a really good grasp on it. They get it better than I ever did and R&S includes some very important things that I never learned like "Lay and Lie" and things like that.

So, I am learning to like it and to plan for it. Right now I only have 2 in it, but of course my oldest is growing in independence and I plan to hand more of it off to her (we still do a lot of it orally right now because writing is just not her thing).

[Kteni]

Thank you for pointing out the encouragement you found in Julie's posts. I just read them and have taken to heart these gems. I am one who tried other L.A. programs in the last year but regretted it. I put my children's feelings above what they actually need, a firm foundation. When I put the R&S 3 book I front of my son this year, there was no fuss but a diligent heart revealed. The character building that HOD has built in to the guides has been so fruitful. I thank the good Lord for leading us to this curriculum. I thank you, Carrie, Julie, and families for your work and investment into building up godly persons through education.
So, bringing DD back into R&S is next.
Lord, please help it be well as she is not interested. Amen
I think also, I have had a flippant heart and have had to learn a hard lesson of being too accomadating. It is time to "stick to my guns" and trust the children will learn to take on less interesting tasks with a servants heart. Then those tasks are not so dull. I don't really find grammar very exciting, but when they see their own writing directly affected by it, it is an open door to accepting a book that is not their favourite. And we have had subjects less enjoyed turn to very enjoyed through HOD. Hopefully, English will be the next one for my daughter.

[LovingJesus]

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences and hearts Kteni and MeInKansas.

I could relate to your post Kteni and your prayer. I have been diligent about staying with R&S, but listened too much to my oldest feelings and complaints about other portions of his curriculum. I have tried other approaches to his 'full' school and regretted it since it always ends up not providing that firm foundation I want him to have that I see building in my other children. I will say a prayer for both of our children interests to change towards what they need instead of what they think they want.

We started up school again today after two weeks of spring break. I dove into R&S with a whole heart again for it after this thread and Julie's gems. I instantly was reminded of the elements I love about R&S. Copy verses straight out of scripture. Paragraphs about Jesus. Exceptional grammar. I also was smiling at Carrie's interwoven Bible into our Drawn Into the Heart of Reading lessons. Sometimes those breaks make me realize the gifts home schooling has to offer.

Thank you ladies for the encouragement.

[my3sons]

Oh, I'm so glad that the Lord provided some clarity in response to your prayers about R & English, and if it was through a weekly check-in I did, I praise Him all the more for using me to help!!! I DO understand what you are saying about teaching multiple R & S English levels at one time. This portion of a thread Carrie posted has helped me in this area...

As far as using Rod and Staff English, I'll share that at our house my oldest son (who just graduated in May) preferred to do his lessons orally with us rather than write out all of the answers. However, due to time constraints for his senior year, he did do the last half of English 8 just the way you are describing in your post. He did the lessons and checked them himself using the Teacher's Guide key. He did share that it was more difficult, and less interesting, to do Rod and Staff English this way. However, it did work for him for that season.

With my next son in line, who is a sophomore this year, we do still go over his lessons regularly. However, he does enjoy writing out the answers ahead of time to save time during the meeting with us later. Sometimes he has the whole lesson done before he ever gets to meet with us. To me, this is fine as well. We just orally do whatever he has left. With my younger kiddos, we definitely meet each time with them and do 2/3 of the English lesson orally and 1/3 on paper.

So, with your older daughter you can decide how best to approach Rod and Staff English to best fit your needs and hers. It may be a changing approach from year to year, depending on what your schedule allows. I do feel that kiddos benefit from some oral discussion and application of the English lessons, simply because English is a spoken as well as a written language!

Upward and onward...

In Christ,
Julie