SCM Discussion Forum

1. 

   my3boys
   Member

   Does anyone know what the difference is between the two??  They seem similar to me, but I only viewed them at amazon. 

   I have a soon-to-be 2nd grader in the fall and I'm trying to make a CM-friendly plan for him.  He loves to read and is becoming familiar with narration, we tackle spelling only as needed, do copywork, and lots of read aloud time. 

   I would like to keep my choices only between the two because I'm crazy and would have a hard time choosing between 5-6 different one's. 

   Thanks in advance for anyone that chooses to chime in:)

   Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
2. 

   LindseyD.
   Member

   I know nothing about Prim. Lang. Lessons. My first-grader is on Lesson 6 of English for the Thoughtful Child, and he is doing and catching on to much more than I expected. I really like EFTTC because the lessons are short and simple. It's very easy for me to teach one lesson in 10 minutes or less. Sorry I can't help more with the other; I hope you find that somewhat helpful.

   Lindsey

   Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
3. 

   Sonya Shafer
   SCM Team

   They are both similar and either would be CM-friendly. If you're looking at the original Serl books, some of the topics are enough old-fashioned that children today probably wouldn't know the answers (e.g., about coal). You can easily skip those lessons, because they are few and far between. Or you can get the new version from Living Books Curriculum that has been updated and edited. 

   With either one, feel free not to require that all the answers be written. You can do a lot of the exercises orally on the couch.

   Here are some other discussions about EFTTC and Serl books:

   http://simplycharlottemason.com/scmforum/topic/english-for-the-thoughtful-child-vs-serls-language-lessons#post-16007

   http://simplycharlottemason.com/scmforum/topic/grammar#post-804

   Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
4. 

   my3boys
   Member

   Thank you Lindsey for the comments.  Easy to teach, short and simple.  That's what I'm looking for.

   Thanks for getting back to me, Sonya.  I love the couch idea:)  We love to sit on the couch and read and learn and read and learn:)

   I will check out the links asap.

   Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
5. 

   missceegee
   Member

   I bought both and extensively looked at both before deciding on Emma Serl's Primary Language Lessons. I chose this b/c I knew we would do most orally, I liked the book format better, it was cheaper and I just love old fashioned books. Either would be fine and I think the content is so similar that you can choose based on other factors.

   HTH,

   Christie

   Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
6. 

   Renelle
   Member

   Hi,

   We have Emma Serl's Primary Language Lessons and have found it gentle and simple, just enough to take in one lesson at a time. It is cheap (cost us AUS $9.95 e-book) and easy to use, we only spend about 10 mins per lesson. Verses for memorization would take a little longer but we don't always do this but we at least use it for appreciation value.

   I'm told that by the end of PLL you will have completed 4th grade level. My ds is 8 (he is in yr3 in Australia) likes the variety and always likes it when we get to a Picture Study.

   Honestly we use it 3-4 per week. We are quite relaxed at home here and I am trying to eliminate busywork and focus on meaningful learning in all subjects. We are easing ourselves into the full CM style (slowly)

   I plan to use it with dd when the time comes.

   I don't know anything about EFTTC but it sounds similar.

   Hope that's helpful

   Renelle

   Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
7. 

   mrsjamiesouth
   Member

   I also went with Emma Serl, but I got the updated one by Livingbooks. 

   Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
8. 

   anabetica
   Member

   I love EFTTC because the kids can write in the books and the the students are asked to look up information in the Handbook of Nature STudy.  In a way we were doing nature study along with our language arts.  It was great and gentle.   I wish they would continue it into later years.  Once you are finished with both EFTTC books you can go onto ILL if you want and get the best of both worlds.

   I do know that copying out of a textbook, though cheaper, was really frustrating to my "pencil-allergic" boys.  I wanted to decrease the battles where I could and this book was very helpful.

   Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
9. 

   my3boys
   Member

   Thank you all for posting your experiences.  And, forgive my ignorance, but what is ILL??

    

   Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
10. 

    LindseyD.
    Member

    ILL is inter-library loan...and it's been a life-saver for us!

    

    Lindsey

    Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
11. 

    anabetica
    Member

    No Worries

    Intermmediate Language Lessons--it's the book that comes after Primary Language Lessons

     

     

    Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
12. 

    my3boys
    Member

    I thought it might have something to do with the Language Lessons, but wasn't sure.

      My 11 yo will probably do AG, or squeeze in JAG, but that hasn't been decided yet either.  I have a little time to make my plans, and I'd like next school year to be planned out more than I have planned these last couple of years.  I have some things ironed out every year, like math, science, sports, etc., but this is the first year we will be ditching the ps type of curriculum in lang. arts and history.  And, I am so excited!  I have the history part already planned and we've already begun our journey, but a grammar guide is still in limbo.  We are reading ALOT, narrating, using SW for the 11yo, etc., I was still looking for a gentle grammar text to use as well.

    Thanks again. 

    Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
13. 

    my3boys
    Member

    I was going to mention that I just introduced my 11yo ds to The Book of Mottoes concept and he grabbed a note book (we always have those in abundance) labeled the front.  The first "motto" he added was one from Helen Keller.  He's excited about this type of copywork as it will be meaningful to him and him alone.  Pretty cool.

    Posted 1 year ago # Report Post

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