Learning Language Arts Through Literature Orange Student Book (3rd Edition)

The strength of all-in-one language arts like this is the topics blend together nicely and don't get so dry.
The weakness is, you can't choose what level for each area; my kids are WAY advanced in reading, but just starting some grammer work. So the
reading level is very low for them.
That said, it's kind of nice some of it is easy, as it's less overwhelming.
My daughter loves it. My son tolerates it. There is no cutting work as there is in the Red book. And I can modify lessons to be shorter if my son is getting overwhelmed.
My kids are learning grammer rules and spelling in a very natural way.
They love having the student book to write in. I love the gentle approach.

I have used LLATL for 2nd and 3rd grade, and my 9 year old son is now working through the orange book for 4th grade. I really like this curriculum. It is gentle and not overwhelming or too boring. I find that doing the lessons in 20-30 minute increments rather than as it is laid out for each day works much better for us. We only use it four days a week rather than five due to our co-op. I've found we easily (usually) get done with each week's lesson plus any review in four days using this approach. When I do get that restless bout of Homeschool Mom Insecurity about my curriculum choices, I always come back to LLATL. Every time I research other programs I always find LLATL is right on pace with anything else I research.

I have been using LLATL for the past 3 years straight with several of my children (yellow, orange, purple, tan, green, and gray). This review is for the 3rd edition Orange student book.

I am a veteran homeschool mom. I've been at this since 1996. I have tried a number of language arts programs over the years. Do I love LLATL? I wouldn't say LOVE, but it gets the job done, and I do plan to stick with it over the next couple years. That is saying a lot considering my past history with switching. I even have a back history with LLATL and came back to it a number of trial-and-errors later. (I mostly came back because, even though I love English grammar, my kids were getting lost in the abstractness of it the way it is taught so many other places.)

Is there much difference between the 2nd and 3rd editions? If you already own the 2nd edition, it isn't worth switching to the 3rd edition. The differences aren't that huge. If you are buying for the first time, go with 3rd edition. There are teensy additions that add to the experience.

Is this as comprehensive as, say, Rod and Staff? Yes and no. It covers many of the same things, but not as in depth every time. You will repeat topics many times over the course of the series. It isn't something that worries me at the 4th grade level (even using the later levels, it doesn't bother me then either).

I like that the book doesn't hit you with the same old, "A noun is a person, place, or thing," line and progress through the list of grammatical terms. Yawn. It's more varied and interesting than that. It teaches about some literary terms. It covers journaling and newspapers, just a few little extras along the way.

I am not shy about whipping out my smart phone for us to watch a youtube related to a lesson or to look up a fact or figure. If I want to switch things up or skip parts, I have no reservation. We make it our own. Some of the exercise sentences can be a bit simplistic, so I beef them up sometimes. We watch some School House Rock videos that my kids definitely correlate to their LLATL lessons. (You can buy these or find them on youtube.)

My child is 9 and a natural speller, but he still finds he has to study for the dictations. The copywork and dictations are integral parts of this program. It helps a parent to have a working knowledge and understanding of the benefits of Charlotte Mason and/or Ruth Beechick style language arts learning for the beauty of LLATL to come alive. It isn't the same drill and kill as the more standard Abeka and Rod and Staff. It can appear light, but it is richer than you might think.

Do I recommend the student activity book? A resounding yes. In fact, this is what appeals the most to my kids. They can write in the books. I cut off the binding and put a spiral in instead. Makes it MUCH easier to use.

Do my kids complain about using LLATL? They'd complain about any language arts program, truth be told, but they don't mind this at all.

Do we do the book studies? The book studies are actually the weak point of the series that I wish they would've addressed in the 3rd editions. We read some of the books (or listen on audio). We seldom do the assigned book studies. If we do read the books, we tend to discuss them or have the kids give some narrations. I have my children all reading through a book of their choice every school day. Seeing words and sentences in literature aids in their ability to assimilate this into their own use.