Has anyone used Abeka math? I am wanting to switch to Abeka curriculum next year, and Lil Lumpy is behind in math. I always use a year lower. She will be in fourth grade.
If she is behind in math anyway, you would have to use a year lower with Abeka- their math program is considered "accelerated". Does she enjoy math? If not, I might recommend not going with Abeka. I love Abeka for many things- for one, I think their phonics program is one of the best methods around for teaching a child to read. And, I use mostly all Abeka things with my younger dd, who is in 1st grade this year. With my older dd, 6th grade, though, we have moved away from everything Abeka. It is (despite the fact that it says "homeschool" on the front) still geared to a classroom setting, and I wasn't liking the Teacher's Editions for the older grades- it was just too much work and too much talk (think classroom, 25 kids, blocked times for each class). We switched to Saxon math this year, and even though there's still alot of problems each day, the explanation time is so much better (for us)- there is no teacher's manual (there's an answer key)- but all the explanation is right in the student's textbook). I just like the approach so much better. And, if you'd be interested in something like Saxon (what are you using now), I'd wait until the time you're ready to buy your new curriculum, and have your dd take the placement test on their website. They don't necessarily go by grade level, which is really nice if you have a child that is a bit behind. My daugther is doing 7/6 this year (which is for 7th graders, or advanced 6th graders)- she tested for the 8/7 book, but I wasn't sure about putting her that high because she's lost her love of math). She could have done it, but we're happy this year! Anyway, I've talked too much, and don't even know if I answered your question!!!
I have to agree with Heidi. I looked through all the curriculum at a fair and will be done using ABeka for Math/Phonics around the fifth grade. There way of teaching the math/phonics is great until then! My kids are second and kindergarten right now so that is a few years off for us. I, personally, don't care for ABeka's history/science program. The kids are super bored with it so we scrapped most of it and are doing our own thing. Anyhoo...If you decide to go with ABeka you might want to order just the math book for 3rd grade now and see if it is above or below where she is at. I know that what my second grader is doing in Math that the public school is not anywhere close to doing right now. By the end of this year he will be doing multiplication and some division. The PS system says they start that in third grade. Just a thought. I think the Math books are around $15 or so, can't remember for sure. Also you could check ebay for books there too. Not sure I helped but I gave you my opinion lol
Renee~ Just a thought- you may want to considering switching curriculums after 3rd grade. Abeka is great up until that time. But, alot of curriculums kinda run 4th, 5th, and 6th; so, if you're thinking of switching, that would be a good time. Abeka's spelling (and I've been told this by several teachers who have used it) gets kinda weird in 4th grade. We didn't like it at all last year.
Thank you. We have been considering switching after this year. It will depend on what I can find that DH accepts. He likes using the box curriculums because then thre is no concern that I failed to teach the kids something. I don't care for them lol. We will need suggestions soon for who uses what and why they like it and so on. What are you using this year? Thanks again! Renee
Renee~ As long as you know the main subjects that you want to teach, I'm sure you'll cover everything! I'm using mainly Abeka stuff with my 1st grader this year- the only non-Abeka thing we're using with her is the Pathway Readers. The Abeka readers seems like such typical readers to me- kinda dry and not the most interesting- so we switched. The Pathway Readers are actually made for Amish schools- so the pictures are all in black and white- but Gracie doesn't notice that the stories are somewhat "Amishy" (my word)- to her they're just good family stories. You can get workbooks to go with them- and they're all really cheap. As for my 6th grader, we're using Saxon for math (she complained so much last year and, so far, this year there's been no complaining at all!), Learning Language Arts Through Literature (we like this, but would you believe she asked for more Spelling next year?! She's a good speller, so I don't feel the need to supplement.), Wordsmith Apprentice (I just purchased this because I feel she needs better and more writing lessons). Together, with both girls, we're doing Apologia's Exploring Creation Through Botany (for science- if you're not familiar with these books- check into them- this one is great and I've heard rave reviews on the rest as well), our own thing for history (I'm putting it together myself this year, next year we'll start on Mystery of History), Themes to Remember for music (we love this!). We're having a great year! HTH,
Hmmm... that's quite a bit to chew on ! She is in third grade. She can read well beyond that level, but her math is way behind. She is still trying to get the hang of very basic addition and subtraction. The doctor said that she may not ever be able to acquire these skills, but I believe in trying :grin:!
OK, I still want to call you Rumpledoodles! Anyway, one thing about Abeka that may be to your advantage is that they stress ALOT of repetition. If your daughter is having a hard time grasping simple math concepts, then you probably need alot of repetition. Especially in the early grades, they stress repeating math facts over and over again.
hey, I retired from teaching over 5 years ago and now homeschool. My kids switched from Abeka to Bob Jones and they like it ! Lots of application of past skills but not so much repitition like Abeka. My kids always test on and above grade level without " accelerated " curriculum. Also , I have recently checked into another one called Rod and Staff and I like theirs too. !!! ps .... I taught students with minor learning disabilities that were a bit " behind " in math skills and they did very well with Bob Jones. We used it in the regular classes as well. I have heard some people say they don't want to use BJ because of the strict standards of the college itself but I have not run across anything so far that I have a problem with !
We went from Saxxon Math to Abeka. We too were going into the 4th grd. Both of my girls were behind on math, but they were able to catch up and excell in it. It is very repititious. I have stuck with Abeka for almost 3 years and have no complaints. My youngest is in 4th now and having no problems.Hope this helps. God Bless, Melanee
We like the McGraw/Hill the best. But as you will find out what works for one will not always work for others. You will have to try different methods of math before you will come to one that really works. We are using a computer program with our dd along with a workbook, that I have written using a teachers guide. I have never used the Abeka Math. I did use the Abeka English. Next year if we don't send her to high school. We will use the Lifepacs for every subject. I may still go and get her the math for this year. My ds has a lot of trouble with math. He can't remember his facts. So we use workbooks along with the computer and lots of different games. I have created these games using the ones that we have here at home. Like using dominoes for teaching multiplication. You take a domino and notice it has two different number sets of dots. Now just multiply those two numbers. For everyone that he answers correctly he gets to keep, and at the end of the game he counts up his dominoes, and for everyone he has he gets that many M&M's or any other small candy. For those that he misses I will put back into a pile and he will have to try again. You can also do this for addition and subtraction.
