So, I went to an Abeka hotel meeting and bought the whole child kit for 2nd grade! I'm so excited! It seems I've been 'researching/shopping' for 2nd grade for most of 1st grade. I've had my heart set on several curriculums, only to decide that they probably would not really work for us--it seems I've looked at every unit study program out there before deciding that I'm just not a unit study person. It's really funny that I picked Abeka, because I've had a negative viewpoint on it for a long time. A friend of mine used it for her boys through High School, and it seemed like SO much work. However, she was working full time and the boys were not following through on the work. By the time she was able to really evaluate them, they were all pretty far behind--her youngest son the most. Plus, I've always heard that Abeka has a lot of busy work. However, when I looked through the books at the meeting, they are exactly what I'm looking for! I didn't get the teacher's manuals with all the bells and whistles--and I hope I'm not shooting myself in the foot with this! I like things pretty cut-and-dried for our HS, as I work part-time too, and I need a do-the-next-page kinda curriculum. I'm so hoping this works out for us! Another thing I was concerned about was that I've changed curriculums 3x in 1st grade, so I was concerned that we could have some serious gaps and Abeka might be pretty advanced for my DD. However, it looks like it picks up right about where we are. I still think I might use something else for spelling and possibly not use the handwriting materials--but I know I can sell those on ebay if I decide not to. Anyway, just wanted to share my excitement!!
That's awesome you found a curriculum you like. We use alot of Abeka here too. I dont care for their History or science so we use Winter Promise and Apologia for those. For handwriting for Noah (he has delays in fine and gross motor skills) we are using Abeka 1st grade instead of starting their 3rd grade book. I like their math ok... and I like their grammar if I use it how I want too lol. It's pretty redundant for my son so we dont require him to do the entire page. He just does every other problem. I havent gotten into the 3rd grade Language much but 2nd grade was really boring, I think they should have added nouns, verbs, etc and some more on sentence building. Over all I like Abeka. It's a great program. I realized just how good it was after ordering alot of Alpha Omega lifepacks a month or so ago... those were awful. My 5 yr old ended up using some of the workbooks that they sell as being a 3rd grade level. I think AO is horrible...after using Abeka. JMO
I know whatcha mean about Lifepacs, Jackie--I started out 1st grade with the full set of Lifepacs! That lasted a month before I moved on to something else; those were just not for us! I'm thinking they might make a good preK-K curriculum for my youngest, lol, or they may make their way to ebay too! I didn't realize Abeka 2nd doesn't go through parts of speech--I'll make sure I add that in--we have done a lot of that in 1st grade so it shouldn't be hard to just verbally review it. I'm still thinking I might like to add Real Science 4 Kids or Apologia to the science mix and maybe MOH, but I will probably wait until my 4 yo is a bit older so they can do those together. Do you use the Abeka spelling? It looks good, but I would like more worksheet type spelling--maybe a worksheet for each day of the week like in Spectrum or MCP Spelling Workout. I went on ahead and ordered the whole kit because with the discount they offer on the kit it would not have been worth it for me not to get it. I'm glad because I feel like my 'basics' are covered for 2nd grade--I can always branch out from there!
Yep, you said it--you can always branch out from there! I liked the lower grad A Beka stuff. We used it a lot. Unlike some others, my boys really liked the science and health programs! I hope it goes well! We enjoyed up through about 5th grade with A Beka and Christian Liberty our most common uses. Then we branched out from there. My ds14 especially LOVED the K-2 math when he was little! Have you considered R&S English? It's not colorful but it's VERY thorough. It's not for everyone though, just tought I'd throw it out. Let us know how it goes! CONGRATULATIONS!
Last summer, I found the Abeka 2nd grade Language TE cheap at a used sale so I got the worktext for my DD. We tossed it within 2 weeks because she was exhausted from putting capital letters and periods at the end of sentences. I ended up using a Spectrum LA 2 workbook from Barnes & Noble. Because I was still a total newbie, I didn't just tweak it and add to it (like you're planning). If you get it and decide to send it back, R & S 2nd grade (which I just bought used for my son)....looks more in line with what I want for him when he's ready...although the Spectrum workbook worked out well for us because my DD just didn't need tons of review at that level. But since every kiddo is different, I hope Abeka 2 is exactly what your homeschool needs......boy, I love that we have choices...although sometimes too many :lol:
Thanks for suggesting R&S...I've looked at it several times...but I just like color for the younger grades. I'm so shallow, lol! I've seriously thought about p/u either the R&S teacher or student book to have on hand for each grade. I know it is inexpensive and everyone says how thorough and gentle the material is. I have the CLP catalog and have ordered "Hx for Little Pilgrims" and the MCP math and are using both of those right now. I've thought about doing all CLP, too. In regard to Spectrum, we are currently using the Barnes and Noble FlashKids Complete Curriculum. It is very similar to Spectrum; in fact, I grabbed both and sat down an B&N with a cup of coffee and went through all subjects in Spectrum and Flashkids after I dropped Lifepacs. I have looked at Spectrum again for 2nd grade and was considering using their reading and spelling. I might still buy them just because I like them so much. I went with Abeka because I'm hoping for a bit more Bible/character training this year. :| I guess I was really thinking Abeka was way more advanced than it is actually turning out to be, perhaps? (That's not a bad thing!) But DD knows what nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, subject/predicate--but we have not any real writing this year at ALL! Like, she just now starting to do sentences on her own. In a way, busy work helps me out--she can work beside me while I work. I mean, I don't want her fingers to fall off or anything... My other honourable mentions were Voyages in English, Growing With Grammar, MFW, HOD, and BJU...I really hope I like Abeka. :shock: Thanks so much for the input, ladies!
I'm sure Abeka will work well for you....and I doubt her fingers will "fall off"..:lol: Esp with 2nd grade. My 2nd grader has some vision issues so too much writing busy work is hard for her because she has to focus on each letter (to see it to write it). Fortunately, with patching and yet another set of new lenses, she's seeing 20/20 for the first time ever (corrected vision)....so she's started learning cursive the last few weeks...something she absolutely had no interest in 9 months ago....yippee!!! We have some FlashKids stuff too....for some reason, I just prefer Spectrum for her but my son likes both (as much as he likes any workbook that is). My oldest loves the FlashKids Reading Comp books.... Once you get to 4th grade, Abeka isn't as colorful....kind like Horizons Math gets a bit less colorful the older the student gets Looks like all your honorable mentions were on my short list as well when we started analyzing what to use! Rhonda
I really don't think that's shallow at all! YOU know better than anyone what your child is like and can find things accordingly! Like I said, my boys really liked the lower grade A Beka materials, and some do A Beka all the way through highschool, and love it. So that's a possibility for you too! I say do what YOU feel is best for your family, NOT what's best for someone else! And don't feel guilty about it!
