Deena, I finally learned that if I actually ASK Carl about curriculum, he will give me an opinion!!! (Gee, what a neat idea, huh? LOL!) I've gotten in the habit of sort of consulting with him about curriculum. He still leaves it pretty much up to me, but is also willing to listen as to why I think this one over that one. There have been a few he had as strong opinion of...he said no to "Story of the World" because it wasn't Christian based, and he's not too excited about Saxon Algebra.
Here is a link to an article about choosing the right homeschool curriculum. http://www.abbahomeschool.com/blogger/2006/02/how-to-choose-right-home-school.html Hope it helps.
Jackie, SOTW does have some of the Bible characters in it, and we supplemented with others from "Timelines, Etc." You only study Bible stuff in Ancient History, so I'm not sure why it would matter otherwise??? We'll get back to comparing Bible and other history next year when we finish up Ancient History. We get our Bible stuff other ways now, instead of with the history program, since we're doing modern this year.
Try Bob Jones DVDs, skip A beka... Hi Kris TX, I know I am a little late posting this but maybe you haven't made the decision yet and maybe you'd like my two cents. I have been using A beka's DVDs this year and I have to say that overall I like it and I think it is worth the money. There are A LOT of problems though. #1. I have come to really hate the classroom setting. Your kid has to adapt to the cookie cutter style teaching with these DVDs. If they don't fit the cookie cutter, too bad. I find I have my kids fast forwarding a lot of stuff because of that. As an example...my daughter is not nearly as quick as the other kids in the class when asked to call out answers for math drill. Actually, I'm not nearly as quick either! I have no idea how these kids can be so fast but it is frustrating and a big time waster for my daughter. :| #2. Too much work. If you go with A beka I would advise against the accredited program. I am very, very glad I went with the other option. My son only does the Science, History and Language courses even though I had to pay for it all. Everything else is done with other curriculum. Their Spelling doesn't work at all for my kids. I don't like their Reading program because I'd rather my kids learn about character and God's ways through real literature instead of readers. My son is currently reading Davy Crocket, written by Davy Crocket, and then he will be reading Corrie Tenboom's The Hiding Place. Real literature is far more interesting than the A beka readers in my opinion (and his). I've come to appreciate their phonics program though and I love my daughter's penmanship class. #3. They use the classroom as a motivational tool for their students. By this I mean they use a lot of competitions and comparisons to encourage the kids to learn the material. Example: My little girl (7) was working on her writing page very diligently. The teacher held up one of the student's papers to show the kids at home. It was incredibly perfect. As I was walking by my daughter covered her paper and lowered her head. She was ashamed of her paper because she could see the discrepancy between her paper and the one she saw on the screen. Her hand writing is actually very good and she tries very hard so it broke my heart to see that. I think this type of teaching/motivational method may be just the ticket for some kids - especially if they are quite smart to begin with and want a challenge. Others, though, it could be devastating. Overall, I think it has been good for my kids except for the subjects that they are weak in. We just don't use the DVDs for those subjects so it is not a problem. These are life experiences and a little competition can be a good character builder even if it is hard at times. Okay, now for the good part: My son has never learned so much in his life! He can recite much of the Declaration of Independence. He knows a tremendous amount of Geography now. I am amazed at how well he does on his tests and quizzes. His Language skills have improved dramatically. My daughter is getting the repetition that I was too inconsistent to give her in Math. Her penmanship and attention to detail is excellent and I attribute it all to the DVD program. Both of my kids like the teachers very much. If all my public school teachers were as good as A beka DVD teachers I would probably be amazingly smart right now. I am very, very impressed with the amount of knowledge my kids have retained from these DVDs. Very impressed. Also, I get more time to plan, tend to the house, tend to the baby, you name it. I am a very happy homeschooling mom these days - not stressed out at all. Ultimately it has really, really blessed us. I think it comes down to using the DVDs for your benefit and not letting the DVDs run your life... Also, Bob Jones HomeSat is much cheaper though their DVDs cost as much as A beka. We are going with Bob Jones next year because I understand they are just as good academically but they don't use the classroom setting. Also, Bob Jones effectively uses it's medium (TV) and A beka lacks this vision. If the lesson is about Neil Armstrong's visit to the moon, then Bob Jones shows the actual video clip of the event. A beka would just have a teacher talking about it and then the kids would read about it. Bob Jones really takes advantage of what they have and makes the subject come alive. I hope this was helpful and not just an earful. God's blessing on you, Ann Ingle
Ann, thanks so much, no I haven't made a decision yet. I need to go look at the Bob Jones one too. Thanks again.
Ann, thanks for the info. I am not much into the dvd method because of what you said about the abeka program. However, I will look into Bob Jones. I have heard a lot of good things about Bob Jones.
I have used some Bob Jones and wasn't overly impress with some of the books, some I liked. I guess that goes for everything, can't make everyone happy. Be nice if they did. LOL
We're using the Bob Jones dvd program for my 1oth grade son. It is a good program, challenging, and interesting. They have skits, guest speakers, and stuff to make it interesting, which attracted us to it over A Beka. However, it IS a set program, and you have to finish by a certain time, and the dvd's just go on whether you've learned it well or not. That really wouldn't be a problem, because you can just slow down until they get it, then move on. But you have to get the dvd's back by a certain time, so that creates the problem for us. It takes away one of our reasons to homeschool---that being to go at our childrens' paces, so they can learn things WELL. My ds was a little overwhelmed by the English grammar for 10th grade. He's learning it, and it's good for him, but we HAVE to get the cd's back or be penalized. I wish it didn't have that thing of having to return them by a certain time! If we could use those dvd's and GO AT OUR OWN PACE, I think it would be a great program! One other reason we are looking for an 11th grade curriculum that is complete and non-dvd oriented, is because we have music lessons, a homeschool orchestra, grocery shopping, library visits, etc. that we do, and having my kids needing to watch dvd's then also do more work takes a lot of time and just doesn't fit into our schedule. We have a dvd player that we take along with us for my oldest, but he still has a hard time. So it's good if you have time, but since you have to watch something and do schoolwork and make corrections and study for tests etc., the time really adds up and is not as good a fit.
