My daughter is currently in 1st grade at a private school. She is doing well in school. The school uses primarily A Beka for their curriculum. Questions: 1) Should I just go with A Beka next year (homeschooling) if that is what she is used to? (I have heard several "negative" things about using A Beka to homeschool) 2) What subjects should I look at included? (I am so confused and am afraid of missing something)
1) It all depends on you and your daughter. If she likes and does well with A Beka it may be a good thing to use, especially for your first year (while you get used to homeschooling). I would caution you to what may be the "negative" aspect of using A Beka. It is a classroom curriculum that is sold to homeschoolers. It is full of busy work. I would not try to do it all like a school. Skip the unnecessary worksheets, the quizzes, and tests. At her young age- I would minimize the written work and use discussion and hands on stuff to learn more. 2) Most schools include English, math, science, history, PE, plus maybe art or music or other things. Most of those subjects are fine, but if your state does not require you to teach them all, you are able to adjust and change as you see fit. Even if your state does require you to "teach" them all- you can do it in a different way. You don't have to have her read a history lesson and do worksheets and then a quiz and then a test. You can pick up interesting books and read them together and let it be. There is no reason to do paper work for every subject, especially when they are young. I would work on mostly the 3 essentials- reading, writing, and arithmetic at HER level. Don't worry about keeping up with the schools. Let her progress at her own rate. With the other subjects I would keep them much more relaxed.
Also a lot of homeschoolers do not keep grades in the younger years. I think that it is good idea- gets rid of a lot of pressure also.
my suggestion would be if you can afford Abeka buy it! It would be good to keep her consistent. It would also be good to know why you chose to home school her next year to know what is best to suggest. Cabsmom gave you tons of good advice!
As I'm a newbie to homeschooling I can't really give a lot of advice. However, I do know that with my child A Beka would not be a good fit but it's more to do with what appeals to him and how he learns than anything negative about A Beka. If your child learns well with it and enjoys it then go for it. If not, there are lots of options....so many that is in a bit overwhelming to me at times!!
It really all depends on how you want to teach, do you want a textbook approach..then Abeka is supposed to be pretty good for elementary. I use Sonlight since I wanted a more literature based approach. I really do not think you need to worry about consistancy at this age. There will be a period of adjustment no matter what curriculum you choose just because it is different than being in a classroom. As for subjects does your state have any required subjects? In NYS we are required to do Reading, Writing, English Language, U.S. History (at least 1x before 8th grade), Arithmetic, P.E. Health, Visual Arts, Music, Spelling, Writing, Geography, NYS History (1x before 8th grade).
I think it depends on a number of things - firstly why you are homeschooling her now and secondly if you are veer considering putting her back into school in the NEAR future and also if you might do that which school would you send her back into? I personally would not use Abeka for the simple fact that it could make her trasition more difficult - Abeka homeschooled is nothing like Abeka in a classroom and she is even more likely to miss the social elements involved with the programme - it would be like her old school, but alone. Like the others said: find out what the laws are, concentrate on the 3Rs and work from there.
I used A Beka this year for my son as this was our first year and I was nervous. It does plan everything out especially if you order the Parent curriculum also. It is more advanced than Public School, but if your daughter is already doing well with it that must be her level of learning. There is A LOT of seat work, reviews, and things that maybe a child as young as yours would not need, especially at home. We are switching next year to an all inclusive curriculum that I can use with multiple children as we are adding my 3rd and 6th graders next year. It also is pre planned, but all subjects (except math so we will keep A Beka for math ) are included and connected to each other. Spelling, vocabulary, grammar lessons all come from the Reader books. History and Science are also pulled from the readers. It includes a CD so you can print out worksheets/notebooking pages for your kids. The package we ordered is for Grades 4-6, but shows you how to supplement for 7th or leave some things out for 3rd. We are excited about using it next year.
We used the Abeka 1st grade curriculum this year and loved it. If she is used to Abeka I would use at least the phonics and math from Abeka next year to make sure you have no gaps from one curriculum to the next. As for history, science and health use what you like and fits your daughter.
We used A Beka the first few years of homeschooling and it is a strong, solid program. A Beka Homeschooling is set up a little different than A Beka that is packaged for a large class setting. You will find some areas that work for both in the teacher's guide. To be sure it is A Beka Homeschool, just make sure A Beka Homeschool is written across the top of the book. If it isn't, it is usally for school settings. It still works either way if your child functions well with a tradtional curriculum. We stopped using A Beka because my daughter's needs changed, but I still stand behind A Beka as a strong curriculum. As it progresses, it becomes difficult for some students while others thrive on A Beka.
I forgot to add that if your daughter likes and is learning with A Beka, then stick with it for now. You can always change later. She knows the curriculum and it might make transitioning into homeschooling easier. If A Beka isn't her cup of tea, there are many choices out there.
When I first started homeschooling, I looked at what I wanted my child to learn, and what his strengths and weaknesses are. I tried to find the curriculum that fit with our values and our children's way of learning. You know your child best. You know how she likes to learn. There are many resources out there for you to use. I discovered that I love the Charlotte Mason method of learning. I also found some great websites that use her method. And because cost is an issue for us I try to use as many free resources as I can. So we use the curriculum found at Ambleside Online. And for Math I use MEP which is more British based. My husband grew up in New Zealand and MEP is similar to the way he learned Math. Just start with what you think is the right fit for your family. It can always be changed as you go along.
