Anyone use Abeka for Language arts?? I am trying to decide between Abeka and Lifepacs. I know how lifepacs is set up but I have NO idea how the Abeka is set up. I can't do the DVD ones. Just the books. In the 5th Grade is the homeschool book a workbook and teacher book in one. Can the kids work independantly with this program or do I need to be there to Teach them. Thanks Angela
Okay I only know from the teacher who taught 1st grade. They have several books, and teach cursive writing in Kindergarden now. I believe it is all set up for you to teach them everything. Then there is reading and questions for them to answer. Practice for spelling and all that Grammar type stuff. I enjoyed the readers at that level.
I have used Abeka - Language Arts for all Elijah's school years. There is a Teacher Edition, Student Book, Test booklet, teacher answer test booklet. I usually sat down with Elijah to teach the daily lesson and then he would do the seat work. If your child likes to learn and will learn each lesson on their own, it could be done, but Elijah doesn't like school, so unless I taught it he wouldn't get it. You can order a sample dvd, that will show you what the books look like and how the teacher teaches it. I know you don't want to use the dvd's, but it might help just to view the sample dvd. I hope this makes sense.
Thanks. I went to abekabooks.com and looked at the books. The one That said that it is for homeschooling is the one I looked at and it didn't show any type of workbook work. It looked like lesson plans and that was it. That's why I was asking. They are having an Abeka book set up in Abilene in July. If I haven't decided by then I may go look at them. There's another homeschool fair in August in the Dallas/Ft worth area that I REALLY want to go to. I can see how buying homeschooling books can be addictive. There's so many to choose from. I can't decide on which one I want to use. Just when I think I've got it figured out I find something else that looks interesting. UGH!! Angela
Angela, when you go to the Abeka book fair, they have all the student books there for you to look at. The reps there are also very good. They will have the video's there to view. Ask a lot of questions, also ask the people there that are shopping, they can help too. It is really hard to decide what to go with. I like to use 1 package for all my hsing. We tried something different last year with math, Elijah wanted to go back to the dvd's and 1 curriculum, so in the fall we will. I am looking to change to Bob Jones, I have heard alot of good about their math. I will wait for a while and see what kind of response I get and make a decision.
I'm using 3rd grade lifepac's and love them. We tried the Abeka route but my kids weren't very big fans. The lifepac system seems to let your child read the work, do the work and then if they are still having problems you can help them find the answer right there in the text of the work book. I don't feel able to critique Abeka since our experience with them was unfavorable.
I still go with Rod & Staff for English/LA. It is fairly cheap and covers things in a way that the child can pretty much do things on their own, it doesn't take a lot of time, the teacher's book is GREAT, and it covers all the stuff in a very understandable way. We got bogged down and frustrated with A Beka's Langauage program. My kids all read so much on their own, plus we read out loud to them, and they read out loud to us (for worship and things), that we never really did reading programs after first grade, so I can't tell you about those.
Still sounds like lifepacs may be the best way to go. I didn't think about rod & staff. I'm going to look and see what I think about that curriculum. Thanks Angela
We have used A Beka Language Arts and have been pleased with it. It offers a lot but remember, you do not have to purchase all of it. It does have a student text book. We are using their language again next year. We are not using the spelling and poetry book, the readers, or the cursive. We are only using the teacher's guide, test booklet, and student textbook. A Beka offers a lot of ideas in the teacher's guide but you do not have to do them. Even though it says HOMESCHOOLING on the cover, it is still set up for a larger class. Patty
I have the lifepacs and I have them again for next year. It's was DD is use to and likes. Sometimes I don't think they explain enough and go fast on some things and on other stuff it's okay. We do a lot of reading and online stuff to go with the books. Sometimes just one or two pages isn't enough for my DD to get it. She still will ask why? Of course I try to exlpain how I know it but the book sometimes don't tell you how to explain it, KWIM? English is just hard when you are learning it. We are offically done for the year but are still working in the grade one set. I don't think it matters what program you use, it's still confusing.
We're going to use 4th grade this yr I looked closely at both Abeka and Rod & Staff. Both are pretty grammar intensive (which is what my kids need after leaving PS). I chose Abeka A (4th grade) because it is a worktext. R & S is a hardback and they have to recopy everything or do it orally. With 3 kids, I don't have time to do everything orally and I'd rather have her not have to re-write everything so that she doesn't have a hand-cramp when I want her to do an actual writing assignment . You don't need the lesson plans. Just get the teacher's guide, student worktext and the test book & answer key. If you don't want to test, skip that part. I also got the Lang Art 4-6 homeschool charts book (about $10) but really good for all my kids as they progress (have a 2nd grader than will use Abeka 2 and First Lang. Lessons). I was able to get my 2nd, 4th and 5th grade teacher's guides and test key at a local used curriculum sale so I just purchased the student book and the test book...so it wasn't too bad. That's why I went ahead and bought the 5th grade (Language B) from the same mom. Rhonda
homeschooler 06, What grade are you doing again? We liked them pretty much to for the first ten years of Home schooling I still think they are a good curric. I just want to do something different for variety. I am going with Bob Jones English 5 for Christian Schools. It covers everything my ds needs to really get to know. its found at www.christianlibertypress.com if anyone is interested in checking it out. also at Cbd.com you can see insides.
