I am thinking about purchasing the abeka k4 program to use with my daughter starting in august. I will be homeschooling her instead of sending her to public pre-k. I would just like to get a feel from the program from those of you who have used it. Does this program cover all subject areas? Do I need to purchase the complete kit or are there parts you found you didn't need? How much time do you spend on this daily? I will have a 1 year old also, so it will not be constant attention on school during the day.Can you give me an example of what your day looks like? Did you LO/you enjoy this curriculum? Do you know of anywhere I could purchase this curriculum used? Any other info you can share! Thanks, Jenny
We used A Beka K5 and while I wouldn't use the whole kit if I had to do it again, I have to say that it is a good program. I would consider it complete. You can go to A Beka's site and they will give you a list of everything that comes in the kit. You can also purchase pieces. Ems liked A Beka but after two years of using it as a boxed set, I decided to mix and match. Personally, I do not think you need to use a whole kit for pre-K. You can teach what is needed through reading to your child, games, drawing, painting, play dough, reading some more, easy free printables, and don't forget reading. LOL
I purchased the K5 program this year for my dd. I used the video program only because I was also hsing a 9th grader and knew I would need extra help. She enjoyed the program, but I could have used free worksheets from the internet. We started in October and she has already finished the program. I used A Beka with my 9th grader since K and really like the curiculum. Would I use the K5 program again? Probably not. I would put together my own and go from there. Just my opinion.
I also bought K5. If you look at the scope & sequence, you'll see that K4 and K5 are almost identical except that K5 comes with more stuff. IMO, that means more bang for the buck. You can work through it as slowly as you need to without having to buy everything again the following year. We opted to get the social studies, science, and art (didn't come in the kit). I liked them.
I am using K4 with my dd. I really like it. She is learning how to read short vowel words. She is also learning how to count, I am not using all the extra stuff but there more you can order. Her favorite is art. She loves to use the scissors! I think it just gives them a jump start on K5 so they can truely learn the letters and sounds. The Abeka program if you stick with it has a great phonics and math program especially for the younger grades.
Opps forgot to answer about the time spent .... We usually spend 1 to 2 hours a day at this point. About right for her attention span.
Barbara, Gianna loved the art, too. I have a large file of the things that she did with the art. She would spend about 1 - 2 hours a day on the school and then she would continue to ask for more as the day wore on. She would finish about 3-4 days at a time. I am now getting things off the internet to keep her busy. I loved A Beka for the other grades and like I said, used them up to grade 9th, there were a few exceptions that I would try, but kept coming back to A Beka.
Ems also loved their arts and craft book. As for the reading program, I think it is one of the best when it comes to teaching your child to read. Some people do not care for it but I have heard good things about it from many people who have used their reading program.
Link to Abeka's Scope and sequence. Abeka ROCKS! My boys did Abeka K-12 and graduated in 2008 from Abeka Academy! http://www.abeka.com/Resources/PDFs/ScopeAndSequence.pdf
I don't know about you all but I think K4 and K5 are my favorite ones to teach. The kids just seem to light up when they realize in little steps that they can read. And of course I love art too! I have used Abeka for my girls up to 7th grade and it is a wonderful curriculum. The only complaint is all the writing that seems to go with it. I usually adjust that a little so the kids don't get so tired.
My son went to public K and learned nothing except how to ride the bus( the teacher had stomach sugery and he had a sub for 5 mos). I enrolled him in a private school for his 1st grade where they used A beka. Since he could not read when he entered 1st grade, he was not doing so hot in the langauge/phonics and I don't think he got one spelling word right all year. But he did learn to read. Then we moved to the state that we are in now. I decided to enroll him in public school since there were no decent options for a private school, but I had him redo the 1st grade. (he has an august b-day so we probably started school to soon to begin with). He had a lovely teacher, who adored science, and really sparked my son's interest in science, but nothing else really advanced for him in the reading department. This year we are homeschooling and doing the A beka 2nd grade. I think the phonics/reading program is wonderful and it is allowing him to improve in the areas of reading and spelling greatly. He is performing perfect spelling tests, infact he is now able to spell 99% of them on the first day the list is giving because he can now apply the "rules". Some may say this is because of a good program and others may say that it is because he is now ready for it all. Either way I would recommend A beka. I did not use the K programs so I am not sure what all comes with them but I can tell you that for 2nd grade we used the following: Langauge/phonics/spelling- I bought the workbooks, the teaching manual and the basic flashcards. The readers I am able to get at a library here in our town. Math-I bought the workbook, teaching manual, and the test book( because it has daily speed drills in it). I also bought the drill kit A or whatever it is called but we don't really use it much. He likes it when I pull them out though. Health and History and Science- I only bought the student reading book. ( next year we will be doing Apologia for science because my son wants more science.) I know this is probably more info than you needed or wanted but I would just say take a good look at the list and decide if you are needing each thing or if you would really use it, if not don't buy it. Oh and as for the time it takes us each day...our average is about 3 hours a day. I added a few different things to our day in addition to the Abeka subjects we do, like keeping a journal, bible, the complete book of animals and silent reading. Sorry so long, hopes this helps.
Thank you so much for these great replys! I guess my next question is how old are your children? My daughter turned four in January and we are working on letter recognition and sounds now. I have been using the BOB books to start her on reading and she is doing well. She can read the 1st 2 books perfectly. I would like to get the Abeka for in the fall, like when she would start real pre-k, but after your responses, I'm not sure if I should get K4 or K5? Also, I have the Kumon workbooks for cutting, pasting, art projects and they look alot like the art workbook on the Abeka website. Has anyone had experience with Kumon workbooks? How do they compare?
This has been my son's path. Because his birthday is in the beginning of August, it makes him the same age all through the school year. He will be turning 18 when he starts his senior year if we continue with this schedule. I am perfectly ok with that if it works out that way. 8yr-2grade ( homeschooling horray!) 7yrs-1st grade ( public school) 6yrs-1st grade ( private school) 5yrs old -K ( public school) I have to say as well, that you have to go by what your daughter is ready or interested in doing, not by other people's children. Boys are usually behind girls at the younger ages as well.
My youngest son wanted to start K with his older brother so he started Abeka K at the age of 3 with no struggles or issues.
I started my kids with K4 when they were 3 or 4. They have done well. I suggest going to an Abeka meeting to look at the curriculum. Only you know exactly what your child knows. If you go to there website there is a link to find meetings near you. You also get free shipping if you order from the meeting. Hope you have a wonderful school year!
