I am a mom of 7 kids . I have been trying to make my own curriculum . This wouldn't be a problem if I didn't have laundry , dishes & etc. I think I want to go simpler for next year. I spent the morning looking to put it together myself. I just ended up frustrated. What Math & LA arts programs can I buy cheaply used ? I have a 1st grader that I am planning on just buying Mcruffy math for. So, I need only LA for her. Then, there is my 4th grader I have covered. That leaves my 6th grade daughter who has a hard time with LA & my 7th grade son great at everything. I don't want curriculum that is going to take me forever to find the stuff I need to go with it. I just want something simple. For everything else we are just going to do family fun unit studies. What do you suggest ? I saw on home school classifieds Lifepacs & Horizons for cheap. Edited: to say I can spell overwhelmed LOL
have you looked in to Easy Grammer. They are not that expensive. I am using Christian Light Education this yr for English and we like it... I have not seen any for sale used though.
HOrizon! YEs go with that for math if you can find it cheap! Easy grammar woudl be great for your 6th grader, or BJU if you ca find that bju6 English6 is great! Has is all layed out for daily work. We got away with pretty much a page a day and he learned, and I had to check the work, pretty much, I went over the work with him but ds did great ad is now doing Daily Grams and getting them almost all correct the first time! hes 8th now.
I like Horizons and CLE for math, and CLE for L Arts. CLE is fairly cheap, only about $3.50 a lightunit, which covers 3 weeks of work in each one, with a total of 10 LU for the year.
I really need to check otu this CLE closer, so many of you are talking about it, is it cheaper than AOP or what?
Mommy2, I can relate. I used to take off two days and nights and go to a motel dragging all of my books with me and do the whole year's lesson plans. They were not cast in stone, but at least we had direction for the year and I didn't have to worry about not having their work together. I could always add to it, but there was always something there for a basis. For unit studies I only did a couple of months at a time and planned the rest as I went. For me this worked great. I was able to get it all in that way. I haven't worked with a lot of total curriculums, so can't really suggest anything. I always liked BJU Bible and their LA was ok, esp in middle school. Tried the workbooks a few times, but my kiddos really disliked them. sometimes I added just one subject of workbook curriculum just for variety. They ARE very easy to teach!
I'd love to plan out my curriculum but, I guess I am having the mom is afraid to mess up syndrome. I have of great links . I just keep second guessing myself on everything lately.
I second the recommendation for Horizons math. I think it is a really solid and excellent program. I'm sure you can get the Teacher's manuals used, and maybe the workbooks, though the workbooks are relatively inexpensive even to buy them new. I am also impressed with Rod and Staff for English. It is pretty inexpensive and a very high quality program. It is quite a traditional-style textbook if you are o.k. with that. No preparation needed on your part except to get some paper on which the kids write their sentences. I think Rod and Staff has a sale this month on their website (about 10% off or something like that). I have also heard a lot of good things about CLE, though I have not personally looked at or used that.
CLE is hands down better than Lifepacs. This is my first year using CLE, we switched from the Lifepacs and from MUS. My daughter LOVES it, especially the math. The lessons are laid out and most of it (for the older kids) is self directed. There is a Yahoo group where families can sell what they are done with/not using. Most of the things for sale are the teacher manuals and some of the Light Units, so it really cuts down on what you need to buy new online. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/christianlightfamilies/
Regarding Horizons math, 1st and 2nd grade require me to spend about 15 minutes on the teaching part with my child. The rest is independent. I don't know how it goes with upper grade levels. Regarding Rod and Staff English, the program begins at 2nd grade and requires about 10-15 minutes of teaching with the student. I also don't know if it is like that for older grades. Hope you find what you like.
I have tried to make up my own stuff when I get fed up with a program. It never lasts longer than a week though. The time and energy it takes to put stuff together, especially for multiple children, is overwhelming. I spend hours on the computer looking up ideas and information, plus the cost of printing out worksheets or other pages. Instead I have tried out a lot of different books. Many I get from paperbackswap or curriculumshare so I don't have to pay for them. If I like it great, if not I put it back on which ever site I got it from. I learned I really dislike Lifepacs, I know alot of people love them, but it wasn't for us. Same thing goes for Writing Strands, LLATL, Life of Fred, and Saxon. However, some things I do like Explode the Code, Teaching Textbooks Math, Easy Grammar, Bob Jones English is also good, and the Reason for Spelling and Handwriting programs. My dd's are able to do most of this stuff on their own except for a few questions here and there. With the exception of TT, everything is very inexpensive.
I'm also a fan of R&S English. For us, English takes about 5 minutes a day. It's my son's 2nd favorite subject, so he's really good at it. We do most of it orally. I think one of the best things about R&S is that most of it is reusable and resellable. Most of their stuff comes in hardback form, is very inexpensive, and rarely has updated editions published. You can find it in used bookstores or online in great condition because they're well made. R&S is what I call "old school". There are no frills. No cute, colorful pictures all over the page. Just lots of instruction and TONS of extra practice (which you can do or skip... depends on your needs). It's easy to speed up or slow down the pace when you want. There's a lot of writing involved if you do it the way it's designed (for classroom use), but you don't have to do all that writing. I've tried English and Math, and I've looked at Bible and reading. I'm impressed with everything I've seen. If you don't like curriculum to be extremely Bible-based, this isn't for you, though. There's lots and lots and lots of Bible throughout all subjects.
mommy2thegang - one thing I had to keep telling myself over and over while educating my children. Whatever I do is better than the ps. They are learning one on one. They are learning progressively. They are home where I can see that they actually learn the concepts and don't miss any. Those three things alone make you a wonderful mom/teacher! For me, I had to, several times over the years, take time to "refresh". Just get back to my core values (which is why I think it is so important to write them down), stop worrying about the curriculum and just teach in whatever way worked for my children so that they learned. You mentioned that you already teach unit studies. Have you ever considered doing unit studies that work for all grades - like a literature based unit study? The only thing you need to supplement is math and reading for the lower grades. You can incorporate speech and report writing for the older children, we even had the older children write plays and then we all performed them! Often the older children can even teach the younger children when you use this type of system. I know several larger families who have done it with a lot of success. The older children do the research and preparation and then use what they learned and their public speaking and writing skills to teach the younger children. Mostly, you just organize it all. You don't teach a whole lot at all, except in Math and reading for the younger set. It's something to consider, anyway. There is nothing at all wrong with the lifepac way of teaching. I knew a school that used nothing but lifepacs (or CLE or whatever one you like best). One thing I also learned was that sometimes your choice of curriculum can be just the break you need! God Bless and I hope you find what works for you! You have your hands full, but remember - whatever you do is an accomplishment! Kids will learn! All we have to do is direct them! God BLess!
I like the unit studies but, it feels like work overload trying to put everything for everyone in. I purchased writing strands used this morning b/c I can do 3 kids with one book. I can copy cheaply thanks to the bulk ink & paper I bought. I am looking at CLE for math right now. Mainly b/c I can buy just what I need to try it cheaply. Then, buy the rest later if I like it. I will probably do LA for my 1st grader with them too. I may even use the writing strands with my 4th grader & the CLE too. Even though I have SOS for her. I think it would be nice to have them all somewhat on the same page. Then, instead of unit studies I'm going to call it a weekly theme. Every week we can change the theme and just have FUN learning together cooking, art , science & etc. They are not tested in those areas so if we miss something one year I am sure we will catch it up . I am looking into the workboxes for morning too . I think it will help cut down on some of my frustration too. Include the math , LA , and some fun stuff to do . Then, we can spend our afternoons on our theme of the week. What do you think ?
I agree with the CLE and Rod&Staff suggestions. We are on an extremely tight budget for curriculum, etc. and both of these are fabulous and do not break the bank I really like how the CLE math has turned my once math hating DD into a self-sufficient, confident math worker. Can't say enough about it. We'll be using it again for sure.
Yes, TM, it is! I just checked out 4th grade LA at both websites for comparison. Currently, CLE sells for $3.20 per Lightunit or $32 for the set of 10, TG $7 (optional, but I always get the TG), AK $6.40, so $38.40 for the LU and AK, or $44.80 for LU/AK/TG. There are optional extra practice sheets for $4, a book about how to teach writing for $8.95, and a laminated reference card for $3, if you would want them too. Lifepacs are $4.75 each or $47 for a set of ten, the TM is $13.95, or the complete set of one subject for $55.95. But if you've been using them, you know that the Teacher's Guide - doesn't, much... it's just a glorified answer key. The CLE Lightunits that are not yet rewritten into the Sunrise Edition are nearly identical to the Lifepacs, but without the color. Those that ARE rewritten into the Sunrise Edition are soooooooo much better!
