I feel like I've posted a lot about curriculum for next year, but here comes another one. Back story: This is my first year homeschooling. We have a K student, a 4th grade student, and a 7month old. We are using A Beka books and La Clase Divertida for spanish. We chose A Beka because with the new baby, I wanted something laid out for me and we had the DVD option if it wasn't working. NEXT year, I am looking for something a little different. I need more time to get my housework done and to play with my youngest. We were planning to just switch the the A Beka DVDs (independent study) but after watching several samples, it seems ridiculously repetitive and I also don't like how long my older child's day would be, with 3.5 video hours plus work. I have considered ACE. I have watched some BJU sample videos. The BJU videos seem very strange.. If anyone has any experience with either of these, I would appreciate it. My main question is-- What do you use? Why do you like it? How much prep/teaching is required? Thank you many times for helping me make next year better for my family!
While I can't respond on them directly as I have never used them I can tell you what I have heard. I hear that both can be great. I searched more info about ACE and have heard that once kids get going in them they can do them on their own for the most part. They work through like 10 workbooks for subjects at their pace. I hear they are good quality and great to use for parents who may be busy but still want to home school. I've also heard it's great if you're busy or sick- school can still get done. One thought too is that Teaching Textbooks for math for your older one may be an option. That's one option for math too that they can do on their own. I'm sure someone else will be able to chime in who have used one of these programs too!
I'm using a hodge-podge of stuff (in my siggy), but it really doesn't take us long at all. I also considered Abeka DVDs back a couple of years ago, but they're way to boring and repetitive for us. We don't need to spend near that long to get all of our learning done. I'll have 1st and 4th next year. I look at what I'm planning to do, break the books down by how many weeks I plan to do school, and then assign whatever it is for that week based on how busy we are each day. I try to do a whole lot of work on Mon/Tue so that we can taper off at the end of the week (no burn-out) and so we don't stress out if something happens and we can't finish it all. There's not much to push to the next week. I get my older one started first, because he's pretty independent now. When I'm actually teaching something new, I save it for times when the younger won't bother us (PBS, toys, books, nap, etc.). Otherwise, I make a list of assignments and hand it to him. Latin and vocab are on the computer, spelling can be done while we eat lunch (just orally quizzing him), and things like that. The younger doesn't take much time at all. I work one-on-one with him for about 20 minutes each day on reading, writing, and math (and a Bible story). He listens in on the older's science & history but isn't doing any activities with us yet. (He will next year.) I really don't have any prep time to speak of. As soon as I buy all my materials, I'll stay up late one night and put it all into a spreadsheet. After that, my year is planned! When it's time for school, I'll pull out the spreadsheet, decide which days are the least busy that week, and cram as much as I can into those days.
Thanks Sea and 2littleboys! 2littleboys- Do you do the assignments per week rather than per day? How did you choose all the different books? We are going to the convention in April. Did you get them all somewhere like that, just walking around and seeing what you like?
We are using SOS for the same reasons you cite. It's not totally hands-off, but my kids are much more independent that they used to be with more teacher involved curriculum. There are a few things I have to grade, and the kids always have a few questions about the assignments, but I don't have to "teach" most of the material as the program does it. I also don't have to grade most of it. Our Math is separate as I heard too many bad things about SOS math, but we use the other subjects and really like them! My youngers use Horizons Math and my older uses Saxon.
We use BJU and I find it simple to use. Once you get past looking at the Teacher book and feeling overwhelmed by it. My kids love to workbook approach. I pull out what they need for the week and then mark it by the days of the week and as long as it done by the end of the week they don't school over the weekend. I have not used the DVD's for teaching. I have used them for extra worksheets. I feel they supply you with plenty of information. Have you thought about unit studies for example Kono's? I like what they look like and would like to use them but my husband does not like the idea of them. So I stay with our tried and true, BJU
Did someone mention any 1st grade science worksheets/ lap books? I Like either CLE or AOP from what I hear they are the same concept just different? Some how I posted my science post here and so I am changing my post just for the reason that it was an oops lol! BJU is awsome too
My big recommendation is CLE for the 4th grader, a lot of which can be done independently, for reading/LA/math. The K'er can do The ABC series (books through letter I in sequence) and maybe even begin on Learning to Read. For science and social studies, nothing at all wrong with educational videos and read-alouds, and some independent reading for the 4th grader according to interest.
ediesbeads- How old are your kiddos? I know SOS doesn't start until..is it 3rd grade? What did you use for younger age? I saw that AOP has Lifepacs too. Have you ever used those? cherryridge- I didn't know BJU non-dvd was workbooks. Will definitely look at that! Thanks everyone!
Meggo, it's my considered opinion that CLE is far better than Lifepacs for reading/LA and math! I've used both, and will never again use Lifepacs for those subjects (although I have and may continue to use them sometimes for Bible, science, and social studies).
Lindina, we have have posted about the same time--I didn't see yours. CLE is a workbook type curriculum, right? I like the idea of them starting at their correct level and then working from there. How quickly do your kids work through the books? What do you like about them vs. Lifepacs? I think my kids would enjoy something they could work through quickly if they understood it, but take more time if they need it. Have you homeschooled 42 kids!?
Actually I have a tiny independent Christian private school. I wouldn't nearly do this at my house! LOL The CLE workbooks are ten per year per subject, and the new Sunrise Edition format has the lessons neatly divided up for you, unlike the older format which is very like Lifepac-without-color and the sections are not divided so you have to decide for yourself how many pages to do per day. Supposedly, CLE's are built for 17 days each (a 170 day school year total, or about 3 weeks per unit), but that's a plan you don't necessarily have to follow. Usually the fifth lesson and the tenth lesson are quizzes (removable before issuing the workbook), and reading and LA have a 15th lesson that's called a self-check (not removable), which can be used as the last quiz before the unit test. Math does not have a third quiz. Lifepacs may have anywhere from two to six sections, you never know until you open the unit (except math, which has 5), each section with its own self-test or quiz at the end, and a unit test. Only the unit test is removable, so the quizzes are right there within the workbook. (This can be bad or good, depending on your point of view.) With CLE, both quizzes (lesson 5 and lesson 10) are removable, so you give them like "real" quizzes. CLE reading is separate from LA, and the reading stories are in a hardbacked reader with the work in workbooks, although the LA does contain the grammar, composition, spellilng, and handwriting in each lesson. Lifepacs sort of alternate a reading unit with an English unit, and I found the spelling sort of haphazardly thrown into all ten, and the whole somewhat disorganized (to me). I find Sunrise Editions are SO much better organized than Lifepacs, and I find the explanations and examples and directions clearer. Both the LA and the math are incremental spiral, which is a little new lesson followed by mixed practice of previous skills (each day), distributed over a longer period. CLE originally started out under a contract with Lifepacs to reproduce Lifepacs under their own name, with some few tweaks here and there (illustrations, for example, and some few text tweaks for doctrinal issues). Then (I think it was in the 90s, but I'm not sure) they started to write and publish their own materials which are the Sunrise Editions. Lightyears beyond Lifepacs, in my opinion. Not all their courses have been rewritten yet, though, so some - including most of the high school - still resemble Lifepacs without color. By not using full color (each page is black and one color on white), CLE is able to produce the units less expensively to the customer. I also think CLE does a MUCH better job with their TMs than Lifepac does. For some of the older (not rewritten yet) courses, there is NO TM because all you really need is an AK, so that's all CLE does. So far, Bible is Sunrise through the fifth grade. All Reading and English are Sunrise, and all math through 8th grade. Algebra I is out but in "beta testing" format and the final hardback text won't be ready for awhile yet. Science is only Sunrise for first and second grades so far. Fifth grade science has a hardback textbook with study guides that I don't think are Sunrise yet. Social Studies is Sunrise for first and second grades in all-workbooks, while third through seventh have hardbacked textbooks with Sunrise workbooks study guides -- OR you can do them as study-by-textbook with a different set of teacher materials.
www.clp.org Most of 10th grade except English (literature and grammar) is still in the old Lifepac format. The same thing, without color, but cheaper.
I love CLP's nature Readers! So does my 1st Grader! She's about to start book 3 - I know each is supposed to be a Grade, but she loves reading them so much, I can't stop her! LOL
thaks Lindina < thats kind of the format I am looking to change up next year.. I may end up with BJU for english , even with its being pricey cause I have had goo success with that company with this ds.
We use Heart of Dakota right now. I have realized that no matter what I use...the day will get longer with multiple kids and once you have kids in middle school. I also have come to realize that if something is working for my children that it is better not to rock the boat. Most curricula are very different in scope and sequence and changing with math can really throw you for a loop.
