Vibrant Woman Writer - my two cents on curriculum

Jan. 19, 2006 - my two cents on curriculum

My two cents on curriculum:

(what I think so far… may change at any time!)

I have used many types of curriculum. I have four children two of which are already graduated from High School. I have come to the conclusion that each child is different and what works perfectly for one student may be disastrous for the next. My advice is to observe and prayerfully consider your options. Learn your student and how they learn. It is also good to know that as they grow, the child will know what works for them and what doesn’t. It is funny to me that one child could absolutely love a text book while the next could hate it.

I feel I made many mistakes, and I am sure I will make more, but I after 20 years of this, I feel I am more understanding of the science of learning.

My first child:

When we first began homeschooling in the early 80’s, not much was available as far as curriculum. There was ACE, Abeka, Bob Jones, Alpha Omega, Rod and Staff, Liberty Press, and other curriculums for Christian schools and then there was Konos, Sing Spell Read and Write, Writing Road to Reading and Weaver. These were my choices. There may have been some other things available but I was not aware of them. In my circle, I was a pioneer, not knowing anyone who homeschooled.

I decided to go with Alpha Omegas life pacs for Math (which my son and I both did not like at all) and I used Sing Spell Read and write for my phonics and then I added Konos.

The next year I used Weaver (which I loved and used for several years till we went to the mission field) I learned a lot from the Weaver curriculum because it taught me how to teach, prepare and answered a lot of my questions. It requires books from the library and I also used Abeka text books for Science and History to supplement.

We continued to use Sing, Spell, Read and Write. (In fact, I used that curriculum with all four of my children.) It is simply the best! They have upgraded and I still recommend it highly. It is very easy to use and fun. The kids learn without knowing it.

Writing Road to Reading

I used this for a handwriting and phonics review. It is great for spelling. I even used it years later as a refresher course for one of my children who were having trouble with spelling.

Bob Jones Math

We used Bob Jones Math for several years. It was a good basic curriculum.

My second child came along and wanted to do things “on her own.” I had her in Weaver and Sing, Spell, Read and Write and Bob Jones Math as well. She did fine until about third grade where I added Bob Jones language course.

That year we moved to Thailand and our lives changed drastically. I finally knew that if I was going to continue to be a missionary, I would have to change my methods and curriculum. My husband and I prayed about it and we switched lock, stock and barrel to ACE School of Tomorrow Curriculum. I did the entire program with the two older children. My eldest in fifth grade and my second in third. They both finished with this program. I never changed again. We were enrolled in their school and they both received an accredited diploma. I thought I had figured homeschooling out. I had it all together. Case closed. Until…..

My third child:

My third child was in the ACE program but having troubles, even though both my husband and I could tell he was very smart and bright. He was lonely, he hated being in his room studying on his own. He could not get things done quickly and would get stuck especially in Math. This is when we switched to Abeka Math for him and my mother came that year and helped him a lot with math and spelling. He still hated ACE. We switched to SOS which is totally on computer and he liked it, but still was lonely as he was doing it in his room…alone.

We began to see that he learned by audio and interaction – something that he had been lacking. With my other two children graduated, I had more time to spend on the two younger kids. I made a commitment. I would take him and teach him one on one with Abeka… totally. I did seventh grade with him and it was truly a turning point year! He picked up on all subjects and afterwards was ready for high school. Then I made a mistake, I put him back in ACE. That year was ok, we thought, but what we did not realize was that he was struggling. As we were half way into tenth grade, we had to come to grips with the fact that ACE was too old, out of date in their information and the geometry and physical science was poorly written. Even with my husband teaching it to him daily (the curriculum is supposed to be self taught) he could not “get it.” So we made a big adjustment once again. I felt I had failed. I felt I had made a terrific mistake. Why hadn’t I stayed with Abeka, when things were going so well? The answer was, I could not spend that much time with him when I had my third coming up. So we are now doing a variety of things. My husband took up teaching him math and science and he is doing the others on his own but with my supervision and help. He is in the same room with me and my daughter everyday, so he is not alone.

This what we are doing:

Science: Apologia – The best I have seen. Before this year, my son hated science but now he loves it. He is making great grades on his tests too. The narrative style is the key I think, because it seems to him that someone is actually talking to him.

Math: Discovering Geometry and investigative approach by Key Curriculum Press. This is not an easy book, needs a teacher, and is very advanced. The positives are that he really likes it as it explains very well and is very practical in its approach. Every kid has probably asked, “Why do I need to take this stuff?” This curriculum answers that question with every day examples of application.

Language Arts: (includes vocabulary, literature, grammar, writing etc…SOS - We went back to Switched on Schoolhouse for this and he is doing great.

History: World History from Abeka. We are reading it and he is writing reports on each chapter and giving me a list of learned vocabulary. This has been an excellent way to use a text book. We have gotten ideas from Charlotte Mason on reading living books and reporting what we have learned as the best way to retain information. Gone is the busy work, in comes the real learning. I think next year we will do SOS though, because he has government and civics and feels that Abeka is biased according to their world view which in my son’s opinion is very small. (spoken from a missionary kid’s perspective.) He can never get enough History.

Music: ACE Still the best self taught curriculum for music theory that I have seen.

Art: ACE

Computer: ACE

Typing: ACE

Still ACE is good for electives and I don’t throw it out all together. It could be ok for language arts as well, but I feel he likes SOS because it is straightforward and doesn’t bother with too much busy work and it is advanced. These are his opinions.

My fourth child:

I have done ACE (which she hated) and Abeka (which she loves cause I do it all with her.) She is social! Is that a category? A social learner? Next year we will try SOS with her. Abeka seems to get repetitious and boring after several years. It is very good for 1-5 grades though. Still the story is being written….

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Comments

Jan. 20, 2006 - Untitled Comment

As a new homeschooler I really appreciated this post! I love hearing everyone's perspective on what's available. We are using mostly A Beka with our daughter (she's in first grade) and she enjoys it. We've been using Horizons math, which she doesn't like at all, so we are thinking of switching to Math U See which is more of a hands on approach. Thanks for all the info!

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Jan. 20, 2006 - Untitled Comment

I appreciate your curriculum sharing :)

Can you tell me more about Sing Spell Read and Write? My right-brained child is just not motivated by 100 Easy Lessons. Also, I have a used copy of the Writing Road to Reading, but have never used it. What do you like about it? (I always step into unfamiliar territory with great hesitation.)

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Jan. 21, 2006 - Untitled Comment

Hi Julie, I haven't actually looked at the activity books that go with the History book. I think they may be geared for the younger child that what yours is. However is she wanted to read the book on her own it would probably be interesting enough. I believe the activity books have coloring sheets and such for the younger child however soemone said that it also has lists of extra reading material appropriate to that time period. If you go to www.timberdoodle.com and look up history you'll find the books and then you can see what info they have on the activity books. I hope that is helpful.
Have a great day!
Susan

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Jan. 21, 2006 - Untitled Comment

holy moly! talk about 'doing it all' !
:) jen

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Jan. 30, 2006 - Untitled Comment

Thanks for sharing... I put the trackback on your page here so people can read from my blog as well (I posted this in my SHARE and Tell on my blog).

Blessings,
Amy

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