My dd wants to use Calvert. Anyone who uses it -- can you give me the pros & cons?

[TrixieB]

My 3rd grader has seen the 3rd grade Calvert and wants to use it. It is the ONLY curriculum she's ever shown any interest or enthusiasm over.

 

We have used (for her and her older sib) Sonlight, MFW, WTM... she hasn't clicked with any of those.

 

Can any Calvert users give me the pros and cons?

 

Is there anything that's very similar, but more affordable?

[Orthodox6]

Pros = well organized and easy to implement

 

Cons = everything else, including content.

 

That was the "2-cent, quick summary".

 

I have a "love/hate" with Calvert. The program appeals so much because it is, as stated, well-organized and easy to implement. No thinking required by the teacher.

 

Unfortunately, no thinking required by the student, either. Painfully true, despite the "hype" one reads about this allegedly "rigorous" homeschool program.

 

My dd dearly loves Calvert, and is disappointed that I won't buy it any more for her. She was tremendously enthusiastic over the program. (We used Calvert for parts of two years -- two different packages, that is.)

 

The materials are pedestrian and very dull. If your child is a strong reader, the reading program will seem absurd. The science textbooks are "standard public school", but akin to what would be found buried in the cellar with out-dated, cast-off textbooks. The Calvert math program is ok, although not nearly so rigorous as, say, Horizon Math.

 

I have tried/abandoned Calvert at different levels, with three of our children.

 

The 5th grade grammar course, for example, covers less material than does First Language Lessons, which is for younger students. Perhaps, though, the program has been improved since the year that we bought it.

 

If you can find a better "core" program to suit both you and your dd, you could consider buying some of the Calvert "enrichment programs."

 

My dd is in 5th grade this year, and very much enjoying the History of Art program. She also liked (last year) the Calvert "guides" to the "Little House" books. They do not constitute a "program", but are detailed, annotated guides to the text of the books. I just had dd read the guide by herself along with the books. Worked well, and she learned a lot.

 

We were not so pleased with the "history of the world" enrichment program. The CD is a pleasant way to listen to/watch the text. The workbook is simple-minded fill-in-the-blanks, and the projects are better suited for kindergarten.

 

For use this current school year, I gambled on Calvert's Spanish language program because I was not satisfied with anything else I found on the market. (I don't care for Rosetta Stone, The Learnables, etc.) The book turned out to be atrocious, in the usual Calvert style. Fortunately, I know Spanish well enough to salvage this expensive boo-boo purchase and help dd learn basics of the language.

 

My response, then, is truly "mixed-bag", inclining toward the negative for overall.

 

Nonetheless, Calvert still can be a good fit for many students and parents. I hope you will receive more thorough reviews from other current/former users of the program.

[rafiki]

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[SkateLeft]

I think it really depends on the child.

 

I tried using Calvert's 3rd grade years ago for my oldest. She finished it in a couple of months and I was left scrambling to find something for the rest of the school year. It definitely was *not* a good fit for her. She was a very strong reader and writer, very academically motivated and very self-disciplined. She was also continually focused on "what's next." Textbooks and workbooks didn't go deeply enough for her, and she was so focused on jamming through them that it was hard to use a textbook or workbook as a spine for her when she was younger.

 

This year, my 11yo dd is using Calvert's 6th grade, and it's absolutely a perfect fit for her. She's very bright, and a very strong reader, but a reluctant writer. She also has ADD, and has always preferred textbooks and workbooks over the literature based approaches that *I* prefer. She finds it easier to stay on track, stay organized and know exactly what's expected of her with Calvert. She's usually content to do the bare minimum required of her, and with Calvert, the bare minimum is what's in the lesson plans. She does more writing than she would otherwise, because she follows the lesson manuals pretty closely. She's also better at using Calvert as a spine. She'll study something and actually use the recommended links in the lesson manual, or in MyCalvert, to do additional research.

 

So I do think that Calvert is a good fit for some kids. :)

[LadyAberlin]

My mom used it in 6th grade with me and I loved it. She is a curriculum hopper though and so we never used the same thing 2 yrs in a row. But it was a good yr.

 

Have you looked at Texas Tech University's k-12 program? It looks good too and may be similar to Calvert. You can purchase individual subjects from them too.

 

If you are wanting Christian have you looked at Covenant home or Christian Liberty Press. They have guides and are more textbooky and structured.

[TrixieB]

You all have given me a lot to think about.

 

I sat down with my dd yesterday and asked her what she likes and dislikes about school, and what she would like to do for school. I also asked her what appealed to her about Calvert.

 

She couldn't quite articulate everything about Calvert, but it somehow boiled down to:

 

* her good friend used 3rd grade Calvert and she got to see her friend's completed workbooks (I think this was a biggie!)

* the colorful spelling book had different activities each week

* she liked the Smiling Hill Farm and Tales of Long Ago/Near and Far books

* the reading books had lots of different stories with color illustrations

 

Dd is a very hands-on, active child. She wants to do activities for school -- making crafts, cooking, sewing, building things -- and not necessarily all paper crafts like History Pockets. She doesn't mind filling in a few workbook sheets if they don't require much thinking, but she feels they're pointless.

 

*********

 

So. After this discussion and lots of thought, I just don't see that Calvert would be right for her. We could do it through a virtual school so it would be no cost monetarily, but it would cost us in other ways, such as oversight and weekly reporting, not to mention that we couldn't start until the end of September. I wouldn't have the ability to drop parts that don't work for us. And I don't particularly want to switch to Calvert math. Dd is using Miquon (which she likes) and Singapore (which she does well with, but doesn't enjoy as much as Miquon).

 

I think I need to re-assess what we use for school, switch a few subject resources, and try to incorporate more hands-on projects for her. So I'll be posting to ask for more advice in these areas.

[Ottakee]

Dd is a very hands-on, active child. She wants to do activities for school -- making crafts, cooking, sewing, building things -- and not necessarily all paper crafts like History Pockets. She doesn't mind filling in a few workbook sheets if they don't require much thinking, but she feels they're pointless.

 

.

 

You might look at Winter Promise then. The have lots of great literature, TONS of hands on projects of all different types, etc. http://www.winterpromise.com

[momof165]

Maybe Oakmeadow would be a great fit. It seems that they have what your dd is looking for. Lots of hands-on, different approaches. However, the TM is not scripted and not day by day. But lots of parents and kis love Oakmeadow and we have used this curriculum from K-3rd. :001_smile:

 

Sonja

[LadyAberlin]

What about Heart of dakota? It is kind of a living book textbooky hands on type program. It uses Singapore for math too.