Do you ask your child's opinion on colorful vs. black/white for curriculum?

[lotsofpumpkins]

Say you have two programs that are equally good, except one has colorful materials, and one is black and white. Do you ask your children which they would prefer (knowing their first instinct is probably the colorful one), or do you go with the cheaper option (which is the black/white one)?

 

My third child will be starting Kindergarten in the spring, and I am trying to decide whether to take him on the same track as his siblings, or try something new.

 

For example, he can either do some ETC in K and then start R&S phonics in 1st grade like his siblings, OR we can try something like McRuffy starting in K. McRuffy costs more but it looks like so much more fun. My desire to switch probably comes from doing R&S 1st grade two years in a row; maybe after I have a year off from it I'll be fine with using it again!

 

Of course, if I switch things up the older children will probably be jealous that they didn't get to have colorful phonics....

[springmama]

After trying to get her to love MUS, and having her complain that it was boring, I finally took her to a local store that carries a wide array of homeschooling materials. I picked up three or four math workbooks and handed them all to her, asking her to pick the one that looked like the most fun. She chose Horizons and has not complained once. In fact, she even looks at the next lesson and sees the pretty pictures and wants to work ahead.

 

I am keeping my MUS though. I do believe that the method used in MUS is best, but if my dd wasn't learning anything, then it's not going to do us much good.

[Chris in VA]

I am more attracted to color--I looked at Horizons first, but settled on Saxon, for maths. I still wish we had more color, but the content is so good I am alright with staying the course.

Color is just a nice thing to have--content is what matters. In Saxon's case, the "color" in the early years comes from the wonderful manipulatives, anyway.

[Paintedlady]

No I don't. I choose based on content. I'd be more likely to stay away from color, especially in math, b/c kids are so easily distracted when they're young.

[FO4UR]

I don't ask, but I consider it when I'm choosing.

 

My oldest would choose colorful, but it wouldn't be best for him. kwim

 

If YOU need a change (after teaching the same thing 2x within 2 years, it's understandable:tongue_smilie:), go for it.

[Homeschooling6]

We use Math Mammoth and Christian Lighe math. I prefer the no color. Now that I look back we have never used a colorful math program. Oh, wait, one year we did use Calvert that has some color. Switching back to a non color wasn't an issue. I have looked at Horizon K-2nd grade and although it has color it wasn't overwhelming.

 

I guess I never really thought about 'color' when I was purchasing a math program:glare:

[Guest Alte Veste Academy]

Color is just a nice thing to have--content is what matters.

 

If the programs are equal, by all means pick whichever has the preferable look. I would never pick color over content. However, I do let dc use colored pencils or crayons to do their math if they wish. That seems to be a good compromise. :001_smile:

[patchfire]

Like another poster, I do not ask, but I do consider overall visual layout when selecting curriculum.

[JudoMom]

This is the first year I've asked for input. I ended up with more than one suitable language arts program and asked my older 2 to choose which one they wanted to do.

 

I never ask when they're younger.

 

However, I completely understand wanting a change--our kids look like they have a similar age span, and quite frankly, the thought of going through Phonics Pathways with my 3rd boy made me want to hide. So I used Explode the Code with him with some Phonics Pathways. If you want color for K, have you looked at Plaid Phonics? I think Rainbow has samples from inside the book on their website. This is what my 4th son has been using, along with Phonics Pathways.

[Chris in VA]

If the programs are equal, by all means pick whichever has the preferable look. I would never pick color over content. However, I do let dc use colored pencils or crayons to do their math if they wish. That seems to be a good compromise. :001_smile:

 

Ooo, I really like that idea--using colored pencils!

[robsiew]

Nope, I decide all curriculum since I'm the teacher. I guess my kids have never questioned their curriculum. They pretty much just know this is what they do. They get "say" in some things, but really, they are the student, I am the teacher and curriculum is not an area I would turn over to them. As far as you deciding... I guess you just need to go with whichever curriculum you feel would meet your and your child's needs the best.

[Mom0012]

My daughter started out with A Reason for Handwriting (which is very colorful) and last year when we switched to CLE fo LA, she asked to continue with a RFH for her copywork. The workbook is only $10 or so, so I let her do that, especially because CLE doesn't have as much copywork as I want.

 

Lisa

[Daisy]

Like another poster, I do not ask, but I do consider overall visual layout when selecting curriculum.

 

 

:iagree: I choose our curriculum. That said, my daughter does just fine with black and white math. I got a huge surprise with my son though. I actually discovered that he does BETTER with color and nice graphics. He is my easily distracted kid. The fun graphics in the math book actually keep him focused on the MATH rather than on his sister's book, the cat, the ceiling, the tile floors...:glare: I've been pleasantly surprised by it.

[MerryAtHope]

Sometimes. When my son was hating math in 2nd grade, I talked with him about what would make things better. We made a list together and then I looked for curriculum that would meet his desires. If all other things are equal & both programs are good, yes, I'd show both to my child and see if they had a preference. I let them know the final decision is mine, but this is their education, and I want them to have ownership in it, and increasing responsibility over time--so I started that young. My kids help evaluate if something is effective too.

 

For a 5 yo, I might just show both & not make it clear it was a "choice" (because they might think they could choose not to do one at all too), and I might just see how the child responds to each one.

 

Merry :-)

[dragons in the flower bed]

Say you have two programs that are equally good, except one has colorful materials, and one is black and white. Do you ask your children which they would prefer (knowing their first instinct is probably the colorful one), or do you go with the cheaper option (which is the black/white one)?

 

I've noticed that one of my children has a harder time learning from black and white materials. He's too mama-wise to insist on something like colored workbooks ("be grateful you don't have to share homework with other homeless kids in Africa!") but I'm willing to get him whatever makes his schooling more efficient. That's why I homeschool, KWIM?

 

Another of my kids has a rough time with anything that asks him to refer to the colors in materials because he's colorblind. And you'd be surprised at how often a textbook will randomly say something like, "the figures in blue represent the divisor."

 

So, I won't exactly consult my kids, but I'm taking their needs and desires into account.

[lotsofpumpkins]

I think really it's a matter of ME wanting a change. I'm kind of getting bored...

BUT, we have a nice break coming up for Christmas, and the children ARE doing well with their schoolwork.

 

I think my ds is a lot like Daisy's ds though. I do wonder if he would do better with a different phonics since he can't seem to stay focused on it. Even math is a struggle attention-wise unless I set a timer. He can finish a whole lesson in 10-15 minutes if I set a timer. Otherwise it will take forever.

 

I wouldn't be changing what we are doing right now, but as I debate what to get my 5-year-old for Kindergarten next spring, I do wonder if I should make any changes with what we are using with the older two. Maybe I'll take some markers to the workbooks before giving them to the children and MAKE them colorful, LOL! I just keep coming back to the price. R&S is so affordable!

[nova mama]

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[Amber in AUS]

I think it can be important to the child. My DD *has* to have colour. I'm not sure my DS could care less. I would only present options that i was happy with first, not open slather.

[Spy Car]

I strongly prefer black and white materials, and I've heard no objection from my young one on that front (including Explode the Code). The black and white materials seem to engage him more. I like black and white Singapore Math better than the color Singapore math, for example.

 

I'd prefer the materials to be "engaging" rather than the color scheme.

 

I guess I'd make an exception for some materials (the MCT Poetry series comes to mind) where the creative use of color adds a teaching dimension that black and white could not equal.

 

Bill (for whom it is not a make-or-break issue)

[Osaubi]

I let my kids choose the program they work on from a narrowed down selection that I give them. I go over the choices, and what kind of work it would mean for each program (so I do sway them a little). Once they choose what they want they have to stick with it unless it is really bad or over their heads, and are not allowed to complain.

 

 

My dd decided she wanted to do The Reading Lesson to start out instead of OPGTR (I will switch her to it later though). They have the same material in color and in b&w only so I let her choose. She chose the b&w so she could color the page when she was through.

[IsabelC]

Do whatever you want, except don't ask your child to choose in the hope that he will choose the one you prefer: only offer the choice if you can cheerfully accept whichever one he selects.

[Matryoshka]

I've never bothered asking them, but the kids seem to like what I've picked. If they were moaning or complaining and said color or lack of it was a problem, I might consider that in future choices.

 

For me personally, color vs. black and white per se doesn't affect my choice so much, but as someone else said, bad layout can completely turn me off. Mostly too much color (lots of color everywhere seemingly just to make it colorful, rather than color used for emphasis or clean design) or lack of white space. Cramped text will send me running for the hills every time. I like my white space. :D

[profmom]

I don't always offer a choice, but I did this year with math for my ds--5th grade. I narrowed it down to a few that I liked content-wise, and we looked at those options together. We compared R &S, CLE & BJU! *I* thought he would like BJU because of the color, but he very strongly preferred CLE! He specifically mentioned not liking the color and busy pages of BJU, and I could even see his head spinning a bit as we looked at it at Mardel!

 

CLE is mostly black and white with some green words, such as headings, charts, etc. We're very happy with the decision! He's benefiting from the spiral review and is enjoying the workbook format too.

[LadyAberlin]

Color vs black and white make a huge difference for my ds 6 if it is B&W he will really dig his heels in. If it is colorful he will be more willing to do it.