All things go in cycles. . .

[StephanieZ]

to illustrate this:

 

1) The first "English" book I used with dd#1 was EFTTC. She was about 6, this was the first "English" book I ever bought, and at the time it was the official WTM recommendation for that age. (This was pre-FLL.)

 

2) We moved on to R&S. Worked great for my two olders for the next several years.

 

3) When dc#2 came along, we skipped EFTTC and just did R&S.

 

4) Recently, I dropped R&S, sold all my R&S (levels 2-6), moved dc#1&2 into MCT. (Love that. Big hit so far.)

 

5) Now dc#3, my littlest, dd7, is begging for "English". I wasn't planning on "English" with her until 3rd grade.

 

6) So, I pulled EFTTC back out and am going to try that with her. I never thought I'd use it again and it was in my to-sell box!

 

So, anyway, I just thought it was an interesting tidbit illustrating the fact that curricula come/go and just b/c one isn't the "It" program right now, doesn't mean it isn't a good program. . . and just b/c you don't want to use it right now, doesn't mean you won't want it later! Things change!

Edited February 6, 2010 by StephanieZ

[Medieval Mom]

This is good advice to us just starting out on this journey. Thanks for sharing! :)

[HappyGrace]

After being on these boards for 9 yrs, I have seen this happen a lot-there is always a new flavor of the month, and sometimes the old ones pop their heads up again after hearing nothing about them for awhile!

[Elinor Everywhere]

After being on these boards for 9 yrs, I have seen this happen a lot-there is always a new flavor of the month, and sometimes the old ones pop their heads up again after hearing nothing about them for awhile!

 

I was thinking the same thing today, with all the hype about you-know-what (and I use it, so I can name it, but I don't wanna!). I have been on the boards a long time, and I remember when Singapore was just getting started, and championed by a poster named "Brenda". Most people on these boards had never heard of Singapore, and now look! I remember the same about Right Start (worked for us, as Singapore most definitely did not), WRTR, FLL (not published yet when I started WTM), etc.

 

Things come and go, and it's important to think what will work with the learning style of your kid(s) and your teaching style. That part often gets left out, but it's important. I've stayed away from many hot curricula and "flavors of the month", and also embraced a few that I thought would work well for my kids. And for the most part, they have. A few were duds (for us), but I don't feel bad at all for having bought and tried them. Otherwise, I wouldn't have learned that extra bit about my kids' learning styles, abilities, and preferences!

[Paisley Hedgehog]

..

[G5052]

I've been around here 8-9 years too, and indeed sometimes the latest-and-greatest is not as good as what you've got. Thankfully curriculum can be returned and sold when it doesn't work, but it takes a lot for me to be tempted to change.

 

That said, we did try MCT Vocabulary about two years ago, and I found it solid but too teacher-intensive. Now we use Vocabu-Lit.

 

We found out about CLE Math and Reading here three years ago, and have been extremely happy with it. I bought a few of the Language Arts units when I was ordering my Math and Reading, but felt that it was as good as what we are using plus I wanted to stick with what we were using for Spelling and Handwriting. So that went out the door...

 

Win some, lose some!

Edited February 6, 2010 by GVA

[jenL]

As someone who is only in their 2nd year of homeschooling, I so greatly appreciate the advice of all of you! It's easy to get caught up in the hype, and I admit I've begun researching the "current flavor" for the future, but the reality is my gut is telling me that what we are doing is where we need to stay. Hearing someone "affirm" that helps a newbie feel much better... thank you!

[Capt_Uhura]

My rule of thumb for anything is never impulse buy. Even if I see something in the store, I don't buy it. If in 4 weeks or a few months I'm still thinking about it or have had moments of "Oh if I only had that, I could do X" then I purchase. I did impulse buy recently based on recommendation from a friend, and regretted it - it was only $6 but that was $6 I could have spent on something else. I will use the book, but it wasn't the answer I was looking for... in fact, I already had the answer I was looking for and had forgotten all about it.

 

I checked out the program that shall rename nameless over a year ago, then again 6months ago, then talked to a friend about 2 months ago, she fell in love and bought it. I spent a week reading through her materials and liked what I saw. Now we are having a wonderful time and it has revolutionized that subject for us. And to hear my 1st grader say it's his favorite subject is pretty darn amazing.

 

:lol:

[MariannNOVA]

Homeschooling curricula comes with an interesting dynamic. As a former classroom teacher, the curriculum that was going to be used was determined by the powers that be. 'IF' I didn't care for something, well, I still had to use it. I did, however, have the freedom to tweak what usually was ABEKA and cover all my bases.

 

The 'interesting dynamic' is that as homeschoolers, we have the freedom to pick and choose, and research, and pick and choose, and actually begin with one curric and change horses mid-stream if we decide.

 

My tendency is to do what another poster here wrote: Don't fix it if it isn't broken. If we are using something that is working for all of us (and that can be three of us if it is the twins, or two of us if it is DD10) then I am not looking to change. I am, however, reading other curric threads b/c one never knows when another homeschooler (or in my case another parent who doesn't homeschool but does have questions) may have a question and I may have stumbled across something here that might help them.

 

As far as the 'not being named here' curric that we are not naming here (which I do use), I do understand that it has been around for awhile and for that reason, I do tend to bristle when it specifically is referred to as the 'flavor of the month.' I think that sort of label might undermine the attributes of any curriculum. I did not have the oppportunity (which I would have loved) to peruse the books prior to purchase, but I did spend a number of hours (yes, hours) reading about it (and other LA programs) as the kids and I were not finding anything that clicked with us. As a homeschooler, that is a wonderful perk of homeschooling -- and I am thrilled that I am able to do that.

 

When I taught fourth grade, my class and I used ABEKA language (I don't care for it - to me it is 'fill in the blank' philosophy and critical thinking skills are not learned) -- we did get through the year and my class did well while meeting our lesson objectives with me using add-ins that my school had approved.

 

All this to say that I, for one, am thrilled to be able to pick up and put down the materials that I want our homeschool to use and not be locked into something that perhaps isn't working.

 

I like what the original poster said about curric perhaps being the IT program and then not the IT program and being the not-IT program has nothing to do with effectiveness and with its attributes. As a mom and as a teacher, if one is searching for something to work for a child with whom nothing else has clicked, IT......... NOT IT doesn't matter----------If IT works, then IT is IT! I have hit that brick wall more times than I can count with kids I have tutored and with kids in my classroom -- the discussions here are SO helpful as far as making me aware of programs out there.

 

And, I think it was just two or three years ago when I could not keep up with the many TOG threads -- and I LOVE TOG, but my twins did not. The principal at one of the schools where I taught also LOVES TOG, but the Head Administrator (Pastor) loved ABEKA more; -- so keep the discussions coming, keep the comments worthwhile, appropriate, not dismissive, detailed (details of why something doesn't work for someone is a huge help - telling about learning issues and your child's style of learning is SO helpful) because someone here will probably/hopefully be helped by another's assessment.

Edited February 6, 2010 by MariannNOVA