treestarfae Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Please share what curriculum you tried and dislike and why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Spelling Workout -- I saw no method in the madness, and DD the Elder didn't like it either NOEO Science Phyics I -- I found it to be disjointed and somewhat less than exciting PowerGlide Elementary Spanish online (I think it goes by a different name now) -- poor online implementation, and I was not impressed with the overall methodology: The elementary program was almost entirely in English. Of the three, only PowerGlide was truly horrendous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ondreeuh Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Easy Grammar (2? The pink book). There was nothing interesting, insightful, even instructional at all about it. Just capitalize the name, join the sentences, etc. BORING! Critical Thinking 1 - Either the TM was full of errors or it was so poorly explained that my dd and I just couldn't get it. The layout of the TM was awful too - everything crammed into tiny columns, making it hard to keep track of where you were. Sonlight LA 2 - it was so incredibly light, it was almost like doing nothing. We switched to a workbook-based program that was much more thorough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I don't have the luxury of being too picky, as much of my curriculum is shipped from overseas and returns are difficult. RS4K Level I Physics and Biology: physics was dry and quite a few of the experiments didn't work; biology was a strange mishmash of the very basic (lifecycles of frogs, butterflies, etc.) and the more advanced (cell-based work and microscopy). Chemistry was good though. Galore Park Study Skills: too based around testing skills to be useful for us. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rose_king Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Saxon Math was not a good fit for my 12yo. My 15 yro had no problem with it. I am ordering MUS for all three next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Lilac Studio Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Winter Promise Children around the World and Rocks around the World. I thought both were light and disjointed, the materials trickled in over a LONG period of time after I ordered them, and I expected more for the high sales price coupled with their condition of not reselling the curricula. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumping In Puddles Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 OPGTR: My son would cry whenever the book came off the shelf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Closeacademy Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Anything with a script doesn't work for us. We also don't do well with literture based programs that come with a grid type schedule. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faithr Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Jensen's Vocabulary - couldn't even figure it out! Classical Rhetoric by Cothran - dry and not enough explanation about what Aristotle was really saying. Gave up after a month. Easy Grammar - boring and no retention on my children's part Old Voyages in English - wringing any glimmer of interest in grammar right out of them! CW for the Older Beginner - I know some people will hate me for this but way too complicated for what it is trying to teach! Very teacher intensive and cumbersome. Blah! IEW - again way too complicated and teacher intensive MUS - didn't work for us; broke things down too incrementally; videos were nice; actually workbook was dull My children cheered when I sold it! Latina Christiana - too slow and boring! Not enough reinforcement (though we did this before they came out with the Ludere book). Also the voice on the tapes had a terrible Southern accent that just sounded awful! (Not that Southern accents aren't nice, but not for your Latin audio!). I am sure my list could be longer as I've been doing this a long time. However, I think my list for programs I have used and enjoyed would be even longer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 MUS - I looked forward to it for so long and when it finally came it was cumbersome and required to much planning from me. But the blocks are awesome! Easy Grammar - We can do boring black and white but this one just seemed pointless. As someone else mentioned there didn't seem to be a lot of retention. Much more happy with KISS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crl Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 MUS - I love to watch Mr. Demme and he explains things so well. But the workbook was dull and too repetitious for us. My DD loves her Abeka math with the color, variety of activities and spiral review. HOD - I love the idea of a Christ-centered program. Unfortunately for us, each level we have tried (LHTH, LHFHG and Beyond) just moves too slow for us. I know the idea is to slow down and savor, but this was just too slow for our taste. Though DD did enjoy most of the hands on activities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Sad to say, but Living Learning Books Science wasn't a good fit for us. I just couldn't get beyond reading Horton Hears a Who for the elephant unit. Sonlight science 1 was a wash--didn't like the Usborne books and worksheets--but I think it's been revised. Wordsmith Craftsman--not enough hand-holding for me, so I felt I couldn't grade ds' work. Jensen's Format Writing--same thing. Apologia Zoo 3--tried it, but it was too much info for my 8yo. And wasting 24 sheets of colored paper to demonstrate camouflage? Nope. I don't think it's a bad curriculum, just not for us at that time. I'd say at least 4th grade. Old Sonlight 300--they've revised it. Had my son reading books without any commentary--nearly HALF the books. On the other hand, the book selection was generally good. I also didn't like the author using Wikipedia as a source. Lots of times the curriculum is just not a good fit--it really doesn't mean it may not work for someone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Anything with a script doesn't work for us. We also don't do well with literture based programs that come with a grid type schedule. :001_smile: :iagree: I have had the same experience...and I finally boiled it down to this too. If I read the script, my kids figure I have no idea what I am talking about and just look at me funny as if to say...if you don't know it, why should we?" hahahahha....so no scripts for us... And gridded Lit programs make us nuts. I could never cram in another chapter because....or stop reading at such and such point just because. Those are useless for us. Faithe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PineFarmMom Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 For us: CW - I think this is a great program but it was so time-involved that I just couldn't do it. There was some guilt attached to not making it work. I liked the ideas, but the spacing of my dc made it impossible for me to combine children. Latina Christian - after using 2 years of it, I finally realized it wasn't good for us. We've ditched Latin but will pick it up for the youngers, and I WILL use something else!! Intermediate Language Lessons - It is probably a good curriculum but we didn't like it. Veritas Press history - love the cards but using the whole history curriculum was dry. Applications in Grammar - used it for dd in 8th grade after using R&S. I wish we would have stuck with R&S...much more successful program for our family!! Explode the Code - my kids retained nothing with this. It was pointless to bother. We will definitely use something else for the youngers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mrsjamiesouth Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 WP CATW, we thought it was not smoothly organized and the price was way too high for what we got. Considering God's Creation, no one in my family really likes to cut and paste(including me:tongue_smilie: ) and there was a whole lot of this in the curriculum. KONOS, I love the idea but my son got so tired of every subject being on the same thing. When I pulled out another book or activity on light he cried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Winston Grammar. Dd found it dry and boring. I thought it was not very comprehensive. ABeka grammar/comp (high school...9th?) beats grammar to death, not enough writing Alpha Omega science, 9th and 10th. Oy. My students (I used this in a little one-room school) could never, ever find the information in the lessons that allowed them to actually do the assignments. *I* couldn't, either, not even with the answer key in my hand reading through the lessons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HootyTooty Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Anything with a script doesn't work for us. We also don't do well with literture based programs that come with a grid type schedule. :001_smile: I was listing out what we didn't like and I realize your post sums up the problem. If it was scripted or heavily repeated certain concepts (thinking about FLL), my dc would get annoyed and not want to participate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susankenny Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Math-U-See was not a good fit. My daughter asked if we could stop using it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 BJU Science 7 - too much!!!! too "heavy" Latin Road to English Grammar - I really wanted to like this program. Of all the latin programs I tried, I liked it the best. But, frankly, learning latin is just not happening. Classical Writing- started out great. Really helped put the pieces together. But, it became too much, too teacher intensive. WriteShop - too repetitive, too "silly" to quote dd MUS- I really wanted this program to work too. "Too boring" to quote youngest. Too little review for my oldest. BJU elementary history - layout too odd. It is taught by theme not by timeline. I think it was 4th grade that really confused me. There was no rhyme or reason to what was presented when. SOTW vol 1 - way too silly, too much fiction Saxon grade 3 - too scripted LLATL - too little or too loose for us. If I think of others, I'll let you know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinsfamily Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 HOD - I love the idea of a Christ-centered program. Unfortunately for us, each level we have tried (LHTH, LHFHG and Beyond) just moves too slow for us. I know the idea is to slow down and savor, but this was just too slow for our taste. Though DD did enjoy most of the hands on activities. This was us too. I only tried LHTH, but it was too slow for my ds at 2.5. The samples of other levels don't look like they'd fit either so I've given up for now. Also, the layout doesn't appeal to me, but I was willing to work with it if I liked the program. Still like the idea of HOD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland_Mom Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 LLATL - Too light for us, but I like the concept. I wanted to like it! Shurley English - Lessons were so long and drawn out. But very thorough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmom Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 NOEO Science Phyics I -- I found it to be disjointed and somewhat less than exciting Of the three, only PowerGlide was truly horrendous. please express more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Saxon Math Prima Latina/ Latina Christiana Spelling Power Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaHappy Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I did MFW K last year and didn't really like it. I was bummed because I was expecting to *love* it! The worksheets/activities were the same every week and it moved too slowly. My ds was so bored, I ended up having to modify it a lot. And I didn't like the library book recommendations either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsrevmeg Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 KONOS- I really liked the idea of studying through character traits. I liked it so much I overlooked the typos in my book. I was beginning to get irked by information that was incorrect. My kids were getting bored. The straw that broke the camel's back was joining the yahoo group. The people who run KONOS seem to be not very nice. So we made a change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cindie2dds Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Right Start Math ~ too scripted for me. Great concept and fun games, though. WP ~ Very choppy and the books were at very different levels of reading in the same program. Mostly it was the same grid-type schedule that I don't do well with from any company. HOD ~ The book selections were great, but same song different verse; too scripted. ETC Primers ~ I like this one, but dd thought it was boring. We did the exact same thing for every letter, she does better and really engages when things are mixed up a little more. I think I've learned my lesson: no scripts! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mrs. logic Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Please share what curriculum you tried and dislike and why? Sonlight Dh and I didn't care for the structure of the curriculum as it did not work well with Dd's learning style. Winter Promise It was structured in a simliar manner to Sonlight, because the owner is a former Sonlight employee. LLATL Busy work for little hands. There wasn't a whole lot of learning going on and Dd grew tired of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 please express moreAs far as NOEO, for me the problems stem from its structure. "NOEO" is a series of lesson plans: "Read x pages of y text," "Do z Young Scientists experiement," etc. There are a number of texts used, usually about specific topics. However, there's no tying of concepts together: Science is full of interrelationships, but (at least in Physics I) the study of each topic is discrete. DD the Elder zipped through Singapore MPH after NOEO Physics I, and while it seems less meaty than NOEO, it's all about interrelationships and concepts are continually reintroduced in a new context. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alphabetika Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Memoria Press Latin products RS4K Chemistry 100 EZ lessons phonics book Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Spelling Workout. They may include the spelling rule but they sure don't make the kid work with it. The puzzle type activities drove my ds up the wall, he'd rather poke his eyes with a spork. I'm not one for letting a kid out of a curriculum just because they don't like it, but that one caused such a strong reaction in him it was pointless to make him do it. That said, I brought it out to show my second kid this year, and she loves it. The puzzles are right up her alley. She's been getting 100s on her midweek practice test. *shrug* (She'll move to R&S when she uses up ds's old SWO) Easy Grammar. Dry and boring. Not enough review. Ds didn't take anything he learned from it into other subjects. He and I did like Daily Grams, but they were easy to leave behind when R&S came in the mail. Abeka language/English/whatever-it's-called. The sheer amount of busywork and writing was overwhelming to my kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whereneverever Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Miquon- my DD found it tedious and cumbersome. WWE- it moves too slowly. I wanted to like both of them, but they just weren't fits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patchfire Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 The main ones I can think of - Classical Writing IEW Latin for Children There are several more that just weren't good fits for dd's learning style - Developmental Math, Growing with Grammar, Vocabulary from Classical Roots - even though I liked them fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 (edited) Heart of Dakota Little Hands to Heaven - didn't like the activities in it Saxon Math - would use K again loosely but can't handle the spiral aspect of it Before Five in a Row Edited February 22, 2010 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsmith Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Prima Latina and Latina Christiana - I liked the layout of the books, but the cd and dvd set drove me nuts. I love accents, but not with Latin. Ds was bored with it. Saxon Math 3 - too scripted, too much review, too much... It felt like the endless math program. We switched to Lifepac Math 3 and then went to TT. I bought 5/4 and 6/5 to make sure nothing is missed and to have extra practice. Learnables Spanish on CD-ROM - ds just didn't like the format of this at all. Learning from pictures on the screen didn't click with him. We put off Spanish for a while, but will probably try Spanish for Children next year. Rod and Staff Spelling - ds hated this and I'm not sure why. Perhaps it was too much for him. He is a natural speller and most programs are overkill for him. He is much better with Megawords. LLATL - I loved the idea of this, but it was too light. Great Science Adventures - I like this series, but it was too much work for me. Ds couldn't do all the cutting and folding with his motor difficulties. Ds really liked it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satori Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 MUS bored us to death. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBP Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 We've had several duds over the years. A few that stand out: Explode the Code workbooks - too busywork-ish. I couldn't tell my ds was learning anything at all from it. We switched to SWR and were much happier. Rod & Staff English - we tried this in second grade and all nearly died of boredom. The switch to Shurley was a good one. Latin for Children - hated this. Not nearly enough practice for my kids, and we tried it in the early days when there were a considerable number of errors and discrepancies between the TM and the student books. Since I never had Latin, this made grading a chore. I assume they've resolved most of the errors in subsequent editions, but it made for a poor first impression. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSNative Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 (edited) he'd rather poke his eyes with a spork.. :lol::lol::lol::lol: We had a similar though not as violent reaction to spelling workout. :) Abeka Spelling and Language - kids were over it. Prima Latina - too boring LLATL - too light Amanda Bennett Unit Studies - too light This thread is so interesting. We love some of the duds listed. I guess one man's dud is another's treasure. Thank goodness we homeschool and have the freedom to go onto something that works better for our families. Edited February 22, 2010 by MSNative Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Saxon math - I agree with a PP, this is the math that never ends. Dry, boring, overscripted (You may put the blocks away now. [Child puts blocks away]). SWO - felt like busywork. Prima Latina - boooring! I've had other things not work for us, but I like the curriculum still -Singapore math is one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveBaby Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 :iagree: I have had the same experience...and I finally boiled it down to this too. If I read the script, my kids figure I have no idea what I am talking about and just look at me funny as if to say...if you don't know it, why should we?"hahahahha....so no scripts for us... I think this is exactly why we have a problem with scripted programs. I sound so un-natural going through the program that they must think I have *no* idea what's going on! :lol: :iagree: Scripted programs never work here either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I think this is exactly why we have a problem with scripted programs. I sound so un-natural going through the program that they must think I have *no* idea what's going on! :lol::iagree: Scripted programs never work here either. I loved FLL because it was scripted. MCP math was a big dud for us. It is was eventually led us to MUS WWE did not work. I think it would have if we had been able to start 1st grade with WWE workbook 1. WWE came out too late for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 FLL1 - Nearly all the lessons were presented orally and Ariel doesn't learn well that way. ETC - We tried this several times and had almost zero retention. Ariel would whine and complain whenever the book came out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Old Voyages in English - wringing any glimmer of interest in grammar right out of them! :iagree: I wanted this to work because there are so few Catholic programs available, but it was just too dull and the 3rd grade VIE was too repetitive of the material in FLL 1/2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rose_king Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 :lurk5: Any more? I love this question. What a big help when getting ready for the next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dina in Oklahoma Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 With the understanding that each child is different and every curriculum won't work for every child, our misses include . . . Saxon Math: incremental didn't work- NO retention (thought we were the only ones on the planet that didn't love it!) *WRTR: too cumbersome - perfer DD to learn the rules and application instead of spending time on a marking system *SWR: having a background in instructional design, the layout and multiple fonts drove me CRAZY! *Shurley Grammar: lack of diagramming, not through enough in my opinion * = used in private Christian school Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SophiaH Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 FLL: *I* didn't like it because it was so repetitive, but we kept with it for a year and a half until I realized that dd was not retaining anything. WWE: We've tried it twice and I just felt like we were tweaking it too much to be worth it, and again, it seemed like so much work for the little progress we were making. Really, I think that DD just didn't need the incremental break-down. SWO: DD loved it, but it was just busywork for her. OPG: It didn't work for my VSL dd. Way too many rules thrown at her, and she was beyond the reading ability of where we were in learning the rules. She would learn the rule that she was supposed to for that lesson, but not remember it at all outside of the lesson. AAS: We like it OK, although it was quite teacher-intensive. I think it's a great program if it fits your dc. It was similar to OPG in that dd would learn the rule for that lesson, but couldn't apply any of the rules outside of the spelling lesson. So many people on this forum love and often recommend the above programs, but it took me a while to realize that just because they work for so many other dc, doesn't mean they'll work for ALL children. It was very liberating to let go of them and realize that we don't have to (or should) use them in order to be successful. It only took me two years! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2Smile Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Teaching Textbooks, Too easy in younger series, in Alg 1, weird explainations and not enough review Sonlight Abeka History, LA, spelling Light Lit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homeschooling6 Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 What I would never ever try again is Miquon Math. It took me forever to figure out how to do a page. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest aquiverfull Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 What I would never ever try again is Miquon Math. It took me forever to figure out how to do a page. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Singapore Math. I was all set to love this curriculum, and I hated it. I used 1A-2B with my oldest (now 15) and she learned nothing. There were not enough examples, there was not enough practice, the pace was too fast, and it was just kinda weird and ugly. The Reading Lesson. It was ok for my now-8 year old, who took to reading fairly easily (ok, but certainly not great), but it was a complete bust for my son, who has struggled with reading. It was not until I went through it with my son that I realized how much is lacking in this book. We're now using Phonics Pathways, and compared to that, TRL is, to me, a joke. Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Laurie Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I couldn't think of anything for awhile, because I guess most things have worked out with some tweaks, or I could see the positives of the curriculum, it just didn't work for us in particular. I can't think of anything really horrible. WP I'm Ready to Learn and Animal Worlds were not hits for us, but I think they would have been if I'd used them when my kids were a lot younger. MFW isn't for us, but it's a nice program. PLL looks so sweet but hasn't worked out for us any of the times I've dug it back out of the closet to try it. I liked it for about a month when my 9 yr old was 7. I have tried 5 levels of SL LA and it never works out. Guess I'm a slow learner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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