Curriculum that you tried and dislike?

[Brindee]

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.

:001_smile: We liked it a lot, cuz we all like to do that kind of stuff! :lol:

 

Our dislikes/things that just didn't work:

 

Saxon!!! I tried it with all 3 of my kids, it didn't work at all with any of them. In fact, it turned my dd into a math hater! :( Wish I would've caught on to that sooner, we're STILL working through that one!

 

English from the Roots up--Just didn't catch on here. Making the cards was too tedious, for one thing..... SOme people love that part, but my younger two did not!

 

Vocabu-Lit--DD loves to read, so I thought she'd like it. Nope, didn't work. We switched to Vocab. from Classical Roots, (which I already had!) and she's loving it! :001_huh: :001_smile:

 

Power-Glide French--Did NOT like the Power-Glide style!

[Momling]

Since we're new to homeschooling, my list is not long!

 

Spellwell was a bust for us... it was recommended for my daughter's writing class but it was all over the place and too easy and just generally not what I was looking for. I asked the teacher if she minded if I switched to a different book and she said that would be fine.

 

My daughter hated Painless Jr. Grammar which I picked up at Barnes and Noble last year. I didn't think it was so bad though.

 

One of my daughters couldn't deal with Miquon. She really wanted more practice on only one concept at a time.

[christielee7278]

Wordly Wise--After two years of trying to like it, we just don't. I plan on pulling vocab/spelling words for my oldest son from our history and science studies.

 

Rod & Staff math--my oldest HATED R&S math. Saxon is a much better fit for him.

 

MOH

Edited February 22, 2010 by christielee7278

[bbsweetpea]

Well my list works with one child and not the other. I will lead with my Duds for oldest

 

100 EZ lessons - bored her she prefers SWR approach and ETC

MUS-Hated the TM

RS Math-I love this but she just could not grasp anything unless she wrote it down.

Saxon Math-Bored us both

 

Duds with my son

SWR- He LOVES 100 EZ Lessons and ETC

Horizons Math- He LOVES and does well with RS Math

Saxon- bored us both

 

 

As you can see I have an interesting time teaching these two. They are totally different learners.

[texasmama]

Sonlight LA 2 and 3. It was too far advanced for my son and I never felt there was retention. We switched to FLL3 mid year and we both love it BECAUSE of the script, which some people evidently hate.:001_smile: My oldest son has some learning difficulties in the area of expressive language so the Sonlight LA moved way to fast for him. I don't mind the scripted, repetitive nature of FLL because it doesn't frustrate or confuse him. We love Sonlight's readers and history. :)

[freeindeed]

Weaver-too much planning and research on my part

 

Sonlight-too much reading for my dc, plus no hands-on activities

 

You guys are making me nervous about WP Children Around the World. I've already got it sitting on my bookshelf and we're going to start it this fall.:001_huh:

[Medieval Mom]

DITHOR is the only thing I had to actually return A.S.A.P.! :tongue_smilie:

 

WWE workbook wasn't the hit I hoped it would be. We do our own version using WWE guidelines in 1st, and will be using Delightful Dictation in 2nd.

[hsmom]

MUS - my son cried when this came out.

ETC A,B,C - another he hated

100 EZ - not for us

Addison-Wesley math - taught how to do problems weird at times

SL - too much reading for oldest son- the guide was too much for me

Rightstart - too teacher intensive for us (did not hate this, just not for us)

Horizons math - moves way too fast (another did not hate, just not for us)

LLATL- too much of a hit and miss. Moves too slow then too fast then leaves you wondering that you missed something somewhere

 

there is more I just cannot think of it right now.

Edited February 22, 2010 by hsmom

[Tree House Academy]

My kids are different in math. Other subjects have fit well into what "works" for us.

 

Duds for older son:

 

Winston Grammar - too much, too soon.

LLATL - too light

Writing Tales - too repetitive, he hated it by the 5th week

CLE English - disjointed, didn't seem to flow in progression

Horizons Math - too much, too spiral for him

HOD Bigger Hearts - lit approach was just not right for this kiddo. He is textbook all the way

NOEO Physics - again...lit approach. He did like the experiement kits though.

Speedy Spanish - um...just NO.

WWE - just wasn't a good fit no matter what we tried.

DITHR - it was hard to teach this without having read the book with my son. I would have loved to do this, but time just wasn't on my side here.

 

Duds for my younger son:

 

100 EZ - he CRIED when I got the book off the shelf!

WWE - again, never a fit no matter how we tried.

CLE LA - all over the place on 1st grade. He tolerated it, but I can't see that he retained much.

CLE Math - he did great in it and we loved it...until we realized that he didn't get any of the facts at all...even with speed drills, etc. Older brother thrives in CLE Math. Younger son has started using and thriving with R&S Math.

[Greta]

I think 100 Easy Lessons was the only homeschooling material that I've actually ever returned. So many of my friends love it, so I was surprised to be so very disappointed in it. But it just was so . . . I don't know why or what to say really. DD hated it. I hated it.

 

And this is not a curriculum, but Bob Books actually made my dd cry. I asked her to read one that I checked out of the library for her. After she was finished, she turned to me with tears and said "That book was stupid. Do you think I'm stupid?" Needless to say, no more Bob Books for us.

 

We've had other things that we've had to tweak, or that lost their luster or whatnot. But those are the only two that were flat out failures.

[Guest mrsjamiesouth]

 

You guys are making me nervous about WP Children Around the World. I've already got it sitting on my bookshelf and we're going to start it this fall.:001_huh:

 

 

Specific Dislikes for me were:

too many arts and crafts/ cooking activities (I thought we wanted hands on but these were very time consuming)

My oldest son cried at the thought of having to eat any more potatoes towards the end of Europe :lol:

A lot of the books were too mature (content about children s*x workers)

A lot of worksheets

Draw your World was too difficult for my 4th grader

The Prayer Journal was awesome but we didn't have time every week to do stuff like meet with a social worker, visit an elderly home.

 

I personally have problems not doing everything listed, so if you can skip whatever you do not want to do then it wouldn't be as bad.

Once I took out everything we did not like, including books the boys thought were boring, I felt like I was just doing geography.

[Faithr]

I think 100 Easy Lessons was the only homeschooling material that I've actually ever returned. So many of my friends love it, so I was surprised to be so very disappointed in it. But it just was so . . . I don't know why or what to say really. DD hated it. I hated it.

 

And this is not a curriculum, but Bob Books actually made my dd cry. I asked her to read one that I checked out of the library for her. After she was finished, she turned to me with tears and said "That book was stupid. Do you think I'm stupid?" Needless to say, no more Bob Books for us.

 

We've had other things that we've had to tweak, or that lost their luster or whatnot. But those are the only two that were flat out failures.

 

 

My oldest son was EXACTLY the same way. He hated 100EZ Lesson and he hated the Bob books but it was the art he couldn't stand. He wanted to know why someone who couldn't draw made the pictures for it!

[HollyDay]

I forgot to add Latin for Children and Matin Latin

BJU math

[Greta]

He wanted to know why someone who couldn't draw made the pictures for it!

 

:lol: Good question!

[maryanne]

Things we couldn't even finish:

 

Sonlight K Science (older version: 2005): jumped around too much, experiments often didn't correlate with reading, worksheets not very age appropriate. We finally bailed around February switching to Living Learning Books Level 1 (loved their nonfiction book lists).

 

MFW K: I think this would have been perfect for my dd when she was K4, but for K5 it was just too preschoolly--the science and activities as well as phonics. After about the first quarter we switched to WP Adv. K for phonics and library books and big brother's science experiments for science.

 

Easy Classical Science Animals Human Body and Plants: the Apologia books used in this curriculum really don't fit all that well. The Apologia books are great in their own right, but leave a lot out and make for very uneven reading assignments when used in EC. For example Flying Creatures includes a lot of in depth info on insects and birds, but very little on mammals and reptiles and nothing on amphibians and fish. So, the weeks on birds were really overkill and the weeks on fish and amphibians were very weak. This is what we are currently using, but as we move from the the Human Body section to Plants, I'm giving up on the EC schedule. I will just use the Apologia Botany book as written for my ds9 and Living Learning Books resources for dd7.

 

Things we finished but wouldn't return to:

 

Sonlight Core K: too much jumping around; not enough depth. We did successfully use Core 1 and 3 and parts of 4. We just didn't like K.

[sbaloue]

Three big duds for us were:

 

History of US - my sons actually asked me to stop reading this.:001_huh:

 

Spellwell - easy and no retention.

 

R&S spelling - too much work! This was taking all day. We dumped this after few weeks. We love R&S English and Math though.

[Mesa]

The biggies for me have been...

 

Shurley English (UGH)

Saxon K (too easy, might as well go with saxon 1st, if you like saxon.)

Spelling Power (seemed disjointed)

R&S (although a good program, just not a good fit for us.. boring)

[Abbeygurl4]

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.

 

 

 

I agree! That accent is killing it for us. I'm getting ready to sell it.

[mommyagain]

Well, we're still new at this, but we've already tried and ditched:

 

MFW K - the TM drove me crazy. I will hang on to it though and MIGHT give it a go again with my little guys in a few years.

 

WP Animals and Their Worlds - waaaaaay too expensive for just a schedule of readings. Most books were over my kids heads, activities were mostly paper stuff I had to throw out, and after I got going for a while "I" was SICK of animals (and I'm an animal lover!!). Also, the "devotional" 5 minutes a WEEK!!

 

HOD Little Hearts for His Glory - science pretty much non-existent, didn't like "thinking skills" and "dramatic play", none of us could get into the Burgess book for storytime.

 

I think I'm just not cut out for a complete package, daily schedule kind of curriculum! (Although, I do still drool over HOD's older packages!)

[khall]

The biggest dislike for our family has been CLE LA. I know many people on this board use it and love it, but for us it was just too dry and repetitive.

[robsiew]

Well, we haven't had too many duds...

 

DITHR didn't work for us and after reading WTM I'm convinced kids in 2/3 grade don't need to be doing those sorts of exercises...

 

Igniting your Writing... my kids aren't good enough writers to do this yet. I think in several years it would work fine... just not for young "non-intuitive" writers.

 

Noeo Science... not a bad curriculum, but I struggled to get in narrations. Some of the book choices I didn't like and not enough experiments in the animal portion of biology made me ditch it. We much prefer Elemental Science.

 

Everything else we've used has worked out pretty well... I'm nervous about CW... hoping I don't have to add it to the list after this next year...

[gingersmom]

Noeo Science-my science loving child hated it

 

Shurley English-hated hated hated, thankfully I could sell it

[TracyR]

Our duds have been:

 

For my oldest was:

100 Ez lessons ( I like it but she just did not take to it)

R&S English ( wanted to like it but she learned nothing from it)

Abeka LA( I liked it, nothing stuck for her)

K12's math ( poor math examples for the prealgebra)

History of US ( all I can say is yuck , yuck , yuck. My daughter will read the books but they are just so disjointed its not funny. My husband, my history buff, thinks they are just good for reading but not for use in teaching history).

Saxon (oldest learns better in a mastery math curriculum and feels she needs color and whistles and bells to learn it)

 

Busts for my 2nd daughter

Calvert math ( needed a spiral math program)

K12's math(needs a spiral math program)

IEW SI B ( not that its bad but it was the WRONG level for her)

 

Busts for my 3rd daughter

K12 math. It was actually a good fit for her last year but this year it is not.

 

 

Calvert was a HUGE bust for us. Will never use it again. Science was dryer than a rock , history was so boring my girls' eyes glazed over ( we only enjoyed CHOW in 4th), math worked for my oldest but not for my 2nd daughter she needed spiral, writing instruction for the parent is awful in 3rd grade and up, grammar was sorely lacking and had very little practice whatsoever, art was a joke for grades 1-4, draw a line,. draw a squiggly line. My daughters wanted to really learn to draw and do crafts.

 

Miquon. As much as I wanted to like it I could not understand the concept behind it. My girls liked doing them on the side for something else to do. But I could not use it as a main program.

 

So far that is it for our busts in the past few years.

[RobinF]

We have tweaked a lot of things to work for our family.

 

We didn't like Miquon, I couldn't figure out how to explain it to my K, so I knew we were in trouble. :lol:

 

We loved some of the books in WP Animal Worlds but the schedule drove me batty and I tried their LA and it just didn't work for us. We are also using some of the books in CAW this year and combining them with books from MFW ECC and are enjoying them.

 

I tried to use MFW K this year and it just didn't fit our family. I went back to OPG and ETC for phonics and HWT and MUS math. It is working for us now.

 

We tried to use 100 Easy lessons and my son would cry. We have successully used OPG 3 times now so it works for us.

 

MUS was successful for us through beta but gamma was a struggle and now we are using ALEKS and my ds loves it.

[Matryoshka]

I've had a pretty good sense from reading and researching and knowing myself & my kids of what will/won't work, but there have been a few duds.

 

Miquon - really wanted to like this, but was way too non-linear for me. Or maybe it's because I never cracked that big Annotations book I bought (and sold) with it.

 

English for the Thoughtful Child, ILL - Loved the way these looked, was even sure they were how I wanted to do grammar. But didn't fly here.

 

RS4K Physics and Biology - Loved the Chem (especially pre-level 1), but the Physics was very meh, and the Biology is just skimpy and all over the place.

 

Building Thinking Skills the book - aka doorstop. A slog. Software would have been better in this case.

[Heather in VA]

We've had several but I think the biggest that it took me forever to learn was anything from Winter Promise. I kept getting drawn in only to really regret it. From dealing with the company, trying to get the books I paid for, to realizing they probably never even read the books they scheduled... I never seemed to learn.

 

Heather

[treestarfae]

Building Thinking Skills the book - aka doorstop. A slog. Software would have been better in this case.

 

Lol, I like the doorstop comment.

[Guest Cindie2dds]

We've had several but I think the biggest that it took me forever to learn was anything from Winter Promise. I kept getting drawn in only to really regret it. From dealing with the company, trying to get the books I paid for, to realizing they probably never even read the books they scheduled... I never seemed to learn.

 

Heather

 

But the catalog looks amazing! :lol: I still look at it, even though I know better.

[Guest mrsjamiesouth]

But the catalog looks amazing! :lol: I still look at it, even though I know better.

 

 

I agree totally! :D They do have Awesome Advertising Skills!

[Mesa]

With WP... I totally agree too!

[momof165]

Here are some of the major duds around our house.

 

CLE LA and Math: I know a lot of homeschoolers love CLE but not so my ds. He just hated the setup of these workbooks. Too plain, no color, too much jumping around for him, not enough mastery. Just not a good fit for him.

 

Saxon Math: We tried it for 3 years. Finally, after my son was literally banging his head against the table, we stopped using Saxon Math. Right now we are using OM Math 4 with Singapore Math. So far, it's pretty smooth sailing.

 

HWOT: Ds just has a really hard time with cursive and the formation of the letters. So far, nothing has really worked for him. I was ready to quit cursive all together. A hs mom recommended Getty Dubay Italic and it has made a huge difference. No more struggles, complaints, fussing when it comes to copywork. I think this one is a winner.

 

I am used to tweak our hs programs and/or coices - but these just couldn't be tweaked without one of us going insane.:tongue_smilie:

 

Sonja in CO

[Heidi]

Reading Reflex - my dd didn't need it. too much for something so simple.

Cursive First - just didn't like it. Already spoiled on the HWT format.

ETC - pointless busy work, imo

R&S Reading - I like Christian curriculum, but that was just TOO much.

Phonics Road - I liked it, but realized I'm not an all-in-one kind of gal. Never actually started it.

FLL- not into scripted, or putting so much effort into grammar so early.

 

Yes, I know. I only have a K'er. Is there any hope for me?

[m0mmaBuck]

I'm new but we've found a few things that don't work:

 

A Beka's LA's: The reading comprehension stories DS found boring and therefore was disinterested while reading and his comprehension suffered. The rest of the workbook was OK but nothing we would repeat.

 

AAS: I like the idea... The tactile nature of learning, the mastery, etc... But it's not working for DS. He thinks the tiles are babyish and doesn't like to write on the whiteboard. He would rather work his way through a workbook which is why I tested him and ordered CLE LA today. He enjoys their math and science so why not try their LA.

 

FLL: Too scripted and he isn't retaining much. Honestly he retains more about the parts of speech from watching/singing Schoolhouse Rocks. Hopefully the CLE LA will fill in the gaps.

 

WWE: We have not really wrapped our heads around either. He hates to write so I find it more constructive to do copywork, dictation, or journaling from our history, science, social studies or free reading.

[TN Mama]

I agree totally! :D They do have Awesome Advertising Skills!

 

:lol::lol::lol: Ok, That Totally Made Me "laugh"!

[Homeschooling6]

I'm new but we've found a few things that don't work:

 

AAS: I like the idea... The tactile nature of learning, the mastery, etc... But it's not working for DS. He thinks the tiles are babyish and doesn't like to write on the whiteboard. He would rather work his way through a workbook which is why I tested him and ordered CLE LA today. He enjoys their math and science so why not try their LA.

:iagree:My two oldest couldn't stand the tiles when we tried AAS. They would prefer to write it down and they were bored silly. I wanted it to work too.

[Moniksca]

MUS-too repetitive, needed more variation , loved dvd and blocks though, switched to saxon and love it-we only do one side of worksheet or else it would kill us

 

Wordly wise-no retention

 

Spelling power-would work for a natural speller not my ds

Edited February 23, 2010 by Moniksca

[dancer67]

DUDS

 

CLE LA

R+S English

 

Can we diagram any more??? YUCK

 

Miquon math..HUH??!!?

Singapore Math...No thanks

 

Classical Writing

Noeo Science

Any Apologia Elementary Sciences

 

Veritas press history

KONOS

[Lori D.]

Only a few absolute bombs in 10 years of homeschooling here:

- Saxon math -- didn't dislike it; just did not fit anyone's learning style

- Spelling Workout -- didn't fit anyone's learning style: busy work, with no actual learning or retention

- Spelling Power -- DS cried daily, having to "test on words he'd never practiced before"; also, no real explanation of vowel patterns

- Artistic Pursuits -- too expensive for no real instruction in HOW to do art

- Put That in Writing I -- written in unnecessarily elevated, formal style; boring examples of good writing; uninteresting writing assignments; repetitive, unnecessary grammar exercises. Only the pages which explain different types of writing were of value = $55+ for about 10 pages of explanation (:0

Edited February 23, 2010 by Lori D.
added info

[treestarfae]

:lurk5:

[nono]

Before Five in a Row.

 

Kids weren't really into it, and one day I realized that it just isn't me. However, I am really glad I purchased the book for two reasons. It did expand my discussion with my children on books that we've read numerous times, and, it gave me a good book list to check out from the library. :)

[angela&4boys]

Here's my short list:

 

IEW - way too tedious

WWE workbook - *Love* the methodology, but my guys don't care for fiction and there's just too much of it.

[Heather in VA]

But the catalog looks amazing! :lol: I still look at it, even though I know better.

 

I know!!! I'm glad to know I'm not such a dolt. I can't believe I still look. I know I don't want it. It's like an illness LOL.

[Chloe]

****CLE Math - he did great in it and we loved it...until we realized that he didn't get any of the facts at all...even with speed drills, etc. Older brother thrives in CLE Math. Younger son has started using and thriving with R&S Math.******

 

I can see this. I used light units 101 and 102 with my first grader before switching him to Rod & Staff. My plan is to use R & S 1 and 2, then move to CLE. I love R & S but feel CLE prepares better for upper level maths. I like the way R/S teaches the addition and subtraction facts, but prefer the way CLE teaches the mult. and division facts. Anyway, I think it's a good plan. Plus, this way we'll stick with workbooks and not have to copy from the book, as R/S uses a hard text for 3rd and up.

[jubulibee]

This thread is funny because I find myself getting defensive when something we love is someone else's dud (such as Winter Promise-once we figured out how to pick and choose activities, and Easy Grammar - yes boring, but my kids are learn----ing!)

 

Our Duds:

 

Sonlight - we could just never make it through (although I think it would work great for just DS11).

 

My Father's World

- Liked MFW K in combination with WinterPromise's Kindergarten LA, but couldn't do either alone!

- ECC moved too slowly, and too repetitive. Like the Bible. Science is too light.

 

Worldly Wise - What's the point?

 

History of US - Too chatty.

[Jlynn]

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.

 

Yep, they did correct the discrepencies and this is actually one of our favorites.

 

Not many DUDs over the last 6 years but here's a couple:

 

Singapore math..tried it at the beginning, too little explanations. Tried it again last summer as just a refresher type course, but my son simply doesn't like the way its set up.

 

CW Homer: Layout is way too confusing and it makes simple ideas far more complex than needed. The writing instruction was hardly anything, just about 20-30pages at the end of this huge book. Love CW Aesop, but they need to seriously revamp the Homer book.

[SilverMoon]

I thought of another. Red Herring Mysteries from the Critical Thinking Company. We only tried it because WTM suggested it. My logic loving ds considered it torture. If I had more than one logic stage kid it probably would have worked out much better. At some point I'll have 2-3 of his younger siblings in the logic stage together, so I'll keep it for them.

[hweakland]

The list is way too long! But the highlights (aks most expensive) would be:

 

Saxon Math (boring with a capital B, my kids hated it)

MUS (again, boring and did not work with my dyslexic DS or younger DD)

 

BJU (boring, very workbook driven and skipped a lot, also threw Bible verses in just for the sake of having them with no relevance to the lessons)

 

Writing Strands (just didn't fit for us)

[treestarfae]

:bigear:

[EKS]

K12 Language Arts (everything but the literature part, which is good)

Spelling Workout

Saxon Math

Science in a Nutshell

Young Scientists Club

Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings

Spielvogel's Human Odyssey

and I have a love/hate relationship with IEW

[LaissezFaire]

This thread makes me nervous. Is there anything that someone hasn't hated? LOL!

I like Saxon Math, not sure my kids do as much but they have learned. Horizons is my favorite for the youngers though.

 

Duds

LIFEPAC LA - So far I don't feel like they are learning or retaining anything from these.

BJU English- Parts of it were ok and it's very visual but DIAGRAM DIAGRAM DIAGRAM. We quit this program when I looked at the sample sheets for the next level and it was the same thing we had done for 2 years. Diagramming...again.

100EZ- My kids could cheat from the pictures and I found a lot of errors, plus it was just plain boring. They like OPGTR though.

BJU Science- Way too textbook and too piecemeal.

 

OK so IEW has been sitting on my shelf for two years and I am afraid of it! I haven't even attempted it yet although I have a very good friend who loves it. Hmmm...