What curricula have you tried and HATED?

[SilverMoon]

:iagree: ACE should be OUTLAWED (IMHO:blushing:)

 

I could go for that. I used it myself as a child. :ack2: Pretty sure that curriculum is the reason I have a near allergic reaction to any boxed curriculum today.

[zookeeperof3]

Spelling Power and Writing Power

[justamouse]

Saxon math

Video Text Math

Writing Strands

Winston Grammar

BJU Science (OMG suck the LIFE out of what should be fun)

Apologia Sciences

ABEKA Language Arts

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

I find it so interesting that what works, and works AMAZINGLY well for some, is on other peoples most hated list! I think over half of what I LOVE has been on this as peoples most hated list! Very interesting how different familys learn so differently! I think that awesome actually!!!!! :)

[NavyWifeandMommy]

100 EZ Lessons-just don't care for it. I would like something more fun. I am sucking it up for the year because while it's boring it is working. My son reads and now his little sister in almost on there.

HOD Little Hearts For His Glory-wanted to enjoy this as the previous guide and the other guides but this one just didn't click. Sold the guide but then again bought it again and will suck it up to finish the year with it. Mostly because it's bible history and we already do that with church/Sunday school.

Lifepacs-math seemed to jump around. My daughter was able to just fill in the blanks and not really remember what she learned. She remembers the books she read and not the workbooks.

SOTW-Just isn't working for us. Wanted it to bought the whole set. Finally sold the activity book 1 and gave away activity 2. I still have 3 and 4 but don't plan to use them. Will keep the books and books on CD because we enjoy the reading but don't want to use it as school.

Abeka - ya was given some for the early grades and bought for 4th grade. just wasn't a fit too school like.

Horizons and Singapore not so good either.

 

I know quite a bit of negitives but I have found some positives and after finishing my third year I have found (I hope) what is going to work for my family. I am not straying no matter how tempting the other stuff looks

[khall]

I'm almost afraid to post this because I know so many people love this and use it quite successfully but we really disliked CLE LA.

[Willow]

I'm going to get thrown off the board, but here we go....

 

We hate Life of Fred and Michael Clay Thompson Language arts.....sorry sorry sorry....

Willow.

[MamaT]

The ones that come to mind that I have strongly disliked are:

 

100EZ Lessons

RS4K

Writing Strands

Apologia Elementary Science

 

for the same reasons that the other posters mentioned.

[Orthodox6]

I'm going to get thrown off the board, but here we go....

 

We hate Life of Fred and Michael Clay Thompson Language arts.....sorry sorry sorry....

Willow.

 

No hurling from me. Until I came around here, I never even heard of either of these products. I still never even have seen either one to know what they look like !

 

So often I read mention of products wholly unfamiliar to me, and wonder where on earth people are locating them to consider ! The annual homeschool bookfair here is sizeable, too. (except that it rudely excludes Catholic suppliers, so I can't browse new literature offerings from Bethlehem Books :sad:) Yet much of what you all discuss appears to be secular or Protestant, so I would expect to bump into these products. . . . :confused:

[blessed2fosteradopt]

Sequential Spelling - bored us to tears. We are much happier with Megawords - thanks, Lori D. :001_smile:

[amylarimer]

My son has completed First Language Lessons, Level 4. What do you use next?

Thank you for your help,

Amy

[jazzyfizzle]

Very helpful thread, thank you! :lurk5:

 

 

I was wondering what everyone's likes for elementary science are.

[EKS]

 

I was wondering what everyone's likes for elementary science are.

 

I haven't found a science program for elementary that I am completely satisfied with. I thought I liked K12, but it fell apart in 4th grade.

[chadzwife]

Bethlehem Books is Catholic?? I didn't know that.

[chadzwife]

never really used a science program 4 younger kids...never really did much science then; to be honest...

so i loved it wen i found Apologia's Biology (high school) and he said it was written for kids who had not done much science b4 that point in their lives. it was written to be a first science program!

noooowwww he has come out with jr high programs and joined with the lady writing the elementary aged books, i know. BUT he told me, no one used to do science b4 high school age until the recent past--1930s? it was no biggie, as long as they didn't spend their lives in front of the tv/game system. AND if they read widely, all the better...did their own investigations, collections (u shoulda seen my oldest daughter's mini-science museum she had going by age 9!), went on field trips, watched PBS...greater still!

BUT he was quite classically-minded back then wen it first came out--as long as they could handle taking algebra along with it (if not b4), they could do the program. the 2 brain capabilities are similar he had found.

SOOO I Try To Remember This With My 2 Little Ones Now.

formal elementary science would be nice to do, but im not sweating it. :)

to be fair, i also toy with NO MATH til age 10 or 12 a la the Bluedorns of Trivium Pursuits. This thinking is also ancient classical methodology. Math was for "advanced thinkers". I know Mary Pride has said she learned all her math from gr 1-6 or 8 in one summer--even if she does have an aptitude for math...lets say you took a 13yo thru it in one year even! WOW save alot of time and frustration huh?

sooo i just keep a-thinking...:lol:

[Oops, duplicate account :/]

never really used a science program 4 younger kids...never really did much science then; to be honest...

so i loved it wen i found Apologia's Biology (high school) and he said it was written for kids who had not done much science b4 that point in their lives. it was written to be a first science program!

noooowwww he has come out with jr high programs and joined with the lady writing the elementary aged books, i know. BUT he told me, no one used to do science b4 high school age until the recent past--1930s? it was no biggie, as long as they didn't spend their lives in front of the tv/game system. AND if they read widely, all the better...did their own investigations, collections (u shoulda seen my oldest daughter's mini-science museum she had going by age 9!), went on field trips, watched PBS...greater still!

BUT he was quite classically-minded back then wen it first came out--as long as they could handle taking algebra along with it (if not b4), they could do the program. the 2 brain capabilities are similar he had found.

SOOO I Try To Remember This With My 2 Little Ones Now.

formal elementary science would be nice to do, but im not sweating it. :)

to be fair, i also toy with NO MATH til age 10 or 12 a la the Bluedorns of Trivium Pursuits. This thinking is also ancient classical methodology. Math was for "advanced thinkers". I know Mary Pride has said she learned all her math from gr 1-6 or 8 in one summer--even if she does have an aptitude for math...lets say you took a 13yo thru it in one year even! WOW save alot of time and frustration huh?

sooo i just keep a-thinking...:lol:

 

:bigear: I'm still wondering and thinking about when to introduce formal education. :confused: Thanks for sharing your thoughts and musings!

[Oops, duplicate account :/]

...for this thread. Could that be accurate?

[ChemMommy]

I'm going to get thrown off the board, but here we go....

 

We hate Life of Fred and Michael Clay Thompson Language arts.....sorry sorry sorry....

Willow.

 

What didn't you like about MCT??

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

...for this thread. Could that be accurate?

 

 

Does it count the same person going to it more than once? Or is it once per person no matter how many visits?

[ChemMommy]

Definitely FLOPS!

 

ABeka for anything other than LA (seriously shallow and workbook-y)

 

Videotext (insufficient practice problems)

 

Teaching Textbooks (work is below level advertised)

 

SL language arts and science programs (too scattered in topics)

 

Spelling Power (too hard to use)

 

 

Oddly, 100EZ worked well for us, even if it is a bit oddly scripted. SL cores worked well for us in History/Lit.

[kalanamak]

...for this thread. Could that be accurate?

 

People want to save their bucks. Geez, I wish I lived near a HUGE and open on weekends store full of everything a homeschooler could ever dream of....

[Wildiris]

Hate is such a strong word.

 

What I will not use again for youngest DD.

 

The Elements

 

Prentice Hall Middle School Science

 

I have mixed feelings about grammar. I think all grammar texts must be boring, no way around that one, but I loath to go another year with Hake Grammar and Writing. I like it, but two years is all DD~12 can take of the repetition.

[swimmermom3]

Hate is such a strong word.

 

What I will not use again for youngest DD.

 

The Elements

 

Prentice Hall Middle School Science

 

I have mixed feelings about grammar. I think all grammar texts must be boring, no way around that one, but I loath to go another year with Hake Grammar and Writing. I like it, but two years is all DD~12 can take of the repetition.

 

Iris, what did you not like about the these two science programs? Also, have you looked at MCT for LA?

[Willow]

What didn't you like about MCT??

 

After all the hype I thought I was getting something really special. It turned out to be much of the same...a different way of organizing the sentence, but all grammar programs have their own way, and a bit of other stuff thrown in for good measure. I was just rather under whelmed.

 

By the way if you do by it, don't bother with the student book, the teacher book has all the student book in it...

[Paisley Hedgehog]

..

[Haiku]

We hate Life of Fred and Michael Clay Thompson Language arts.....sorry sorry sorry....

 

Brave woman!! ;)

 

Tara

[Jen500]

After all the hype I thought I was getting something really special. It turned out to be much of the same...a different way of organizing the sentence, but all grammar programs have their own way, and a bit of other stuff thrown in for good measure. I was just rather under whelmed.

 

 

So did you use and also not like the other components (writing, vocab, poetry)?

[Jen500]

I don't think I've bought anything we'd actually HATE.

 

We really didn't care for Prima Latina, but didn't use it long enough to start hating it. I guess my dc came to hate Wordly Wise.

[alexdk3]

I agree that hate is a strong word...but having said that, we really really didn't like Saxon Math. We stuck with it for 2 years and it was pretty close to torture. :smash:

 

I also agree with writing strands, both my dd and ds were bored with that one.

[BeckyFL]

LLATL was really bad

 

BJU Science DVD's - we paid a lot of money and ds didn't like science nearly as much with these. The teacher waving her hands around all the time was very distracting (ds couldn't quit talking about it with similar motions lol!).

[crl]

 

I dont like Abeka. When we started homeschooling 2 years ago, I started my kids on that because I kept hearing it was "THE BEST" :001_huh: I found it shallow, dry, and my kids were NOT being challenged! No more Abeka!!!!

 

 

Funny, what works for some doesn't for others. We love A Beka math. The rest does get to be a little too much so we don't use them for other subjects only math.

[erica471]

The annual homeschool bookfair here is sizeable, too. (except that it rudely excludes Catholic suppliers, so I can't browse new literature offerings from Bethlehem Books :sad:) Yet much of what you all discuss appears to be secular or Protestant, so I would expect to bump into these products. . . . :confused:

 

That's awful!

[FlutterbyMommy]

The ones that come to mind that I have strongly disliked are:

 

100EZ Lessons

RS4K

Writing Strands

Apologia Elementary Science

 

for the same reasons that the other posters mentioned.

 

Can you be more specific about RS4K? I am looking at this program and would like to learn more about what you found unattractive.

:lurk5:

[runamuk]

I don't know about "hated" but there are a few programs we just didn't like.

 

Winterpromise

100EZ Lessons

Saxon Math

RS4K

Latina Christiana I

MCT

[jenniferlee]

winter promise - books were way too mature -theme wise- for my kids. and I just can't get into the projects. and no reading questions in the IG

 

writing strands - just couldn't get through it

 

rs4k chemistry - sooooo boring!

[Mom-ninja.]

Explode the Code, as it was nothing but busy work. My ds learned nothing from it. At all.

 

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 EZ Lessons. That has to be the worst reading program on the planet. It did not teach my child to read.

[Spy Car]

The Fallacy Detective. I found a cheap copy used, and being totally naive (thinking it was actually a book on "logic") I snapped it up. :blink:

 

It never actually got anywhere near my child as, once read, it went straight into the trash.

 

I was never again as blindly trusting of home school materials after that experience, sad to say.

 

Bill

[Mommee & Baba]

Saxon Math

The Reading Lesson

100 EZ Reading Lessons

[Mom0012]

I use Sonlight and am not bothered by John's preaching at all because I don't read his notes in the IG, and I skip books like Incans, Mayans, and Aztecs. I use SL secularly.

 

Yes, I was thinking I must be really terrible because I've never read any of his notes. We even used the Incans, Mayans and Aztecs book and I just skipped right over them in there as well.:)

 

Lisa

[radiobrain]

I dislike more than I like.

 

If there is too much text before I get some eye candy, I start to weep and moan and tear my hair out.:)

 

I really hated Phonics Museum. I spent almost $200 on it and opened it up and went OH NO OH NO OH NO!! I didn't even attempt to re-sell it as I could not be a part of sending it to anyone else. It was a lesson I learned the hard way.

[Susan in KY]

100 EZ Lessons-

 

:iagree: Not EZ at all for us. *blech*:tongue_smilie:

[FlockOfSillies]

::Putting on flame-proof suit::

 

Rod and Staff English and Math.

[LoveBaby]

Winter Promise. Looks great, didn't flow well for us and the book selections weren't good for the age recommended. I also don't like scripted programs.

:iagree:

 

Truly, Winterpromise was such a disappointment for me. Looks amazing, but there were tons of errors in the guide, it jumped around like crazy and some of the books left me going "huh?!"

 

Scripted programs make me nutty, nutty, nutty. I like things to be explained well so *I* know how to go from one thing to the next, but to actually tell me what to say feels so weird. It took me awhile to figure that out.

 

 

I don't like gridded plans either (Sonlight/ MFW) because I always feel behind or the need to push on even though we are well beyond finished for the day.

 

I like "do the next thing" materials that give me the chance to decide how long to work and I know where to pick up next, and I know the ending point. SOTW is like that...most text books as spines, Beautiful Feet, Ambleside Online etc.~~Faithe

 

:iagree:

 

I *want* to love MFW or plans like that, but I really do better with do the next thing plans as well. We were always on week 4 in science, 6 in history, 3 in bible etc...and I always felt behind and frustrated. I don't mind Biblioplan, since it's not tied to anything else..we just do the next thing whether it's the next day or a week later.

[JudyJudyJudy]

Materials that we didn't like:

 

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons

 

Growing with Grammar

 

Writing Strands

[branycbur]

::Putting on flame-proof suit::

 

Rod and Staff English and Math.

 

:iagree:

 

 

Also, Abeka Math.

Edited April 15, 2010 by branycbur

[FlutterbyMommy]

The Fallacy Detective. I found a cheap copy used, and being totally naive (thinking it was actually a book on "logic") I snapped it up. :blink:

 

It never actually got anywhere near my child as, once read, it went straight into the trash.

 

I was never again as blindly trusting of home school materials after that experience, sad to say.

 

Bill

 

 

What was wrong with it? I had considered it from my child when she is older. You are certainly giving me pause about it.

[Blueridge]

This has been a fun thread! I want to play...but I will choose just a few from my vast list of unfortunate purchases...

*Patchwork Primer (anybody at all remember that one? :tongue_smilie:)

*Phonics Museum (too schoolish, ugly, I didn't agree with the way it taught reading :001_huh:)

*Christian Liberty Kindergarten (lots of busy work, but no fun for us.)

*Konos-In-A-Box (I love the original volumes, but these were so bad, it hurt.)

*Veritas Press history (loved the literature books, but the workbook and memory tape drove us to near madness.)

*Abeka grammar (oh my.)

Well, I should stop since I'm getting depressed! Believe me, there is more...much more! :nopity:

[kalanamak]

What was wrong with it? I had considered it from my child when she is older. You are certainly giving me pause about it.

 

Read the reviews at Amazon, which are mostly positive, but 5 or so negative. The gist was that the writers, reportedly, broke their own rules on logic to promote their religion in the book. Some people think the authors are really terrific, and some of us turned off by their take on life. That's all.

[...................]

1. Covenant Home Curriculum elementary- I sat elementary bcause the extreme boringness, seriousness, and textbook academics might be great for a high schooler. Not for a CHILD.

 

2. LLATL Blue and Red- I love the author, love the idea, but it was torture for me. The layout jumped around, there was not enough review, and the lessons took forever. Kids can learn to read and write with a pencil, paper and a book. Neither of my kids were interested in cut and paste, flip books, flip wheels, etc.

[michelle l]

My kids hated Sequential Spelling.

 

We dropped Sonlight's LA very quickly. Too sporadic and not enough direct instruction. All of a sudden my kids were just supposed to write a research paper from an outline. :001_huh:

 

We actually really like our Apologia. May I ask why others didn't, or what you would recommend? It's all we know, as this is our first year, and I feel like my kids are learning enough about the subjects studied to actually be interested in them, but I'm open to considering something different.