Easy fully planned curriculums?

[CashCrew]

I am planning our next year's curriculum for upcoming 5th, 2nd, and 1st graders. I also have 2 in public middle and high school who are VERY active (school sports, band, choir, etc) and keep our evenings filled as well as a VERY busy toddler. I am also pregnant with #7 due in January (big surprise to us but a happy one). I know I MUST choose a curriculum that requires very little planning from me this year. I need a curriculum with full lesson plans already included.

 

I had originally planned to do Sonlight but to do it the way I want to do it, it will cost more than I have budgeted for school.

 

Can anyone suggest any really good solid complete curriculums that are easy to use, already planned, and less expensive than Sonlight? :)

Edited June 16, 2010 by CashCrew

[cjbeach]

Easy classical sells complete lesson plans....

http://www.easyclassical.com/

[MissKNG]

MEP Math is free and has full lesson plans. There is prep work though. I'd give you a link but I'm not on a computer!

[Lovedtodeath]

Can anyone suggest any really good solid complete curriculums that are easy to use, already planned, and less expensive than Sonlight? :)

Heart of Dakota. Quality Literature, Solid Phonics, spelling, grammar, writing, poetry, hands-on math, integrated history and science, all subjects planned each day (even with schedules available to the minute), takes little time. I think you would be happy substituting it for Sonlight. It has literature like Sonlight, and meaningful activities/ assignments connected to the learning. (Yes, you can combine with the literature, history and science, though the writer doesn't like it.) Edited June 16, 2010 by Lovedtodeath

[dragons in the flower bed]

WinterPromise?

[lovemykids]

Oak Meadow

[3andme]

CLE (Christian Light) for Reading , LA, and Math.

[sbgrace]

If Christian content isn't objectionable, Heart of Dakota is completely open and go. It's meaningful, literature based, and meant to be time conscious (not to take up too much time/Charlotte Mason concept of education). You can look at samples on their site to see if it fits your family.

[Lovedtodeath]

If Christian content isn't objectionable, Heart of Dakota is completely open and go. It's meaningful, literature based, and meant to be time conscious (not to take up too much time/Charlotte Mason concept of education). You can look at samples on their site to see if it fits your family.

:iagree:I was really turned off by the name of the different levels. I had to look at a catalog and realize that I liked it for a couple of years. (The religion is too much for my family in the 4 year cycle.)

Edited June 16, 2010 by Lovedtodeath

[SandKsmama]

My Father's World might be a good fit - since you've done SOTW 1, you could go to Rome to the Reformation (which roughly picks up there, and uses SOTW 2 as one of its spines), and use it with all 4 of the school kids (I used RTR with a 5th and 1st grader when we did it, and it worked well). Definitely less expensive than Sonlight, but still has a little bit of the same "flavor", and VERY open and go. I do NOT do prepwork or planning. Plus, the author is a mom of 6, and I think that is very obvious in how efficient the activities and plans are in MFW. You really *can* do MFW as written and be done by lunchtime. I've done it for 5 years now.

[Ann@thebeach]

If you want to do Sonlight then could you buy the IGs and part of the materials and then get the rest through the library or used sources?

Sonlight cores are often sold used as well here or vegsource.com, etc. and you can save a lot of money that way.

 

Sonlight readers are very common at half price books or http://www.paperbackswap.com too.

 

In my experience if you find something that works and meets your needs, it's worth it to find a way to get it. You'll second guess yourself with other choices and end up coming back to your original plan ;)

[Aoife]

If you want to do Sonlight then could you buy the IGs and part of the materials and then get the rest through the library or used sources?

Sonlight cores are often sold used as well here or vegsource.com, etc. and you can save a lot of money that way.

 

Sonlight readers are very common at half price books or http://www.paperbackswap.com too.

 

In my experience if you find something that works and meets your needs, it's worth it to find a way to get it. You'll second guess yourself with other choices and end up coming back to your original plan ;)

:iagree:

 

having just gotten a couple of cores myself there are much cheaper ways of doing it then through sonlight. For one you can get a lot of the books on amazon for their 4 for 3 promotion plus the free shipping. Doing that alone I was able to knock off half the cost of one of the cores. I hit up half price book store with a list and got a ton there and through amazon used or half.com and got another core for WAY less then sonlight and then I bought the bulk of core K on the swap board here and saved a ton too. My mom did buy the boys a core on sonlight.com so I have a core membership too and can get free shipping and a few books are cheaper through them.

[Closeacademy]

Oak Meadow has made my life much more relaxed. I don't have to scramble to come up with lesson plans and such any more. They have everything fairly well planned. I added Spelling and math to the mix but they have that in there too.:001_smile:

[Chris in VA]

I am planning our next year's curriculum for upcoming 5th, 2nd, and 1st graders. I also have 2 in public middle and high school who are VERY active (school sports, band, choir, etc) and keep our evenings filled as well as a VERY busy toddler. I am also pregnant with #7 due in January (big surprise to us but a happy one). I know I MUST choose a curriculum that requires very little planning from me this year. I need a curriculum with full lesson plans already included.

 

I had originally planned to do Sonlight but to do it the way I want to do it, it will cost more than I have budgeted for school.

 

Can anyone suggest any really good solid complete curriculums that are easy to use, already planned, and less expensive than Sonlight? :)

 

Well, I actually think of WTM as a completely planned curriculum.

According to their rec's, you just do the next thing with most of what you buy.

 

Saxon Math--completely planned, do the next thing, even scripted. One lesson a day

 

Rod and Staff Grammar (only for 5th grade)--completely planned, nearly scripted, do the next thing, one lesson a day.

 

Do OPTGR or Phonics Pathways for the 1st grader. The first is scripted, the second is easy to do, just one lesson after another, no need to schedule.

 

Do FLL with the first and second grader. It's almost scripted, and you just do one lesson each day. Easy.

 

SOTW--read one lesson a week. Do the map on the same day you read the lesson. Have the 5th grader pick up the AG and look at the assigned reading from Usborne for that chapter. Take an hour--just an hour--this summer and pick 2 books you want to read aloud this first semester. Give your littles the coloring pages to work on while you read the chapter. Make it easy on yourself. Ask for a narration from them--the littles can take turns, one day the first grader tells you something he learned, the next time you read, the 2nd grader does. Don't have to do any activities unless you want to. Have the 5th grader write out a narration.

 

Science--I'd actually pick a doable science rather than doing WTM, but that's just me. Maybe a nature walk every two weeks--you can stroll with the baby, the 3 kids can walk and then pick one thing to photograph or draw. Have the 5th grader look up the Latin name of some of the things he finds. Have him read History of Science by Hakim for more content.

 

Latin--do Prima unless you've done Latin before. Everybody do one lesson a week. Have the 2nd grader and the 5th grader copy vocab on cards and everybody quiz each other at the beginning of the lesson. One lesson a week, do it 4-5 times a week--it takes 20 minutes, tops.

 

Once a week, break out the art stuff. Let everyone create something fun--no rules. Find an art calendar at the dollar store, rip out the pictures, hang one up and tell your 5th grader to do research and present something about the artist--one a month.

 

Use Campbell's Living Memory and find 4 things for the kids to memorize. Practice every day.

 

I think it can be so easy to do most of the WTM stuff. If you work well with a schedule, just write columns and put one lesson after another on a sheet of paper--revise it every month (about a month or so fits).

[JessaMae]

There are a lot of great ideas on here! I would like to recommend MFW also - we just finished ECC with a 4th, 3rd, and 1st grader and it was great. Very open and go. Just add in math (we did Singapore) and LAs (we did R&S.) Best wishes to you as you choose! :)

[CashCrew]

THANKS everyone! There are some great suggestions here. I love this board!