What do you like from Abeka?

[Staceyshoe]

Anything? I rarely see them mentioned on the boards here.

[Geek]

I like their math. The rest of their materials are too religious for me, so I can't comment on their academic strengths or weaknesses.

[Homemama2]

I LOVE their reading/phonics to learn to read. I'm not sure why Abeka isn't on here much, but don't let that keep you from purchasing from them. Many of us don't use alot of "textbooks", but that doesn't mean textbooks aren't effective. ;)

[JessReplanted]

We used "all Abeka" (with added literature) for two years.

 

I used their K phonics program to teach my son how to read. It was really hard for him, but it was also really solid. He went from not knowing all of the letter sounds, to being a solidly good reader at the end of the year.

 

This is the only program I've used so far for teaching reading, so I don't have anything to compare it to. And, last year (first grade) I grew so thoroughly annoyed with Abeka phonics (and everything else) that we have totally ditched it for this coming year.

[NicA]

I really like Abeka math. I'm not planning on using anything else from Abeka, just because I have found other programs that I think will be more interesting. I grew up doing all Abeka, and I had a good education (I got into a good college) so I don't think it is a bad curriculum. I want my kids to have more of a classical education, and Abeka does not provide that with history and science.

[kym]

I like their math as well. My kids like it, too, so we're sticking with it!

 

We've used Abeka Language Arts in the past, but we're trying something else this year. It just wasn't working for my ds.

[sixpence1978]

I really like their phonics and (don't kill me) some of their language.

 

The phonics/language worked beautifully for my DS but not so well for my DD so we have since moved on.

[Love2teach0307]

I was taught in a Christian school from kindergarten to 12th grade with Abeka. I've used the K program plus 1st grade phonics materials to teach my dd how to read, and she has done well. Why I am not using any more of their materials is that the rote memory work and lack of critical application and activities makes it boring for home school. The materials do not lend themselves to developing critical thinking skills. They work well for visual learners, but the tests and support materials lends itself to learning only to pass a test and not real mastery. The math is spiral which works well for some learners; it frustrated us. The colorful history and science books can be used as spines or reference with additional living books and activities thrown in. I also taught the high school English materials for a couple of years before having kids. The writing and composition portion is very weak. They spend most of the time focusing on research papers, but have failed to incorporate up-to-date technology that college freshmen will need to know to do well. Abeka can give children a very solid foundation in many subjects, and naturally good students can learn much from it. It really doesn't inspire a love of learning and is difficult for struggling learners to enjoy learning using it.

[KrissiK]

I love A Beka for the younger grades, but as my boys are getting older we're doing less and less. We started out with their K4 kit and that gave my boys a great foundation. We did the K5 kit and had a good year with that. Last year for first grade we did their Language Arts program (plus WWE and FLL) and Math, but did science and history a'la the Well-Trained Mind. THis coming year for 2nd grade we will be finishing the phonics program, my boys will be doing an A Beka/Singapore Math hybrid and that's it with A Beka. We will probably continue with the math program, but I'm not sure if we will use their grammar after we finish phonics.

 

Things I love about A Beka:

- it's scripted, open and go!

- the graphics and pictures are awesome! Great presentation!

- Phonics program is great!

 

Things I don't like:

- it's weak on content in science & history (at least in the younger grades, I'm not sure about the older grades). When I compare their 1st grade social studies to SOTW1... there's no comparison!

- you can become a slave to the teacher's guide.

[Ohdanigirl]

I used the Abeka Biology with my brother in-law a few years back and enjoyed it. He did not speak English at the time and we were teaching him, the simple straight forward speak in the Abeka book made things much easier. I also enjoyed the plant press that it taught us to make and use. He did think it was too religious though and complained about it often. He liked the Geography book though. Never heard him complain about that one.;)

 

Danielle

[MariannNOVA]

I have only used ABEKA in the classroom as a teacher - it was the curric that was used in some of the schools where I taught.

 

I liked that it was very easy to 'move forward' - making lesson plans was easy as could be - knowing if I was on track, ahead of schedule, behind schedule: easy. It also worked for me when I taught a very small group of fourth graders (five of them) because there were four of them who were extremely bright and we could get through the ABEKA work and I was able to supplement with many other wonderful resources, and I was able to work with the fifth child who needed to just go a little slowly.

 

In the sense that I could walk into a classroom the first day of school, open it and go, it was great.

 

I particularly like their K and 1 phonics -- and, believe it or not, (and don't flame me - if you disagree, I understand totally) their 4th grade American History IN THE SENSE THAT we could do the work that we were expected to do in our school and have plenty of time left over to do a literature based History curric (which my principal approved and loved).

 

I did not care for their Language Arts in fourth grade AT ALL. We tried to get through the book, but I ended up putting something together with materials that I had at home - part SHURLEY, part IEW. We did do their 4th grade spelling, however.

[ereks mom]

I was taught in a Christian school from kindergarten to 12th grade with Abeka. I've used the K program plus 1st grade phonics materials to teach my dd how to read, and she has done well. Why I am not using any more of their materials is that the rote memory work and lack of critical application and activities makes it boring for home school. The materials do not lend themselves to developing critical thinking skills. They work well for visual learners, but the tests and support materials lends itself to learning only to pass a test and not real mastery. The math is spiral which works well for some learners; it frustrated us. The colorful history and science books can be used as spines or reference with additional living books and activities thrown in. I also taught the high school English materials for a couple of years before having kids. The writing and composition portion is very weak. They spend most of the time focusing on research papers, but have failed to incorporate up-to-date technology that college freshmen will need to know to do well. Abeka can give children a very solid foundation in many subjects, and naturally good students can learn much from it. It really doesn't inspire a love of learning and is difficult for struggling learners to enjoy learning using it.

 

:iagree: with everything you said.

 

The sixth grader I will be teaching for the upcoming year is coming to me from an ABeka-only Christian school. She is very burned out from that. She is not a "naturally good student", as you put it, but has to work very hard just to make B's.

 

To what you have said, I would add that I would never use ABeka math materials beyond the elementary level. In my files, I have a review of ABeka math by a private school math teacher:

 

The A Beka Algebra texts are reprints of books that were written in 1911 and 1933. ...A Beka holds to the philosophy that traditional mathematics is best. In their entire high school curriculum, therefore, there are no texts that contain any math development beyond 1960. While math textbooks got weird in the 1960's, that era is long past. There is no justification for ignoring everything developed since then. …[T]here have been numerous developments in math in the past 70 years. Matrices now play a critical role in computers. Inequalities and logic are used everyday in the business world; you can't learn Microsoft Access without this knowledge. All of these areas are ignored in A Beka Algebra. In any college board math exam, students would be asked to differentiate between relations and functions. This distinction is an outcome of developments in the 1960's. A Beka books know nothing of this distinction. Mathmatical modeling is a topic that real mathematicians and engineers use every day. You would search in vain to find the topic in ABeka Algebra.

Edited July 27, 2010 by ereks mom

[Aconnolley]

They do have a very strong phonics and reading program. All three of my kids learned to read using it. I will continue with their phonics through 2nd grade with my youngest even though

 

The thing with Abeka is that you have to make it work for your family and not make your family fit the curriculum. There is lots of busy work. You really have to decide what is necessary for your kids and not just obediently follow the teacher guide, or it can really burn you and your kids out. We did Abeka through 2nd grade, and though it was fine for my daughter, it was NOT a good fit for my son. He learned to read well, but I think that we could have been spared a lot of heartache if I had realized early on that there are other options out there and not every child is suited for a certain curriculum. Drill and kill is the way that it felt to him.

 

I am not familiar with the older grades, but it is very solid in the younger grades as far as phonics, reading, and arithmetic. It just works better for some learning types than others.

 

As far as the history and science in the younger grades, they are used more like a reader with questions to answer at the end of each section. I don't want my kids to learn history like me......memorize answers for the test and promptly forget them. I want it to be more "alive" and real than that for them. :-) I'm learning a lot already!

 

Angela

[FairProspects]

I really like their Little Owl books and Little Books as readers.

[Suzanne115]

I really liked their beginning reading program too. It is very solid. My daughter learned to read very fast so I had to modify it for her. My daughter still enjoys the readers. I buy them used and she reads them as time allows.

 

We also really like the spelling. My daughter is an advanced speller and most programs were way to easy. We use A Beka one year ahead and she loves it. I would be happy to just drop spelling and work on it as needed, but she loves spelling so we continue with it.

 

We have used the health, but I wouldn't say I exactly like it. It was easy to use and my daughter liked it, but somewhat old fashioned for our family.

 

We didn't care for the history or science at all. Well, my daughter liked reading the science book on her own, but that is just because she loves science. It would never work as a science program for us.

 

 

Suzanne

[2cents]

I like their math up to and through 7th. That is all I've used. :)

[Melissa in CA]

I like Abeka's elementary math, their K and 1st reading/phonics program, and their Health. They OVERKILL on Health though!! No child truly needs Health each and EVERY year. :tongue_smilie: I'd say one or two Health courses during the elementary years, and then either one in Jr. high, or one in high school.

 

I do NOT like their English, Spelling, History, Science and Jr. high/high school math. Been there, done that, won't do it again. Ever. :lol:

[Mommyfaithe]

Anything? I rarely see them mentioned on the boards here.

 

I really like their High School Literature bookjs...World Lit, American Lit and British Lit...Just those 3. Best part is my kids like them and learn so much about literary analysis and even Art History.

 

I also like their Government and Economics texts. Great to git-it-done. :-)

 

Faithe

[kym]

I do NOT like their English, Spelling, History, Science and Jr. high/high school math. Been there, done that, won't do it again. Ever. :lol:

 

Just curious...what do you not like about the jr. high/high school math?

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

We tried Abeka. It was a total bomb for us. It was not near rigorous enough for my kids. We would do a lesson and they would look at me like :001_huh: and say "thats it?" The math was not near rigorous for my 2nd grader so we stopped Abeka completely. My 2nd grade math done in 4 months and was wanting to go on to their 3rd grade book but I didnt want to do that. We switched. We were doing abeka and Singapore so now we are doing Singapore and Horizons. A much better fit!

[Melissa in CA]

Just curious...what do you not like about the jr. high/high school math?

 

Too dated. :tongue_smilie:

[SapphireStitch]

I used A Beka's "Handbook for Reading" to teach my DS to read. It was simple, open and go, and very inexpensive. I bought an older edition on Ebay because when they update it they just change the looks, not the content. There is a bunch of other stuff they sell and would say is necessary for teaching phonics and reading, but the Handbook worked well for us.

 

Right now we're using A Beka's Arithmetic "Speed Drills" books for some reinforcement of math facts. Again I found these on Ebay, the ones I bought had the first couple of pages used so I got them for a great price. (I also have some issues with A Beka and PCC, so I'd rather not send my money to them.)

 

With DD I used *everything* A Beka for 3rd grade. I think she and I still have nightmares about that year. :glare: It was just TOO MUCH. We went on to use their Grammar books for 4th-6th, but I always had to use something else for writing because their assignments were lame.

[Mothersweets]

I really liked their 4th grade penmanship book (or was it 3rd grade?). It had lots of great/inspiring quotes from famous people and a little blurb about that person. I used it with several of my kids and got good results.

 

We've also used their world history course (please don't flame me!) and although it races along, the teacher (Mr. Duby) is wonderful and can tell a story so well.

[chalkboard]

My dc enjoyed Abeka science for all of their elementary years. They would've probably revolted had we used anything else. Textbooks were colorful and inviting.

 

Susan

[coffeefreak]

I like their math for all ages.

 

I use all of the pre-K material and the K material, but then I pick and choose.

 

If your child does not know how to read or if they are a struggling reader, I like their phonics programs in its entirety. Once your child is an "emerging reader," I find the workbook and readers overkill.

 

For first grade with an emerging reader, I like "A Handbook for Reading." Emerging readers just need practice and this works perfectly. I don't buy their phonics workbook for an emerging reader. I use ETC instead.

 

I like their health if you NEED health. We don't, so I don't always use it.

 

I like their Elementary Art books for my non-artsy youngest. No prep, give the instructions and let them go. Easy peasy rice and cheesy.

 

HMMMMMM. . . .and I think that's it!

 

HTH!

Dorinda