What is the worst educational/HS item you've ever bought?

[*Michelle*]

We're using Spelling Workout B... Curious... What do you use for spelling? And why? (anyone can answer :o)

 

 

Nothing, for now. We're finishing up kindergarten and getting ready to start first grade in July. I'm planning on starting Spelling Power with him in second grade. This year, we'll just focus on spelling through reading and writing.

[SorrelZG]

Since this thread started I've read it and wondered what my absolute worst has been. There have been a number of total busts, Little Hands to Heaven and Spelling Workout included. I have decided that Spell to Write and Read gets first place though due to being my most expensive bust.

 

I think the reason why my busts have ended up being busts has been a simple matter of brain wiring. They just didn't work the way I work. I am not a glue and glitter kind of teacher (amongst other things), I couldn't comprehend how Spelling Workout taught spelling and Spell to Write and Read, although I understood the idea, seemed to me unnecessarily complicated to execute.

[BatmansWife]

 

Can I ask why? I have had that on my radar for a few weeks for my 5yods who is really dragging his feet about learning to read. He loves computers so I thought that maybe it would help him be a bit enthusiastic about ONE thing during his school day.

 

 

Just thought I'd chime in here too. We bought it and hated it too. We must have had a lot of glitches with it or something. Ours would repeat the same lesson over and over and over. Other times it would just freeze up. The timer thing didn't go over very well. Dd would nearly panic trying to go so fast that it backfired and she couldn't think fast enough. I think there was an option to turn off the timer, which we did a few times. But, before long we just quit using it because of all the other problems we kept having with it. Starfall is free (or used to be). You ds might like that.

[Tenaj]

Just thought I'd chime in here too. We bought it and hated it too. We must have had a lot of glitches with it or something. Ours would repeat the same lesson over and over and over. Other times it would just freeze up. The timer thing didn't go over very well. Dd would nearly panic trying to go so fast that it backfired and she couldn't think fast enough. I think there was an option to turn off the timer, which we did a few times. But, before long we just quit using it because of all the other problems we kept having with it. Starfall is free (or used to be). You ds might like that.

 

 

 

Thanks for reminding me about Starfall . . . I've heard of it before but had forgotten about it. I will look into it.

[MamaSprout]

100 EZ Lessons...

We keep Saxon math on the shelf for those days when dd decides she hates math. I just pull it down and say, "Well, okay, go ahead and let's do lesson 5 (or whatever) from this one." Works every time.

Bean

[lorisuewho]

I think there should be some way of tallying what people have mentioned so far.

I want to know if 100 Easy Lessons is the overall winner of "the worst homeschool item ever purchased" award.

[umsami]

It was this weird homeschool karate kit? I don't know that it's actually evil or anything, but my kids were not interested. Strangely, they began real karate lessons the next year and really liked them.

[BatmansWife]

I think there should be some way of tallying what people have mentioned so far.

I want to know if 100 Easy Lessons is the overall winner of "the worst homeschool item ever purchased" award.

 

 

Funny too because that's what I used to teach my oldest to read. Just as the book promised...she was at a solid 2nd grade reading level (well, way beyond that actually) just after she turned 5. I remember a World Book encyclopedia salesman came over and was sitting at our kitchen table (I wanted to buy the Early World of Learning and Childcraft). When I told him that she could read already he said he didn't believe it. He pushed the A encyclopedia over (his sample copy), opened it up to any random page (alligators) and told her, "Here, read this". When she did (with great expression too) his jaw literally dropped. Although, now I realize that having a 5 year old reading isn't that unusual. :lol:

 

I guess I got carried away a bit with reminiscing. :blushing:

[ammv15]

k12 science k (very watered down) Hop math Big dissappointment

 

After reading this I guess we can easily assume 100 ez lessons aren't so easy or useful. Glad I never tried it.

[Danielle1746]

Switched on Schoolhouse Spanish for us. It's only our first year, so we haven't tried that many things yet.

[No More Perfect]

MFW ECC, Weaver curriculum, Horizons math

[Berta]

All About Spelling

 

Anything Lifepac

 

CLE Reading and Science

 

Horizons Spelling

 

A Reason for Spelling

 

Math U See

[tammieb]

Jr. Analytical Grammar.

 

It started out confusing and just got worse from there. My textbook-adverse child was begging to go back to Rod & Staff.

 

 

This is just funny :)

 

We use Rod & Staff (grades 4 and 7) -- have been using it since 2nd grade. I've TRIED to get my kids to change, but everything else is too "scatter brained" (in my dd's vernacular)! I figure I can keep suffering through it as long as they like it, they're learning, and my 6th grader last year scored on college level on her standardized testing!

 

Happy Mother's Day to all!

[Tortfeasee]

Rosetta Stone Spanish

100EZ

ALEKS math

Time 4 Learning (tried several times at different levels but it just didn't click for my kids)

Writing Strands

Easy Grammar

[tammieb]

 

My ds and I agree with you about the BJU Math 4 dvd's. HOWEVER, I hear that dearly loved Mrs. Vick is working on an updated version for math 4 and I bet it will be fantastic! :)

 

Brenda

 

 

 

We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Ms Vick :hurray: . Kiddos flip through the catalogs just to see what classes she's teaching! I honestly believe she could take ANY course and make it something any kiddo would love!

[tammieb]

I must admit, I'm a little confused :confused1: ?? I never realized so many people were unhappy with Saxon math. My kiddos went from tears in ABEKA (lower grades) to math being their favorite, and now, BEST subject! We've used it from Saxon 2 through 6/5 (about to start 7/6). Maybe it's just the fact that they've never been exposed to anything else. Just proves every kid is different :)

[PachiSusan]

I must admit, I'm a little confused :confused1: ?? I never realized so many people were unhappy with Saxon math. My kiddos went from tears in ABEKA (lower grades) to math being their favorite, and now, BEST subject! We've used it from Saxon 2 through 6/5 (about to start 7/6). Maybe it's just the fact that they've never been exposed to anything else. Just proves every kid is different :)

 

 

I hope we have the same experience. We are switching to Saxon next year.

[Ecclecticmum]

Isn't it weird, but I tend to forget the worst items...unless I have to plough on through them.

 

Happy Phonics - 3 days (+ extra time getting coloured card etc), and still hadn't finished setting it up. So never used it, don't want anything to do with it.

 

Explode the Code Primers - I'm mentioning that these are the primers, because the Book1 onwards might be fine, but primers turned us off the series. Atlas spent a whole school year with those primers, and by the end, she had forgotten everything. A year wasted with those

 

Sonlight LA - Not really anything against Sonlight. More just our family. The LA (at the youngest levels) was too tied into the writing (i.e. in order to learn the phonics part and how to write, you must do a LOT of copywork and repeating sentences that she just wasn't ready for).

 

Singapore Math - I do like Singapore for the rigor of it. I do NOT like the jumping line way of counting. It taught my daughter some very bad habits I am now trying to undo. Again most of these reviews are just ours alone, and do not neccessarily mean these curricula are bad in general, just that they didn't work here.

 

Sonlight Lesson Plans - I didn't like the jumping around, open this book, read a line, close it, grab the next book. I have not totally written Sonlight off and may use one of the levels I already have next year, but I will just use the "plan" as a weekly checklist rather than a daily guide, so we're not jumping around everywhere.

 

Slow and Steady, get me Ready: I actually like this, so not really "worst" Item. lol. I would just suggest for people to get it either when the child is born or no later than about 2 1/2. I just got the book too late, and it just wasn't worth it.

 

Peggy Kaye Books - I'm sure they are fine, and I will keep the ones I have, I just think they are quite over-rated. They only have a couple of games in them, a lot less than I was expecting, and I really don't understand the fuss.

 

Writing Strands 1 - I think we'll like the rest of Writing Strands, but even here in a relaxed household, the WS1 book is a little too loosey-goosey. Its just a book of random ideas (most of which are covered in any preschool curriculum)

 

Carschooling - Maybe if my kids were older. Its just too random, and disjointed. I was hoping for ideas for the ocassional trips to the larger town we go to, and on the way to doctors. Its more suitable for those tending to actually be in the car all day (IMO).

 

Wordly Wise K & 1 - This just drove me a bit loopy and didn't seem worth it. We actually needed a vocab program, but I could easily now include that in our current studies. This took a lot of time per day for a subject that just isn't THAT needed.

 

Read and Share Bible Curriculum - Even though I have 3 kids, this program is still meant for Sunday Schools. I don't think its possible to complete at home without having lots of energy and putting lots of effort into it. In the end, it became very expensive puppets and dvd.

 

Write Source - Too fiddly. I can't remember why, but I really didn't like that program.

 

Smarty Ants - Annoying

 

They are about the only ones I remember (and most of them is with help of order histories on various places lol. Any others I've forgotten were probably more "schmeh" .

[tammieb]

 

I hope we have the same experience. We are switching to Saxon next year.

 

 

 

One thing my kids LOVE is the DIVE discs! Its funny, though --- they like the older edition ones! I showed dd (12 at the time) a sample of the newer Saxon Teacher disc and she was very adamant she wanted to stick with "what I know I like!" So, I usually have to buy it used so I can pick up the older editions. That's a small price to pay, though, for something they love and they're learning!

 

In the primary books, the meeting strips got a little "monotonous," so we opted to do those every 2 or 3 days instead of every day. They still LOVE the drill sheets! We make it a game to beat their best time!

 

Good luck!

[PachiSusan]

One thing my kids LOVE is the DIVE discs! Its funny, though --- they like the older edition ones! I showed dd (12 at the time) a sample of the newer Saxon Teacher disc and she was very adamant she wanted to stick with "what I know I like!" So, I usually have to buy it used so I can pick up the older editions. That's a small price to pay, though, for something they love and they're learning!

 

In the primary books, the meeting strips got a little "monotonous," so we opted to do those every 2 or 3 days instead of every day. They still LOVE the drill sheets! We make it a game to beat their best time!

 

Good luck!

 

 

We're starting at 54 so I don't think we have the meeting strips in it and we're using the 2nd edition.

[mathnerd]

I like how this thread keeps getting revived.

 

For us it was Explode the Code Online. Total waste of money.

 

Since then there have been some things we haven't used but nothing that was really a total dud.

 

 

I am with you 100% on that! For me, ETC Online was the worst purchase of an educational item, ever. I could have bought many useful things with the money I spent on it.

[mandymom]

WWW.....I did not like this AT ALL. The kids liked it because it was super easy and they could fly right through it.

 

SOS....I caved and let my oldest (who is a difficult student) try this. We used the history, English, and Spanish. They were ALL total flops and we changed back to what the other kids were using after about 6 weeks and had much better results.

[Seeking Squirrels]

 

 

Sure. I have posted here a bunch badmouthing it. Some people apparently love it, but it didn't work for us because...

 

* emphasized speed over accuracy

* funny pictures that are cute in the books are just annoyingly obscure when you're timed

* does not let the parent control the levels (you must log the child out, log yourself in, change the level, log out, log the child back in, and then the computer will reset it and not let him go on anyway)

* emphasized typing and typing speed far too much (I have read that there is a rationale for writing the words as a method for learning them in the ETC workbooks, but I think it's inappropriate to have such young children have typing - especially TIMED typing! - so heavily emphasized in a program)

 

I had two final straws. One was that my ds who was barely blending when we used it began gaming it out, memorizing the pictures as sight words, and beating my kid who was starting to read early chapter books at the time. :glare: Then I tried it and *I* couldn't get the highest rank on one of the levels. And I was like, okay, this is just stupid. There's mastery and there's perfectionism.

 

 

We also hated etc online. One thing that always messed DD up was that you only clicked once to answer, but it would accept a double click as the answer for the next page. So if the correct answer was in the right hand box and she accidentally double clicked it would count it as answering that same box on the next page too.

 

Another thing we dislike was that she could do awesome on one level, awesome on the next, then barely miss passing the third, and it would drop her back two levels. She scored great on them, doing them over isn't going to make her suddenly get the third level she messed up on. Just do that third level again! So she'd get irritated having to repeat so much, especially when a level was failed due to double clicks, that we just gave it up.

[MamaSprout]

We're using Spelling Workout B... Curious... What do you use for spelling? And why? (anyone can answer :o)

 

Logic of English

 

Bean

[Lindi]

100 Easy Lessons - I have always said my youngest son, now 28, learned to read with that at age 3 but actually, he learned after about 5 lessons- he just went from "cat" and "duck" words to all kinds of sight words. Reading just clicked for him. But now that I think about, probably he would have learned with anything at that point. I also bought and intensely disliked Apologia Biology, Edition 1. We ended up using something else. It was very frustrating. I also tried buying all those math manipulates when he was younger --- he hatedthem and understood math just fine without them. My biggest flop this time around has been Excellence in Literature. I'm sure some people like it but my student and I found it soul deadening. OH, yes, I also hated ABeka History. My older son had been using a lot of Abeka things in Christian school before we went on the road and took him out of school. They sold us the next year's books for little or nothing. I started reading it and immediately went out and got the most liberal history I could find and used them both just to balance it out. And mind you, I was voting Republican back then!

[abaent]

Gosh, isn't it somewhat freeing to admit the failures? The trash and treasure paradigm rings true with all of the comments- yes, I read every single one. I love several items on others' hate lists. LOL! Isn't it wonderful to homeschool in a time where we have so many options? If we don't like something we can easily make a change. I am thankful!

 

Items on my HATE list:

 

Math U See

Singapore Math

Classical Conversations materials

 

and that is it!

[Lindi]

I see several people here who do not like IEW. Bad reviews online and real life have been hard for me to find. The only bad review I read was someone upset that they were having to rewrite stories but that is a very classical approach. Why did some of you dislike it? I've considered getting if for DFD (the upper level) because here ability to write and organize is not good. It is so expensive though, that I vacillate. More info would be helpful.

[MeredithsMom]

I see several people here who do not like IEW. Bad reviews online and real life have been hard for me to find. The only bad review I read was someone upset that they were having to rewrite stories but that is a very classical approach. Why did some of you dislike it? I've considered getting if for DFD (the upper level) because here ability to write and organize is not good. It is so expensive though, that I vacillate. More info would be helpful.

 

I'm interested in knowing more about IEW too...

[MamaSprout]

 

I'm interested in knowing more about IEW too...

 

I have a degree in Professional Writing. I haven't used IEW. I spent some time looking over the books (not the videos) at a homeschool show yesterday, and I found it too formulaic. It was everything I never liked about writing in school. Because my library has the videos, I probably will watch them as "tools for my toolbox", but I would not spend the dollars, personally.

 

YMMV.

Bean

[Kathryn]

 

 

I have a degree in Professional Writing. I haven't used IEW. I spent some time looking over the books (not the videos) at a homeschool show yesterday, and I found it too formulaic. It was everything I never liked about writing in school. Because my library has the videos, I probably will watch them as "tools for my toolbox", but I would not spend the dollars, personally.

 

YMMV.

Bean

 

I borrowed the videos from someone and this was my impression.

[Kathryn]

 

Wordly Wise - waste of time, did not promote retention at all

 

Sonlight LA - just awful. AWFUL

 

Sonlight Science - very disorganized, though we did learn some interesting things. It upset DS to be jumping around so much.

 

Math-U-See - I wanted to like it, but DS hated it and I really didn't like how slow it was. *I* was bored.

 

Growing with Grammar and Winning with Writing - DS enjoyed these and we did them together. I can see that as independent work, it would be very easy to learn nothing. We did them in addition to other grammar and writing only because DS wanted to. I'm glad to be moving on this year after two years of these.

[Heathermomster]

I'm interested in knowing more about IEW too...

 

My 2E dyslexic used IEW with an O-G tutor over the school year. DS struggles with organization and structure of paragraphs. Giving up on the idea of WWS was especially painful for me as I really wanted WWS to work; however, my son needs the scaffolding and explicit writing instruction that IEW provides.

 

We both hated IEW for about 4 months but now see benefits across all subject writing, especially history. IEW sentence openers and dress-ups are formulaic with the purpose of guiding the student to internalize and use the techniques automatically. An advanced writer would never add all those dress-ups with a check list. Again, DS uses a tutor with IEW, so I have no experience with teaching IEW on my own.

[Mommy22alyns]

You guys are just making me confused. :glare: I keep wavering between IEW and WWS. I just feel like Rebecca could do better at a lot of writing skills. The dicatation in 4 drove us so nuts that we dropped it. Sylvia's having troubles here at the end of 2 and she shows very little patience with dictation. We've used WWE all the way except for a brief dabble in SL LA (yes, my worst thing ever). I'm just so torn!

[Melinda S in TX]

Phonics Pathways - That had to be the single most boring piece of curriculum I've ever seen. I was so glad when FLL came out.

 

 

 

That's funny. PP is the only thing that I have used with every one (six of them) of my children. My 15dd asked me to save my copy when I am done with it. She wants to use it with her children.

[Ariston]

PAL Writing (from IEW)

Hooked on Phonics Spanish

Piano Wizard

[Troxie]

Math U See - How does a fourth grade math program make a middle aged woman with a degree confused about division???

Spelling Power - Spelling should not be a major subject that takes as much time as math or English!

Oak Meadow K - the hippy in me LOVED it - my son...not so much

Spelling Workout

Growing with Grammar - Son loved it because it was easy - and retained exactly...nothing.

Meet with the Masters Art - So. Very. Boring. and the art projects were really lame.

[PachiSusan]

Math U See - How does a fourth grade math program make a middle aged woman with a degree confused about division???

Spelling Power - Spelling should not be a major subject that takes as much time as math or English!

Oak Meadow K - the hippy in me LOVED it - my son...not so much

Spelling Workout

Growing with Grammar - Son loved it because it was easy - and retained exactly...nothing.

Meet with the Masters Art - So. Very. Boring. and the art projects were really lame.

 

I'm sorry - but that made me belly laugh. I find that happening to me on some things and it just blows me away. How hard can it be??? LMAO

[Tarreymere]

I must admit, I'm a little confused :confused1: ?? I never realized so many people were unhappy with Saxon math. My kiddos went from tears in ABEKA (lower grades) to math being their favorite, and now, BEST subject! We've used it from Saxon 2 through 6/5 (about to start 7/6). Maybe it's just the fact that they've never been exposed to anything else. Just proves every kid is different :)

 

I hated Saxon K and 1. I was a card-carrying member of the 'Saxon math haters club'. And then........one dd developed a glitch in her understanding of math and nothing worked. NOTHING. In utter desperation I pulled out an old, battered copy of Saxon 54 that I had in a dusty corner of the bookshelf. I'd picked it up years before at a homeschool rummage sale, not knowing any better. Dd loved it. It worked. I still don't know why, but it's her favorite math curriculum. Ds dipped his toes in the water and now he is a Saxon math kid too. I still hate it. I no longer want to stab myself in the eye with a fork when I look at it, but ......

[LadyMandy]

I have yet to find a basic reading program I actually love - the scope, sequence, presentation, exercises... Didn't like 100 Easy Lessons. Like aspects of Reading Made Easy, Reading Lesson, Phonics Pathways. Explode the Code is boring and the pictures scare me, but I like the sequence. So frustrating, but maybe I just haven't tried the right one yet! Was hoping to find it with the first so I'd have it figured out for the rest!

[Courtney_Ostaff]

I find this slightly hilarious, because my child loves everything that is getting hated on, here. When she turned 5, I bought the BOB books to start her to read, and she hated them with the passion of 1,000 fiery suns! I was freaking out, and had just read TWTM, so I meticulously bought:

• Handwriting Without Tears: Letters and Numbers for Me. She draws like a fiend, so how hard could this be, right? Horrendous, as it turns out. We dropped handwriting altogether.
  
• Saxon Math K. She didn't count to 20 at that point (just turned 5)--and we both hated it because it was too easy!
  
• MCP Phonics Level K: borrrrring! Too slow, and monotonous.
  

As it turns out, my daughter loves flashcards. I had been determined never to use them, because I was worried about superficial comprehension. Turns out they were the best thing ever for learning the alphabet sounds. I had naively assumed that her Very Expensive private preschool was teaching the alphabet sounds -- oops! 6 weeks of the alphabet flashcards, combined with beginning digraph flashcards, and with my mother's insistence on my daughter memorizing all the Dick & Jane books, led us right into 100 EZ Lessons.

 

I was worried, because I'd read how boring it was, and how repetitive---but she loved it! She still loves it, at lesson 87! Yes, the 70s were a bit difficult, because they didn't explicitly teach all the sound combinations, but she thoroughly enjoyed it! So strange!

 

Just goes to show that you never know! :laugh:

[mathwonk]

i have a sample question to test how well ones algebra book taught algebra;

 

find a quadratic equation for two numbers whose sum is 22 and whose product is 85.

 

Anyone who read the elements of algebra by euler would write down this equation immediately without even thinking.

 

but those taught, as i was, from standard books would have to work at it.

 

this is an example of understanding the idea behind a quadratic equation as opposed to memorizing the solution formula.

 

at a deeper level, what substitution Y = (X-constant), will transform a quadratic equation X^2 - bX +c = 0, into a quadratic equation of form Y^2 - d = 0?

 

Same question for a cubic, transform X^3-bX^2+cX-d =0 , into Y^3 = pY+q, by a substitution Y = (X-constant).

 

After learning from Euler's problems, some of the 8-10 year olds at epsilon camp can do these problems.

 

Once these ideas are grasped, one can solve also cubic equations, by reduction to quadratics,

 

but only if the ideas are understood, as opposed to the formulas.

 

I.e. if X = u+v, then X solves the cubic equation X^3 = pX + q, where p = 3uv and q = u^3+v^3.

 

Moreover, in every equation of form X^3 = pX + q, one can find u,v such that p = 3uv and q = u^3+v^3,

 

by solving the quadratic equation t^2 = qt + p^3/27, for t = u,v.

 

This material was taught in elementary algebra courses in the nineteenth century but seldom in the 20th or 21st, at least not in mine. In fact I taught graduate algebra courses to PhD candidates, and even wrote books for them, not realizing I did not understand how simple this material was, until i finally read Euler at age 68. I acknowledge these embarrassing facts hoping to save future generations from spending decades learning what was common knowledge to elementary students of prior eras. Basic wisdom: "Read the masters, not the pupils".

[Guest 1972booklover]

Ray's Arithmetic, hands down!!  The "answer key" gave explanations for easy to figure out problems, but the one I needed an explanation on, you just got the answer.  My girls HATED it.  It was hard to understand, and we finally threw it away and moved on. 

 

Switched on Schoolhouse--all 3 hated it, and they seemed to retain less with it than with other things. 

[Ad astra]

I want to know if 100 Easy Lessons is the overall winner of "the worst homeschool item ever purchased" award.

I should've read this thread before I bought 100EZ, lol. Mine is still brand new and I don't know what to do with it. I don't even want to sell or give it to anybody. :thumbdown:

 

We also hated Explode the Code. Building Thinking Skills Primary and FIAR manual were expensive bummers. And I didn't really need to buy Singapore Earlybird Activity Books.

[Reefgazer]

Rosetta Stone, hands down.

[Meadowlark]

HOD's LHFHG. Just couldn't do it, it was painful!

[Saddlemomma]

CLASS Grade 1 package from Christian Liberty Press - Nothing wrong with the package, I'm just a compulsive tweaker and

DD and I found it too boring to just do the same thing every day; different chapter.

 

English From the Roots Up - B.O.R.I.N.G

[Janie Grace]

Heart of Dakota. My kid liked it okay but it drove me crazy.

[luckymom]

Calvert.  Except for CHOW, which we still use and enjoy, the box was a costly bomb.

 

 

[Saddlemomma]

SOS Spanish - YUCK!

Chalkdust algebra 1 - dvd lessons TOO long winded - NOT homeschool friendly

LLATL - not challenging enough

 

Oooh yes!  I forgot about that bolded one!  DD wanted to learn Spanish in 3rd.  I had taken 5 years of Spanish through PS and loved it.  I even took the AP exam and got credit.  But SOS?  Forget it!  I was appalled at how superficial it was.  I was making up study sheets and explaining conjugations to DD for a while, but then we just ditched it.  She retained nothing.  DD is taking Latin now and loving it.  We will be revisiting Spanish soon.

[Mom-ninja.]

Wow. This thread was started in 2010