Mommy22alyns Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 HST+ - How on earth does this program WORK??? I've watched the videos. I've played around with it. I don't get it. Give me a pencil. I only ever tried the free version and didn't get it at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 I only ever tried the free version and didn't get it at all. Another HST failure here. The best program I ever found was a simple gradebook one for teachers...But I wiped my hard drive years ago and can't find the program again. My big bad purchases were MUS beginner and intermediate and TT6. Both cost a lot and were completely unsuitable for either me or the intended kid. I ended up passing along the TT6 another homeschooler down in the US who needed it (yes, as a gift) and I've still got the MUS in my closet. It's looking for a home if anyone wants it - can't sell the darn thing. No one wants the older style nor the VHS tapes. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Ball and stick handwriting...huge disaster here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eloquacious Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 For all the 100EZ haters (myself included) Amazon has a trade in program and this book is on the list. I sent mine in (postage was paid) and received a $6.31 gift card in return. Laura NOT BAD, considering I paid $5 for it at a consignment store!!! Hmmm. If only our preschool co-op weren't doing it. :( Need to investigate what I actually need it for, or maybe just write down the words they're doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toawh Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Spelling Workout It seems to have no rhyme or reason, it's just busy work. I still haven't found a spelling curriculum that I love. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmschooling Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Teaching Textbooks Writing Strands LifePacs Horizons Math HST+ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 LLATL Gold: British Literature I've bought plenty of stuff I didn't like, or which didn't work for us; but this was objectively the worst curriculum I've ever bought. The earlier LLATL books were fine for first dd. But the Gold-British lit was awful. Puerile interpretations and outright misreadings; an odd concern with whether writers of past centuries were born-again Christians; uncritical acceptance of Romantic dismissals of pre-Romantic poetry.... It was like getting literary instruction from a poorly informed freshman English major. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmom Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Saxon Phonics! I could not even get past lesson 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desiree77 Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Anything from Queen's homeschool - poor quality printing and too expensive for what you get Apologia elementary series - I bought this three times and always sold it. I really wanted to like it! My Father's World K and 1st - boring Horizon's Math Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Writing strands I wanted so much to make this work that after it did not work the first year (lots of tears) I pulled it out again about 2 years later and had the same reaction R&S grammar. I loved it, the kids hated enough that ds would actually run away out of the house to avoid it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AudreyTN Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Anything from Queen's homeschool - poor quality printing and too expensive for what you get :iagree::iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rjmakmom Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 My Father's World K and 1st - boring We just recently started K and I am not lovin' it! I am not using it the way it's written, since the TE is so confusing!! I am hopeful that grade 1 will get better, but we'll see.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaHappy Posted September 11, 2011 Author Share Posted September 11, 2011 Anything from Queen's homeschool - poor quality printing and too expensive for what you get Apologia elementary series - I bought this three times and always sold it. I really wanted to like it! My Father's World K and 1st - boring Horizon's Math Yeah, I agree about the Queen's stuff..... so expensive!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greeny Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Nancy Larson Science OMG, yes!!! I was sooo excited to buy it, but it's horrible! Science 1 was way too simple for my 6 yo and it's not like he's some kind of prodigy or anything. The first unit was about life stages like, "this is what a baby looks like and does, this is what a teenager looks like and does..." We even skipped ahead to the middle of the curriculum and it was just as painfully simple. And the script drove me bonkers! Just thinking about it makes me want to bash my head into a wall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 (edited) I really regretted purchasing HeadSprout. It is set up so that one of mine was sight reading and memorizing. We had to stop it and it was a very expensive mistake. Less costly but a lot of the history books I purchased from Christian Liberty Press really put me off (way Native Americans and other groups were portrayed, the God is on the US side view, etc.) Edited September 11, 2011 by sbgrace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greeny Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Oh and I will add Saxon math. Ugh. The math meetings in Saxon 2 just about killed me. I'm not sure they could get any longer or more monotonous. My ds just about cried every time I pulled out one of those drill sheets too. They kind of made him panic. Saxon K was to simple for my 3 1/2 - 4 yo (at the time). Granted, he picks up math pretty easy and he enjoyed doing it, but it is WAY bellow kindergarten level. It has also always been a bust whenever I get on board and try to follow a specific methodology whether that be WTM or Waldorf or whatever. We are just eclectic and don't do well in any of the boxes. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tam101 Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Spelling Workout, and my son was halfway through book c and feeling like a failure before I wised up. I see Writing Strands listed quite often, I hope that doesn't become my next failure. :confused: My son is on the 2nd lesson of level 3, so far so good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oops, duplicate account :/ Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 I really regretted purchasing HeadSprout. It is set up so that one of mine was sight reading and memorizing. We had to stop it and it was a very expensive mistake. Less costly but a lot of the history books I purchased from Christian Liberty Press really put me off (way Native Americans and other groups were portrayed, the God is on the US side view, etc.) Thanks for this. I was interested in HS as a supplement but it looked like there was some sight word stuff there. Good to know for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhomemaker Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Saxon math Writing Strands Lyrical Life Science I think the only reason 100EZ isn't on my list is because I only used the stories and not the rest of the program. It looked way too boring to use the whole thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Wow, I used 100 EZ Lessons to teach both my older ones to read. I recommend it all the time! LOL! :iagree: My son loved it. We did not do any of the writing and skipped all of the scripted parts (I can't stand scripted curriculum!) and just learned the sounds and words. When it got to the sentences and short stories he really got into it. I would hide the picture while he read the story, then we would study the picture. We did not read every story three times either. If he did not get it, we reread it the next day. I think we would have hated it if we would have done it their way ;); but my way, it worked. I liked the way the letters were written. It helped my son keep everything straight at first. Slow and Steady Get Me Ready. Not impressed with this one either. We bought it late (DD is 3) and she is so far ahead of what it is saying to do, I don't know where to start. I only ever tried the free version and didn't get it at all. I paid for the trial version, it was just a few dollars, but I hated it!! Shurley English - again, I hate the scripted stuff. I skipped the first 4 chapters of Level 1 (4 chapters of sorting pictures at the begining of a grammar book!!! It was too much!!) We did day one....then I saw the story of the sentence kingdom and that we would read it for 3 days in a row!!! I knew it was not for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wy_kid_wrangler04 Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Abeka :banghead: We did Abeka our first year homeschooling because everybody kept telling me that "it was the best" I am so sorry I put my dear precious children through that torture :001_huh: Saxon math :glare: Writing Strands :blink: I tried to like it only because I had all the books. I just couldn't do it. Wordly Wise. I liked it at first, but then realized dc were retaining NOTHING long term. They learned from it short term and I thought it was awesome- til one day I decided to quiz dd's over the words after they finished a book to show dh how good they did. :blink: Its funny because I see so many things that we LOVE on this list! Its so funny how some work so well for some but are SOOO wrong for others!! FTR- We LOVE Horizons Math :001_wub: MFW K and 1st :001_wub: Phonics Pathways :001_wub: and I know there are others but I forgot what else I saw on here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lily_Grace Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Hands down, Saxon. It made my ds think he was horrible at math and that it was the worst subject ever. Not a good fit. I see Writing Strands listed quite often, I hope that doesn't become my next failure. :confused: My son is on the 2nd lesson of level 3, so far so good. The reason WS didn't work for us was because it was too much at once for my son's level when we started it. He was frustrated trying to come up with the topic AND write at the same time. It didn't help that he was a very weak writer to begin with, either. We switched to Writing Tales after slogging through 1 1/2 years of WS and it was like a lightbulb turned on. He needed that much extra guidance to feel successful. DS just pulled WS 3 off the shelf again and asked why he wasn't using that this year so I think he's ready for a lot more creative license this time around! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kubiac Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Slow and Steady Get Me Ready. OOOOH! Me three! Boring, ugly and uninspiring. I found a copy of Gymboree's Toddler Play book and I never realized how much I appreciated the power of full-color illustrations and infographics! If I have a second kid I'll definitely get their Baby Play as well. I got the Costco set of pre-K/alphabet Bob books because Bob books are spoken of so highly around here and I don't get it. They seem so blah! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorrainejmc Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 The absolute worst for us, as in "couldn't make it through the first few lessons", were LLATL, Artistic Pursuits, 100 EZ Lessons and Muzzy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oops, duplicate account :/ Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 (edited) Saxon mathI think the only reason 100EZ isn't on my list is because I only used the stories and not the rest of the program. It looked way too boring to use the whole thing. You're a genious! I so am doing this. I was given a 100EZ cast off and used it to start teaching my first ds to read. We picked it up and then promtly put it away for awhile at least 3 times before finally looking for something different. Using it made ME get emotional and cry during reading lessons!! All that wacky font size and those weird markings...it was like reading another language. :glare: Edited September 11, 2011 by JENinOR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 (edited) RS4K Biology level 1. It was a mishmash of some things that we had known since kindergarten and also quite interesting, high level cell work. With son number two, I used some chapters when he was little and was then planning on using the other chapters at about age 11. Oh, and RS4K Physics wasn't too good either: dry, and lots of the activities didn't work. I replaced it with Physics With Toys. Oh, and Sonlight LA 3 (bought about five years ago). Calvin and I couldn't work out for the life of us why we were going into such detailed grammar at that age. Laura Edited September 11, 2011 by Laura Corin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom@shiloh Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Saxon Phonics -- As if their goal was to make something relatively easy to teach as difficult and complex as possible. Veritas Press History -- too textbooky. Writing Strands. Times Tales -- how about if we just memorize the silly facts and go out and play instead? Queen's Language lessons -- I really wanted to like these, but they were too slow, too much copywork, too many abstract words and the typos DROVE. ME. CRAZY. Sequential Spelling didn't work for us either. On the other hand, we like Apologia for elementary and we're using LLATL this year. I'm almost embarassed to admit it, because so many people complain about it being too easy. Yes, it is, but we needed easy this year and easy that gets retained is better than rigorous that evaporates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 i really disliked Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. lol. i just realized this thread is very old. i posted that i hated 100 EZ lessons on page 3 too :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momsquared Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 I think 100EZ Lessons is a great book for a lot of people, but for DD it was not. I purchased MFW K, looked through the teacher's guide and sent it back. HeadSprout was something DD really liked and I thought was successful until I realized she had memorized a lot and that she had not retained anything. Leapfrog DVDs saved us and have worked great for DS. I also have been unsuccessful with anything on the computer (except HeadSprout). Dd is not interested in Head of the Class, Reading Eggs, Time4Learning, etc. I don't know why I keep trying this format. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 LOF Fractions MFW K Apologia Zoo 1. We like astronomy, botany, and human body, but not this one. Miquon Math Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsbaby Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Little Hands to Heaven AO Lifepacs CLE Reading SOS LA grade 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChandlerMom Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Yea! Looks like Saxon math is now beating out 100EZ lessons (which I love, and works great for us, but it's obviously not for everyone) for most hated curric! :lol: The only thing that I've ever really hated was K12's Math+. "Friendly numbers" (huh?) and a pacing in K-1 that makes no sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coralloyd Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 (edited) Saxon :ack2: 100EZL- The pages were too busy. It was too scripted also. English for the Thoughtful Child- Not enough instruction. SL Language Arts program - Jumped all over the place, with no instruction. TOG- Over whelming for younger grades, might still use later on (thankfully bought used, for a very good price). AAS 1&2- Way too simple for my girls. Too many steps to explain very simple concepts. Edited September 11, 2011 by coralloyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edelweiss Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 :iagree: My son loved it. We did not do any of the writing and skipped all of the scripted parts (I can't stand scripted curriculum!) and just learned the sounds and words. When it got to the sentences and short stories he really got into it. I would hide the picture while he read the story, then we would study the picture. We did not read every story three times either. If he did not get it, we reread it the next day. I think we would have hated it if we would have done it their way ;); but my way, it worked. I liked the way the letters were written. It helped my son keep everything straight at first. This is how we used 100EZ Lessons too. We did not do any of the writing and I did not follow the script. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edelweiss Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 OMG, yes!!! I was sooo excited to buy it, but it's horrible! Science 1 was way too simple for my 6 yo and it's not like he's some kind of prodigy or anything. The first unit was about life stages like, "this is what a baby looks like and does, this is what a teenager looks like and does..." We even skipped ahead to the middle of the curriculum and it was just as painfully simple. And the script drove me bonkers! Just thinking about it makes me want to bash my head into a wall. We are using NL 3 this year, and I have to admit that I'm a bit disappointed. It is definitely too easy for my 5th grader, but it is okay for my 3rd grader. I hate the script too, but I just skim through the material and then teach it without the script. It is okay, I guess, but I probably wouldn't have purchased it if I had known. We will go ahead and use it this year because at least it is getting done. There is some good information in there, so I don't feel it is a total waste. And my fifth grader doesn't mind easy, ;):glare: I had really hoped that it would be perfect. I absolutely have to have a program that is already laid out for me and that includes virtually all of the supplies for the science experiments. If we don't have that, science just doesn't get done. I have no idea what I'm going to do next year. Science is my homeschooling nemesis. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimm Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Ok, well I'm only in my second year and I've already bought stuff that was a bust. I guess it's inevitable. :) Saxon Math 2. I got it because my daughter's school had just finished up Saxon Math 1 so I figured I would continue with a program she was used to. I took one look at it and realized it would never do. She already knew it all! Flipping through the book with me, she was actually insulted that she might be made to do it. I bought Singapore, which she loves. Latina Christiana. Again, I bought this because this is the program my kids' school used. It's soo dry and grim. We're using Latin for Children now and I love the attitude of the curriculum that Latin is fun and interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Just a plug for 100 EZ because I loved it! All of my kids are amazing readers because of it, and each of them completed all 100 lessons. We did not do the writing exercises either, and we only spent 10-15 minutes on it per day, so that it would take us up to three days to finish a lesson. Perhaps that is why it worked well for us. I also love Horizons math, too. Different styles suit different folks, I guess. I haven't found anything that I have absolutely hated yet.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 (edited) I have a really long list of things I dislike. ;) Do this as long as I have and the list is bound to be long. These are my all time "disfavorites" (:tongue_smilie:) based on either not fitting our family or quality compared to price. 100EZ IEW SWI A and C and Phonetic Zoo SYRWTL Science (1 and 2) MCT's AAW levels 1 and 2 CW Homer online enrollment with several different providers (hugely expensive mistakes--high school level) Henle Latin Apologia science (high school level) Edited September 11, 2011 by 8FillTheHeart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragons in the flower bed Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Mapping the World by Heart (not to be confused with Mapping the World by Art) read like one long ad for a program that would teach kids to map the world. It was not helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Saxon Math. It did its job, but we intensely disliked it. And every single highschool level science and history text used in public schools I bought as a homeschool newbie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissKNG Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Lapbooking didn't work for us. BJU Math wasn't a fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarreymere Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Another vote for Saxon math. I had Saxon math for dd for first grade, very briefly. DD could read way ahead of grade level, and she loved to read the Saxon script over my shoulder in a very sarcastic, sing-song voice. She hated it. I hated it. We switched to Math Mammoth and were very happy, until I wanted to try Singapore this past summer (didn't like the format).......now we are back with Math Mammoth again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d.g. Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Slow and Steady, Get Me Ready was a complete waste of time for us. That's my only purchasing mistake so far, but I'm sure as the years pass there will be more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estelleblue Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 The worst experience, by far, was Horizons Math K. It was using this curriculum that helped me realize that spiral math does not work for my ds or myself (to teaching). He thought he hated all school because of our experience with this curriculum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeaCookiesBears Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 (edited) Abeka :banghead: We did Abeka our first year homeschooling because everybody kept telling me that "it was the best" I am so sorry I put my dear precious children through that torture :001_huh: Saxon math :glare: Writing Strands :blink: I tried to like it only because I had all the books. I just couldn't do it. :iagree:Me too I am truely sorry put my dd12 through the torture of Abeka and Saxon math. I was considering buying Writing Strands from Currclick for dd12 but she took one look it and had the same look she gives when ever she sees Abeka or Saxon that I knew right a way I needed to pass it by.:tongue_smilie: But to be fair the lower grades in Abeka is not that bad. Dd5 likes the cursive writing/phonics book. I also like the number tablet as it gives her plenty of number practice. However, I do not see me going to far with Abeka in the future as I know that dd5 is much like her sister in liking mastery math programs. So, I am using singapore math(dd5) and math mammoth(dd12). Edited September 11, 2011 by dyana17 Grammar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonana Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Headsprout didn't work for us. DD absolutely hated it. Five in a Row. DD hated hearing the same book for five days. She wasn't interested in any of the lessons that went along with the book. She just wanted to listen to chapter books, so we switched to SL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnMomof7 Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Apologia Astronomy. Ugh. Tried SO hard to like this. Bombed twice. Never finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homemama2 Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Apologia Zoo 1 After that one, I would have never used another except for the fact I had already bought Astronomy. I was dreading trying it this year (had my backup all lined up :D), but surprisingly we are really liking it! Oh and Phonic Pathways. My kids both HATED it. :001_huh: Not sure why, it wasn't much different from what we ended up using, but it made them both cry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rose_king Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Private school K tuition! All we learned in DD's year in private school was that we needed to homeschool. Thank God you were a fast learner! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 (edited) Ha! So many mentioned here we like or liked! LOL--we loved Headsprout, particularly for my older when he was around 6. We enjoyed 100EZ lessons, but we didn't follow the script particularly. My oldest ADORES Times Tales and still remembers the ditties. And my youngest really looks forward to Nancy Larson every week-yes, it's easy, but he's learned a lot of vocabulary and there plenty of time and room to add extra readings and nature studies, which we do. Didn't like: Muzzy Italian-biggest waste of money ever. K12 Music-annoying. Writing Strands-didn't work for us. Too 'bite-sized', no flow, too constrained. Edited September 12, 2011 by Halcyon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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