Alternative to Mosdos' Literature Series?

[pahansen]

Hi. We're going to be moving from a cyber school to homeschooling next year, and I'm checking out reading curriculum. (I've already found separate language arts and spelling programs that I'm happy with.)

 

I know that I want something that was more of an anthology base than a whole books approach. It doesn't have to be strictly Christian, but I would like it to have positive values. (Not like the recent nonfiction story in my son's Hougton Mifflin reading book, which goes on at length about how tough it can be to have brothers and sisters, especially when there's a new baby in the house, and mentions almost no good points about siblings. My son is 7, with 5- and 3-year-old sisters, and I'm 8 months pregnant. We skipped the story.)

 

I also want there to be plenty of stress on critical reading, rather than simple comprehension. He's got the latter covered.

 

After much searching, I fell in love with Mosdos' Ruby level (roughly fourth grade). The only thing I don't like is the price tag. Since we do have younger children, and since the bulk of the cost is in reusable items, I can justify the purchase, but I was wondering if there was an equally good alternative that I was just missing. The closest I've gotten has been CLE, which I don't mind, but don't like nearly as much.

 

Also, is there not much of a market for used Mosdos texts, or are they just not showing up because we're still mid-year?

 

Thanks for the input!

--Pamela

[5Wizards]

I have been searching for used Mosdos material for awhile now but haven't had much luck. Luckily I am getting a level soon from someone so that I can look it over and decide if it's worth the money or not.

 

Here is a recent thread that might be worth reading

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=236240

[pahansen]

Thanks for the link. I had done some work searching the boards, but didn't find that thread.

 

The K12 curriculum looks like the style I like, but I might as well spend the money on Mosdos -- I'd likely spend less! ;)

 

Hopefully their materials will catch on and there will be a larger resale market for them. For now, I'll content myself with saying that we have lots of little ones who can use it (assuming we keep homeschooling).

 

--Pamela

[plansrme]

Hopefully their materials will catch on and there will be a larger resale market for them. For now, I'll content myself with saying that we have lots of little ones who can use it (assuming we keep homeschooling).

 

--Pamela

 

I agree completely. Mosdos is one of those little-known gems that deserves a wider audience.

 

Once upon a time, homeschoolers could get a discount (20%, maybe?) on Mosdos if they ordered directly from Mosdos. I do not know if that is still true, and even at the time, it was very hard to find the discount on their website. If you cannot find it, please try e-mailing them directly to ask. Mosdos is a wonderful program, and in my opinion, worth the money, but of course, it is even better at 20% off.

 

Terri

[pahansen]

Wow! Thanks for the tip! Expensive - 20% is much better than plain old expensive. :001_smile: I'll definitely ask about it.

 

--Pamela

[5Wizards]

The K12 curriculum looks like the style I like, but I might as well spend the money on Mosdos -- I'd likely spend less! ;)

 

 

--Pamela

 

I actually bought a teacher's literature guide and the 2 semesters of student pages used (but no writing) for less than $15 I think. I've seen some of their literature books on paperback swap before as well as ebay and amazon. I still haven't had a chance to look through what I have yet though. I'm trying to decide what direction to go next year for 5th.

[kangato3]

We're currently using Ruby level and are loving it. There are a few of us from these boards using Mosdos, and I suspect there will be a few sold on the resale board once summer arrives (I know we'll be reselling in June). It is pricey, but I thought the money was well spent. It's been a highlight of our year.

[EKS]

I like K12 literature--particularly for grades 6-8.

 

We used Mosdos Ruby last year and I was impressed with the stories. I was less impressed with the questions and the actual teaching of literary...stuff. We started up with Coral (is that the next one?) and the teaching of the literary stuff was a bit more focused, but the stories were not as good. Oh well. After floundering for a few months, we moved to K12's 6th grade literature course and things are going well again.