s/o Curricula that didn't work for you this year?

[FairProspects]

RightStart B - Even I though I love the way it teaches, ds could not connect with or visualize the abacus at all. He has done so much better with the puzzly aspect of Math Mammoth.

 

Elemental Science Intro - My honest impression of this program is that it is better suited to girls than boys. The experiments were things we had done for fun at ages 3 & 4, and there was so much coloring/artsy projects as well as reading about science, that ds felt we never actually got to do science (as in muck around with things, break things, make observations with an undetermined outcome, etc.).

 

GEMS Science - This both ds and I loved, but the prep work of creating and gathering all the materials was too much for me to keep it up. I also had a hard time translating it to homeschool - too many of the activities were for partners or groups.

 

Ironically, the only things we changed were math and science, which were the subjects that worked best for us last year. Oh well!

Edited May 5, 2011 by FairProspects

[SquirrellyMama]

Trail Guide to World Geography - It was too disjointed for me. I never felt like we had a good groove going. I think maybe my kids were too young for it.

[Hunter]

Bible Study Guide For All Ages, when I found out it didn't cover the whole Bible, and that the author was unwilling/unable to tell me which scriptures were covered and which ones were skipped. To spend over an hour a day for 4 years on a curriculum and not have read the whole Bible, and not even know which parts still needed to be done seemed ludicrous to me. And there were other smaller issues too.

 

Fred Lybrand Writing Curriculum was good at telling me what I did NOT need to cover, but pretty vague about what DID need to be covered. If I had felt free to talk about how to supplement it, I could have worked with it...but...things got real weird with the author when he closed the yahoo group and started a "club" :-0

 

I spent a lot of money on these 2 curricula. They are the most expensive curricula I have ever bought and they both ended out being a flop :-0 So much for "You get what you pay for" :-0

[saja1029]

Currently, we are being tortured by an Intellego unit study on New Jersey. I can't really say what the problem is, just that I.hate.doing.it. DS10, is also not loving it....doesn't complain, but just sits there, glassy eyed and asking when we will be done :confused:

 

We have also failed miserablely with Oak Meadow 4. The syllabus combines social studies, science, language arts, and art. We tried twice and finally gave up. It was too teacher intensive for me when I also have to nudge/poke my DS12 constantly.

Edited May 5, 2011 by saja1029

[profmom]

I have found that this always holds true in my house. I think it's because the kids can actally see the progress that they're making and have a sense of accomplishment. Whenever I buy a computer program instead, we stall.

 

Thanks for the tip!

 

What didn't work for us:

 

BJU 9th grade geography -- boring for my 8th grade dd who is used to living books. Switched to my homemade geography program and included ds-6th and me -- going well!

 

An online Latin class for my dd-8th -- not enough accountability (homework key not provided to me or graded by teacher -- just discussed in class; weekly quizzes would have been helpful so it wouldn't have been so easy for dd to wait until unit tests to try to memorize paradigms, etc.) We both learned a lot from this experience -- about her, accountability, what to look for in an online class, etc., and, thankfully, this was 8th grade and not high school. She is keeping up and making As in her TPS online classes, just not this one from another source. I'm sad that it didn't go well and will try to learn from the experience.

[5Wizards]

Currently, we are being tortured by an Intellego unit study on New Jersey. I can't really say what the problem is, just that I.hate.doing.it. DS10, is also not loving it....doesn't complain, but just sits there, glassy eyed and asking when we will be done :confused:

 

 

 

We tried an Intelligo unit study on Astronomy, and I kind of feel the same way. I guess I just don't like having it all on the computer and going from one web site to another all of the time. We tried it for awhile and it just didn't click for us (and I've been avoiding it ever since). I thought maybe I just wasn't getting it because people rave about Intelligo, and it seems very thorough, but it's definitely not my "style" at this point in time. I may try another someday though as I like the "idea" behind them, and they really are pretty thorough, etc...

[Mom in High Heels]

FLL3-Indy groans when I pull this out. It's just so dull.

 

Minimus Latin-It's actually a good program, but you need to know some Latin in order to teach it and I had none. We switched to LL and things are great. I may trot Minimus out again in a year or two, because it's cute and Indy really liked it. I'm learning so much with LL, that I should be able to teach Minimus later.

 

RSO-Chemistry AND Earth Science. This is my fault though and has nothing to do with the programs. I'm not a science person and found it boring to teach and hated all the experiments. Indy liked it, but I just couldn't keep up with all the hands on. Being pregnant didn't help.

[Satori]

Last year there was a similar thread like this and a lot of people were saying they hated the same few curriculums. That hurt the feelings of people who were using them. I promised myself back then I'd try very hard not to just say something was boring or that we hated it without adding that it was our particular situation. So if I ever list something I don't like, take into account that while it didn't work for my particular family, it may work for yours.

 

Here's what didn't work out for us in the past year. Not thrilled about any of these, but the last three we hope to still utilize somehow.

 

 

• WWE - I know it's the superstar grammar-stage writing program in WTM forums, but it didn't work out for my daughter and I. Not to say we might not try it again in the future. We also ditched FLL for 4 months, but came back to it happily.
  
• Drawing with Children - I have tried this several times, but it's not an open-and-go program.
  
• BFSU - same as above
  
• Miquon - I get so excited hearing about people talk about this (and MEP), so it's all purchased and printed out. But then as I look at the program, it dawns on me that I'd never be able to implement it. I like more structured programs. I've tried tackling Miquon 4 times now.
  
• Beyond the Code - yeah, we're still using this, but I don't like the stories and questions. It's too easy for starting as late as we did. It's probably just busywork and we might have been better off never starting it.
  
• Math Mammoth - I printed out years 1-3 and hope that we can use it as a supplement, but it's definitely not the style that my daughter and I like for our homeschool. We like something with more interaction and gives us more passion about the subject. We will be using it on extended vacations though. I've got it all spiral-bound so it should be easy to take and lie flat to do a few sheets a day.
  
• Artistic Pursuits - I don't think we did more than 3 lessons for first grade! Probably not the program's fault though. We will continue with this program, maybe I'll be better organized to utilize it in the future.
  

 

Edited May 5, 2011 by Satori

[simka2]

CW Aesop :001_huh: I really wanted this to work, but I just don't get it.

Latin for Children A .... again I thought having the DVD would help, but it didn't.

 

MUS would have been fine, but expensive. My kids fly thru math materials. Right now we are doing Saxon because it is the only thing that puts a bit of a speed bump in front of them.

[saja1029]

We tried an Intelligo unit study on Astronomy, and I kind of feel the same way. I guess I just don't like having it all on the computer and going from one web site to another all of the time. We tried it for awhile and it just didn't click for us (and I've been avoiding it ever since). I thought maybe I just wasn't getting it because people rave about Intelligo, and it seems very thorough, but it's definitely not my "style" at this point in time. I may try another someday though as I like the "idea" behind them, and they really are pretty thorough, etc...

 

Yes, that's it! It does seem thorough, but we get tired of going from site to site...and not knowing what to expect or how long it will be. I just "avoided" doing it again....sent my son outside instead. :tongue_smilie:

[Rebecca77]

I panicked again last year and decided on BJU distance learning for my two olders. We ditched it weeks ago, and my poor dd. is de-schooling yet again. It was great for me for a season, but I wish I would have been able to trust in God more before choosing it for another one.

[mmasmommy]

Trail Guide to World Geography

 

 

 

I 2nd this one! I thought it was going to be great and was way to complicated. The kids hated it, I hated it, and it's now just sitting on my shelf collecting dust.

[FairProspects]

Here's what didn't work out for us in the past year. Not thrilled about any of these, but the last three we hope to still utilize somehow.

 

 

• WWE - I know it's the superstar grammar-stage writing program in WTM forums, but it didn't work out for my daughter and I. Not to say we might not try it again in the future. We also ditched FLL for 4 months, but came back to it happily.

• Drawing with Children - I have tried this several times, but it's not an open-and-go program.

• BFSU - same as above

• Miquon - I get so excited hearing about people talk about this (and MEP), so it's all purchased and printed out. But then as I look at the program, it dawns on me that I'd never be able to implement it. I like more structured programs. I've tried tackling Miquon 4 times now.

• Beyond the Code - yeah, we're still using this, but I don't like the stories and questions. It's too easy for starting as late as we did. It's probably just busywork and we might have been better off never starting it.

• Math Mammoth - I printed out years 1-3 and hope that we can use it as a supplement, but it's definitely not the style that my daughter and I like for our homeschool. We like something with more interaction and gives us more passion about the subject. We will be using it on extended vacations though. I've got it all spiral-bound so it should be easy to take and lie flat to do a few sheets a day.

• Artistic Pursuits - I don't think we did more than 3 lessons for first grade! Probably not the program's fault though. We will continue with this program, maybe I'll be better organized to utilize it in the future.

 

 

 

This amuses me because we have such opposite learners! I love checking out what you guys are doing because our kids are roughly the same age, but what you all listed as your losers are several of our favorite programs and the only ones that work for us!

 

It is just interesting to me how kids learning styles can vary so greatly even at a pretty young age and how different the flavor of homeschools can be.

[mmasmommy]

Latin for Children A .... again I thought having the DVD would help, but it didn't.

 

 

 

I was looking at this for the fall. Can you elaborate on why it didn't work? :bigear:

[Halcyon]

The only thing that didn't work well this year for us was doing mindbenders on the computer. I bought them for the pc because I thought it would be cheaper over the long haul than getting workbooks at 10 bucks a pop. But it didn't really get done - I think we would have accomplished more if we had had the workbooks in hand.

 

I often find this to be true, also. That's in part why MM didn't work for us, and why Elemental Science didn't work for us.

[rootsong]

It's funny, the curriculum I was most excited about at the beginning of the year ended up being the ones that were awful!

 

Hakim's Story of Science with teacher guide & student workbook for my 7th grader. After 11 yrs homeschooling, this has officially been my biggest, most expensive (!) mistake. The whole thing is written for a classroom & doesn't work for homeschooling. The workbook seems dumbed down in many places to me, and is just dry & boring. I love Hakim's stuff so much, I was sure I'd love this. But it was awful in every way!

 

History Odyssey. After so much research, I thought I'd found the perfect history for us this year. Somehow, in all my research, I completely missed that the curriculum has no answer key! Since I am not a brilliant historian that has all of history memorized, I was totally unable to answer his questions, correct, discuss, or listen to narration of his work. What a waste!

 

And, Apologia's Jump In. This one *I* still think seems pretty cool, but my son found it to be torturously boring. Instead, Writing Strands is right up his alley. Who da' guessed?

[FairProspects]

I often find this to be true, also. That's in part why MM didn't work for us, and why Elemental Science didn't work for us.

 

See, and I love downloads because then I can print them out and organize them into our planning system exactly how I want :D.

[Halcyon]

Last year there was a similar thread like this and a lot of people were saying they hated the same few curriculums. That hurt the feelings of people who were using them. I promised myself back then I'd try very hard not to just say something was boring or that we hated it without adding that it was our particular situation. So if I ever list something I don't like, take into account that while it didn't work for my particular family, it may work for yours.

 

 

:iagree: The things that didn't work for OUR family might work well for another's.. They are in no way "bad" choices. I just think sometimes it helps to hear that "wonderful curriculum X" didn't work for every single person. :)

[SewLittleTime]

What didn't work for us this year:

 

SL core 3 - We've done 4 other cores from SL, but this one just didn't flow for us. We've combined out boys in TOG and it's working very well. I guess every year is different...sigh.

 

SL Science 3 - too disjointed for me and ds. He hated the water book. But loved the Mysteries and Marvels book.

[ShellChelle]

ETC- My kinesthetic wiggly-worm DS moaned and groaned every time I pulled out these workbooks. We made it through one workbook before scrapping it all together.

Drawing with Children- Actually, when we focused on it, DS turned out some really nice art, but he prefers Draw Write Now instead because he can work independently.

 

MEP (?)- I like it, DS likes it, but I don't know if he is retaining anything. I might have to go to a mastery program instead of a spiral one. The jury is still out on this one.

[kchara]

Teaching Textbooks-- The kids retained absolutely nothing from it.

 

CQLA-- I wanted to love it, but I just don't.

 

PLL-- Our attempt before CQLA. Not enough for us.

 

McGuffy's Eclectic speller-- I need something much more scripted for me to teach.

 

TOG's Writing Aids-- Just wasn't for us.

[Rivka]

I'm going to lose SpyCar's friendship forever, but...

 

Miquon didn't work for us.

 

I love Cuisenaire rods, and we went on to use the heck out of them with MEP, but I found that all the freedom of Miquon bred arguments. We are a million times happier with the next lesson set in front of us.

[simka2]

I was looking at this for the fall. Can you elaborate on why it didn't work? :bigear:

 

Your actually the 2nd person to ask me this. To be fair we didn't get past the 5th or 6th lesson. Everything I say will be based on that. I also did not have any Latin background which is why I went with this curriculum.

 

I thought it was going to be set up like MUS where the video lesson would help dd do her workbook lesson. In reality it was a video of the author and his dd's chanting the conjugated vocab. Truthfully, we did better with the cd when it came to that.

 

I'm going to try and look at it again in a bit, but I am thinking of going with So You Really Want To Learn Latin instead.

[sleepymommy]

Rightstart B--Great program, just not for me or ds. I still have it though just in case it's a better fit for ds4 later.

 

FLL-- Didn't work for us. Ds6 doesn't seem to like anything that involves a lot of talking.

 

Artistic Pursuits- Maybe one day I'll get my rear in gear and actually pull it off of the shelf.

 

Miquon--- I loved the concept, but ds6 was not interested at all.

 

History Pockets, Literature Pockets and anything else that involves making copies, cutting and pasting--I'm just not cut out for that sort of stuff.

[enlarsh]

Fire away...

 

Storytime Favorites & More Storytime Favorites from Memoria Press: Way too much writing for a 1st grade perfectionist. The lessons took hours to complete--but we loved the literature!

[Embassy]

We ditched:

 

MCT LA - Island level. My son hated it and wasn't learning well with it. We switched to CLE LA for grammar and he adores it. We changed to Jump In and Killgallon for writing and Vocabulary from Classical Roots for vocabulary (not going to stick with that one).

 

Sequential Spelling - Neither my son or I liked this one. I switched to Rod and Staff Spelling and he loves it.

 

Explode the Code online - Didn't fit my computer loving son at all. It wouldn't always count responses correctly and a mistake could mean that you had to repeat the whole exercise. He didn't learn well with it either. We switched to Rod and Staff phonics which is okay.

[*Inna*]

2. Math Mammoth: this is a great curriculum, but my younger didn't like the density of problems on each page. Plus, I thought the sheer number of problems in 1a (the section we purchased) was overwhelming. For a child who needs more review, I think it would be a great choice. We've moved to Singapore but I retain the right to use MM for review when needed :D

 

Same for us. We're using MM as a supplement now and it's great. But as a primary program it wasn't a good fit. Also, there wasn't enough explanation for us.

 

FLL/WWE - FLL was fun and short, but my daughter is more visual learner and wasn't retaining enough. WWE was bringing tears every time. :confused:

Edited May 6, 2011 by *Inna*

[gevs4him]

R&S Math 3 finished 1/2 the book before we swithched to MM. :D

[Hedgehogs4]

2. Math Mammoth: this is a great curriculum, but my younger didn't like the density of problems on each page. Plus, I thought the sheer number of problems in 1a (the section we purchased) was overwhelming. For a child who needs more review, I think it would be a great choice. We've moved to Singapore but I retain the right to use MM for review when needed :D

 

 

 

keeping it for my older ds 9, but we're back to MUS for my dd 6.

[AngieW in Texas]

1. OM 6th grade history and English

I really wanted to like this because I love their high school history, but it just didn't work for my dd. We went back to SOTW.

 

2. Art of Construction

I just couldn't make this one happen.

 

3. Lial's BCM

I really wanted this to work, but it was way too cluttered with tiny print and lots of color.

 

4. MathUSee Prealgebra

I didn't want to try this program in the first place because it was an absolute flaming disaster for my oldest (took a full year to recover from using it), but I finally decided to try it anyway because I couldn't find any other program that fit my dd's parameters (black print on white paper, little or no color, little or no illustration, uncluttered, NOT on the computer). It didn't work for her either.

[huntchaos]

We tried an Intelligo unit study on Astronomy, and I kind of feel the same way. I guess I just don't like having it all on the computer and going from one web site to another all of the time. We tried it for awhile and it just didn't click for us (and I've been avoiding it ever since). I thought maybe I just wasn't getting it because people rave about Intelligo, and it seems very thorough, but it's definitely not my "style" at this point in time. I may try another someday though as I like the "idea" behind them, and they really are pretty thorough, etc...

 

I also hit a bust with these... And we are very computer friendly people. However, we do history together and going from site to site and sitting around our computer just didn't give rise to any good discussion moments. :tongue_smilie:

[katiejane]

Simply Grammar- Thought we would love it but we really really don't. I don't like the way the questions are worded, how the book is set out or that they only give examples for some of the exercises.

[mamachanse]

MEP--but we love Singapore!

ETC online--hoping ds will be ready by fall. Total bust so far.

[Another Lynn]

4. MathUSee Prealgebra

I didn't want to try this program in the first place because it was an absolute flaming disaster for my oldest (took a full year to recover from using it), but I finally decided to try it anyway because I couldn't find any other program that fit my dd's parameters (black print on white paper, little or no color, little or no illustration, uncluttered, NOT on the computer). It didn't work for her either.

 

Have you heard of Algebra: A Fresh Approach? It might fit the bill visually.

 

http://rainbowresource.com/product/sku/041936/1304676405-141858

[elegantlion]

Worst part of this year?

 

OUR SCHEDULE!!!! We moved long distance, we were stressed, we lived with my parents for a few months while remodeling our new house. We still have half of the books I needed to finish the year in storage, which we're finally going to get after too many months (insert very long and boring story). We lost several weeks of school and more weeks of momentum.

Science!! We ended up not doing any formal science. Thankfully ds does a lot of science focused things on his own. We've done some nature study and read about science, but that's it.

 

Fortunately we didn't have any real flop curriculum wise. I did discover my son hates outlining. He doesn't organize information in his brain that way. He handed me back a few outlining assignments with "This is an outline I. This is a point about something." I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Now we're working on different ways he can organize information. Spider diagrams seem to work better.

[Annabel Lee]

3. Lial's BCM

I really wanted this to work, but it was way too cluttered with tiny print and lots of color.

 

:iagree:So it's not just me! It's so hard to find where to start on any given page because there is just SO much crammed all over the place. Not good for an ADD-like mind.

 

 

Our misses for this year:

 

Abeka math 4: too many problems, problems are too large, brought ds to tears - this was particular to my ds, but I decided that larger, longer calculations did not truly equal "ahead"

 

CLE LA: I was doing this to remediate phonics rules & spelling rules and it IS a good program, but it was redundant with other things we were doing.

 

Writing Strands 3: I just can't warm up to it enough to ditch my original plan out the window for it. I retain the right to revisit this one if needed, though. :D

 

I'm on the fence about Apologia Astronomy. It's a good course, but the chattiness gets me every time. I'll read something out loud, then expand or explain in my own words to the kids, then go back to reading aloud only to find what I just said printed there (but I only realize it halfway into the sentence).

[Dmmetler]

AIMS complete curriculum Science-too simple conceptually, too much teacher preparation required, and too many projects that would have worked GREAT had I only given birth to quadruplets. Still looking for that perfect fit.

 

Evan Moor Grammar and Punctuation-Lower grades were too easy, upper grades too much writing.

 

Shurley English-too much repetition, although DD loves the chants CD. MCT seems to be the right fit.

 

Hey, Andrew level 2. 10 pages on ONE word?

 

Elementary Spanish-too repetitive, and DD doesn't like learning from DVD teachers much-she's also the one child in the world who doesn't like the LfC A DVD (but loves the chant CDs).

Edited May 6, 2011 by dmmetler

[Paisley Hedgehog]

nm

[Deniseibase]

Misses this year -

 

Latin for Children A Activity Book - I must have the only child in the world who would rather do a regular worksheet than a crossword puzzle...Latin for Children is working FINE, just the activity book, which I loved, she hated!

 

SOTW3 Activity Book - most of the ideas were just too young for my 5th grader. We did some of the outside reading but skipped most of the activities. I'm keeping it tho for my younger kid.

 

Saxon/Hake Grammar and Writing 5, the writing portion only - this, like EVERY OTHER writing program we have ever tried, made dd cry. I WILL say she can write a coherent, if simplistic, paragraph now if required! But she still hates it.

[Kfamily]

Sorry, wrong thread!! I have more hits than misses here...

 

Our hits this year:

 

Renaissance and Reformation Times by Dorothy Mills for history combined with many AO Year 8 literature selections and adding Portable Renaissance Reader for primary sources

 

First Form Latin and L'Art de Lire still working well for French and Latin

 

Practical English for grammar

 

Singapore Math for my younger dd

 

Among the ... People series (Among the Forest People, Among the Pond People, etc.) from Yesterday's Classics for science/nature study for my younger dd

 

Italics handwriting

 

 

But, my miss is a big one...!

Misses:

Me and our horrible schedule this year (moving AGAIN in two weeks!)

Edited May 6, 2011 by Kfamily

[nicurn]

Misses:

Videotext Algebra

AAS

Rod & Staff 3

[Haiku]

Misses:

Videotext Algebra

 

 

Why was this a miss?

 

Tara

[Momling]

We dropped:

 

SOTW activity guide -- I love the idea... but all my youngest wanted to do was color the pictures. She didn't understand any of the reading and didn't care at all about. Plus if all it was was a coloring program, I didn't even like the style of the coloring pages. The hands on activities only distracted my kids from the point.

 

MCT - Fizzled midway through the year. We'll probably finish it up over the summer when we have some time, but I was disappointed a little bit. For the price, I didn't feel it delivered. I had to regularly explain the mistakes in the text. I'll hang on to it for my youngest in a year or two.

 

My daughter would like to drop:

TT5 - I don't know why. It started out so well. I gave her a choice of several programs and she *chose* it. Her complaint is that 24 math problems (plus the 5 practice) are way too many. So really, it's probably not about TT. She's certainly learned from it and retained the information, so I'm having her continue to the end on principal. We'll either go back to MM or move to Singapore.

 

None of these are bad programs, but for some reason, they didn't work all that well for us.

[VBoulden]

Abeka's Spelling and Poetry 1. But I am still in denial about how much we hate it. :tongue_smilie:

[Researcher]

Wordly Wise - DS really hated the workbook. We tried the online version and that works much better.

 

History Pockets - Too much copying, cutting, pasting, coloring, etc. DD enjoyed the coloring but I'm the one who spent time on the copying, cutting, and sometimes pasting.:glare:

 

Trail Guide to Geography - I liked the idea of this but it didn't work for us. I'm going to try again over the summer to see if it gets any better and decide if we'll use it next year.

 

HWT Cursive - HWT print had been successful for us, but I noticed DS's handwriting decline after starting cursive. We just switched to GDI and he is much happier with this approach.

 

Singapore Earlybird - Ugh! There was a lot of cutting and pasting in this that made it very ineffective for us. Essential A & B has been fantastic and I wish we would have started with those instead.

 

History Odyssey - Love the idea and some of the resources available, but I prefer SOTW overall. I still sometimes use the activities from some of the HO resources but SOTW has been much more streamlined for us. My kids also enjoy the SOTW audio so it's just been easier to stick with the SOTW AG that goes in the same order.

[Kipling]

Another FLL fail. I couldn't stand how scripted it was. That's the only curriculum we switched mid way through the year. I like R&S much better.

Other than that, I've been very happy with our school year.

[Critterfixer]

SWO was a bust. I have no idea how to teach it. It is frustrating to get through a complete book without learning a thing. But I gave it a full book to figure it out, so I think it's time to switch.

 

SOTW 1 Activity guide didn't work well. As much as I would love to prepare a greek feast, mummify a chicken (I really would--it seemed so much like my kind of project) and paint frescos when it comes down to it, I'm too tired! History is an afternoon subject and by the time we get there all of us really need to go stack rocks in the creek and throw the "vermit" for the puppy. Sadly, the extra reading doesn't seem to get covered either. We did coloring, but I prefer to pick my own from the Dover books. No SOTW Activity book for year two, anyway. There's a treasure trove of Knights and Castles things for us to use at the library.

 

Artistic Pursuits Book 1-3 also bombed. This is sad, actually, because I love, love, love the concept. But again, this is an afternoon subject and we are worn out. The ds7 boys are drawing all day, all week and all weekend as it is. I'm not quite ready to give up on this yet, because when we do it, they love it. Just got to find a way to get it done.

[Aurelia]

No 100% total misses this year. :tongue_smilie: (Thankfully!) But stuff that either had to be tweaked heavily or dropped:

 

Oak Meadow 2nd Grade - I love the idea, but there is just too little content. The second trimester had nothing in the way of history, though Ariel really liked the history stories in the first one. Science was all nature study, which became boring and repetitive. We loved the art ideas and have incorporated some of the LA and math stories, though.

 

Miquon and Professor B - Miquon is nice, but we were using it as a supplement and it was just too much. Prof B was ok, but we had to keep redoing lessons and I'm extremely unhappy with their customer service right now. I have sent 3 requests in writing to have my subscription canceled and they have not replied even once.

 

We dropped SSL before ever starting it because we didn't have enough time. I'm trying to focus on the basics and will add things in later once I'm comfortable with Ariel's skills.

[Floyd]

This was our first year homeschooling. We crammed on curriculum beforehand and were determined to stick with things once selected. Most everything turned out from okay-to-great, and we are sticking with the same choices for next year.

 

There are only two things worth mentioning here:

 

Spectrum Writing: Our daughter is the non-fiction type and we really wanted something more creative she could work on. I love this series (much more than most Spectrum books), but we felt the material was far too advanced unless you pick-and-choose, and we dropped it after two lessons. So we'll stick with just FLL/WWE for now and revisit adding this back in at some point.

 

History Pockets: We will use History Odyssey again next year but will probably forego the pockets for the same reasons given by everyone else who abandons the pockets. There are aspects of the pockets we do like such as vocabulary words, but we'll just work harder to add something in homemade.

[Aquinas Academy]

Our one big flop was AoPS Introduction to Algebra. DD 14 did it two years ago and loved it. This year DD 13 started it and cried through almost every math lesson.