sample vs actual curriculum

[JaneP]

I'm wanting to share our collective wisdom here.

 

If the curriculum you use has samples online do you think the samples are a good representative of the rest of the curriculum?

 

Here are my general and random thoughts (for what it is worth)....

 

Weaver - I don't even think there are much in the way of samples online of this one but I was pretty impressed with the amount of info when the package arrived. I certainly didn't realise almosy every week was color coded according to grade level from the information I saw online. We used it for one year.

 

Sonlight - haven't bought this but hope to one day. I would never have considered it until they started putting 3 week samples of their IGs on their website. Before that I just thought it was a schedule of when to read the books in their package.

 

 

This is not intended to be a criticism of any curriculum but is for those of us who are a bit isolated and don't have homeschool conferences or homeschool friends nearby. I know I really rely on the online samples and I am always curious if they really represent the actual curriculum.

[JaneP]

:lurk5:

[texasmama]

We use Sonlight, and the samples are a fair representation of the actual curriculum. In fact, as you noted, the sample IS a portion of the actual Instructor's Guide. The remainder of the IG is similar.

[kalanamak]

The RSO samples are good, IMO, but the SWS&V samples don't do the book justice.

[Tabrett]

I like it best when a curriculum shows you 3 sample lessons; one from the beginning, one from the middle and one from the end of the year.

 

I don't like it when they only show you their first lesson. Many times the first lesson is a introduction or a review from the previous level. I don't think the first lesson is a good representation of most curricula.

 

But the worst a curriculum can do is give NO SAMPLE AT ALL! Honestly, how does a curriculum expect to be sold from a written description. All companies describe their product as the best.:confused:

Edited May 10, 2011 by Tabrett

[RootAnn]

The Writing Tales samples are a good example of the actual curriculum if you take both the student & instructor pages together.

 

I'm trying to think of another curriculum I bought after looking at the samples . . . . . . . . yeah, that's about it, I think.

[Virg]

We just received MFW ECC and it was very similar to the samples I could see, I got exactly what I expected.

 

We also just bought Singapore Math for the first time. It wasn't what I expected at all and I had a hard time deciding what we needed etc due to the lack of information. I am pleased with it though

[JaneP]

I like it best when a curriculum shows you 3 sample lessons; one from the beginning, one from the middle and one from the end of the year.

 

I don't like it when they only show you their first lesson. Many times the first lesson is a introduction or a review from the previous level. I don't think the first lesson is not a good representation of most curricula.

 

But the worst a curriculum can do is give NO SAMPLE AT ALL! Honestly, how does a curriculum expect to be sold from a written description. All companies describe their product as the best.:confused:

 

:iagree: especially with the statement that curriculum providers should provide a sample of the beginning, middle and end of their curriculum. That would be great for something like HOD's Little Hearts for His Glory which only shows the first week. I dismissed it for my K student because it looked too easy and now I wish I had considered it more seriously. I think it could have been really good for her....

[JaneP]

We just received MFW ECC and it was very similar to the samples I could see, I got exactly what I expected.

 

We also just bought Singapore Math for the first time. It wasn't what I expected at all and I had a hard time deciding what we needed etc due to the lack of information. I am pleased with it though

 

I would like to use MFW ECC when my youngest dd is old enough so that is great to know!

[NittanyJen]

I loved the samples at Pandia Press (History Odyssey). That's what sold me on their program; and we were actually doing REALLY well with no set curriculum at all. HO came pretty close to mirroring what we were doing on our own, but I just needed a little break from the race to keep just ahead of the kids and planning out their reading (we have a decent library, but I'd have to plan weeks ahead sometimes to get interlibrary loans in time for some books I wanted, after researching them first to find what I thought we'd want).

 

From their own website, here's the description of what you get by downloading a sample, and it is accurate. Don't be put off by the "beginning" part of the course-- they're talking some 80 pages of material:

 

 

So, Pandia Press is offering you a chance to try out our courses before  you buy. Each file below contains the beginning portion of a course. The  files include the table of contents, introductions, schedules,  applicable worksheets, applicable maps (for History Odyssey), applicable  appendices, and the first several lessons; enough of the course to keep  you busy for several weeks. If you find you are enjoying a course and  want to continue, simply click the handy link inside the PDF file to  purchase the eBook, or order a print copy from one of our preferred vendors. If not, well. . . that's one less for the used curriculum sale!

 

 

Jen

http://hillandalefarmschool.blogspot.com/

[Haiku]

I really dislike it when Latin programs show you their pronunciation guide as part of their sample. You can find Latin pronunciation guides anywhere. Don't waste precious pages of your sample on information that isn't specific to your program!!

 

Tara

[Penelope]

Pandia Press is great for that.

 

SWS&V

 

Someone Help! What is this, please?

[Amirah]

i am with the OP i live in an area where there isnt really a big homeschooling conference like in the US and i don't have any friends that homeschool yet. so i have to choose everything by samples.

 

normally i check if amazon US has the books because they tend to give really good amounts of preview pages. i also google it to see if there is a blog with someone who uses it so i can get a feel for it a little bit

[saja1029]

SWS&V - Soaring with Spelling & Vocabulary?

[Just Robyn]

I feel that McRuffy offers a good amount of sample pages, and there are pages from different parts of the curriculum, not just the beginning. I agree with the pp about HO. Their "try it before you buy it" deal is really good.

 

I think OM should put up more than one lesson. Three would be nice, especially since it is so expensive.

 

I think Trail Guide to World Geography has no sample, and it turned out to not be something I wanted to use. But I guess it wasn't enough to make me never buy anything that has no sample pages up because I bought a few of these from rfwp. I haven't had time to go through them thoroughly enough to make a decision, but if I don't like them I'll be kicking myself.

[nansk]

I agree that programs should show one beginning (easy), one middle (advanced) and one ending (challenging) lesson in their samples. Esp. writing and grammar programs.

 

I also agree with Tara about the Latin programs that show pronunciation guides in their sample. (LOL)

 

I bought Writing Tales 1, Igniting Your Writing 1 and 2 and Math Mammoth because I liked the ample samples very much.

[mrsrevmeg]

The samples available on Tapestry of Grace were part of the deciding factor for my purchase. Year One had a sample of the first three weeks, Year Two had a sample from the middle of the year. So, I was able to get a feel of how things get progressively deeper and more involved. It was fabulous! (okay, I just discovered that the Year 2 is not available because it is being updated, but Year 1 IS available)

[sagira]

What sold me on Math Mammoth were the samples. We're happy with it and ds is understanding.

 

I also enjoy the Pandia Press samples -- thinking about it for Fall 2012 - I think they use SOTW 3 for the Renaissance period too.

[kristinannie]

The RSO samples are good, IMO, but the SWS&V samples don't do the book justice.

 

 

What is SWS&V?

[oraetstudia]

I love being able to get a good feel for a curriculum from samples. I agree that Pandia Press has great samples. As does RS4K.

 

MCT gives several samples, but I couldn't get much of a feel for what I was buying until the whole thing was in my hands.

 

One curriculum I would like to see more of is TRISMs. I think I would probably like it a whole lot, but I'm not spending that kind of money on something that gives me 1!!! page to look at.

[Penelope]

The Peace Hill Press products I have used have good samples that represent the products well.

 

I was just noticing that IEW has a number of different pages sampled in their writing supplement guides.

[SEGway]

Voskamp's website included the first three chapters of A Child's Geography. That helped me figure out that it was more earth-science-y (I know, that's not a real word) than cultural geography. And, I liked what I saw enough to scour the boards for a used copy. :)

 

I think, especially if the recommended age ranges for a certain material are fairly wide, it's helpful to see a bigger sample to see if your kids fall into the target audience.

[Guest RecumbentHeart]

I've come to the conclusion that Living Book's Curriculum's samples do not do them justice. Their samples are of weeks 8 and 9 of their schedule but most of the information for fully implementing the curriculum is in the beginning of each term (weeks 8 and 9 are the last two weeks of the first term) if not entirely separate from the schedule altogether. I think they'd do better providing the table of contents so you could see what all was in the teacher's guide you're paying quite a bit for so it's clearly evident there is far more in there than the schedule and then also a sample from the beginning of the term as well as the end. Perhaps I should email them with this suggestion.

[kalanamak]

What is SWS&V?

 

Soaring with Spelling and Vocab, by the writer of Growing with Grammar.

[Annabel Lee]

Like Amirah, I live where there aren't any conventions, but there are other hsers around my area. For a decision on math between Horizons, Abeka, and Saxon, I once just borrowed used books from local hsers to get a better feel. Abeka only shows one or two pages per book on their site.

 

For programs that are all-in-one or multi-subject like TOG or MFW, I *WISH* they would create a detailed scope & sequence. Those 2 particular companies do have great online samples, but since TOG covers literature, I want to see a specific list of skills that will be covered in each level of each year. BJU has a S&S for their Reading and English (grammar & writing) programs; this is similar to what I wish TOG, MFW, and the like would put up for all their skill subjects. Tell me what sorts of literary terms are covered, what types of poems will be read, what sorts of writing will be done, etc.

 

Back on topic, CLE has very good online samples of each light unit within each grade. BJU doesn't have very good online samples, despite having a good S&S, IMO. They have a little, but not enough for me. I've looked at BJU more over at cbd than their own site. Biblioplan has a lot of samples and detailed descriptions.

[boscopup]

I've looked at BJU more over at cbd than their own site.

 

Yeah, I LOVE looking at samples at cbd! If a product doesn't have much on their own website, I hop over to cbd and also RR (though they are sometimes light on the sample) and get a better look. Sometimes even if the sample is skimpy, it might be different enough pages to get a better feel for the program.

 

Sometimes RR will post a 1 page interior sample, and it doesn't show the program at all. I hate that! Cbd usually does a better job of showing useful samples, I think.