hsingscrapper Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 and were using free resources for all of the other subjects or re-using subjects with younger siblings. What would pay for and which would you use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinyhappypeople Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Math, because my older DD finally has a program that works for her (yay!) and I don't want to mess with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgiana Daniels Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I chose math then remembered there are a lot of great freebie resources out there. Maybe I'd pick LA now? LOL! It's one of those two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I chose history because it's my weakest subject to teach and I need the help organizing things chronologically and making it come alive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamatohaleybug Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I chose math. Everything else I could comfortably teach on my own with freebies but we've found a wonderful math curriculum and I'd want to stick with it. I love CLE math. Great and very inexpensive. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertmum Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Math is my weakest point and the one I need help the most with! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TracyP Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I chose Math and Math Mammoth is the program I would choose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silliness7 Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 math. It's foundational and it's not my comfort zone. I need it all laid out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmom Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I say LA. That is my weak point and the one I stress the most about. Math is easy and easily figured out and taught. Well for me anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greta Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I chose math because I feel it's just much too important to skimp on. But, that said, MEP is great and it's free. Language Arts would be my second choice. These skill areas are where I think formal curriculum is so important. The subject areas (history, science, etc.) can be largely covered with internet access and a library card. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wy_kid_wrangler04 Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 (edited) I chose Language Arts simply because while there are free resources available, it is the hardest to get good free resources for and be comprehensive. Math is actually the easiest to get free resources for. I would go with an all in one if its a financial thing, but if not then I would buy separate grammar and writing, For reading just utilize your library with a good reading list. HTH ETA: Have you looked at the Ambleside Online Lists? Edited July 7, 2011 by wy_kid_wrangler04 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonia Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Math for me too. I wouldn't have a problem doing history and science with library books and, if I had to, I could find enough free resources for language arts. I need more hand-holding with math (and love RightStart math just for that reason!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelAR05 Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Language Arts - I guess because I think it is important to be able to communicate well and the one I am most uncomfortable teaching. That was a hard decision though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarlaS Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I say LA. That is my weak point and the one I stress the most about. Math is easy and easily figured out and taught. Well for me anyways. :iagree: I voted the same. You can khanacademy.org for math & even quite a bit of science, library for science, history, art etc. but for LA? :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAutumnOak Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I chose Language Arts simply because while there are free resources available, it is the hardest to get good free resources for and be comprehensive. Math is actually the easiest to get free resources for. I would go with an all in one if its a financial thing, but if not then I would buy separate grammar and writing, For reading just utilize your library with a good reading list. HTH :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Math. It is a huge pain to make a math curriculum that has all topics in the right order and designing enough good practice problems that illustrate just the one new thing or lead the student to discover the next new thing. It takes a vast amount of time. (I have a PhD in theoretical physics, so am definitely able to teach math - but using free websites and no book ends at the latest with algebra) We use AoPS as of 6th grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SorrelZG Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I voted LA and specifically it would be for Latin .. unless there's some awesome LA all-in-one that includes Latin and writing, amongst everything else, that I don't know about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpnick in nc Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Math. It is a huge pain to make a math curriculum that has all topics in the right order and designing enough good practice problems that illustrate just the one new thing or lead the student to discover the next new thing. It takes a vast amount of time. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 (edited) I didn't vote because I have two I'm teaching, and the choice would be different for each. I would choose writing for my daughter... and science for my son. Edited July 7, 2011 by Geo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I was really torn between science and LA, and chose LA, but now wish I had selected science. I can find free things for other subjects that I like, MEP, Webster's Speller, Sheldon's PLL, tons of classic books for literature and history, but I have yet to find a free source for science, especially if the restriction that all other subjects be free extends to supplies for experiments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I voted math because the free math programs available aren't as open and go for me, plus like a pp, we'd want to use something like AoPS or at least good text book like Foerester's for algebra on up, and those subjects will be happening probably around 6th grade here. LA I could handle with free resources. I've seen some pretty awesome vintage grammar and composition texts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissel Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 math. It's foundational and it's not my comfort zone. I need it all laid out. My thoughts exactly--at least until high school, when I'm less comfortable teaching science at that level. Then...I don't know, I think it would still be math! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I chose math. Which math program I'd choose would depend on the age of the child and how he or she learns best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I choose Math. I don't think the free options are the easiest to use and it so foundational. However, Math is one of my easiest subject, being easy for me doesn't make it necessarily easy to teach . Plus as pp mentioned it is a matter of introducing material in an appropriate order, providing enough practice and also wanting to make sure they have a conceptual understanding, that I wasn't necessarily taught and is not readily available on the free materials. I think the free resources for LA are better than those for Math. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ERue Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I chose math because everything else can be readily found in a library, though books, at museums, experiences, etc. And because I'm terrible at math myself, so I wouldn't even know where to start with out a curriculum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeghanL Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 With Khan Academy being free, I chose History! I love the Veritas Press history program though..so that's probably why. I"ll be buying that forever :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Math is the one subject where I feel like I *need* to have a curriculum to follow. Science for logic & rhetoric I'd need a curriculum as well. The rest I could wing if I needed to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenneinCA Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 (edited) I guess I'll be different. For my oldest (dd12, an eighth grader in the Fall) it would be Latin. I have the background to teach math without a curriculum. It would be terribly time intensive for me, but I could do it. Same with other subjects. But there is no way I can get up to speed to teach her Latin fast enough. Latin is the one course I totally out sourced for her last year. For my boys (ds7, a second grader in the Fall and ds10, a sixth grader in the Fall) it would be music. I can do the rest if I had to, but I can not teach piano at a level that is useful to my boys. I don't have the skills. We are also taking a Japanese class, there is no way I can teach that either. If I had to prioritize my spending I would start with the classes and subjects that I can't teach and work from there. I can't teach any foreign language and I can't teach music. Then work down the list from most labor intensive for me to learn to the least. Next would be writing and grammar, then history, then science, and finally math. Edited July 8, 2011 by JenneinAZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keyjoh62080 Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I would have to choose Math. I finally found what works and want to stick with it. I LOVE Rod & Staff Math. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Well, for me, it would be either math, science, history, or language arts. Which I would choose to buy would depend on what I had available to me for free in the other subjects. If I had a great library system I could use, along with online resources, that would cover science and history. If I didn't like KISS grammar or some of the other free resources for LA (or didn't have a library that could supply additional resources), then I might buy LA. If I didn't like MEP math, or other free math resources, depending on the level of math you're doing (Khan Academy, Hippocampus, the free middle school stuff someone just posted here, etc.) then I might buy math.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hopeallgoeswell Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I chose music. History and science can be covered with a free scope and sequence accompanied by a library card. MEP for math. There are plenty of free language arts books on GoogleBooks (like Primary Language Lessons). There are free foreign language courses online or a friend who speaks another language. I could not teach music myself even though I played for six years. I would pay for someone else to teach it. All in all, I think it comes down to which subject is your least favorite/comfortable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punks in Ontario Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I'd pick LA, mostly because I'm not very good at it. I also love CLE for that since it's so easy to use. For math I'd use MEP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama2Many4 Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I chose math, and MCP math is what we use. It's the best mastery math program I've found. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NittanyJen Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Definitely science. Math, English, history... All easy-least to teach on my own through high school. But I need to buy good toys for science! Jen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I can't imagine any English-related product that would be pricey; not history, either. In fact, I could do almost everything pretty inexpensively...but math...well, once we're into algebra, all bets are off. If TT or Chalkdust or Saxon Teacher or whatever had been available when my dc were home, I'd have hocked Mr. Ellie to buy those, lol. Maybe science, too, at the high school level, but since I can only choose one for this poll, I'll go with math. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skueppers Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 For me it would be German. German books are not available at the library. :) We spend far more on German than on any other subject -- or even all other subjects combined. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 When I couldn't afford curricula, I couldn't afford a lot of other things. Never mind paper and ink, but I also usually had to ration food and heat. When I've been down to washing clothes in the bathtub, and picking every tiny scrap of meat off the chicken bones and rolling out my own pasta by hand to make a pot of soup, I've been most happy with a Saxon math book, and a KJV Bible and some supportive resources for it. The KJV is THE foundational book of a Great Books education, and with the plethora of free online support materials including free dramatized audio, it trains a child's ear for older literature. And without gas to get to the library and the internet getting cut off, there is plenty of time for Saxon drill and kill :-) Next I made sure to aquire several broken but overlapping sets of encyclopedias. Even with the internet up, it still was nice to have hardcopies. As we aquired nicer sets. older sets got cut up for the illustrations. So my money went into the Saxon book. The Bible stuff pretty much fell into my lap. And the encyclopedias were an answer to prayer and a constant treasure hunt. The rest...well...I did my best :-0 When my birthday came around, I spent it on Latin and Greek materials, and the most basic of lab materials. But the thing to remember is that when you cannot afford curricula, there is so much else going on. When your most basic needs as a human being are not being met, it's hard to concentrate on school work. You need to keep things VERY simple! The basic philosophy behind LCC and the Robinson Curriculum works well when living in poverty. The 3Rs with extra math, or the 3Rs with classical languages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChicoryChick Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I chose Language Arts simply because while there are free resources available, it is the hardest to get good free resources for and be comprehensive. Math is actually the easiest to get free resources for. I would go with an all in one if its a financial thing, but if not then I would buy separate grammar and writing, For reading just utilize your library with a good reading list. HTH :iagree: Me too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Testimony Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 The truth is if you search, all the major subjects are out there. There are so many websites that will teach math, reading, writing, spelling, and grammar. There are a ton. Then you have your local library will give you science, geography, and history. You don't need to purchase one penny on them. However, music is a subject that I pay for already. I would have to pay for that anyway. It was a toss up between music and art. Blessings, Karen http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowWhite Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Math Mammoth, best value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kolamum Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 I voted art because I can easily cover everything else. Either we all ready own something that's perfectly could and can be used or we could easily do our own thing. Art is the place where I really stumble and struggle and even with a curriculum I have issues! :lo: In fact, if I could only chose one thing, I'd pretty much sign my kids up for art lessons if I could find someone in my area to teach them. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 Math (Singapore) because I could teach language arts with no curriculum or only free resources if needed. That is not true (for me) of math. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 I can't imagine any English-related product that would be pricey.... You must not be using MCT :D Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freerange Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 It used to be swimming lessons, but now we'd be ok with just an annual pass to the pool. Maths, I'd use mep & ncert. English, history & science we could cover using the library & tv. Art, so long as we had pencils and paper, would be ok. Music lesson s are nice to have, but not imho essential. For latin I would struggle to use library materials, and with Lively Latin it's dd1's favourite subject, so we'd probably pick that. However, if the requirement were to cover all the years through to starting college, we'd need to pay for exam fees. £80/subject for at least 5 subjects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SorrelZG Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 I appreciate your "been there, done that" experience. It really helps with my focus and lessens my "what if .." anxiety. When I couldn't afford curricula, I couldn't afford a lot of other things. Never mind paper and ink, but I also usually had to ration food and heat. When I've been down to washing clothes in the bathtub, and picking every tiny scrap of meat off the chicken bones and rolling out my own pasta by hand to make a pot of soup, I've been most happy with a Saxon math book, and a KJV Bible and some supportive resources for it. The KJV is THE foundational book of a Great Books education, and with the plethora of free online support materials including free dramatized audio, it trains a child's ear for older literature. And without gas to get to the library and the internet getting cut off, there is plenty of time for Saxon drill and kill :-) Next I made sure to aquire several broken but overlapping sets of encyclopedias. Even with the internet up, it still was nice to have hardcopies. As we aquired nicer sets. older sets got cut up for the illustrations. So my money went into the Saxon book. The Bible stuff pretty much fell into my lap. And the encyclopedias were an answer to prayer and a constant treasure hunt. The rest...well...I did my best :-0 When my birthday came around, I spent it on Latin and Greek materials, and the most basic of lab materials. But the thing to remember is that when you cannot afford curricula, there is so much else going on. When your most basic needs as a human being are not being met, it's hard to concentrate on school work. You need to keep things VERY simple! The basic philosophy behind LCC and the Robinson Curriculum works well when living in poverty. The 3Rs with extra math, or the 3Rs with classical languages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abacus2 Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 Even though, or maybe because, I'm a math teacher, I chose math. It would be the most difficult to cover with library resources. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy to monkeys Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 Cle all the way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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