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what were your winners and losers in curriculum this year?


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Winners:

 

SOTW 1

Life Of Fred: Fractions and Decimals and Percents

Thinkwell Pre-Algebra

CyberED Earth Science

A History of US

FLL 1/2

RightStart Math B

K12 Phonics 2nd year

Mark Kistler Art online subscription

Losers:

Powerglide Elementary Spanish

Explode the Code online subscription

 

Noelle

DS 7

DS 10

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I wasn't going to post anything, but I bothered to go through all 16 pages (??!!) so WHY NOT?

 

I too am getting pretty good at picking curriculum. I am also pretty good at finding stuff used... :)

 

All of these are MY opinions, my children might say otherwise...

 

Winners:

Dr. Art's Guide to Science

The Way Life Works

Michael Clay Thompson's L.A. (especially Caesar's English)

bits of Bravewriter

Singapore

Key to...

Any math lit. (i.e. Theoni Pappas, Murderous Maths etc)

Dead Famous Series

Picture the Renaissance by Jackdaw

AAS seems to be going well so far

Secular Homeschooling Magazine

GP Junior history 1-3

Classic Literature graphic novels

 

Losers:

Spellwell

GP SYRWL History 1

Anything teaching cursive

 

Looking forward to:

More MCT

History at our House

Joy Hakim's science series

Getting around to Minimus

Finally starting Rosetta Stone Italian

LofF fractions/ decimals

 

I have many wonderful things on my shelves waiting for me to get off my butt and use them.... hopefully.....

 

I know I am forgetting many things.....

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This was our first year so it was a lot of trial and error...

 

Likes: Rod and Staff just about all of it, except the Literature

I am not even a "textbooky" person but I love them

Teaching Textbooks 7

 

Dislikes: Rod and Staff Math 2

Saxon Math 2

Teaching Textbooks- yeah I know it is a like also, I am torn on this one

Latina Christiana

Pathway Readers 6 & 8

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Winners:

Dr. Art's Guide to Science

The Way Life Works

Michael Clay Thompson's L.A. (especially Caesar's English)

bits of Bravewriter

Singapore

Key to...

Any math lit. (i.e. Theoni Pappas, Murderous Maths etc)

Dead Famous Series

Picture the Renaissance by Jackdaw

AAS seems to be going well so far

Secular Homeschooling Magazine

GP Junior history 1-3

Classic Literature graphic novels

 

 

Dang, maybe we should compare notes. I wrote out a huge response to this thread and it went poof, so here goes (w/o the helpful links - too much trouble):

 

Winners:

 

Biology:

Exploring the Way Life Works (Hoagland, textbook version, not popular press)

Digital Frog (their entire set of DVDs - used for labs)

 

English:

IEW TWSS (kiddo does SO well with Andrew's format)

Analytical Grammar High School supplements

 

Mathematics:

Systematic Mathematics (love all of his stuff)

Math U See (doing Geometry, it's alright, but I wish SM had geo)

 

Language:

Goethe Institute E-learn (yes, it's "just" Auralog software, and it is expensive, but having a real, live, native speaking tutor contact him constantly has made it worth it)

 

Losers:

 

TRISMS, Expansion of Civilization (we did a modified History Makers for 7th-8th and it was great; this year, though, seemed too much like "a mile wide and an inch deep". Not the best route for kiddo).

 

Looking into:

 

MODG European History w/ supplements.

 

 

a

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  • 2 weeks later...
Winners

GWG

Singapore Math

 

Losers

We had a lot of those this year

Singapore Science My Pals are Here

Truthquest AHYS ( made it through it though)

Wordly Wise

 

I have seen a few people who didn't like wordly wise. I plan on using this for the first time with my 6th grader. What don't you like about it?

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Well, we had a good year...not many losers. Even the losers

were winners in years past for at least one of my other children.

 

Winners

Hurlbut's Story of the Bible

Get A Grip by TOPS Science

Story Book of Science

Queen's Language Lessons For The Elementary Child

Favorite Poems Old and New

Long List of Childhood of Famous Americans

Singapore Primary Math

Mathematics Their Way

Workjobs ll, Number Activities

The Reading Lesson

Explode The Code, books A,B & C

Mystery of History l

Handwriting Without Tears

The Melendy Family books

So many books from the library we couldn't keep track....

 

Losers

Reading Reflex (previous winner w/different child

RightStart Math A (previous winner)

Singapore EarlyBird Math

Edited by Geo
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Guest Grimby

You can find several very thorough lists of homeschool abbreviations on this forum on the first page. I was having the same issue and found the stickies with all that useful info. I even printed one out to reference and make notes as I'm currently curriculum shopping.

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WINNERS:

Saxon 6/5, 5/4, MUS Zeta

PL, LCI, LCII

SOTW II

CW, but we're kind of dragging with it

Spelling Workout

CC

 

 

Losers

WRTR

Harvey's Grammar (both bought b/c they were suggestions in CW)

Science-still trying to get through Janice Van Cleeve's series

Worldy Wise (I think I bought too difficult of a level, but ds just didn't like it)

VIE

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4th grade

 

Winners:

*Singapore math (including CWP)

*FLL 4

*SOTW

*HWT

*Brain Maths

*Spanish for Children (We started this only recently, and dh is a native speaker.)

*Science that I pulled together from various sources

*Piano lessons

*Fencing

*Homeschool group courses (drama, computers, and entrepreneurship)

 

Okay:

*Spelling Workout (I think it's a good curriculum, but it's boring to ds. I want to finish all levels, though.)

*The Complete Book of Maps & Geography (Ds finds it boring.)

*Wordly Wise (We'll be using something different next year.)

 

Losers:

*GWG 4 (Ds hated it! I think it was too much review for him and not enough parent involvement and discussion.)

*Writing Strands (We gave this up pretty quickly. It just wasn't our style.)

Edited by JudyJudyJudy
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Winners:

Phonics/Reading Pathway--kiddo loved the pyramids

SWR--like working a puzzle. Kiddo would squeal "I put a THREE there!" Or when sounding out a word, I could prompt "the third sound of A" and he'd pull it right out.

Singapore Math (1A&B): flexible. Just as much repetition as you want.

Math card games

E.B White and the various renditions of Homer by M.P. Osborne, Sutcliff and Coolidge: these were our most productive read-alouds for discussion of vocabulary, informal logic, literary technique (e.g. metaphor), and sheer hours of cuddle time.

Henry and Mudge

R.E.A.L. Sci level 1 bio. No hands-on flops. Kiddo loved growing a frog and a butterfly

SOTW

Vox Music Masters.

Katie and the Impressionists, etc.

What Makes a Degas a Degas etc.

Kids symphony series in Seattle. Kiddo loved to dress in a suit for this.

Field trips.

David Attenborough (Life of Birds, Life in the Undergrowth, etc).

 

 

Eh:

Plaid Phonics. K and A were fine last year, but it got bogged down this year.

ETC: fine through pre and books 1 and 2 last year, and then went too slow

SOTW workbook: neither of us like hands on "projects" for history...too much like busy-work. Liked the extra reading lists.

Artistic Pursuits. The materials are good, the projects sometimes over a 6 year old's head. Will pick up again this year.

 

Loser:

Worldly wise: bored us both

Miquon: liked the idea; kiddo does math in head and finds manipulatives slow and frustrating.

 

Newly started early favorites:

GWG

Rookie Read Alouds on various science subjects.

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What didn't you like about Minimus Secundus. Did you like the first book?
Wow... this is an old thread. :)

 

We both liked Minimus, but Secundus left her frustrated because she wasn't getting enough of the big picture. I thought it was its whole-to-parts nature, but she thrived with The Learnables, and now with Cambridge Latin, so there was more going on.

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for ds5

winners:

FLL

SOTW I

Kingfisher Animal Encyclopedia - sparked a lot of independent study of animals

Choosing Your Way Through the Ancient Past - a choose your own adventure book for history, great supplement to SOTW

pottery class - apparently he's pretty good!

 

OK:

Spelling Workout

 

losers:

Saxon I - way too slow

 

Also, several people said Real Science 4 Kids chemistry was a loser for them - why? I have looked at this curriculum as possibility for next year (not the upcoming year, we are doing earth science first) and it looked interesting at first glance.

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Winners for us were:

 

8th

Sonlight 100

Apologia Physical Science

Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra

IEW

 

1st

Abeka Phonics/language 1

the great outdoors

 

Losers:

 

8th

none here, finally have this learner figured out

 

1st

Winter Promise American Story 1 (skips around too much, bored my son to tears, literally)

 

Kelly

 

Dd 13

Ds 7

Dd 3

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DD6 loved anything put in front of her. She thought it was great that she was in real school instead of pre-school! We used the Abeka curriculum.

 

DD8

Winners:

Abeka Arithmetic 2

Critical Thinking: Reading, Thinking and Reasoning Skills B

Abeka Health, Safety and Manners 2

Usborne - What's the Earth made of? and Finding out about Mountains.

Abeka Our America 2

 

Okay: Spelling Workout B - too easy and she has problems with spelling

 

Losers:

Abeka Language 2 - The amount of writing overwhelmed her. Overall it's a good book. It will work for us if we modify the busywork.

Writing with Phonics 2 - again so much writing she was overwhelmed.

 

A good year in which we all learned. I guess that makes it successful! :001_smile:

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