Will I want to hang myself if I use all Abeka??

[Love2Smile]

For my 5th and 8th grade dd's?? All except math...

 

yes, im full of questions today!:001_smile:

[TracyR]

Not if you feel that would be best for your children:>) I know a mom in our area that uses all Abeka for her children because that was what they used when they were in private school . She's been using it all for years . So I guess its possible to use all Abeka and be happy :>)

[Donna A.]

I've known others who use and love Abeka and have no plans to switch. I've considered it simply for organization and consistency.

[G5052]

I personally don't like most of their materials, so it wouldn't be a consideration for me. I'd be OK with all BJUP, but still prefer a mish-mash of things that are do-the-next-thing. No more planning in this house!

[Ellie]

I know that there are some who happily use all ABeka and their dc live to tell about it.

 

But I also know that since 1982, I have talked with MANY people who used all ABeka the first year they homeschooled...which also happened to be the last year they homeschooled.

 

If you like doing school at home, ABeka might be for you. It would not be for me. If I wanted my dc to Do School, I would send them there.

 

Not that I'm the least bit opinionated :tongue_smilie:

 

BTW, I took my dd out of a school that used all ABeka; dd was burned out before the end of first grade. That's the same scenario I see with all those hsers who used all ABeka and never made it past the first year (some didn't make it for a whole year, even).

[Rhondabee]

Then, it seemed like their social studies was very one-sided. How do you study the history of the Mid-East without mentioning Islam?

 

Then, it seemed like their science was really nit-picky about little things that even *I* didn't notice in the voluminous textbook. I had to teach to the test, and at some point, just asked, "Why is this so important?" It didn't seem to be laying a foundation for later work; it just seemed like a bunch of trivia.

 

Then, the kicker was the umpteenth "story" in "literature" (and I use those terms VERY loosely) about the wonderful, WASP missionary going into the God-forsaken land of the horrible pagans and suddenly, miraculously, everything is okay. Maybe they would be encouraging stories in a Guideposts magazine, but I didn't consider them "literature".

 

Now, I did look at the 7th grade Lit book to appease my IRL friend who *loves* Abeka, and it did have more true literature in it. But, it was abridged for ease-of-reading as well as simply a short excerpt. This friend *loves* Abeka, as I mentioned, so I know it *is* possible. And, her kids seem to do it all themselves, and are finished by 10am every day. They are wonderful, sweet, kind of "Leave it to Beaver"-ish people who will just do anything for you. Still, I would never trade my homeschool experience for hers.

 

 

ymmv, obviously!

Rhonda

[Melissa in CA]

Then, it seemed like their science was really nit-picky about little things that even *I* didn't notice in the voluminous textbook. I had to teach to the test, and at some point, just asked, "Why is this so important?" It didn't seem to be laying a foundation for later work; it just seemed like a bunch of trivia.

Rhonda

 

:iagree::iagree::iagree: We even ran across this in their jr. high/high school history! I would look at the tests and wonder why in the WORLD my child would need to know about some of the things that were on the test. Things and people I have never in my life heard about! I too started teaching to the test periodically, as well as going through the tests and marking the questions they didn't have to answer...but if they could answer them I would give them extra credit. I also felt like Abeka quizzed and tested us to death. Ugh! We used all Abeka (with videos) for two full years, and I have not been tempted for even a millisecond to return to any of their curriculum. Bleck! :tongue_smilie:

 

Sorry Abeka lovers, but there ya have it....my not so humble opinion! ;)

[mchel210]

I feel for my son, abeka was too much for me to do with him...but ...my friend did 7th grade with erh two kids...all abeka...and loved it. She said it was smooth and fast. She was able to complete the entire day in 4 hours with no problems.

[elegantlion]

We used Abeka for the first 3 years of schooling (1st -3rd). I kept wondering when they were going to schedule real books. My son hated those readers. We started to use their math this year and my son balked. Math was his favorite subject and if we had continued with Abeka he would have burnt out on it. We switched to Singapore.

 

However I know some people use all Abeka and love it

 

My biggest pet peeve with Abeka is that once I was done with the books and ready to sell them a new edition was available which cut my resale value to almost nothing. It seemed we were a year ahead of getting updated editions. I've had to practically give away the materials.

 

I also didn't like how the curriculum guides were written to a classroom. It required too much of my time to read through and decide what needed to be done.

 

Off the soapbox now. Like I said, some people love using it, but it wasn't for us.

[Love2Smile]

wow, thanks for all the replies! I am now reconsidering Sonlight again this year!

[Mesa]

Look into Winter Promise as well. It's like sonlight but it schedules all sorts of activities into the week.

[Lori]

I used Abeka for k-3 for phonics and math now I am using a bunch of different things but it worked for us. What works for 1 family may not work for another that is the beauty of homeschooling and being able to pick what you want for your kids

[mcconnellboys]

Well, *I* would - but you might be completely different, so do what you think is best for your family!

[LizzyBee]

I think maybe the key is to be prepared to adapt the curriculum and don't feel like you have to do all of it. I have one friend who has used Abeka for about 10 years and she's very happy with it. OTOH, I have two friends who used Abeka and were constantly stressed out. They started at 8:30 in the morning and had a hard time finishing by 4:30. I converted one of them to TWTM, and the other sent her kids back to school.

[Jackie in AR]

I know several families who use all A Beka and they seem perfectly content.

[LND1218]

I loved Abeka when I was in a classroom. I did one year at home and :banghead:I wouldn't do it again!

[G5052]

One of my sister-in-laws just graduated her oldest, and she used A Beka with Saxon math all the way through, PK-12th grade. They are generally done with school well before lunch. With four children, she averages at least two hours a night grading and recording all the work, but she does no planning or curriculum shopping either.

 

So yes, it can be done. It just depends on if that's what you want.:confused: