Do we have a curriculum winners and losers thread yet?

[Hilary]

Biggest winners for my 11th grader were Pennsylvania Homeschoolers AP classes. These were his first AP classes and he took U.S. History (Mrs. Richman), World History (Mrs. Harrison) and Psychology (Ms. Gonzales). He thrived on the interaction with the teachers and the other students, especially in U.S. History. Each teacher had a very different style, and I think it was helpful for him to adapt to each one. We'll see how his scores on the tests are, but he certainly felt well-prepared for them, and his confidence in his writing ability has improved immensely.

 

Biggest loser was BJU Chemistry. He pooped out midway through the class. He wouldn't listen to the tapes because he hated the teacher, and he found the book difficult to understand. Consequently, it looks like he'll complete just three years of high school science.

[LisaCA]

High School Winners:

 

Apologia Biology

A Beka Health (all grades) We use it every other year.

Saxon

[lwilliams1922]

 

Losers:

 

How to Read a Book

 

\.

 

 

my dd 12 is a book worm. she goes through books faster than I can keep up with.

 

I decided how to read a book would be good for her sence her constant reading is mostly for entertainment.

 

she said how to read was over her head.

 

I'm not giving up though. I just got a copy of the study guide.

I'm going to work through the questions with her.

the more I see in the book the more I like it.

[Michelle in GA]

Biggest winners for my 11th grader were Pennsylvania Homeschoolers AP classes. These were his first AP classes and he took U.S. History (Mrs. Richman), World History (Mrs. Harrison) and Psychology (Ms. Gonzales). He thrived on the interaction with the teachers and the other students, especially in U.S. History. Each teacher had a very different style, and I think it was helpful for him to adapt to each one. We'll see how his scores on the tests are, but he certainly felt well-prepared for them, and his confidence in his writing ability has improved immensely.

 

Biggest loser was BJU Chemistry. He pooped out midway through the class. He wouldn't listen to the tapes because he hated the teacher, and he found the book difficult to understand. Consequently, it looks like he'll complete just three years of high school science.

 

 

Was this the BJU DVD version with Mr. Harmon?

[Storm Bay]

Our only pure high school course has been Algebra I.

 

Clear winners: Dolciani 1965. Gelfand's.

 

Runners up: Dolciani 1975, Lial's Beginning Algebra.

 

Losers: Jacobs (too boring for dd,) and Teaching Textbook (way to easy, no meat.)

 

Not tried, but bought very, very cheaply as backup: Foerster's. We hear it has some merit to it and it's here in case dd or her siblings need to read something else to understand it.