LizzyBee Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 We have a chance to use Calvert for free as part of a study. I need some help making this decision! Here are my pros and cons. Pros: 1. I have chronic leukemia and am often too tired on the weekends to make K's schedule for the week. Without a schedule, we don't get as much done. 2. I work outside the home and my dh does a lot of the homeschooling. However, he has ADHD. The structure of the Calvert schedule might help. 3. K has ADHD. The structure of the Calvert curriculum would be a good thing for her. (There is a recurring theme here...structure, structure, structure!) Cons: 1. My daughter is dyslexic, and Calvert is not designed for dyslexic students. 2. Lack of flexibility within the curriculum. 3. Lack of flexibility in that we have to commit to implement the curriculum as written and complete periodic evaluations for the study. What would you do? Thanks for your input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tohru Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 I'd be concerned about the dyslexia. That con seems like a huge con to me. And sorry about the uphill battles in your life. :grouphug: I agree about the cons being a biggy- Is there another program in your area that might be a better fit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Do they give you a year or 9 months? When I used it for 2 of my children, it was the easiest curriculum to implement. However I do not know what type of curriculum that is needed to teach a dyslexic child, so this might not be a helpful factor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunD Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 When I read the description of the one Calvert is doing on their website, I didn't apply because it says you only get a 50% discount, and that's IF you're randomly selected to be in the Calvert group. Are they really offering it for free or is this a different study? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted December 15, 2011 Author Share Posted December 15, 2011 I am not sure whether we'd have 9 months or a year - I will have to ask about that. I will also check on whether it will be acceptable to read aloud or use audiobooks and scribe for her. DD does read, but it is slow and laborious unless she is interested in what she's reading. Amazingly, she also likes to write even though her spelling is pretty bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted December 15, 2011 Author Share Posted December 15, 2011 When I read the description of the one Calvert is doing on their website, I didn't apply because it says you only get a 50% discount, and that's IF you're randomly selected to be in the Calvert group. Are they really offering it for free or is this a different study? The emails I've received say that 50% is deducted from our order and 50% is reimbursed at the end. I haven't seen what's on the website; we received an email from Calvert and I responded to it. We then received an email saying that she was selected for the Calvert group. She completed the online assessments and then we received another email confirming she's in the Calvert group and we can order our materials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paisley Hedgehog Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 nm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunD Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 The emails I've received say that 50% is deducted from our order and 50% is reimbursed at the end. I haven't seen what's on the website; we received an email from Calvert and I responded to it. We then received an email saying that she was selected for the Calvert group. She completed the online assessments and then we received another email confirming she's in the Calvert group and we can order our materials. Ah, okay! Their description on the site only mentions the upfront discount, not the reimbursement. Interesting. I'm sorry, I also meant to address whether I would do it or not. I think it would depend on the degree to which my DD struggled with the dyslexia. If it hadn't caused many problems yet or they had been successfully addressed, I would think the good structure might outweigh the fact that it's not designed for dyslexic students. If she was struggling a lot, I might worry about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted December 15, 2011 Author Share Posted December 15, 2011 I'd ask if you could substitute Verticy for the Calvert Language Arts. You know that Verticy is a sister program to Calvert written specifically for dyslexia / language based learning differences? You get Verticy for your LA, Calvert for Core and Math. That would be great! I'm thinking they won't allow it because allowing major changes would invalidate the study, but I would love to use the Verticy writing. It doesn't hurt to ask, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paisley Hedgehog Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 nm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted December 15, 2011 Author Share Posted December 15, 2011 Ah, okay! Their description on the site only mentions the upfront discount, not the reimbursement. Interesting. I'm sorry, I also meant to address whether I would do it or not. I think it would depend on the degree to which my DD struggled with the dyslexia. If it hadn't caused many problems yet or they had been successfully addressed, I would think the good structure might outweigh the fact that it's not designed for dyslexic students. If she was struggling a lot, I might worry about that. When she was younger, I wouldn't have even considered using a box curriculum. At this point, I think it could be workable as long as we can make accommodations such as reading to her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 I just wanted to say how much I loved Calvert way back when. I really found it to be a quality program, and loved the structure. It was so well planned, easy to implement and follow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennsmile Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 I know when my mom used Calvert back in our early homeschool days (1994) the thing we had a hard time with was the lack of individualization. It was hard to ge ahead in one subject and behind in another, it could be done but it took some doing as everything was laid out for daily. I saw that study and wondered myself if I should apply just because. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted December 23, 2011 Author Share Posted December 23, 2011 I just wanted to say how much I loved Calvert way back when. I really found it to be a quality program, and loved the structure. It was so well planned, easy to implement and follow. This makes me want to try it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted December 23, 2011 Author Share Posted December 23, 2011 I know when my mom used Calvert back in our early homeschool days (1994) the thing we had a hard time with was the lack of individualization. It was hard to ge ahead in one subject and behind in another, it could be done but it took some doing as everything was laid out for daily. I saw that study and wondered myself if I should apply just because. And this makes me think we should keep doing what we're doing. Based on dd's standardized test last week, she improved by 1-2 years in every subject and skill in the past year. So what we're doing is working, even though I get stressed out thinking that we're not doing enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted January 7, 2012 Author Share Posted January 7, 2012 UPDATE: I ordered our Calvert curriculum yesterday. The books, etc should arrive next week, but in the meantime, I spent some time playing around on the internet resources. There are online review lessons, games, videos, etc. Discovery Streaming, BrainPop Jr, and BrainPop are all included. The entire math book is online and text-to-speech enabled. I looked through some of the manual, and I love how it's laid out. I am so excited to start this, and I think dd will love it! We are still allowed to supplement the Calvert lessons, so we'll continue using RS math and Barton Reading & Spelling just like we would if she were in public school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margaret in GA Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 UPDATE: I ordered our Calvert curriculum yesterday. The books, etc should arrive next week, but in the meantime, I spent some time playing around on the internet resources. There are online review lessons, games, videos, etc. Discovery Streaming, BrainPop Jr, and BrainPop are all included. The entire math book is online and text-to-speech enabled. I looked through some of the manual, and I love how it's laid out. I am so excited to start this, and I think dd will love it! We are still allowed to supplement the Calvert lessons, so we'll continue using RS math and Barton Reading & Spelling just like we would if she were in public school. I realize I'm late coming to this thread, but I must say we've been very pleased with Calvert this year. I think you can modify plenty as long as you're willing to read aloud when needed and help with her seat work. I don't feel boxed in at all and whenever we want to take something we've learned about to the next level, we do. For fun. :D Margaret Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5forMe Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 I used Calvert for 7th grade with my son and I really liked it. He learned a lot. It was very easy having everything planned out and we could go down a rabbit trail if we wanted. There were many suggestions for further information on a topic (like books to look for at the library, DVD's etc). The interactive computer games were a hit with my son. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susankenny Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 If it was offered to me free of charge, I would personally try it. I have tried many other things to no avail & Calvert would be no different - you just don't know unless you try it. I believe it can still be flexible, as you are in control of how you use it. Like any boxed curriculum, you can tweak it to meet your daughter's needs and supplement when necessary. Just my 2 cents:) Susan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHASRADA Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 We also used Calvert for 7th grade and learned an incredible amount; more than if we had done our "usual". For free, without the teacher grading service, it would be a no-brainer to go ahead and try it. I say without the teacher grading service, because that puts you under enormous pressure to complete specific assignments in a specific way every week. If there is only periodic assessment testing, that shouldn't be too bad. Just make sure the company is aware of your dd's dyslexia and find out what IEP accommodations they will let you use during the tests (hopefully whichever ones her evaluator recommended). Otherwise, the testing results might be skewed depending on what they are trying to measure for their own research purposes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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