s/o of "what's the big deal" thread

[Nakia]

I was just wondering if you use a curriculum that doesn't much attention here or gets a lot of negative attention? A curriculum you absolutely love? What is it?

 

The first one that comes to my mind is definitely R&S math. We have used it for 6 years, and it's worked beautifully for my mathy girl and my not so mathy girl. My youngest will start it in the fall. I think it is a great curriculum, and both my girls have a very solid foundation in math.

 

Another that I love that a lot of people don't is MFW K. It is so sweet, so gentle, so fun! I just love it, and I'm a little sad that I won't ever have another K'er to use it with.

 

Share!

[MouseBandit]

Well, I'm not even fully educated in it yet, and haven't started yet (oldest child at home is almost 4yo, lol) but we will be doing the Principle Approach, and what little I've seen hasn't been, um, super positive. :-) But we are sold-out for it, and are SUPER excited! It just really suits our family. My in-laws started learning about it after their kids were all graduated, and they sent my husband to learn more about it, and he was immediately sure that it was the way he wanted to go with his kids. When we first got married and I started learning about hs, even without them telling me all that, it was what I totally gravitated towards as well, although I was pretty intimidated by it at first.

 

Anyways, yeah - Principle Approach aka Noah Curriculum.

[Skadi]

Rosetta Stone. Maybe it's because we've used the newer version and the old ones garnered a bad reputation? I'm not sure. I love that it has voice recognition software, tests, review and more. It is pricey, but we can reuse it for each child. It truly is independent wok for the student, and I liked it much better than the competition I looked at (we have German, and we'll probably add French or Spanish later).

[chepyl]

I love RS4K. It gets really mixed reviews, some are really bad, but my son has learned so much from it!! He loves the pictures. It works great for us as a fun addition to the three r's.

[sewingmama]

Moving Beyond the Page.

 

It seems to get mixed reviews and doesn't seem to be popular but it's exactly what I wanted in a curriculum and is working well for us - so we are happy with it.

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

Kathryn Stout's Design a Study, we use the Maximum Math. Love it. Takes all the guess work out of math. Its a list of math skills needed for each grade level from K-8th. Pick a skill, work on it, review it a couple of times, check it off. Made the tears stop for dd.

Mystery of History,I know people use it but it does not get talked about much. We are having a great year with it and plan to do all 4 volumes if the last volume gets printed. When I asked my son how he liked it he said it's the first history thing that did not put him to sleep.

Latin Alive. My son and I are going through this book. It is easy to use and can be broken into small lessons.

[sagira]

Rosetta Stone. Maybe it's because we've used the newer version and the old ones garnered a bad reputation? I'm not sure. I love that it has voice recognition software, tests, review and more. It is pricey, but we can reuse it for each child. It truly is independent wok for the student, and I liked it much better than the competition I looked at (we have German, and we'll probably add French or Spanish later).

 

We like it too! :)

 

I like using Kathryn Stout's Design a Study Natural Speller, History Guides, and now the critical reading comprehension one (just bought it - can't remember name - haven't used it yet). ETA: Critical Conditioning! It's by chance that I got the History Guide from a friend of mine whose house was too small to fit her books. She ended up giving me the books, and the History Guide was in it. I use it as a resource to make sure I cover the bases in History when planning.

 

I love, love using the books When Children Love to Learn and Teaching Children when creating lesson plans for next year. Every time I hesitate and want to run to a packaged curriculum, I see these again and go, wait, I can do this, and do. I have come to the conclusion that I need more detailed lesson plans for our little school to go smoother.

 

I love using Peak With Books with my Kers, very nice. Can't wait to use it this year with dd :)

Edited April 10, 2012 by sagira

[Jen in PA]

FlashKids Spelling (workbooks on the shelves at Barnes and Noble) work like SWO. Each lesson is grouped by a rule/pattern, and has sorting/meaning/proofreading activities. The books cost less than SWO and DS has an easier time writing on the smooth, bright paper -- the SWO workbooks tear pretty easily in comparison.

[ssavings]

Moving Beyond the Page.

 

It seems to get mixed reviews and doesn't seem to be popular but it's exactly what I wanted in a curriculum and is working well for us - so we are happy with it.

 

:iagree::iagree:

 

We like it, too. And it gets generally negative reviews.

[edeemarie]

We love McRuffy math! I don't think that it gets bad reviews, but I just never hear much about it (except for me recommending it to people:)) I am so glad I decided to take a chance on a not so well known math curriculum since it has worked really well for my children!

[foxbridgeacademy]

Connect the Thoughts gets a bad rap for being quirky and different(outside the box) if it gets mentioned at all. The thing is my kids love it. So do several of my friends. Probably because we're a little "different";)?

[stripe]

Reading Reflex.

[Trish]

Harry Noden's "Image Grammar" for middle school. I use this for creative grammar application, along with Painless Grammer (of the "Painless" series) for grammar review. Sadlier Vocabulary Workshop has worked very well for us, too.

[mama25angels]

Systematic mathematics and mastering mathematics, are two that we love, but never really get mentioned.

[Mom0012]

I use a couple of things that people seem to either really love or hate -- SL and CLE. I also used R&S Math for years, which seems underappreciated on these boards, to say the least.

 

I also use a couple of programs that I don't generally see homeschoolers using -- SRA's Spelling Mastery and Fastt Math.

Lisa

[KirstenH]

WinterPromise gets talked down a lot here, but we like it.

[2_girls_mommy]

R&S math for us too. We are on year 5 with it, and I see no reason to switch before Algebra. Both my average and advanced learner do well with what it and are very confident in their math abiilities. I recently downloaded the Saxon placement test and looked at it. I think my dd that is in 5th R&S will place beyond that grade on the Saxon, and definitely not behind that grade level.

 

I also really like R&S phonics. I think it is very thorough. It does combine writing w/phonics. And it doesn't start until 1st grade because of that. But I was able to adapt it to start it in K with both of mine, and it worked fine.

[SweetandSimple]

I really like the Critical Thinking Company's Mathematical Reasoning Series. The worktests are colorful and full of fun activities. All of the variation is wonderful! There is plenty of review built in, but it never seems dull. After a (not bad, but dull) year of Math Mammoth, this curriculum is a breath of fresh year.

 

I am sad, though, that the worktests are only available for grades preK-5. I wish that there was one more level.

[mytwomonkeys]

i love hooked on phonics, which always gets very mixed reviews. we especially enjoy their master reader. i never really see that mentioned.

 

we've also enjoyed the american tales reader and the go-along activity guide.

 

i've never seen either mentioned, but we like them both. :)

[MunRoLy]

We absolutely love Everyday Math!!! I don't mention it much here because I know how much some people hate it and have even pulled their kids out of school because of it.

 

My dh and I are both math majors (as is my brother who originally chose this program for his 4 kids).

 

And now that I have one dd finished with Everyday Math we are loving what comes next: College Preparatory Mathematics for Algebra. Such a wonderful program!

 

One thing I have never waivered on is our math curriculum...history is something else.:tongue_smilie:

[Shellydon]

Winter Promise, Mystery of History, Reading Reflex.

 

We love all of them.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

Rosetta Stone. Maybe it's because we've used the newer version and the old ones garnered a bad reputation? I'm not sure. I love that it has voice recognition software, tests, review and more. It is pricey, but we can reuse it for each child. It truly is independent wok for the student, and I liked it much better than the competition I looked at (we have German, and we'll probably add French or Spanish later).

 

Do you have regular or homeschool versions? Is it strictly immersion or does it cover grammar as well?

 

Older versions of Rosetta stone that I have seen seem strictly immersion style. These were librayr editions and I don't think they were homeschool.

[Mandy in TN]

Saxon middle school math with an accelerated, math-y child and an average, math-loving child.

 

MUS high school Alg, Geometry, and Alg2. With my dyslexic child this mastery approach is what really worked.

 

Winston Grammar- so tactile and fabulous.

 

Steps to Good Grammar and Understanding and Using Good Grammar are so similar to Analytical Grammar but so cheap.

 

WinterPromise AW was a huge hit. WinterPromise S&S was a huge hit.

 

B4FIAR for pre-K. When asked what I will save from homeschooling, this tops my list. I want to share these with my grandkids.

 

Mandy

[TippyCanoe]

.

[Susie in MS]

Another Rod and Staff Math person here. I agree with the poster who said it is under appreciated here. It is working great for my little girl who doesn't care for numbers all that much.

 

History readers that get a bad rap (I won't name them).

 

FIAR for a child past K. There is so much in there that I am beyond wondering how people can come to the conclusion that it is *not enough*.

 

Teaching Textbooks- worked great for my older ds for geom.

 

Unit studies. Let's see how many I can think of:

~Prairie Primer (just started this one)

~Christian Cottage

~A World of Adventure

~Where the Brook and River Meet

~History Revealed

~Further Up and Further In

~Portraits of American Girlhood (have not used yet, just read it)

 

Learning Language Arts Through Literature

 

Oh I know I am forgetting something(s). I have never been one to go with something just because it is popular unless it REALLY floats my boat. :D

[...................]

This coming year I will be using Evan Moore's 6 Trait Writing. Definitely not popular (yet.). So I'll be ready to share after a few months of seeing how it goes. As it is, I really wish there was an experienced user here because I have some questions that I will need to slog through on my own.

[Matryoshka]

Reading Reflex.

 

:iagree::iagree: I love Reading Reflex. I almost never see it mentioned here. Maybe people think teaching kids to read must be way more complicated than a $16 book?

Edited April 10, 2012 by matroyshka

[SorrelZG]

:iagree::iagree: I love Reading Reflex. I almost never see it mentioned here. Maybe people think teaching kids to read must be way more complicated than a $16 book?

 

No, there were just certain quirks that turned me off it, personally. There are quite a few options comparatively priced or free. :)

 

 

For my part, I love The Verbal Math Lesson for word problem supplementation. As a bonus, it's cheap (especially on Kindle from Amazon). Not too many here seem very interested.

 

Life of Fred elementary actually used as a core curriculum. That's not a popular choice.

 

I do make use of Living Books Curriculum (on and off, currently on) which I know for many decent reasons hasn't caught on with many here.

[Julie Smith]

For my part, I love The Verbal Math Lesson for word problem supplementation. As a bonus, it's cheap (especially on Kindle from Amazon). Not too many here seem very interested.

 

I think the author of those books posts on this forum.

[SorrelZG]

I think the author of those books posts on this forum.

 

I only know a coauthor has posted twice (total) to share links to reviews when someone asked for them once. There weren't too many forthcoming from the regulars ...

 

...though certainly more than a recent question about experience with Timberdoodle's core packages garnered. :D They schedule Evan Moor's Daily 6-Trait Writing which was previously mentioned as not popular so perhaps therein lies a clue. If I was a little more 'traditional' I'd like their packages as a core ... Plenty of people are so I don't get why their curriculum packages aren't mentioned at least occasionally (they DO schedule SOTW .. That should count for something).

Edited April 10, 2012 by SCGS

[shinyhappypeople]

We love McRuffy math! I don't think that it gets bad reviews, but I just never hear much about it (except for me recommending it to people:)) I am so glad I decided to take a chance on a not so well known math curriculum since it has worked really well for my children!

 

:iagree: We've moved on to TT3 for older DD (her choice), but younger DD is now doing McRuffy 2 in conjunction with Dreambox and it's working well, so far.

 

Other less popular choices that I like:

 

Spelling Workout (GREAT for natural spellers like younger DD. Not too little, not too much.)

 

Happy Phonics - yes, it's a pain to cut out and sort the games when you first get the program, but my kids genuinely enjoy the games and have learned a lot. It's very easy to teach and can be used as a stand-alone or as a supplement to a traditional phonics program.

[birchbark]

For my part, I love The Verbal Math Lesson for word problem supplementation. As a bonus, it's cheap (especially on Kindle from Amazon). Not too many here seem very interested.

 

 

I am. Wow! I've been looking for something just like this. Thanks.

[usetoschool]

This coming year I will be using Evan Moore's 6 Trait Writing. Definitely not popular (yet.). So I'll be ready to share after a few months of seeing how it goes. As it is, I really wish there was an experienced user here because I have some questions that I will need to slog through on my own.

 

I don't now about experienced, if you mean expert :) but I used all the levels with some kids I was teaching (not mine) that would be going back to public school.

 

I am kind of fond of Evan Moor actually, if we are talking about odd curriculum that doesn't get used or talked about much.

[SorrelZG]

I am. Wow! I've been looking for something just like this. Thanks.

 

You're welcome. :D

[Caribbean Queen]

I do make use of Living Books Curriculum (on and off, currently on) which I know for many decent reasons hasn't caught on with many here.

Why do you think it hasn't caught on?:bigear:

[SorrelZG]

Why do you think it hasn't caught on?:bigear:

 

Well, a couple of reasons that I know for people not using it have been:

- A need for more support/community. There is a forum and there is, I hear, quite a community up in LBC's area of the country, but still the forum is extremely quiet so there isn't a lot of encouragement and idea exchange like you get for many other curricula.

- It's set up for individual grades, not specifically for combining. I have read a couple of places of people combining a couple of children close in age. This may be easier to deal with if there was a more active community of people actually doing it and so able to help plan it out.

- I hear about the books in some grades being above children in those grades .. or just not interesting .. that's going to depend on parent and child though, I suppose. I've read the same here and there about AO.

- I've heard about there being a lot of reading scheduled each day which causes difficulty when children aren't strong readers and/or many children are in separate grades. I suppose this would depend on a number of factors. It would help if there were a lot of experienced users of it conveniently available to chat to about these things, but there aren't.

- Personally, in the past I have felt like I needed more hand holding which is why I went with HOD at the beginning of the year instead of continuing with Foundation Yr at that time. I thought that without my hand being held DS would never learn to narrate properly. LBC provides MANY free resources and includes many helps in their guide but HOD actually gave me questions to ask and told me exactly what to say every day. I'm over the feeling of needing that now but I can understand the desire to have that explicitly planned out for you.

 

There may be more, that's all I have right now. :tongue_smilie:

[Caribbean Queen]

Thanks. What is a con for one person is a pro for someone else. Your post makes me want to get it. :001_smile: It sounds great for my oldest. Off to oggle its website.:auto:

[sagira]

I've been attracted to LBC for years now. I say that's what I would use if I weren't so dead set on planning everything myself.

 

It certainly doesn't help that they have a great sale going on :D

 

Let us know how you like it, Caribbean Queen. Please?

 

Well, a couple of reasons that I know for people not using it have been:

- A need for more support/community. There is a forum and there is, I hear, quite a community up in LBC's area of the country, but still the forum is extremely quiet so there isn't a lot of encouragement and idea exchange like you get for many other curricula.

- It's set up for individual grades, not specifically for combining. I have read a couple of places of people combining a couple of children close in age. This may be easier to deal with if there was a more active community of people actually doing it and so able to help plan it out.

- I hear about the books in some grades being above children in those grades .. or just not interesting .. that's going to depend on parent and child though, I suppose. I've read the same here and there about AO.

- I've heard about there being a lot of reading scheduled each day which causes difficulty when children aren't strong readers and/or many children are in separate grades. I suppose this would depend on a number of factors. It would help if there were a lot of experienced users of it conveniently available to chat to about these things, but there aren't.

- Personally, in the past I have felt like I needed more hand holding which is why I went with HOD at the beginning of the year instead of continuing with Foundation Yr at that time. I thought that without my hand being held DS would never learn to narrate properly. LBC provides MANY free resources and includes many helps in their guide but HOD actually gave me questions to ask and told me exactly what to say every day. I'm over the feeling of needing that now but I can understand the desire to have that explicitly planned out for you.

 

There may be more, that's all I have right now. :tongue_smilie:

[jewellsmommy]

I turned to Sequential Spelling for dd. We had tried AAS, and dd seemed to get it. However, the info did not transfer over to her spelling in real life. I don't know why. I really wanted it too!

 

I then tried Soaring With Spelling which has been working well for ds, but not helpful to dd. She can't sort through the rules and apply them applicably. Sequential Spelling is the first thing that has carried over from the curricular to everyday spelling.

[WIS0320]

Core Knowledge Literature

 

Yes, it is comes in a bulk package and hole punched to go into a 3-ring binder. Yes, there are no pictures.

 

BUT, the selections are excellent, it is very affordable and it is a super resource for WTM style narrations if one wishes to give it a go without the WWE workbooks. I have been using the first grade selections this year as short read-alouds for my daughter to do illustrative narrations from and they have been great.

 

I've already got the second grade package here and filed for next year. For people who have a hard time getting to the library or have a tight budget, they are really a great option!

[WIS0320]

I forgot to add Intellego Unit Studies. I hardly ever see them mentioned here and I've found them to be a great resource as we've worked through various science and history units this year. If you want a secular resource that is fairly well put together and affordable, then check out Intellego!

[ksr5377]

I forgot to add Intellego Unit Studies. I hardly ever see them mentioned here and I've found them to be a great resource as we've worked through various science and history units this year. If you want a secular resource that is fairly well put together and affordable, then check out Intellego!

 

 

I just met someone who is planning on using these next year! They look wonderful!

[Aurelia]

Most of my favorites that aren't so popular here are my LA choices. I tend to use British resources, despite being an American living in the US. I've used and liked Jolly Phonics, Dancing Bears, Jolly Grammar, and Galore Park Junior English 1&2. We used Apples and Pears, too, which I liked but it wasn't the right fit for Ariel. I think she just wasn't ready to do cover spelling at that point, because we had also tried AAS and it was a massive fail at that time. That was before it got popular here. It seems I like to try new things that most people haven't. We used MM 3 years ago (or is that 4 now? I forget), back when most of the comments were something like "Math Mammoth? Never heard of it! What a weird name!" We dropped it because it didn't fit, either, at the time, but after doing other things for awhile, we tried it again it's been excellent for DD. I guess what I'm trying to say is you never know what's going to be the next "in" curriculum. It's late for me. I need to go to bed.

[LMD]

LLATL - generally gets canned around here, but we have really enjoyed the levels we have used (Blue, Red & Yellow).

[KirstenH]

I forgot to add Intellego Unit Studies. I hardly ever see them mentioned here and I've found them to be a great resource as we've worked through various science and history units this year. If you want a secular resource that is fairly well put together and affordable, then check out Intellego!

 

2nd this! We are using them for science right now and liking it.

[MelAR05]

Saxon 1, 2, & 3 - (Yes, the early years) :001_smile:

 

 

Sing, Spell, Read & Write - gets a bad rap for being too expensive but my girls are such strong readers when they finish this program.

[Chelli]

I've been attracted to LBC for years now. I say that's what I would use if I weren't so dead set on planning everything myself.

 

It certainly doesn't help that they have a great sale going on :D

 

Let us know how you like it, Caribbean Queen. Please?

 

It is the only curriculum that has tempted me more than once to leave HOD. I can't combine my dc anyway because there are three grades between each of them, so that's not an issue.

 

I really like the looks of it, and wish I'd caught the sale they had around the new year when all of their guides were 50% off the PDF download.

 

I would love to have tried the 2nd grade year with dd8. She is fascinated with Ancient Egypt!

 

I've waffled back and forth a lot on moving over to LBC, but my dd loves all of the hands on with HOD. This is the one thing LBC seems to be lacking from the samples I've seen.

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

I just had to say that this is an evil thread you started Nakia! I now have 6 tabs open with curriculum I have never heard of before that I am checking out. Do you want to know what makes this so evil?? I already have all my curriculum for next year so I DON'T need more. And yet I have 6 tabs open waiting to be searched and searched some more :glare:

 

 

:001_tt2: :lol:

[Joyofsixreboot]

I just had to say that this is an evil thread you started Nakia! I now have 6 tabs open with curriculum I have never heard of before that I am checking out. Do you want to know what makes this so evil?? I already have all my curriculum for next year so I DON'T need more. And yet I have 6 tabs open waiting to be searched and searched some more :glare:

 

 

:001_tt2: :lol:

 

:iagree:Um, yes, that

[Cynful]

We are getting ready to start Notgrass America the Beautiful. I don't see it talked about too much here. It looks perfect for us.