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

[JessieC]

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.

 

This is mine too!

[8circles]

I LOVE this thread! LOVE LOVE LOVE!

 

I've not heard of a few of these & there are a few good possiblities. I'm glad to see MBTP mentioned again. I almost bought it last year but chickened-out at the last minute & went with SL (which we have really enjoyed but I've been quite turned-off with the recent changes). So I'm considering it again for next year. I'm just so drawn to it, I can't explain it.

 

I've also looked at Intellego science & am glad to hear some of you like that as well.

 

Thanks Nakia!

[SorrelZG]

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.

 

I've been thinking that adding the hands on things Timberdoodle adds to their core packages would be an awesome idea. That wouldn't be integrated, though .. which is what I'm thinking when you mention HOD. I have seen things about making costumes or putting on plays .. creating story strips .. various things, but often not in the explicit way HOD includes these things (eg. say this, do this with this today and put it to the side, get it out again and add this, etc).

[Nakia]

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!

 

 

 

Exact same thing happened here! SS worked wonders when AAS was a bust. At least the resell value is good, right? ;)

 

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:

 

:lol::lol: I haven't bought a thing (except for some ancient history literature), but now I'm looking at new options. Someone shoot me! :D

 

I LOVE this thread! LOVE LOVE LOVE!

 

I've not heard of a few of these & there are a few good possiblities. I'm glad to see MBTP mentioned again. I almost bought it last year but chickened-out at the last minute & went with SL (which we have really enjoyed but I've been quite turned-off with the recent changes). So I'm considering it again for next year. I'm just so drawn to it, I can't explain it.

 

I've also looked at Intellego science & am glad to hear some of you like that as well.

 

Thanks Nakia!

 

You're welcome! Great to feel appreciated! :lol:

[Chelli]

I've been thinking that adding the hands on things Timberdoodle adds to their core packages would be an awesome idea. That wouldn't be integrated, though .. which is what I'm thinking when you mention HOD. I have seen things about making costumes or putting on plays .. creating story strips .. various things, but often not in the explicit way HOD includes these things (eg. say this, do this with this today and put it to the side, get it out again and add this, etc).

 

And the above is what I need. I am not Martha Stewart, and I do not want to have to buy anything special for a project because it will not get done. I can count on HOD to walk me through it and to make sure the items used are truly household items.

 

*sigh* Maybe one of my other two kids will not be as much into hands on learning, then I can give LBC a go. :001_smile:

[Woodland Mist Academy]

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:

[JustGin]

In the not mentioned catagory?

 

America Last Best Hope with Road Maps website for High school American history. Love it! I added in literature and it made a wonderful two year study.

 

Vocabu-lit which I discovered by accident 2 years ago has been a great hit here and we like it so much better than Wordly Wise which is very popular.

 

I don't think we use anything else that gets a lot of negative reviews, except maybe Teaching Textbooks and all I can say about that is - it works great..for us. :)

[HootyTooty]

I have really enjoyed our time with Saxon Phonics K. I attempted to you OPGTR but my ds need more and this worked at the perfect pace for him. He did know all his letter sounds and I was reluctant at first to use it but if you use the program as is your dc walks away knowing a lot of words by the end of the K year. I will be continiuing with the program. I think it doesn't get a lot of mention because of people being "scarred" from using the Saxon math program.

 

I love threads like this, on this forum there are certain programs that get a lot of talk but a lot of others that don't get talked about. Even if a program gets mentioned in passing it might give someone a chance to research it more. Which is how I stumbled upon Saxon phonics. Now if the same thing could happen for math.:lol:

[Professormom]

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!

 

:iagree: These are pretty detailed. I never knew Baroque could be so interesting:001_smile:

[pitterpatter]

I think a lot of people tend to look down upon teacher resource books, but I've found several of them to be exceptional...way better than traditional curriculum for those specific subject areas. :001_smile:

 

We are also doing well here with Hooked on Phonics.

[MissKNG]

BJU English and Spelling work well for us but isn't quite the popular choice here.

[5 Hikers]

I have LBC Grades K,1,2,4,5,6 if anyone has more specific questions.

I have a love/hate relationship with it.

 

 

I am going with WP Animal Worlds next year and their LA. I needed something packaged and written out.

 

 

I like Montessori materials a lot. You don't hear much here about that.

[besroma]

We really like Rod and Staff Reading. There is a lot of discussion on the boards about their English curriculum, but not the reading, and it is excellent (unless you are looking for something secular).

[SkateLeft]

Vocabu-lit which I discovered by accident 2 years ago has been a great hit here and we like it so much better than Wordly Wise which is very popular.

 

We like Vocabu-lit as well.

 

Another favorite is Great Source's Daybook of Critical Reading and Writing, especially for middle school. My 5th grader is using the science daybook this year and loves it.

 

I also used K12's Phonicsworks with all my kids, and I don't think I've seen that mentioned much. I've tried other phonics programs, but always come back to K12's phonics.

[Cosmos]

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.

 

I started using Image Grammar this winter with my 6th grade ds. We do a lesson from it about twice a month. He and I both love it, and he's been incorporating the ideas into his other writing. The book is packed full of teaching ideas and writing projects enough for many years. I can see coming back and doing several the exercises over again with a high-schooler too.

[LaraH]

Reading Made Easy has been very successful here and I don't see it often mentioned for teaching phonics.

[Mrs Twain]

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!

 

I use the Core Knowledge K-8 Sequence which is free to download. It is one of the best resources I have to help me plan my curriculum and make sure I don't have gaps. I am a big fan of teaching content as Hirsch espouses (as opposed to progressive educational philosophy).

 

I *love* Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. I can't understand why almost everyone on this board hates it with a passion. I taught all of my kids to read with it before they were in Kindergarten, and they are fantastic readers. I think it is the single best homeschool resource I have ever bought.

 

I also love Horizons Math which doesn't generally get a lot of votes. I think one of the main reasons is that people skip doing the exercises and drill in the TM. Horizons Math plus CWP is a great math program.

[Guest]

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

 

Yup. We have done K-2nd so far and plan on starting again with K for DD in the fall.

[iafrmgrl77]

I use a couple of things that people seem to either really love or hate -- SL and CLE.

 

Here, too! We love SL, and I think we may love CLE math even more!!! A friend called me last summer and said, "You have GOT to check out the math curriculum I found! I laughed when she told me it was CLE--we had been using it for the past several months! I see that you use their language arts, as well. I would LOVE to hear what you think of it!

[iafrmgrl77]

Oh, and I haven't been around here long, but in the time that I have I haven't seen much about The Reading Lesson, which we love here! I did 100 Easy Lessons with my first dd, and while it worked, I was glad to find TRL. Much more simplified, and my son did really well with it!

[Donna]

Mine are already posted but Rosetta Stone is working well for dd. She is doing Spanish and Gaelic. I don't know that she will be able to speak either language well after finishing it but she is getting lots of vocabulary so when/if we change to something else or get her a tutor or something, she will have a good foundation.

 

Also, Saxon...I know lots of people don't like it but it worked well here (and I tried lots of other math programs before going back to Saxon...I really did want to find something else she liked better).