Annabel Lee Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Or, I wonder what Jessie Wise used to homeschool Susan? Another thread made me wonder what those of you who've been doing this a very long time like, use, and deem truly good. Whether a name-brand curriculum or a method, what are your tried-and-true oldies but goodies, and why? Also, what are some new programs that look like mediocre fluff to you, and why? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkateLeft Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 (edited) Well, I'm sure I'd offend someone by pointing out the programs that I think are mediocre fluff, so I'll keep my mouth shut on that! I don't know that I'd say I've been doing this a long time, but it has been 11 years! It feels like a long time. :D Some of my tried and true: Singapore Math - All three older kids used it. SOTW - Volume 1 came out the year we started homeschooling. I'm starting my fourth time through this year! K12 Literary Analysis and Composition - Both of my girls used it in 8th grade, and it's awesome prep for high school. My ds will definitely use it in a couple of years. K12 Phonics - 4 times through this now Edited August 23, 2012 by sailmom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alenee Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Favorites: SOTW...my kids LOVE the audio CDs as well as the map activities. SWR...very teacher intensive but worth all my time and effort. Math-U-See and Life of Fred....both are great! Shurley Grammar...just skip every other year. Perfect way to get my kids to do grammar and not complain. IEW...love everything we've used. SWI A, All Things Fun and Fascinating (just make sure to read ahead so you don't miss something important), as well as several of the history-based writing lessons. Bombs: Latin from any source...we used the Memoria Press program and it all stuck but after trying out a few others, no matter what, it was just drudgery with my kids. I would have loved for it to work out but nope. We may still try roots. Apologia Elementary series...snore...the activities were fun but the reading left MUCH to be desired. Calvert Spelling...we tried this because one dd has SPD with low muscle tone. She needed a way to do the work without having to hand write it. She would accidentally hit a wrong key, click enter, and get a bad grade. No erasing. BOMB! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lily_Grace Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 I will not say that I have found any magic curriculum. Everything has been tweaked or added to. The most important thing that I have found is that if something is to stick, I need to be prepared to get as many senses involved as possible and ASK, not feed information. I need to have a kid's active brain involved. I can think of so many curriculum guides we tried that failed for us because they relied on one method as a strong primary with a few other "projects" thrown in. It required too much on my part to change everything. ETA: curriculum that has worked with minor changes: Math U See Writing Tales book 1 Moving Beyond The Page ......and I think that's it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annabel Lee Posted August 23, 2012 Author Share Posted August 23, 2012 Well, I'm sure I'd offend someone by pointing out the programs that I think are mediocre fluff, so I'll keep my mouth shut on that! You're right, I worded that very poorly! I forgot my manners and obligatory caveats. :tongue_smilie: I suppose what I meant was that it seemed a lot of the very experienced hsers in the other thread gave vague comments such as "I'm not impressed with the newer stuff" (that is an example, not a real quote that anyone actually said). I'm much more interested in the reason for this than the brand name, although I wouldn't know what you're talking about unless a name is given. I guess my real question is what is it that is so different about whatever it is you've used for a long time that is lacking in some newer offerings? I still don't know that this can be discussed without any offense being taking, so I'm not asking you to, just clarifying my question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nansk Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 ... what I meant was that it seemed a lot of the very experienced hsers in the other thread gave vague comments such as "I'm not impressed with the newer stuff" (that is an example, not a real quote that anyone actually said). I'm much more interested in the reason for this than the brand name, although I wouldn't know what you're talking about unless a name is given... I took those comments to mean that the experienced teachers don't really see anything revolutionary or different in the newer programs. And that skills that the newer programs teach can be taught just as well with the older, cheaper, less flashy programs they used. You know, "the more things change, the more they remain the same..." :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 (edited) You're right, I worded that very poorly! I forgot my manners and obligatory caveats. :tongue_smilie: I suppose what I meant was that it seemed a lot of the very experienced hsers in the other thread gave vague comments such as "I'm not impressed with the newer stuff" (that is an example, not a real quote that anyone actually said). I'm much more interested in the reason for this than the brand name, although I wouldn't know what you're talking about unless a name is given. I guess my real question is what is it that is so different about whatever it is you've used for a long time that is lacking in some newer offerings? I still don't know that this can be discussed without any offense being taking, so I'm not asking you to, just clarifying my question. I took those comments to mean that the experienced teachers don't really see anything revolutionary or different in the newer programs. And that skills that the newer programs teach can be taught just as well with the older, cheaper, less flashy programs they used. You know, "the more things change, the more they remain the same..." :) Yes and no to the latter. Pre-packaged/prepared curriculum was only available from a very few providers when I started homeschooling. Most homeschoolers I knew put together themselve the materials they used to teach their kids. It didn't cost thousands of dollars and it wasn't expecting everything you needed to fit your child's learning style or abilities to arrive in a box. I did know a few families that used "boxed curriculum". For example, Seton existed back then and I did know families that used Seton exclusively, but those families approached Seton as more a correspondence school. We didn't have a computer when we first started homeschooling. Internet useage was definitely not the norm. We didn't have home copiers.......we had to go to local Kinkos to copy pages. Homeschoolers were few and far between. We didn't have to compare ourselves virtually or IRL to other homeschoolers. We were simply interacting w/our kids and spending our time directly with them. Compared to what I see IRL today in the homeschooling community and the amt of $$ spent and the stress to find the right "fit,", all the above was actually a blessing in many respects. (For the record, I LOVE having a copier and the internet.:lol: But, I am equally glad I experienced how to teach my kids w/o both. ;) ) Back then, and even today, books......just plain ol' whole books, were/are the backbone of our homeschool. "Fit" is what I do and it isn't found in a box. Edited August 23, 2012 by 8FillTheHeart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 In our house, the programs that have stood the test of time (which is really only going on 6 years for us) are Saxon math SOTW WWE We've added some more recently that we're happily continuing, MCT AAS RS4K (with supplements) We're still tweaking everything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paisley Hedgehog Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 nm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Long time favorites for us: Singapore Math Core Knowledge and ones we loved when dc were younger: Primary Phonics Handwriting Without Tears No exciting revelations here, but these worked for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 What I've seen in the past few years are an explosion of 'flavor of the month' curriculums. People come onto the boards raving about XYZ curriculum (most of the time they have used the program a very limited about of time), post in every single thread about how great XYZ is, get everyone interested in XYZ, then quietly disappear after four or five months (because they've dropped XYZ :glare:). If you are around long enough, you will see this happen over and over and over. LOL, I wish I would have known this when I started. Curriculum loves definitely cycle, there should be a warning on here. Also, there is this program people love and then all of a sudden everyone has to use it or else, when not every program works best for every kid or every teacher. I stalk a few different ladies on here that have similar goals and teaching styles/beliefs that have been around for awhile. Sometimes the loudest people are not necessarily people that have even been around for very long. I've still been pretty lucky to generally pick things that have worked for us, as long as I follow my instincts but I've not had to switch any of our main programs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 what are your tried-and-true oldies but goodies, and why? Also, what are some new programs that look like mediocre fluff to you, and why? Thanks! Oldies and Goodies: TWTM -it will give you a good sense of what works and what to look for. Alpha Phonics and ETC SOTW-CD's and books, AG's if you have a crafter Genevieve Foster books Albert Marin books (a zillion other books/series, but these are the ones coming to mind right now) IEW- TWSS, theme based books, vocab and spelling, etc Writing With Ease/Writing With Skill Anything by Memoria Press -Famous Men series, Latin, Lingua Angelica, study guides for ancients, copybooks, etc.etc.etc. Readers from SL, VP, Bethleham books, Apologia science for high school IEW's Language Aquisition Through Poetry Memorization Classical Conversation CD's We've also used R & S grammar and think it is very well done. Newer Fluff? Hmmm.. I tend to pick stuff that fits my methodology, only get about 5 catalogs, stick with stuff we've already used and I rarely go to conferences...most of the new stuff I "find" is here, and I'm fine spending time researching it, and/or doing a review, in which case I usually know ahead of time if it's going to work for us or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkateLeft Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 What I've seen in the past few years are an explosion of 'flavor of the month' curriculums. :iagree: I was one of the folks who posted in that previous thread, regarding new curricula not impressing me. I'm amazed at how much of a niche market homeschooling has become. There's been an explosion of shallow, slickly packaged, overpriced stuff, often written by people with little experience and weak credentials. I don't envy new homeschoolers who have to wade through all of this. The new stuff often seems to sell itself with the idea that homeschooling has to be fun, and it's not always. Learning to write and read and do math is WORK. Instead of teaching kids the satisfaction that comes with working hard on something and mastering it, we're trying to find new and ever better ways to give them their education with a spoonful of sugar. So there's an explosion of curriculum hoppers, and people trying to figure out how to use three and four programs at the same time, when they'd be far better off just choosing one and being consistent. People think that if their kids complain about math or writing, then the curriculum must just not be working for them and they need to switch. I guess I'm in a reflective mood now that I'm successfully nearing the end of the journey with one child. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAutumnOak Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 We've been at it 10 years now, so I guess I'm qualified to comment in this thread :tongue_smilie: The tried-and-true programs are ones that have stood the test of time. Love 'em or hate 'em: Saxon, BJU, Abeka, Sonlight, Calvert (K-8) What I've seen in the past few years are an explosion of 'flavor of the month' curriculums. People come onto the boards raving about XYZ curriculum (most of the time they have used the program a very limited about of time), post in every single thread about how great XYZ is, get everyone interested in XYZ, then quietly disappear after four or five months (because they've dropped XYZ :glare:). If you are around long enough, you will see this happen over and over and over. I am always wary of anything that's been on the market less than three years, is still "in production" (meaning there is a very good chance materials won't be ready when I need them), or is Brand Spanking New but already has four or five threads talking about it. No thanks. :D I have been totally guilty of this sort of thing... :leaving: I have learned a tough and expensive lesson about jumping to try new or well spoken of programs...I don't even consider myself a huge jumper, but I have made a few leaps... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAutumnOak Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 :iagree: I was one of the folks who posted in that previous thread, regarding new curricula not impressing me. I'm amazed at how much of a niche market homeschooling has become. There's been an explosion of shallow, slickly packaged, overpriced stuff, often written by people with little experience and weak credentials. I don't envy new homeschoolers who have to wade through all of this. The new stuff often seems to sell itself with the idea that homeschooling has to be fun, and it's not always. Learning to write and read and do math is WORK. Instead of teaching kids the satisfaction that comes with working hard on something and mastering it, we're trying to find new and ever better ways to give them their education with a spoonful of sugar. So there's an explosion of curriculum hoppers, and people trying to figure out how to use three and four programs at the same time, when they'd be far better off just choosing one and being consistent. People think that if their kids complain about math or writing, then the curriculum must just not be working for them and they need to switch. I guess I'm in a reflective mood now that I'm successfully nearing the end of the journey with one child. :D Love this post :thumbup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Spalding KONOS Writing Strands Easy Grammar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaBear Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 I stalk a few different ladies on here that have similar goals and teaching styles/beliefs that have been around for awhile. Goals and beliefs have certainly changed over the years. I think that is ONE of the reasons I am resorting to oldschooling right now. LOL, I just made up a new term and am sticking it on this thread as tag :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 I home educated for seven years. My tried and true curricula were SOTW, Singapore Maths and texts from Galore Park. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dory Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 My mom homeschooled for many years and her favorites were Easy Grammar Math-It (as a supplement) and Saxon Math and Phonics (I personally will never use the math after having grown up with it although I LOVE their phonics program) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 (edited) For families that struggle with issues that make a boxed curricula attractive, ACE for K-8, followed by American School correspondance school for highschool has been a winner for every family that I've watched use it. My oldest completed AS, and I made the mistake of pulling my younger to do something "better". BIG MISTAKE. I watched a neighbor switch from ACE to Switched on Schoolhouse and it was a MESS. For FULL package, especially with oversight, I can only recommend ACE followed by AS. I've seen Saxon work well for most families when students are placed low enough, and not overwhelmed by textbooks for every other subject. Saxon is way too draining when combined with too many other textbooks and when student is placed too high, though. McGuffey's Eclectic Readers. Some people have done just as well with the original McGuffey readers. The Drawing Textbook by Bruce McIntyre. Henle Latin World Book Encyclopedia Composition in the Classical Tradition. IF and only IF you are committed to doing the Progym, I prefer this old gruesome textbook to the newer versions. Some of the oldschool stuff is new to me despite having started homeschooling in the 90s. Most of the stuff available I couldn't afford. Some of the things I used are no longer available. Not ALL of it was great, or better than what is available now. It was just different. Less printing and computers were required, which CAN make it better if you are trying to cut back on those things. And as I said in an earlier post, I think general goals were a bit different back then and they are closer to my current goals. Edited August 23, 2012 by Hunter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeanine in TX Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 I'm starting 12th year of homeschooling. Time sure does fly... Saxon Math Rod & Staff Grammar Story of the World Well-Educated Mind New this year for us, but many others have recommended the following items. Dive Science with BJU Homeschool Spanish Academy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quark Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 (edited) Compared to what I see IRL today in the homeschooling community and the amt of $$ spent and the stress to find the right "fit,", all the above was actually a blessing in many respects. (For the record, I LOVE having a copier and the internet.:lol: But, I am equally glad I experienced how to teach my kids w/o both. ;) ) Back then, and even today, books......just plain ol' whole books, were/are the backbone of our homeschool. "Fit" is what I do and it isn't found in a box. Loved this 8, thanks! I'm not an old timer. I only started HS-ing in preK, 6 years ago but I came to realize what 8 mentions above a few years ago and am really glad I did. Once I started focusing on using well-written books, my curriculum-hopping, method-hopping, lesson-planning madness vanished and I find myself feeling so much calmer and so much more at peace with my choices. For us, whole books work. Period. I researched boxed curricula and found that many companies just "repackage" whole books and throw in a schedule and projects. I don't need to pay $$$ for that. New stuff: we like the Art of Problem Solving books, and MEP when my guy was younger. Edited August 24, 2012 by quark accuracy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChildofGrace Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Well, after homeschooling for 14 years, I still feel good about: Alphabet Island Phonics--It was the first phonics program I was introduced to and worked well with all 6 kids; I discovered lots of other wonderful programs after making that initial purchase, but decided to just stick with what I had-- and now have the joy of knowing that all of my kids have asked me not to sell it so they can use it with their own kids! LLATL--I know this is not well regarded around here, but after having used it all the way through to high school with my oldest two who then received almost perfect scores on the language arts portions of the ACT, I'm fine with it;)... FIAR--Love this gentle introduction to learning; this is another program my dc have asked me to hang onto for the grandkids. Wordsmith/Wordsmith Craftsman--After using these in early high school, my two oldest both tested in to upper levels of composition in their freshman year. Charlotte Mason methodology--I am certainly not a purist, but I do believe that many of her ideas have preserved our love of learning, as well as helped me maintain focus and perspective! I personally think it is grand that we have so many options available to us, but hate to see so many novice homeschoolers thinking they have to use a pre-planned curriculum-in-a-box in order to provide a solid education. My sense of things is that the homeschooling community in general has-- to some degree-- lost its sense of individuality and I find that a little sad... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Yes and no to the latter. Pre-packaged/prepared curriculum was only available from a very few providers when I started homeschooling. Most homeschoolers I knew put together themselve the materials they used to teach their kids. It didn't cost thousands of dollars and it wasn't expecting everything you needed to fit your child's learning style or abilities to arrive in a box. I did know a few families that used "boxed curriculum". For example, Seton existed back then and I did know families that used Seton exclusively, but those families approached Seton as more a correspondence school. We didn't have a computer when we first started homeschooling. Internet useage was definitely not the norm. We didn't have home copiers.......we had to go to local Kinkos to copy pages. Homeschoolers were few and far between. We didn't have to compare ourselves virtually or IRL to other homeschoolers. We were simply interacting w/our kids and spending our time directly with them. Compared to what I see IRL today in the homeschooling community and the amt of $$ spent and the stress to find the right "fit,", all the above was actually a blessing in many respects. (For the record, I LOVE having a copier and the internet.:lol: But, I am equally glad I experienced how to teach my kids w/o both. ;) ) Back then, and even today, books......just plain ol' whole books, were/are the backbone of our homeschool. "Fit" is what I do and it isn't found in a box. Thanks for writing out my reply:D I think we started homeschooling around the same time....and I do not look for a program to fill our every need, but to hold a place and be a useful tool for accomplishing our goals. I can use my old stuff along with my new.....adjusting for my students, and our family's situation at the time. I am not looking for a product to " work", I am using products that we can work with.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Entropymama Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 :iagree: I was one of the folks who posted in that previous thread, regarding new curricula not impressing me. I'm amazed at how much of a niche market homeschooling has become. There's been an explosion of shallow, slickly packaged, overpriced stuff, often written by people with little experience and weak credentials. I don't envy new homeschoolers who have to wade through all of this. The new stuff often seems to sell itself with the idea that homeschooling has to be fun, and it's not always. Learning to write and read and do math is WORK. Instead of teaching kids the satisfaction that comes with working hard on something and mastering it, we're trying to find new and ever better ways to give them their education with a spoonful of sugar. So there's an explosion of curriculum hoppers, and people trying to figure out how to use three and four programs at the same time, when they'd be far better off just choosing one and being consistent. People think that if their kids complain about math or writing, then the curriculum must just not be working for them and they need to switch. I guess I'm in a reflective mood now that I'm successfully nearing the end of the journey with one child. :D :iagree: For us, the 'hard' stuff has been the best. I have been very pleased with Saxon math, Rod and Staff grammar, SOTW and WWE. A few we've tried and dropped: Rosetta Stone (although we may pick it up again later), grammar island (MCT), MEP, Sequential Spelling. Although I know people here who love all those programs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 I want to add Pathway Readers to this list. Climbing to Good English was written in the 1990s to accompany the Pathway Readers, but most of us were not introduced to the series until much later. The same with Strayer-Upton Arithmetic. The Amish have been using it since they started their schools, but we were not introduced to it until about 2000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEVmom Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 Great thread. This is my 2nd yr homeschooling so I'm just :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 Spalding KONOS Writing Strands Easy Grammar :iagree: This is my 18th year homeschooling and I have two graduates now in college and one sixth grader. Konos is amazing. I can honestly say my kids learned more with that curriculum than any other single thing I ever used. Ever. Is it work? You bet. Is it worth it? Absolutely. I still use Konos units in conjunction with other curriculums. I will never give up my Konos. I'll also add Spelling Power to the above list. Simple, straightforward, gets the job done. I honestly laugh when I see all these "new" spelling programs with so many steps, and cards and tiles and a whole lot of nonsense. My dd is dyslexic, so spelling did not come easy for her. What worked? Practice. Lots and lots of practice. Drill and kill. Some things aren't fun. Some things aren't fluffy. Some things are boring as all get out, but guess what kiddos? You still have to do it. You can have fun later. And my kids learned early that the faster they got the boring stuff done, the faster they could get to the fun stuff.....Konos.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 I honestly laugh when I see all these "new" spelling programs with so many steps, and cards and tiles and a whole lot of nonsense. I like to hear that as a mom not very good at fun. I tried AAS but it was way too annoying with all the tiles and seemed to take way too long with all the extra stuff. We are using How to Teach Spelling now and it seems to be working well and is nice and efficient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annabel Lee Posted August 24, 2012 Author Share Posted August 24, 2012 (edited) We didn't have home copiers.......we had to go to local Kinkos to copy pages. Homeschoolers were few and far between. We didn't have to compare ourselves virtually or IRL to other homeschoolers. We were simply interacting w/our kids and spending our time directly with them. Compared to what I see IRL today in the homeschooling community and the amt of $$ spent and the stress to find the right "fit,", all the above was actually a blessing in many respects. (For the record, I LOVE having a copier and the internet.:lol: But, I am equally glad I experienced how to teach my kids w/o both. ;) ) Yes, the level of panic is ridiculous and (I'll bet) it's not a way of life anyone set out to have when they decided to homeschool. I mean, no one ever happily envisioned their homeschool existence as a life of anxiety-driven insomina over curriculum decisions or getting their plans "just right". Yet we do this to ourselves. Regarding technology, I wish they hadn't done away with carbon-copy paper! That stuff was fun to play with when I was a kid. :D What I've seen in the past few years are an explosion of 'flavor of the month' curriculums. People come onto the boards raving about XYZ curriculum (most of the time they have used the program a very limited about of time), post in every single thread about how great XYZ is, get everyone interested in XYZ, then quietly disappear after four or five months (because they've dropped XYZ :glare:). If you are around long enough, you will see this happen over and over and over. I am always wary of anything that's been on the market less than three years, is still "in production" (meaning there is a very good chance materials won't be ready when I need them), or is Brand Spanking New but already has four or five threads talking about it. No thanks. :D I learned this lesson the hard way, and that was even before I discovered internet homeschool forums, blogs, etc. I pretty much bombed a whole year of hsing because a fellow hser IRL was SO enthusiastic about what she used for her dc, and it was working well, so I wanted to do what she was doing. I got the stuff and went to work but it always felt like something was lacking. Not only did she move on from most of that curricula quietly, she didn't mention there was an entire philosophy behind the curricula list. *sigh* Another friend told me about TWTM and then it all made sense... though it took me some time translate that into daily use. When someone raves about curric. now, I like to find out how long they've been hsing, what ages/grade levels, what (if any) educational philosophy they identify with, and how long they've used that particular curriculum. That's #8,789 on my list of "Things I Had to Learn the Hard Way." :glare: :iagree: I was one of the folks who posted in that previous thread, regarding new curricula not impressing me. I'm amazed at how much of a niche market homeschooling has become. There's been an explosion of shallow, slickly packaged, overpriced stuff, often written by people with little experience and weak credentials. I don't envy new homeschoolers who have to wade through all of this. The new stuff often seems to sell itself with the idea that homeschooling has to be fun, and it's not always. Learning to write and read and do math is WORK. Instead of teaching kids the satisfaction that comes with working hard on something and mastering it, we're trying to find new and ever better ways to give them their education with a spoonful of sugar. So there's an explosion of curriculum hoppers, and people trying to figure out how to use three and four programs at the same time, when they'd be far better off just choosing one and being consistent. People think that if their kids complain about math or writing, then the curriculum must just not be working for them and they need to switch. I guess I'm in a reflective mood now that I'm successfully nearing the end of the journey with one child. :D Agreed 100%, though I still struggle with some of that. Your words echo my goal for myself in homeschooling: to operate in maturity & consistency. Edited August 24, 2012 by Annabel Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEVmom Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 So...is AAS a "whole lot of nonsense"? This is my first year teaching spelling. I chose AAS because it seemed to have a solid phonics base, which I really wanted. I don't care about a whole lot of gimmicks or "fun", just wanted something to teach the "whys" behind spelling. Not just a list of words to memorize. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 I'm really going to have to check out Konos again. Last time I looked at it, I had different priorities. Thank you Ellie and Diane for reminding me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edeemarie Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 So...is AAS a "whole lot of nonsense"? This is my first year teaching spelling. I chose AAS because it seemed to have a solid phonics base, which I really wanted. I don't care about a whole lot of gimmicks or "fun", just wanted something to teach the "whys" behind spelling. Not just a list of words to memorize. I'm not sure I would call it nonsense since many people have been happy with the results. We used it for 3 levels before I revisited Writing Road to Reading and realized I could teach the spelling myself. My kids didn't need (or like) the tiles, we didn't us the word cards, and they were moving through it fast enough that I would have had to buy at least 3 levels a year. It does do a very good job of teaching the "why" of spelling, but it was at a slower pace than we needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Laurie Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 I'll also add Spelling Power to the above list. Simple, straightforward, gets the job done. I honestly laugh when I see all these "new" spelling programs with so many steps, and cards and tiles and a whole lot of nonsense. I just started Spelling Power and it feels so convoluted to me, and I'm constantly leafing through the book trying to remember how I'm supposed to do things. It frustrates me. I bought it for the reasons you stated- I just wanted something simple that I could use with all my kids. Could you share how you use it? My toddler is not sleeping lately, so maybe I'm just dim-witted right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PollyOR Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 This is one of my favorite quotes from Laughing Lioness: "...Sure, pedagogy is important, curriculum is better or worse, etc. but the bottom line is this: a good solid curriculum, applied reguarly, with time dedicated to school, will cause education to occur." Consistency is my downfall and yet I have found it to be the key to success in our homeschool...no matter what we use. As I look back I wish I had spent more time at the library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 So...is AAS a "whole lot of nonsense"? This is my first year teaching spelling. I chose AAS because it seemed to have a solid phonics base, which I really wanted. I don't care about a whole lot of gimmicks or "fun", just wanted something to teach the "whys" behind spelling. Not just a list of words to memorize. I wouldn't call it "a whole lot of nonsense," however I would call it gimmicky and overly expensive for what it covers. (The pace is ridiculously slow and you have to purchase numerous books to cover what are essentially low level elementary words.) The TM for How to Teach Spelling is something like $30, teaches all the rules, has word lists for 1st-12th, and has spiraled review dictation. It does require a parent to figure out how to use it and determine what words are appropriate for their children. (see, this is what I was attempting to articulate as a distinction. Yeah, I have to put effort into figuring out how to make it work and what words to call out. I would far rather do that for $30 for all grade levels than follow what is in the AAS manuals for $17-22/level teacher's bk.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blossom'sGirl Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 All four of mine have used Rightstart math. The covers are falling of the teachers books. I have also loved Challenging Word problems, SOTW, Rod & Staff English. Spell to Write to Read was great for me when I was only schooling my two oldest. I found it too time consuming after the younger two started so I use Rod & Staff spelling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 I don't think I've been doing it long enough to contribute, but do enjoy this thread and am glad to see a bunch of my favorites on it. I used to do tutoring many years ago, and am sorry that much of what I found best then is now out of print, particularly some math, spelling, and grammar books. I think history offerings such as Story of the World are far better that what used to be available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladydusk Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 The new stuff often seems to sell itself with the idea that homeschooling has to be fun, and it's not always. Learning to write and read and do math is WORK. Instead of teaching kids the satisfaction that comes with working hard on something and mastering it, we're trying to find new and ever better ways to give them their education with a spoonful of sugar. I don't think anyone has ever said that better. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy Jo Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 am not looking for a product to " work"' date=' I am using products that we can work with....[/quote'] I'm trying to remember that this year - use what I have (because they are solid books/programs). Great Thread. :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 (edited) I homeschooled for 9 years so I don't know if that qualifies as a long time, but here are some thoughts: Resources that I've found to be excellent: Singapore Math Jacobs Algebra Lial's Intermediate Algebra K12 History K and 4 (and I assume levels 1-3 are just as good) K12's Human Odyssey series K12's *concise* version of Hakim's A History of US K12's LA 6-8 literature strand only MCT LA materials Hake (Saxon) Grammar (but not the writing piece) Writing with Skill All About Spelling Handwriting Without Tears Mediocre resources (not necessarily fluffy, that I've used 1 or more years): K12 middle grades science K12 LA (everything but the literature) Saxon Math Science Explorer Growing with Grammar Spelling Workout Edited August 25, 2012 by EKS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abacus2 Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SorrelZG Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 (edited) This is somewhat OT but I'm reading through this and thinking ... I feel this pull between (a) a product that will carry a lot of the weight of educating my children for me (a tremendous help considering the disadvantage I start at, having not been well educated myself) .. so, something that will work, and (b) investing a lot of hard work in educating myself to be able to carry more of that weight alone and enable me to make more things work for me. [To buy a fish or learn to fish .. that is the question :tongue_smilie:] Obviously choices have to be made. Even if I do the hard work of self education, I can't do everything. .. anyway .. just musing and trying to gain something from those of greater experience besides just another product to try. I've found some awesome products, new and old, expensive and free, and managed to flop at all of them because of that one constant factor - me. After watching the Finland Phenomenon video mentioned in another thread yesterday (with much talk about their teachers) and then reading through some old OOP English books this morning that clearly stated they were assuming a lot of the teacher to know what he/she was doing, to make judgment calls, to know his/her students, and work the lessons accordingly ... well, I'm thinking a lot about these things. Edited August 25, 2012 by SCGS glaring typos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 (edited) SCGS, I spend little time comparing myself to others with more resources than I have. That is their world. This is my world. I'm only responsible to do my best in my world. And remember "best" STOPS with pain. Some of us have been taught that we are not doing our best unless we are in pain. Pain is evidence of self-neglect and all forms of neglect are wrong. So work at a steady pace with what you have and know that is good enough. Often people think they are failing because their results are not the results that people with more resources and different students are having. AND some people are not telling you the WHOLE story. People here have a variety of reasons for not sharing their WHOLE stories. You know, one of the things in the 90s, is that people were setting different and sometimes smaller goals. There was not a one-size-fits-all standard of "success". There were different type of success. People knew what their mission statements were. They chose the materials that would help them fulfill their mission statements. Many of those mission statements were not CENTERED on academics. Academics were often nothing more than fulfilling the "comparable to public school" requirement in their paperwork, and then the rest of what they did focused on religion, family, sports, music, unschooling, apprenticeship, etc. Yes, there were people whose mission statements focused on academics, but not everyone's did. We are only responsible to CENTER on OUR mission statements, and do OUR best with what WE have. A single mom, with an inferior education, living in slum, who only keeps her kids up to the level of the local slum school, but keeps them safe at home and teaches them a love for learning, is a success in my opinion, even though their test scores show them to be in the 20% percentile. Edited August 24, 2012 by Hunter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeindeed Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 Five in a Row-We used this when my older children were young & it was great. Sonlight-the main curriculum for my "middle" children--although ds9 is taking a "detour" for this year (see *note below) Saxon Math-always used it (and still do) with my oldest Oak Meadow-with this curriculum I've only used the preschool package (currently using it with dd4), but it's really nice & gentle & I plan to continue with Oak Meadow for her *This year I'm using Further Up and Further In (unit study based on The Chronicles of Narnia) with my ds9 and I am finding it to be a wonderful study. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenn&charles Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 Or, I wonder what Jessie Wise used to homeschool Susan? Another thread made me wonder what those of you who've been doing this a very long time like, use, and deem truly good. Whether a name-brand curriculum or a method, what are your tried-and-true oldies but goodies, and why? Also, what are some new programs that look like mediocre fluff to you, and why? Thanks! Things that have worked well: Prescription for Reading: Teach Them Phonics It used to be called Dr. Christman's Learn to Read Book. I used it to teach all 3 of my kids to read. My adult daughter now uses it when she tutors. Literature based history with a mix of activities Insert XYZ curriculum name here. They all seem to do a similar job, although some are better than others. I ended up making my own schedules though because I was always tweaking the name-brand stuff. One thing I used for all 3 kids (and include in my homemade schedules): SOTW. Literature and activity/exploration based science Literature based science is so much more interesting than using just a textbook! I ended up making my own stuff as I couldn't find anything that really fit. I've also always had lots of hands on things around for science. We've had an untold number of "insect pets" and done a ton of kits, etc. My kids were exposed to lots of different science concepts just in the course of day-to-day life. You can see pictures that are pretty representative of the type of science I like to do on my website here. Singapore math My daughter said Singapore math was by far the best thing we used and she really benefited from many of the lessons even in her college math classes. I think Singapore was the best at teaching my kids how to problem solve. Handwriting Without Tears I didn't want to use HWOT because I didn't think the cursive was nice looking. However, HWOT turned out to be the best handwriting curriculum out of the bunch I tried. Getting Started with Latin and Lingua Latina Getting Started with Latin is a big confidence booster. It's so easy. If you want to "try out" Latin, it's a perfect starter. Lingua Latina is awesome, but only for older kids and serious Latin study. Stuff that didn't work: A lot of online or computer things I still see a lot of stuff online that's gimmicky, shallow and a waste of money. Rosetta Stone It just never worked well enough. We did better with traditional textbook programs with their myriad of extra resources. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earth Angel_79 Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 (edited) We haven't been "formally" schooling for long (entering 4th year), but I've loved Charlotte Mason principles of 15-20 minute lessons on math, reading, copywork and narration. Narration, especially, simplifies SO many things related to language arts (reading comprehension, vocabulary development, etc). In the past year we started discussing more with our narration. I didn't use to interrupt a narration, but now I might and I find it allows us to explore a subject more in-depth. Every year I look over the boxed-curriculums and never seem able to justify the price-tag....instead I take the money and hit the local library book sales or online stores and invest in real books and we have yet to be disappointed in that choice either. Lapbooking has been a big hit in our house as well, although we very rarely use anything but blank templates for the mini-books. It is basically written narration in those things. My kids love looking back over these and reteaching themselves, from their own work, things they may have forgotten. Now the curriculums WE -- YMMV ;) -- do use and love Miquon for math -- Not flashy, but soooooooo excellent for developing mathematically thinking kids...even in my kids who hesitate at math. Times Tales -- I was ready to drop it the moment I pulled it from the mailbox, but my visual kid grabbed it and proceeded to pick up those multiplication facts in 2 weeks flat. Singapore Challenging Word Problems -- used 2nd and part of 3rd grade last year. Nice addition to the Miquon, because it lacks word problems. Shining Dawn NatureExplorers Nature Study Units -- we did Butterflies Flutter By, Spectacular Spiders and Captivating Clouds with a Nature Club last year that I led. Later some parents told me their kids were correcting the teacher at a homeschool program at a local arboretum, because of the information they learned in our nature club! :) Building Foundations for Scientific Understanding by Bernard Nebel -- we have only partially completed Vol.1, but it has made so many science principals clear to me and allowed me to teach them to my kids in a very natural way. We use a lot of the Let's Read and Find Out Science titles he recommends as well. The yahoo group for this book is invaluable as well. Dr. Nebel is always available on the group and frequently will update you to interesting things happening in the science world, such as the landing of the Mars rover recently. Lastly, I wish I hadn't dismissed Five-in-A-Row so readily when my oldest was younger. I bought it last year and, even though I consider him advanced, there is so much we could have gained from this. We are planning on continuing it this year as it was so loved by them all last year. Edited August 25, 2012 by Earth Angel_79 ETA: CWP recommendation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 (edited) I'm only listing WINNERS that I'd definitely use again if I had been blessed with more kids and the need arose, and only programs that I've used at least 5 cumulative years with more than one kid . . . 5 star means I think every kid (unless some special need indicates otherwise) should really, really be exposed to something amazing. 4 star means I was super happy, but it had some drawbacks and there are likely other good options. 3 star means I recommend it for certain limited circumstances. 100EZL (4 star) Explode the Code (5 star) Pathway Readers (5 star) Singapore Math (5 star) Miquon (4 star) Rod & Staff English (boring, inelegant, but solid - I'd only use it if for some reason MCT was not an option) (3 star) MCT English (fantabulous, best ever, but parent-intensive) (5 star) AoPS Math (PreAlg & up) (5 star -- but only for relatively talented math students) SonLight Cores 3 & 4 (Am. Hist) -- Loved these (4 star). Other SL Cores 1-100 (3 star. CAVEAT on all SL: missionary focus. Can edit/adjust, but they make it harder every year with increasing evangelical bias.) Galore Park Spanish (5 star) Getting Started with Spanish (5 star) Edited August 25, 2012 by StephanieZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenn&charles Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 MCT English (fantabulous, best ever, but parent-intensive) (5 star) Ooooh yes, I forgot to add MCT to my list. Love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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