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Posted

First of all, I've been lurking for a while and looking through old threads to see what I could find, but I'm new, so hello everyone! I have ordered the WTM book and will be reading it this weekend.

 

I have been planning on trying to HS starting in January (my first grader requested it because she is bored moving so slowly).

 

I could really use some curriculum advice. Overwhelming is an understatement! Now, if I could find a list of the "best" tried-and-true curriculum in every area and go with that, I totally would, but I know it's not that simple. I'm looking for some recommendations for excellent curriculum based on your experiences. (Or, if there is a comparison list somewhere, you could just point me there).

 

I have a preschooler and first grader, but I'm kind of hoping to stay somewhat consistent with curriculum K-4, so anything that would suit those ages is great. The background I'll give is about my older child. The younger one has a similar learning style, but might learn even faster than the older one. They are gifted, but not insanely-gifted, if that makes sense. They love to learn, but they really like to keep things moving. The first focus will be literacy.

 

Last thing- I am looking for secular (or "mostly" secular with a chance sentence or two is okay). (For the record, I'm Christian, but prefer instruction to be secular. They get plenty of religious instruction).

 

PHONICS/READING - This is my concern area. Older dd learned basic reading before school, but has been in 90% Spanish immersion since. Her teacher says her Spanish reading and grammar are impeccable and advanced, but I notice she's missed out on several English rules, so I want to use something to teach my younger dd and review with the older one (more quickly) to get her up to speed. The younger already knows her letter sounds and can sound out very simple words, so we can skip the learning letter sounds stage. I was originally leaning towards 100EZ, but am now thinking ETC? Thoughts? Should I supplement with something else? They have all the BOB books too.

 

WRITING/GRAMMAR? Just plenty of reading at this stage plus ETC? Thoughts?

 

MATH - They are VERY adept at picking up math concepts. They learn, internalize, and move on really quickly in math. A friend recommended Right Start. I've also heard the name Singapore thrown around a lot here. Thoughts? I just want something that will be comprehensive and move them along. I can teach anything in math, so I can add explanation if needed.

 

SCIENCE - Would you say the BFSU is about the most comprehensive secular science out there if the parent is willing to put in the time? That's the one I am leaning towards. I am very experienced in science and don't have a problem with the prep. I have also thought about RS4K and REAL SCIENCE Odyssey. The kids LOVE LOVE LOVE science. Thoughts?

 

SOCIAL STUDIES/HISTORY - Think CHOW first year followed by SOTW? I read a few complaints about jumping around/inaccuracy/simplicity with SOTW, but I can address those.

 

Am I missing something? Thanks so much for your time!

Posted

I worried tremendously about curriculum before I started homeschooling and the first year or so. I read hundreds of threads here religiously--studying curriculum options as if my life depended on it. In year three of homeschooling, I depend less on curriculum, more on skills and method. We still use books, of course, but I am refining my own ideas about education, and I realize "I" am the teacher, not the books, so I don't have to depend on them so much.

 

It sounds like you already have your research done and have a pretty good idea of what you think would work for your family. I say go with what you have picked out. As the PP said, different things work for different families. You won't really know until you try something. You do the best you can and constantly reevaluate.

 

The options can be overwhelming, but if you feel comfortable teaching the basics, as your post sounds like you are, you will be fine with almost everything. You haven't picked any "stinkers," IMHO, so go with your instincts :)

Posted

First- check your HS laws. Do you NEED Science and History right now?

 

second- As for math, do you want Mastery or Spiral? That can make a difference on what we recommend. For Phonics, do you want something with a lot of writing?

 

We are using the things in my signature for my 2nd grader and Kindie if that helps.

Posted

I don't think you can "go wrong" with many of the favorite recommendations on this forum and the WTM book. I just researched for several months (and still am in some subjects) what I thought would be best for us, making charts for different subjects that were confusing/overwhelming me--graphs with price, strengths, weaknesses, descriptions, etc. of my top 3-4 choices in that subject. I researched here as well as homeschoolreviews.com and Cathy Duffy reviews. I thought Duffy was helpful to explain a curriculum if I wasn't sure I "got" it, and to see what her "top 101 picks" were. These forums and homeschoolreviews.com were helpful to get users' input. FWIW, I think ABeka is a great foundation in language arts, especially phonics, and I also think ABeka kindergarten math we're using is great. We're planning to use MUS in 1st though, and SOTW. But like a pp said, things will be different for every family. For me, it was important to have a Christian worldview in every subject as much as possible.

Posted

Just wanted to thank everyone for the responses so far.

 

lindsrae - I can really identify with maybe overdoing the research a little bit when I really should just try to get my feet wet : ).

 

Mandy - thanks for the resources. I'm looking at them now and think they are really great for comparing some of the curriculum. I didn't know about any of those sites yet.

 

Jpoy - I'm not sure. We are in California, and they are listed in first grade curriculum, but I'm not sure if they are requirements or just goals, so I'll find out- thanks for the heads up.

 

Amy - thank you for the other recs and the review sites. I'll definitely be looking at those.

Posted (edited)

If your kids love science, please just do it, whether it's required or not.

 

I think your choices look good. Of course people can come in here and tell you other things, but you've clearly researched, they are all solid choices. You may have to change them once you start though. What often happens is that you realize you liked it and thought it would work, but it's actually too easy/too hard/totally wrong for your kids. There's no way to avoid it, so you just have to take the plunge.

 

As to specifics... I think ETC is a good choice. Some kids do better with other methods, but we've liked ETC. I would add handwriting and maybe some copywork for your first grader. But yes, mostly just read books. For science, I think BFSU is a good choice for kids that age. I'm not fond of RS4K at all (I don't think it teaches the meaning behind anything really) but a lot of people love RSO. BFSU is so cheap as a pdf - I would get that, try it for awhile, add or switch to RSO if you feel like you need something else or something more. As for history, don't listen to the SOTW is inaccurate people too much. Yes, there are a few minor errors. CHOW has its own issues - they all do. I ended up not loving SOTW, but it's a solid program. With kids that age, I'd just dive into it. We loved doing the ancients in K.

 

ETA: Oh, and math... Right Start is more scripted and has lots of games and manipulatives. Singapore is rigorous, conceptual, more workbook/textbook based and has cutesy pictures. Both are good programs. A number of families do RS for a year, love it, but switch to Singapore. They're both mastery based.

 

Good luck. :)

Edited by farrarwilliams
Posted

Just wanted to say welcome and to suggest to start slow: maybe with just math, reading and science first (based on priorities and your kids' interests) and add other things in slowly. I jumped in full swing when I started and promptly burned us out. :tongue_smilie:

 

I found in those early years that focusing on math and science and doing everything else by reading good books worked best for us. You can get plenty of book suggestions from WTM, Great Books Academy, Ambleside Online (might need to secularize for your needs), and by googling for booklists.

 

Two booklists offhand:

Paula's Archives

From Robinson curriculum

 

This secular curricula list could be helpful too.

 

Good luck!

Posted

In CA, if you are registering as a private school, you are required to teach history and science. How you decide to do that is up to you. You do not need a curriculum to teach either and do not need to share your curriculum choices when registering. Simply list the classes you are teaching.

 

And welcome!

Posted

Check out Cathy Duffy's new book 101 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum. She has a great chart to help you figure out if something will work in your particular situation, which I have found very helpful over the years. It goes by how you want to teach, what your child is like, and what type of homeschooling you're drawn to.

 

I adore the WTM, but I liked having that chart to figure out what would be best for us.

Posted

PHONICS/READING - This is my concern area. Older dd learned basic reading before school, but has been in 90% Spanish immersion since. Her teacher says her Spanish reading and grammar are impeccable and advanced, but I notice she's missed out on several English rules, so I want to use something to teach my younger dd and review with the older one (more quickly) to get her up to speed. The younger already knows her letter sounds and can sound out very simple words, so we can skip the learning letter sounds stage. I was originally leaning towards 100EZ, but am now thinking ETC? Thoughts? Should I supplement with something else? They have all the BOB books too.

 

100EZ is good. It's also a lot cheaper then ETC and is just one book. A really good plan would be to see if your library has them and take a look before you buy. Try them out a bit and see which is a good fit for your kids.

 

WRITING/GRAMMAR? Just plenty of reading at this stage plus ETC? Thoughts?

 

I'm a fan of waiting to introduce grammar (it's worked well. Both my older kids love grammar) so just doing plenty of reading sounds good to me. I might also pick some sentences out of your reading for a bit of copywork. That would also give you a chance to talk a bit about basic capitalization and punctuation.

 

MATH - They are VERY adept at picking up math concepts. They learn, internalize, and move on really quickly in math. A friend recommended Right Start. I've also heard the name Singapore thrown around a lot here. Thoughts? I just want something that will be comprehensive and move them along. I can teach anything in math, so I can add explanation if needed.

 

I think this depends on you. Rightstart would be a nightmare in my house. I'm not good at organizing programs with a lot of components. Singapore worked well - great at teaching concepts and very open-and-go.

 

With the baby though I'll be using Miquon and just lots of informal math activities and games until he's ready for the Key to series of workbooks. Math is the subject I used to be anxious about and now I scratch my head and wonder why I ever though I needed a program for the early grades.

 

SCIENCE - Would you say the BFSU is about the most comprehensive secular science out there if the parent is willing to put in the time? That's the one I am leaning towards. I am very experienced in science and don't have a problem with the prep. I have also thought about RS4K and REAL SCIENCE Odyssey. The kids LOVE LOVE LOVE science. Thoughts?

 

As young as kids are just nature journaling, informal experiments and living books are a great option as well. Once they're into the grammar stage Mr.Q's Classical Science is a great option. BFSU is great too - but another program I doubt I'll use because I need the open and go stuff.

 

SOCIAL STUDIES/HISTORY - Think CHOW first year followed by SOTW? I read a few complaints about jumping around/inaccuracy/simplicity with SOTW, but I can address those.

 

Don't worry too much about the innacuracies (though I'm sceptical about those). SOTW is about stories and familiarizing young kids with the flow of history, not giving them a comprehensive list of facts. They'll come back to that in four years. Just enjoy the stories for now.

 

Am I missing something? Thanks so much for your time!

 

The only thing you're missing is what you think you can deal with in a program. Do you want a program with lots of components? Open and go? ETc.

Posted (edited)
First of all, I've been lurking for a while and looking through old threads to see what I could find, but I'm new, so hello everyone! I have ordered the WTM book and will be reading it this weekend.

 

I have been planning on trying to HS starting in January (my first grader requested it because she is bored moving so slowly).

 

I could really use some curriculum advice. Overwhelming is an understatement! Now, if I could find a list of the "best" tried-and-true curriculum in every area and go with that, I totally would, but I know it's not that simple. I'm looking for some recommendations for excellent curriculum based on your experiences. (Or, if there is a comparison list somewhere, you could just point me there).

 

I have a preschooler and first grader, but I'm kind of hoping to stay somewhat consistent with curriculum K-4, so anything that would suit those ages is great. The background I'll give is about my older child. The younger one has a similar learning style, but might learn even faster than the older one. They are gifted, but not insanely-gifted, if that makes sense. They love to learn, but they really like to keep things moving. The first focus will be literacy.

 

Last thing- I am looking for secular (or "mostly" secular with a chance sentence or two is okay). (For the record, I'm Christian, but prefer instruction to be secular. They get plenty of religious instruction).

 

PHONICS/READING - This is my concern area. Older dd learned basic reading before school, but has been in 90% Spanish immersion since. Her teacher says her Spanish reading and grammar are impeccable If possible, try to keep up on the Spanishand advanced, but I notice she's missed out on several English rules, so I want to use something to teach my younger dd and review with the older one (more quickly) to get her up to speed. The younger already knows her letter sounds and can sound out very simple words, so we can skip the learning letter sounds stage. I was originally leaning towards 100EZ, but am now thinking ETC? Thoughts? Should I supplement with something else? They have all the BOB books too.

 

WRITING/GRAMMAR? Just plenty of reading at this stage plus ETC? Thoughts? Plenty of reading could well be enough. If you want a program, you could also consider some gentle WWE1 copywork etc. when ready. Or something similar.

 

MATH - They are VERY adept at picking up math concepts. They learn, internalize, and move on really quickly in math. A friend recommended Right Start. I've also heard the name Singapore thrown around a lot here. Thoughts? I just want something that will be comprehensive and move them along. I can teach anything in math, so I can add explanation if needed.Either. Both are good, but different. Look at the way they do it and see what you think fits you and your children best. Some people also really like Miquon at those ages. If I were starting at first with a child not needing special programs for special reasons, I would probably choose Singapore. At one point when having problems, I got RS games and my particular ds did not like that at all. We used MathUSee, and are now on Math Mammoth 5. The transition was not hard, though others say using MUS makes it hard to switch. MUS allowed my son to get caught up because it was mastery and pages could be skipped when he "got" something, or used when he needed more practice.

 

SCIENCE - Would you say the BFSU is about the most comprehensive secular science out there if the parent is willing to put in the time? That's the one I am leaning towards. I am very experienced in science and don't have a problem with the prep. I have also thought about RS4K and REAL SCIENCE Odyssey. The kids LOVE LOVE LOVE science. Thoughts? Try out a bit of each and see what you will want to stick with. Or if they love it do lots of many things!!! At those ages, I like nature and hands on learning things best. ;) More than any "curriculum".

 

SOCIAL STUDIES/HISTORY - Think CHOW first year followed by SOTW? I read a few complaints about jumping around/inaccuracy/simplicity with SOTW, but I can address those. My son loved SOTW and ended up loving history from it. I was thinking to do CHOW afterwards, but my son just went back through SOTW. We started later than you and did the whole of SOTW in one year.

 

Am I missing something? art, music Thanks so much for your time!

 

Welcome!

Edited by Pen
Posted

For Science, don't overlook NOEO Science; I don't know if they still have any preview pages or table of contents previews online, but their level 1 stuff is pretty fun, particularly the variety of books used with the program. The company is not secular but the material presented is (the program uses all third party books, and what they sell you is a schedule of how to implement it).

 

BFSU has a strong and loyal following here; in the end I didn't agree with Nebel on his approach in enough places that I ended up reading it but deciding not to use it (I forget whether it was in the first or second book that he declared younger kids were incapable of understanding the periodic table and would only be confused and get wrong ideas if you showed it to them in chemistry; I thought :confused::confused::confused: ah, no on that opinion as one example).

 

Although we didn't start until my kids were older (youngest was finishing second grade) the only first grade materials I have used were SWB's WWE level 1, which I felt was fantastic, and converted me from a skeptic to a believer in that system of developing several links in the writing chain.

 

Beyond that, because of the ages at which we began homeschooling, I can't offer you anything beyond best wishes and good luck!

Posted

I still have time to think about it and preview a few items, but I am now leaning towards the following. These will be the ones we plan on trying out first. Thank you everyone for the recommendations and help!

 

Reading: Phonics Pathways, maybe with occasional ETC work and lots of reading.

Math: Singapore (the descriptions here were way helpful!)

Science: BFSU - light focus

History: SOTW - light focus

 

Grammar and Writing: probably FLL and WWE, but we are not going to worry about that until 2nd grade at least. At least they speak with decent grammar. One adjustment at a time : ). Handwriting is already excellent.

 

Thanks for the warm welcome : )

Posted
For Science, don't overlook NOEO Science; I don't know if they still have any preview pages or table of contents previews online, but their level 1 stuff is pretty fun, particularly the variety of books used with the program. The company is not secular but the material presented is (the program uses all third party books, and what they sell you is a schedule of how to implement it).

 

BFSU has a strong and loyal following here; in the end I didn't agree with Nebel on his approach in enough places that I ended up reading it but deciding not to use it (I forget whether it was in the first or second book that he declared younger kids were incapable of understanding the periodic table and would only be confused and get wrong ideas if you showed it to them in chemistry; I thought :confused::confused::confused: ah, no on that opinion as one example).

 

 

Hmm- we will definitely check out both : )

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