Differences between PACES and LifePacs

[ssmeest]

Hi Everyone,

 

Could someone chime in on the differences between PACES from School of Tomorrow and LifePacs from Alpha Omega?

 

I'm using PACES Math Gr 2 for my daughter right now and she likes it. I'd like to add more subjects in this format for 3rd grade.

 

Blessings,

Sandra

[Hunter]

PACES are based on quality public school standards and average child development. The expectations of the student are realistic on both difficulty and volume of work. Gifted students can move ahead to the next level earlier. If a student is not gifted, it is better to supplement, rather than letting the student move ahead too quickly.

 

AO is based on private school standards and above average child development and is then squeezed into a public school number of pages. If the teacher is not prepared to fill in the missing pieces, or if the student isn't gifted enough to fill in the missing pieces somehow through guessing or extracurricular reading and hobbies, then there is going to be a problem.

 

I prefer the world view of AO. But Paces are easier for the student to use, and give them a sense of accomplishment and success.

 

AO and CLE like to claim that they teach critical thinking skills. In reality they often just EXPECT critical thinking skills, not TEACH it. You might want to use a critical thinking curriculum to supplement PACES, that is specifically designed to TEACH thinking skills. And you might not. I personally find AO's critical thinking advertisements to include scare tactics, designed to drive business away from their main competitor.

 

If a family is going to use a box, I recommend PACES followed by American School for high school. AS is nonprofit and surprisingly affordable for an accredited correspondence school. PACES are a perfect preparation for AS, having similar educational goals based on normal child development and equivalency to PS volume of work.

[TracyR]

Well my post isn't going to be as detailed as the endorsement above.

 

My suggestion is: If what your using is working , then let it be. Or the old adage " if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

 

There are differences though between the two and I've used Alpha Omega, Ace and Christian Light ( all workbook curriculums)

 

It depends on what you want in a curriculum.

Some families don't care for Ace because its a more of a fill in a blank type of curriculum. With that being said , some children actually learn really well that way. I went to an Ace school and I loved my Paces and learned really well from them. Ace's English and Word Building are excellent.

Though if you plan on ever sending your child to a brick and mortar school, plan on Ace's curriculum to be behind in that area.

 

Alpha Omega is a good curriculum to if you want to have your child think a bit more about the answer. Some families prefer this style of learning in their home and there is nothing wrong with that. A/O is not your read your material and fill in the blank style of learning. The child has to read the material and think about the answer.

 

The same with Christian Light ( though I prefer their style to Alpha Omega in certain subjects.

 

Any curriculum you use for your basic subjects is going to expect your child to have critical thinking skills.

Its up to the parent to guide their child into developing those critical thinking skills necessary to be able to complete the work or task at hand.

 

Critical thinking skills really develop best through time, maturity and experience in life. Not from a workbook , or a textbook. Its up to us as parents to help our children develop critical thinking.

With that said I think every curriculum made requires the parent to guide their children into those skills.

 

Either way, whatever you chose to use, know that the curriculum is just a tool to help your child learn.

 

Your best bet is to go to the website and check out the samples they do have online and compare that way, but if what your child is using is working and there aren't any tears involved. Well, stick with it.

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

The worldview of the PACES is more conservative/legalistic, more based on character building, and more simplified. It's definitely more based on rote memory and more of a mastery style fill in the blanks. PACES really drill a lot and this can be a good thing, especially in the 3R's. Their LA is much stronger, because they have a strong English grammar (with lots of drill), their WOrd Building teaches everything the student needs for phonics, spelling, and other word topics and then moves into Latin and Greek roots in the higher levels. And then there are the Creative Writing/Lit paces. So LA comes in 4 different books. Therefore, there is much more drill and practice, and in the 3r's...well...practice makes proficient. The Lit looks pretty lame and weak compared to what you might study if you used Progeny Press guides, and the Creative Writing starts off very slow. But this may not be a bad thing if your student needs time to develop Writing.

 

We are currently using Lifepac History and Geography. I prefer LIfepac's Worldview over ACE Paces, and the History and Geography are actually pretty well done. There are tons of project suggestions, and the questions definitely make the students think. Although your student can work independently a lot on these, they still require teacher interaction, for the projects, the map work, and also just to help with some of the more vague questions. The Lifepacs will often ask a question that is not "in the LIfepacs" and your student might freak out if he or she were alone on these. I have to sometimes look things up elsewhere or talk through understanding something, in order to complete the questions in the Lifepac.

 

Hope this helps.

[Hunter]

The Lifepacs will often ask a question that is not "in the LIfepacs" and your student might freak out if he or she were alone on these. I have to sometimes look things up elsewhere or talk through understanding something, in order to complete the questions in the Lifepac.

 

 

This, depending on the parent's background, can be a little or a giant issue. As the students works through the curriculum, it usually becomes a bigger and bigger issue.

 

The old AO high school math and science were a complete joke, and useless for anything other than a review of an advanced full curriculum. My gifted son was well challenged by some of the Algebra 1, and he had already completed most of 3 other algebra 1 curricula, that were wildly different in methods and scope and sequence. I have no idea if they have been updated and improved.

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

Yes. I don't recommend Lifepac for a parent who is totally overwhelmed and needing an independent curricula.

 

For example, this week in 5th grade history, my son was asked to locate and label 3 cities and a colony on a map of Canada. Nowhere in the Lifepac was that ever taught. I read the entire section, and although you could pinpoint that Quebec was somewhere on the St. Lawrence river, there was no way to pinpoint the exact location on the map!

 

We had to find a map of Canada, and then the student was also required to circle the area and direction that two of the explorers traveled. This was rather vague too and we just made a guess based on the text.

 

This stuff never ever happens with ACE which is truly independent.

[ssmeest]

Thanks for all the input! I really appreciate it. I guess I'll stick with what is working.

 

My older daughter is a wiz kid and doing 7th grade ABEKA and is 11. My younger daughter, who's 7 and barely doing 2nd grade, has hated school from the get go and is very artsy crafty. PACES Math is the first curriculum she has enjoyed. That's after we've tried Abeka and BJU.

 

So glad I didn't go with AO as it sounds like she would've hated that as well.

[mommyagain]

This has been a helpful thread to another person looking at Paces/Lifepacs! Thank you!:)