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#1 Most Favorite Curriculum Ever!


JenniferB
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Please name your #1 most favorite curriculum EVER!

 

I'll start. Mine is Teaching the Classics. I just discovered it this year and every lesson is like gold. We use this once a week with 5, 8, and 9 year olds and sometimes our friends who are ages 8 and 11. We are learning literary devices, story arc elements and how to find conflict, plot and theme in a story. We are doing the Kindergarten picture book list from Reading Roadmsps. The lessons are deep and meaningful and the highlight of the week.

 

Please tell me your #1 program and why you love it so much. I would love to have such high quality lessons for the rest of our subjects. :D

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I also don't think I can pick just one, but the thing I roam the internets talking up and probably believe in most strongly right now is Bravewriter. As I have probably said now a million times, even if the whole "lifestyle" doesn't work for someone, I think pretty much every homeschooler could get something out of reading The Writer's Jungle.

 

But gee, I really want to say Miquon too. Ds started part of Purple yesterday (he still has some Yellow to finish up too) and I got all sad! No! No! Don't let it come to an end!

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I also don't think I can pick just one, but the thing I roam the internets talking up and probably believe in most strongly right now is Bravewriter. As I have probably said now a million times, even if the whole "lifestyle" doesn't work for someone, I think pretty much every homeschooler could get something out of reading The Writer's Jungle.

 

 

I just started using their Arrow and Boomerang guides. This may be another keeper, but I haven't used them long enough to say for sure. So far so good though. I might check out Writer's Jungle next year.

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I'll let you know when I stop buying and butchering curriculum. :laugh:

 

 

Seriously, Moving Beyond The Page has come the closest. We used their lit units individually instead of buying the whole package, but oh, my...I don't think I did anything to them. They had everything I wanted: book study, grammar/literature element study, learning how to write, and all wrapped up in neat hands on projects that encouraged my kid to learn. He can still tell you all about falcons and specific mountain ranges he studied through MBTP. I only wish they went higher than age 14 right now.

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Explode the Code for sure! DD hated reading and learning to read with a passion last year. And then we found Explode the Code and she loves it! She laughs at the silly sentences and is proud of herself when she figures out the right answers. It's not too much writing and gives her confidence. :)

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Oh, this is too hard! Virtually impossible.

 

I asked everyone. Is that fair? :D

 

DS6: Life of Fred

 

DD: Show Me a Story (book, not curriculum; a part of our writing workshop, tailor made for artsy kids)

 

DS9: AoPS

 

Me: Our homemade inquiry science. Aside from that, it's a tie between MCTLA and IEW-TWSS (funny as that may sound).

 

DH: SOTW & Story of Science

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Logic of English- Especially the new foundations program. It takes something I am terrible at, and breaks it down into easy to use lessons, full of engaging, fun activities and games. Spelling and learning to read could not be easier.

 

And- Beast Academy- it's charming and challenging, and gets rid of all the math battles in our house.

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This is hard. We're actually having a really good year this year. But I think over the past 5 yrs., I'd have to go with Rightstart Math used in combination with Math Mammoth. (The things I was frustrated w/ each on their own was solved when I combined them.) ;) (like how I got to answer two but count it as one? :laugh:

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Hmm, this is an interesting but difficult task!

 

I've been homeschooling for 13 years and during that time I have had many different favorites. Right now my list would be:

 

HOD-Preparing

Landry Academy classes

CLE English and Math

AAS

 

I'm still looking for a great writing program for my boys. I'll be checking into some of the favorites mentioned in this thread.

 

Thanks,

Elise in NC

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MCT would be my top. It is so flexible and adaptive. I am doing Island with my 6 and 8 year olds and I never though a 6 year old would be able to look at any sentence and point out direct/indirect objects, and fully understand object/subject pronouns. It's like impossible not to learn from it.

 

I was totally in love with IEW. Well actually I still am. But I am finding it too formulaic for DS :crying: I am still trying to accept it and the possibility of going back to WWE

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I always giggle when we are asked to come up with our 1 favorite something, b/c I know at least half of us will be unable to list just one thing!!! I'm having the same problem, I can't do it! I keep going around in circles between choosing the things that I think teach most effectively (WWS, Math Mammoth), and the things I enjoy teaching the most (MCT, homemade science), and the things dd has had the most fun with (LOF, Gale Carson Levine's creative writing book).

 

I asked dd, and told her to pick just one thing, and she picked WP's Equine Science, though she said that MP's Entomology is right behind that . . . guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!

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I'm enjoying this thread! I'm finding it hard to answer too. Of course, not because I have more than one favorite, but really I can't think of one favorite. We tolerate a lot of stuff and slightly like the rest of it. I guess I could say RightStart Math. We started it late and had we used it from the beginning I'm sure I would LOVE it. We run into problems once in a while because it is just so different from other programs we have used. It is working great for us this year!

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I, also, haven't been at this very long. However, when asked, my son immediately said, "SOTW!!". It's a huge hit here, it's engaging, thorough, and easy to build off of as well. We really enjoy it. My close second would be Singapore's Primary Mathematics oh and WWE. These are the things we have done from the beginning without changing. They just click with us.

 

So.

1 - SOTW

2 - WWE (We even get a lot of our read alouds from the snippets in WWE, love this thing.)

3 - Singapore's Primary Mathematics

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As in complete boxed?

 

None.

 

Otherwise...

 

Math

Modern Curriculum Press

Lials BCM and Introductory Algebra

Jacobs Geometry

 

English

Little stories for little folks (catholic alpha phonics) combined with ETC (I don't use the 1/2 books)

Primary language lessons

Intermediate language lessons

Write with the best vol 1 and 2

Lightening lit 7 and 8

DUKE Once and Future King

garlic press advanced guides

Literary lessons from lord of the rings

Kolbe 9-12

An extensive book list

 

History

SotW vol 1 and 2

catholic textbook publishing texts grades 5 - 8

Seton press history worktexts (NOT the carrol books!)

Glencoe Spevogal and CLEP and extensive booklist and Teaching Company DVDs

 

Science

Real Science 4 Kids

Apologia or Abeka pending kid learning style and needs

Lab equipment, field trips, getting dirty, and YouTube

 

Religion

Catechism and Kolbe

 

Memory work

Classically Catholic Memory

Harp and Laurel Wreath

Favorite Poems Old and New

 

Cursive and Spelling

Our Lady of Victory

Or Natural Speller

 

Maps, Charts and Graphs

 

Grammar

Daily Grams and a foreign language

In 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th grade I add a grammar program. Seton, Our Lady of Victory and/or Daily Grams

 

Foreign Language

In person. Just about any in person experience is better than anything online or DVD IME. Heavens knows I tried just about everything on the market not in person. :/

 

Art

Art with a Purpose

Draw Write Now

Drawing through History (I'd LOVE to see a science version and more history editions!!!)

God and the History of Art

 

I feel like I'm missing something... Can't remember what...

 

But this is my core program after many a trial and error and wayward diversion over the years.

 

My biggest regrets are:

I simply cannot afford foreign language lessons as young as I would like. Say kindergarten! As it is, I can barely scrape funds together for high school foreign language. I think it is a travesty that foreign language isn't taught easier much much earlier in America.

 

I simply cannot afford quality music instruction. In home schooling circles it seems to either be the great but crazy expensive studios/instructors or the almost embarrassing no one really excels bc its all fun instructors. I don't think I've done badly per se. They love music. But they aren't challenged and pushed and given the high bar expectation I'd like. (and yes, I know that can go negative too.)

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As in complete boxed?

 

No, not boxed, just your one most favorite curriculum ever, like the one I mentioned, Teaching the Classics. This is a literature curriculum, and I look forward to our once a week lessons. Each and every lesson has been like gold to us, like a bowl of hearty, healthy chicken soup, like the best lesson ever. If you have an experience like this with a particular program/curriculum resource, please share that experience here. What lessons do you look forward to teaching? What lessons do you get the most out of, holistically? That's what I mean by my question.

 

This year I took up a theme, which was to use this Bible verse, "whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

 

The theme/verse is what I use to direct our lessons, "What can we find in this lesson that is true or noble or just or ...?" Using Teaching the Classics we have *easily* been able to find at least one, but almost always each and every one of these things in our literature studies. Without Teaching the Classics, this task would not be as easily accomplished. The true, noble, just, etc. is usually kind of hard to find (for me) but Teaching the Classics made it super easy, and fun, and eye opening, altogether nourishing for all of us.

 

If you have a curriculum that you just love in a deep way, like I love Teaching the Classics, please share it. That is what I'm asking.

 

:D I hope that makes sense, and I hope to glean some gems from this thread. :D

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Favorites others have mentioned:

AoPS

Galore Park Jr English

 

Favorites nobody else uses:

Sound and Sense (poetry)

Artes Latinae

My Catholic Faith

Standard Service Arithmetics

 

Unfindable favorites:

Scribner School Editions (literature)

Open University Discovering Science

 

Favorites everybody uses:

Handwriting Without Tears

Miquon

TOPS (science)

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