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Do we have a Hits & Misses thread for 2012-2013 yet?


ereks mom
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Most of our curriculum choices were hits, but the biggest successes were:

 

Writing Skills, Book 2 (2e) -- This was GREAT! My writing-hating 8th grader enjoyed it most of the time, and lessons were mostly short and sweet, so she didn't feel overwhelmed. I liked it so much that I'm having my 10th/11th grader use it over the summer because she had woefully little writing and grammar in her previous school before she came to me this year. In the fall, all of my students will be using Writing Skills, Book 3. I just wish I'd found this series years ago for my own children!

 

TT Pre-Algebra 2e for 8th & TT Algebra 1 1e for 10th -- My 10th grader started off the year with TT Algebra 2, but halfway through the year, we hit a wall & had to drop back to Algebra 1 because she just didn't have the foundation (although she had attended the most prestigious/riogorous school in our area :glare:). The first edition moves very slowly, and it was just what she needed. At last, she began to understand math!

 

Home Economics (sewing) -- We started off with Stitches & Pins and branched out on our own. EK & my other students made a quilt to donate to our local Project Linus chapter. Our local newspaper even published a brief article about the girls and their quilt. :D

 

Castles of Character, Teen Edition -- DVD character curriculum from InCorVa.com. My students responded well to this, and it really got them thinking. They enjoyed watching the DVD and had very good discussions about the topics.

 

Summer Promise and other books in the Christy Miller series by Robin Jones Gunn -- The girls LOVED these books. Even my reading-haters could hardly wait to find out what happened next.

 

 

As always, some curriculum choices worked much better than others, and the only true misses were:

 

Vocabulary Workshop -- I wanted to love this, but no available answer key meant that it was back on the shelf by the 3rd week of school. :(

 

The Phantom Tollbooth - None of us (4 girls + me) liked this. I know it gets rave reviews, but we just thought it was silly.

 

Civics in America - This book was highly recommended on the boards awhile back, but I didn't like it at all.

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We didn't really have any misses but there are some things I am going to change out and do a little differently.

 

Math Mammoth - We liked this but my kids are requesting one where they can watch a video and do their work so we are going to try Math U See along with MM and Life of Fred. Also my oldest is entering 7th so he has to move to something else anyway.

 

Story of the World. We like this but I almost feel like it is too simplistic for the age of my kids. Some of that is my fault for not expanding on things more.

 

First Language Lessons - Loved and will use again next year.

 

Writing With Ease - Loved and will use again next year.

 

Classical Conversations - Foundations- My kids really enjoyed this and we will do it again next year.

 

IEW - We didn't love it but it is very effective and even my reluctant writer was turning in better work.

 

Essentials of the English Language - I really like this as a grammar program. It is very thorough and being the English geek that I am, I love the diagramming and proofreading.

 

All About Reading/All About Spelling - We are happy with these and will use them again next year.

 

My oldest will start Challenge next year so a lot of things will change up for him. I am going to do My Father's World with my younger two. I am one of those that I think will feel more relaxed if I have a check off list to do everyday without having to plan it myself. We are also going to add in Spanish as my neighbor is from Columbia and has offered to teach my kids.

 

All in all, for our first year of homeschooling, I am happy with how the year went and looking forward to next year.

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This has been a great year for hits.

 

Art of Problem Solving + Alcumus + math competitions: The combo has really helped Middle Girl turn on the math switch in her brain.

 

TOPS science units: We did the Electricity, Magnetism, and Optics units. So much science learned. And by the end of each unit, I'm learning science I hadn't known (not that that takes much).

 

Galore Park Junior English + Poetry For Pleasure + Word Wealth Junior: Together, a complete literature analysis, poetry, and vocabulary/spelling curriculum that MG looks forward to.

 

LLATL, old books. Other threads are making me suspect that the current edition of LLATL is profoundly different from my old, single-volume books. The Red Book, old edition, works fantastically for Wee Girl, though.

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Visual Link has been a huge success which is a big relief after searching for a good Spanish curric for so long.

 

Beast Academy was a miss for us, and we are happily back with MEP which continues to be a hit.

 

Barton has been fantastic for my son. We started after thanksgiving and he is on level 4 now and gained a lot of skill and confidence with his reading..

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Hits:

Biblioplan--- loved it!

SL readers and read alouds-- love their books!

MM, BSGFAA, ES ESA

AAR

HWOT

ZB cursive (handwriting was dd's favorite subject!) :)

 

Misses:

WWE 2- sadly, it just wasn't a good fit for dd..we ended up switching to the WWE text and loosely following that for the rest of the year.

Sonlight Core C (as is). We started using the full core as it is written and it was a disaster...too much extra stuff, too many books at once. We switched to BP as a base and added in SL readers and read alouds and are much happier.

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This year, there were several things that were just fine and served us well but I wouldn't necessarily call them big hits. The things my kids were most excited about are listed below. :)

 

Hits:

 

MUS Alpha (1st), Delta (4th), and Epsilon (7th)

Christian Kids Explore Earth and Space (4th)

Mr. Putter and Tabby series by Cynthia Rylant (1st)

Daily Grammar (free archives online)

 

Misses:

 

Tapestry of Grace year 2 (too much stuff, just couldn't keep up with it, and felt overwhelmed by it)

Life of Fred (DS13 loved Fred but he still wasn't getting the math concepts so we had to drop it back to being just a fun supplement)

First Language Lessons 1 (DD7 thought it was great, me not so much)

Explode the Code (I personally love this series and feel that it really helped DD7 learn to read better and understand the phonics rules better but she says she hates it so that makes it a miss)

KISS Grammar (DS10 hated it)

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We ended up on a totally different path from where we started this year but I've learned a lot! (Hopefully.)

 

Hits:

Miquon (math that gets done without me crying and declaring to DH that I've quit homeschooling his firstborn)

The Verbal Math Lesson 1, and now 2 (see above, plus the mental strategies and copious word problems = love)

Prima Latina (it got done! It also complimented our regular Latin memory work)

A Child's History of the World (not a "perfect" resource for us but workable, it got read, inspired many discussions, and inspired DS to study some periods and events further on his own)

 

There are several things being enjoyed but which haven't been used for long enough to justify making the list this year such as Classical Writing Aesop, New Franklin Arithmetic, KISS Grammar, Latina Chrisitiana (in pertinent part) and some new history resources.

 

Misses:

Heart of Dakota's Beyond (I am embarrassed it admit that I sold it, rebought it, and failed to get far with it AGAIN - if you ever see me toying with the idea of an "all planned out" curriculum SLAP ME - ... It's tempting me even as I type it inspite of my horrid history with them)

 

Sequential Spelling (add formal spelling to the list of things that I need to just stay away from)

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I am one of those that I think will feel more relaxed if I have a check off list to do everyday without having to plan it myself.

 

Me too!

 

All in all, for our first year of homeschooling, I am happy with how the year went and looking forward to next year.

 

Congratulations on completing your first year! My "baby" is graduating, and I am sad to see 17 years of homeschooling my children come to an end. I thoroughly enjoyed teaching my children, and I can't help feeling a little envious of people just starting out. I will be teaching other people's children, but it won't really be the same. Enjoy your homeschool journey and cherish these times.

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Mostly hits this year luckily. Some years I've felt like most everything was a miss. These were some of our favorites this year. I'm homeschooling 9th, 7th, and 2nd this year.

 

Math (MUS Algebra, Epsilon, and Alpha all were great for my girls that have a hard time with math, ds does Singapore and enjoying that)

All About Spelling

Elemental Science (this is the first elementary science program I've managed to be pretty consistent with and I've been homeschooling 10 years)

Explode the Code (one of the few things I've used since I started homeschooling but they've been great for my dd with dyslexia this year)

CC Challenge (my teens were so good about getting their work done for this- I was kind of lukewarm on some of the selections for the program but it gave my girls practice with deadlines plus they really enjoyed the social aspect)

 

My favorite new thing I found this year was Daily 5 math sheets I got off Teachers Pay Teachers. They seem to be a nice compliment to our regular math programs and have a nice variety of problems.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/In-The-Math-Lab

 

 

 

Not necessarily misses but thinking we may not do them next year.

 

Growing with Grammar

My Father's World (we've done it for 3 years and I just can't get excited to do ECC next year)

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This has been a good year for my curricula choices.

 

For my 4th grader:

Hits: Nearly everything. Our language arts have been a real success this year. Some old favorites like Sequential Spelling--still our favorite thing. WWE has been great. My ds is really thriving with it. And Bravewriter has been a fabulous hit!!!

 

Saxon 5/4 has been a hit. My ds is really learning to take control and be independent with that subject and he is really starting to mature into his math knowledge. I worried for some time about that subject.

 

Harmony Fine Arts has been a real hit. I love having that schedule and plan laid out for me.

 

Misses: Artistic Pursuits began to bore us to tears. SOTW....Unfortunately a hit for Mom but still a big miss according to my ds. Although I don't think he likes any history. Oddly enough the history hit this year was to stop SOTW and start reading the history sections in a set of What Your Grader Needs to Know books. I literally started with the preschool book and just read aloud and discussed the history section and then we picked up the K book and so on. We're about to finish up reading the 5th grade book and will move on to the 6th this summer. It was the first time ever my ds showed an interest in history and actually retained some info.

 

K Hits and Misses;

 

Unfortunately more misses than hits. He loved SM Essential K and MEP activities and basically any math activity or game I tried. His reading is sort of getting a shaky start. He likes ETC well enough but OPGTR has been a bust. The lit activities in Peak With Books are still a hit and a favorite part of the day. He also did art with us and OHC nature study, and that has been a hit.

 

ScienceWorks started out a big Hit but quickly turned into a Miss. My Kinder loves science but SW is too babyish and coloring page like for his personality. I'm a tad worried about his 1st grade, because so far he has shown that he doesn't really like or respond to most things that I have tried. Some sort of "guided unschooling" may be in order. I'm just not sure. I hope the things I've selected for 1st work out!! :confused1:

 

Tot school with my dd has been a big hit--she loves any Montessori or tot busy bag style activity I set up for her. Montessori homeschooling method is becoming a big hit for her and I hope to fold my older boys into it soon and for next year.

 

ETA: the biggest miss all around was attempting Oak Meadow at the beginning of the year. I had OM 4th grade and some preschool and "2nd" grade elements----just no.

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We didn't really have any misses but there are some things I am going to change out and do a little differently.

 

Math Mammoth - We liked this but my kids are requesting one where they can watch a video and do their work so we are going to try Math U See along with MM and Life of Fred. Also my oldest is entering 7th so he has to move to something else anyway.

 

Story of the World. We like this but I almost feel like it is too simplistic for the age of my kids. Some of that is my fault for not expanding on things more.

 

First Language Lessons - Loved and will use again next year.

 

Writing With Ease - Loved and will use again next year.

 

Classical Conversations - Foundations- My kids really enjoyed this and we will do it again next year.

 

IEW - We didn't love it but it is very effective and even my reluctant writer was turning in better work.

 

Essentials of the English Language - I really like this as a grammar program. It is very thorough and being the English geek that I am, I love the diagramming and proofreading.

 

All About Reading/All About Spelling - We are happy with these and will use them again next year.

 

My oldest will start Challenge next year so a lot of things will change up for him. I am going to do My Father's World with my younger two. I am one of those that I think will feel more relaxed if I have a check off list to do everyday without having to plan it myself. We are also going to add in Spanish as my neighbor is from Columbia and has offered to teach my kids.

 

All in all, for our first year of homeschooling, I am happy with how the year went and looking forward to next year.

 

 

tell me more, my son doesn't write very well

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I went looking for last year's hits & misses thread and found this from me:

 

Misses:

HOD LHTH, LHFHG & Beyond: Beautiful, loved the idea, but fit my son like a square peg fits a round hole.

Math Mammoth: I had to be a dragon blasting unrelenting fire at my son's rear to get it done. We cried many tears. My son is a living math guy.

 

 

 

... To compare with this year:

 

 

Hits:

Miquon (math that gets done without me crying and declaring to DH that I've quit homeschooling his firstborn)

The Verbal Math Lesson 1, and now 2 (see above, plus the mental strategies and copious word problems = love)

[..]

Misses:

Heart of Dakota's Beyond [..]

 

 

...Which provides evidence that I *am* learning and making progress. :p I have big hopes for the coming year. lol

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Hits:

MUS

Apologia Zoo 2

SCM history guides and free curriculum guide--this has been our best year yet!

Charlotte Mason style art/music/poetry

Write On! by Karen K. Newell --after trying several writing programs, this one has stuck with my oldest

Prima Latina

History/Bible Scribe notebook pages--I got a bunch on sale for $1 at currclick and have been happy with them. We use them for written narrations and/or copywork

Draw Squad

MCP Phonics--after years of ETC, I gave this a try and my DD loves the flashcards and tear-out readers.

McGuffey readers (although we've been using them for years, so this isn't a surprise for me)

HOD's LHTH--this was a total miss with my 3rd child, but I gave it another try with my youngest and she loves it!

 

Misses:

Writing Strands

ILL (I'll probably give it another try with my 2nd oldest)

this won't be popular, but Miquon was a miss for us

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Hits:

 

MUS!!!! It works; my middle child is actually learning math and feeling confident about it.

MP Latin - we used FFL and PL this year, and both have worked wonderfully (as always). Definitely moving up to the next levels this fall. With DVD's, of course :D

MP FMoR/FMoMA - I can't believe how much history my oldest child has learned this year, and she has enjoyed it as well.

MP Lit - we used them mainly as discussion guides, with a little practice forming complete sentences as needed. Good books and enjoyable discussions!

Just Write book 1 - 3rd grader enjoyed it, and it helped her writing skills...not a lot, she is a natural writer, but there were some lessons on things like using stronger words that stuck in her head.

R&S English - it just works.

R&S Math for my oldest - we finally went back to this a month ago, and she has learned more in the last month than she did the rest of the school year. I sincerely wish we never would have switched from it; her brain needed time to mature, it wasn't the fault of the curriculum. I feel like we lost a year of instruction :( , and it is all my fault.

Apologia zoology Flying Creatures - my kids have really enjoyed it and have learned a lot...we will be out somewhere and they will notice something (like a specific type of bird's nest, or an insect) and tell me all about it.

 

Misses:

LOF - my oldest just couldn't pick up the math concepts from the books. She went through Fractions and Decimals & Percents and didn't learn anything. We went back to R&S math (a combo of the 6th & 7th grade books) and are now finishing them up, along with the free subscription to yourteacher.com (or whatever that is from HSBC) at the pre-algebra level, and she is just taking off in math.

Key to Fractions/Decimals/Percents - used them in conjunction w/LOF above...good practice, but poor instruction on some of the concepts.

MP States & Capitals - my kids didn't learn a thing.

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Hits:

Moving Beyond the Page literature units! We have enjoyed a couple of the 9-11 ones, and are planning on several 10-12 ones next year. I love the integrated writing.

Complete Book of US History. A great spine to embellish when we have time, but good enough to stand alone when we're rushed. DS can do it independently too!

America: The Story of Us DVD (History Channel). DS thinks these episodes are a special treat!

Mr. Q Physical Science. So easy to get done, which makes it a winner. DS learned a lot of important concepts, and although it is not particularly deep or challenging, it got done.

Step-by-Step Problem Solving and 70 Must-Know Word Problems: AWESOME introduction to the bar model method and I consider this a huge asset to our year. Wish we did it sooner.

Hands-On Equations: DS asks to do this. Anytime he asks to do math, it's a win.

 

Misses:

CLE math. After completing the 500s, we are going back through Math in Focus 5 to review the conceptual side of the math and improve problem solving skills. It is unbelievably better at explaining the reasoning and showing how the math works. I regret going with CLE this year. :(

 

 

Meh:

Saxon Phonics Intervention. It moves soooo fast that my son doesn't remember a lot of what we covered at the end. Coverage doesn't equal mastery! The spelling was odd and we gave up on the vocab. It helped him improve his reading somewhat, but that time could have been better spent on something else that was more effective. Rewards maybe? LOE?

Growing with Grammar: He likes it has gained skills for sure, but I can see the criticism that it is easy for kids to just complete the worksheets without really understanding. We'll be trying Hake next year.

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Hits:

 

Singapore Math

All About Spelling

IEW SWI-A and just started All Things Fun and Fascinating (love it even more and will probably start my next child with it now that I know how to teach the IEW way)

Story of the World 2

Time Travelers New World Explorers

First Language Lessons - so sad we are finishing the last book. We will try Junior Analytical Grammar for 5th

Total Language Plus - BIG HIT with me and my 4th grader enjoys it too

Getting Started with Spanish

Home Art Studio - Art is finally getting done

McRuffy Language Arts - I don't love it as much as FLL/AAS combo but dd does and is doing much better

 

Misses:

 

Mr Q Earth and Space - I felt like I had to supplement too much. We liked REAL Science Life experiments better last year but was too easy for ds. We will try Elemental Science next year. Hopefully, third curricula choice is a charm. :)

Critical Thinking Co Word Roots - very little retention

Wordly Wise 3000 Online - very little retention

 

Overall, a successful year!

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Kelly- it really has been the best science year. I've loved it. :) We added in a lot of nature walks and really explored the topics and found it to be so much fun. We're continuing with the nature connection next year and going in depth again with more of the topics.

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I don't think we had any huge misses this year. We were mostly hits:

 

Heart of Dakota (I thought for part of the year that this was a miss, but it was a trying time in life and I don't think anything would have been a hit for those few months; we are using it again and loving it.)

Rod & Staff English

First Language Lessons (we used both R&S and FLL this year and it was so hard to decide which one to go on with; love them both and wish FLL continued past 4!)

Saxon math

Singapore math

IEW

Apologia Astronomy

 

We did spend a few months this year making our own history, which I did enjoy, but it was a lot of work. So, not a hit, but not a miss, either. :)

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Our primary curriculum choices worked just fine. The big hit/miss events happened in our supplements.

 

Hits:

 

Lollipop Logic

Tangoes Jr. (tangram puzzles)

Magic School Bus DVDs

 

Misses:

 

ETC (I like this, but DS(6) finds it excruciating)

Miquon (DS(6) already knows most of his math facts and so refuses to use the C-rods to build anything. He's just not an exploration-y guy when it comes to math. I'm hoping it will be more of a hit with DS(4) when he's a little older.)

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tell me more, my son doesn't write very well

 

It basically gives you a formula for each assignment and a checklist of what to put into that assignment. My reluctant writer liked that he knew exactly what he had to include in his writing. We saw a definite improvement in his writing using it.

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We have had a pretty good year (and will continue through the summer :001_smile:).

Here are our hits:

-Math Mammoth blue series

-Right Start math games

-WRTR for spelling

-a mix of IEW and WWE for writing

-finally having the confidence to put my own curriculum together (thanks to SWB!), knowing it will get done that way, and not having to feel guilty about purchased curricula that isn't used

-finally taking the time to use MOTH and put a workable schedule together (this has been essential in keeping behavior problems and school interruptions to a minimum)

 

Here are our misses:

-MOH (we started out the year really enjoying it but dd7 just wasn't able to keep up or follow along, and ds9 is getting a little bored with it)

-MEP math (I love this math program and it really is great, but teaching 3 and soon to be 4 different levels was just too much- no fault of the program)

-MFW (I had great hopes of teaching the kids together but ECC was too monotonous and the books were either under or above their level)

 

That is all I can think of for now. I will have to come back and edit if I remember more.

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We've kind of hit our stride where I know what will work and what won't so mostly hits this year.

 

Hits:

Math in Focus

Miquon/Singapore Essentials

Sassafras Science

MCT Island level especially the poetry book

IEW SWI-A

LOE Foundations

Lollipop Logic

Peak with Books

K12 Literature

Bible Study Guide for All Ages

 

Misses:

 

Elemental Science Exploring Science (I'm not sure what was wrong with this precisely, but it totally was rubbing me the wrong way. We're currently working our way through the Berenstain Bears' Big Book of Science and Nature adding in supplemental reading, videos, projects, and my own homemade notebooking pages. It's going great!)

 

Combining my kids (I gave it the good ole' college try this year, but I just can't combine them for science/history and feel like they are being met on their level as well as they do when I separate them for most subjects. Next year we are going back to individual work and topics and I'm VERY happy about that! I am in awe of you homeschoolers who can combine all of your kids for content subjects.)

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Hits:

Learning through songs! VP, Shurley English jingles, Geography songs, Song School Latin

Singapore Math, S/E. I love the HIG, ds likes the layout.

MCT Grammar Island. Ds thinks its very funny.

 

Misses:

Saxon Math for ds. Too much on each page, too much repetition and yet math facts still didn't stick.

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We had a varied year, trying to find my stride with more needing more focused attention.

 

Hits

- Life of Fred elementary. My boys just LOVE these, and they are learning a lot. My 4th grader is going to do the intermediates over the summer

- HOD Preparing Hearts for 4th - perfect balance of mom time and independent time

- History for Little Pilgrims - we started this in January when I uncharacteristically dropped stuff. We just sit down and read it together, pre-K through 2nd grade.

- TT 4

 

Misses

- HOD Beyond - we quit after getting through about ten units. Neither the 2nd grader nor I were enjoying it at all

- TT 3 - 2nd grader tested into the level, but the "time out for a hint" thing scared him so he asked to switch to CLE

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I'm not sure we've actually had any misses this year. (Whoa!) There were a couple of near-misses because we started them before DD was quite ready, but put them away for awhile and now things are going swimmingly.

 

Biggest hits:

CLE math - finally a program that DD retains the material from

CTT Creative Writing - not easy for DD, but she's learned a lot

Apples & Pears - SO much better here than AAS, and fewer pieces

Meet the Masters

 

Ok:

SOTW - had to beef it up a bit, but DD isn't/wasn't quite ready for logic stage work

WP Equine Science - DD loves it, but we're taking it really slow. I had hoped to get it all done this year and move on to physics or chemistry soon.

Getting Started with Latin

Pictures in Cursive

 

It's a little early to give a verdict on MCT Island, but DD says she likes it.

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Hits:

SOTW 1 with Hands and Hearts Kits and History Portfolio Junior

Singapore Math K and 1st

Spell to Write and Read

Atelier Art

 

Middle:

BFSU- such a good science curriculum, but I drag my feet sometimes on prepping/teaching it

Salsa Spanish- it is cute, but part of me wishes I was doing more for Spanish

 

Misses:

Climbing to Good English-my boys loved this, but did not seem to learn anything from it

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Hits: SOTW1 - I don't think history would get done in this house without it

BFSU - I really like this and have figured out to use it so it is not so preparation intensive, my DD loves science

Singapore/MEP/Horizons - the combination is good for DD as she changes her mind about what works for her all the time - being able to switch all the time has helped her hate none of them and learn from all of them - dropping one for a week or two always means she approaches it better when I switch back

Sonlight Readers

 

Misses: tried some free grammar programs (DoDEA and another I can't remember)

: any of the free spelling programs we tried - most were not phonetic, we don't do spelling lists anymore

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I'm not sure we've actually had any misses this year. (Whoa!) There were a couple of near-misses because we started them before DD was quite ready, but put them away for awhile and now things are going swimmingly.

 

Biggest hits:

CLE math - finally a program that DD retains the material from

CTT Creative Writing - not easy for DD, but she's learned a lot

Apples & Pears - SO much better here than AAS, and fewer pieces

Meet the Masters

 

Ok:

SOTW - had to beef it up a bit, but DD isn't/wasn't quite ready for logic stage work

WP Equine Science - DD loves it, but we're taking it really slow. I had hoped to get it all done this year and move on to physics or chemistry soon.

Getting Started with Latin

Pictures in Cursive

 

It's a little early to give a verdict on MCT Island, but DD says she likes it.

 

Can someone link me to Apples and Pears to purchase?? I have looked and looked and am just not finding it?? Thanks!

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Very few misses here.

 

Hits:

Teaching Textbooks 4, 7, and Algebra 1 2.0

Apologia Elementary books

Mystery of History and Story of the World Vol 1

First Language Lessons

Winston Grammar for my VSL

 

Misses:

Apologia Physical Science

Latina Christiana

Writing with Skill - I loved it, kids couldn't stand it.

 

 

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A hit with us: Calvert 5th grade. It is not perfect, but it gets done with no gaping holes.

 

A huge hit with me: Verticy Green level grammar/composition and Calvert 6th math. They have enabled me to deal with areas of both strength and weakness without pulling my hair out! I particularly like the video instruction for the math lesson, as this is getting DD used to someone else being the teacher.

 

A huge hit with DD: Sonlight D, now called 4 I think, which she is doing independently for comprehension work while we take a break before 6th grade. Dragon Box and Hands on Equations, which enable her to be smart, while still playing (her words).

 

 

So-so: Phonetic Zoo A, (too early to say yet), Early Reading Comprehension in Varied Subject Matter books A-D (nice, but a bit too easy)

 

No misses, as I have finally learnt to spend more time teaching, and less time searching for the perfect curriculum. If we fancy a break, we take a look at what we already have on the shelf.

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I feel like almost my whole year was a miss!!! This was the worst HS year we ever had.

 

Hits:

FLL 2 (highly recommend for auditory learners!!)

Galen and the Gateway/Archimedes...

SOTW -always a hit

Apologia Worldview - LOVE

AWANA

 

Eh-

Apologia Zoology- we loved reading it but idk...we just fizzled out towards the middle.

Horizons Math- it's a good program. No real complaints. But boring.

 

Misses:

Saxon 6/5 - oh the misery misery misery

 

WWE- loved the exerpts but got so sick and tired of dictation and narration!

 

R&S Spelling- not enough practice in the book, words too easy. Now my dd is behind.

 

Writing by Me- it got really old trying to come up with assignments and be challenging!! Even using Write Source handbook and Spectrum to help

 

Abeka Grammar- moved too fast, not enough discussion or appications means of course it's all forgotten two weeks after the book is finished!

 

We didn't do art, or much of anything fun or unusual at home. We had to quit their sports program because of bad influences and lack of oversight...

 

Luckily it was "field trip year" so we have tons of great field trip memories!!!!

 

 

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HITS

2nd Grade:

Easy Grammar

SOTW 1

Amusement Park Science (kit)

BFSU

Primary Language Lessons

Veritas Press Old Testament/Ancient Egypt Self-Paced Online

Rod & Staff Spelling 2

Dreambox

Zaner-Bloser Handwriting

 

Kindergarten:

Singapore PM 1

Dreambox Learning

First Language Lessons

Abeka Reading 1

 

MISSES

K - A Reason For Handwriting A (I think he just finds handwriting to be boring in general.)

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6th Grade Hits

Systematic Mathematics

Daily Grammar Practice

Understanding Writing (for me more than DS :) )

Caesar's English

Yo Sacramento for State and Capitol study (hilarious mnemonics)

 

Kindergarten Hit

Wee Folk Art

 

For Both

Read aloud time with Bible, Poetry, and Classics - reinstated after the Circe thread. This added that richness and enjoyment to our day that had been missing because "we didn't have time for it." I recently obtained Teaching the Classics and will start applying that to our reading.

 

Whole method of memorization - Inspired by Ruth Beechick, we tried this method which consists of reading the entire passage to be memorized each day, rather than just working on one verse or line at a time. Though it seems slow at first, it is actually easier and the kids do not struggle nearly as much with trying to remember what comes next.

 

 

No real misses. It was a great year!

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Misses would be some Waldorf and Principle Approach materials, BUT, they were not complete misses. Even though I don't USE them, I learned a lot about teaching in GENERAL and about NOTEBOOKING, so...

 

My biggest Hits that I used continually for at least several months, and would be lost without:

 

Free and better than anything I have EVER bought.

TWTM first edition 1999

 

ORIGINAL Doubleday hardback What Your _ Grader Needs to Know series grades 1-6. The covers are sponge painted and there are no children on them. There are not pre-school or kindergarten books in the original series.

 

The HANDWRITING in Writing Road to Reading 6th edition

School Smart Cursive Notebook Paper

 

Clutter-Free Classroom Genre Kit to help students choose library books.

Yesterday's Classics and the Young Readers collection from Heritage History

Free and $0.99 Whispersync audiobooks from audible.com with Dover Evergreen and Thrift classics.

 

How to Tutor arithmetic

Arithmetic Made Simple I went back to what I've been using off and on since the mid 1990s. I use it like MOTL.

 

National Geographic Beginner's Atlas map coloring inspiration

Draw Write Now (especially the map and figure drawing)

Ed Emberley's Funprint Drawing Book (simple facial expressions)

Totally Tangled: Zentangle and Beyond

 

Jumbo Book of Music (low income friendly)

 

As for phonics-- what is wrong with me? I've had nothing but success with How to Tutor and Alpha-Phonics, but I'm thinking of using WRTR 4th again. Why? :banghead: I'm confident I can teach it. I think it's just as good, not better, but just different than HTT/A-P. Why switch from what is working? What is motivating this switch? Boredom? I'm not sure if I want to continue with cursive-first; the pros and cons are about equal. I have no reason to switch; I have reasons NOT to switch!

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ORIGINAL Doubleday hardback What Your _ Grader Needs to Know series grades 1-6. The covers are sponge painted and there are no children on them. There are not pre-school or kindergarten books in the original series.

 

I'm curious about why you prefer the original books over the newer ones. I have the complete set of the original ones (although some of mine are paperback), but I don't really know what was changed in the newer books. Thanks. :)

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Guest Myfanwy

This was our first year, but we had more hits than misses!

 

Hits:

Excavating English

Figuratively Speaking

Rules of the Game

Math Mammoth

Barron's Painless everything :)

 

Misses:

Math-U-See Epsilon

RS4K Biology

 

There were a few other things we tried that turned out to be either unnecessary or too easy, but these were the only two he actually disliked.

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I'm going since January here. Things move fast in this house and I don't remember the fall ;)

 

1st grader:

Hits:

Singapore Math

Miquon Math -- we supplement Singapore with this, usually a bit behind where she is. Do your own spiral!

Math-aids.com

Five times Five is Not Ten (painless multiplication mastery)

Elson and McGuffey Readers continue to be fine, just fine

AAS 1-2

 

Misses:

I really like BFSU, but it's not getting done right now.

Right Start Math Games. She liked playing games but not much learning seemed to happen.

 

Junior K

Hits: Right Start A

AAS little tile thingies

Phonics Pathways/Walcutt Lippencott Pre-Primer seem to be working out, but it's early days yet.

 

Misses:

AAR Pre-Reading -- didn't learn a thing.

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  • 2 weeks later...

 

Misses:

 

Mr Q Earth and Space - I felt like I had to supplement too much. We liked REAL Science Life experiments better last year but was too easy for ds. We will try Elemental Science next year. Hopefully, third curricula choice is a charm. :)

Critical Thinking Co Word Roots - very little retention

Wordly Wise 3000 Online - very little retention

 

Overall, a successful year!

 

I was thinking of getting WW 3000 online also. I was curious as to if anyone had tried both and if so0- which they preferred. We have ETC online and the books, and my daughter LOVES the books, but loathes the online version.

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Very much a list of they either liked it or hated it this year:

 

Hits:

SOTW

Lego WeDo Robotics

Rosetta Stone French 1 (EXCEPT "writing" lessons- much too hard at the end... may forgo those or do separate writing exercises next year)

Chronicles of Narnia for my 4th grader

Little House books for my 2nd grader

TT- as good as I could have expected from a math program

BrainPop- they loved the videos

Atelier 3

Calvert Art History Books

 

Misses:

MUS- my son liked the manipulatives but hated the workbooks. We switched to TT and he was happier.

Shurley English

A lot of the other books they read- Smoky the Cowhorse, Cat of Bubastes, some others on the Great Books Academy grade lists. I'll be choosing our own Lit. for next year.

Jr. AG- My 4th grader wasn't ready. We'll try again in 5th.

Music Ace- It was a good intro but incredibly repetitive. We stopped about halfway through and just started on the actual piano. Not really worth the price for us.

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