Looking for a curriculm that schedules the year for me..

[Guest Christina in NY]

Pretty self explainatory. I have tried to schedule school for my son and it just doesnt seem to work. I am even interested in a program that requires me to send the papers to them. I need the added support since I am doing this by myself. Any wonderful ideas or fabulous curriculms that might help. I feel my son is able to be lazy because I dont have the energy to check his school work every night with working full time. So when I do check it it starts to seem overwhelming to me. Thank you ahead of time. I cant wait to check out all great ideas you ladies (any gentlemen?) come up with.

 

Christina:o

[Diann]

You could try Calvert or K12. They are pricey, but completely laid out for you.

 

Diann

[kat19]

I am going to be buying this for my kids for fall(or sooner, if I get it ordered)

I believe you get a teacher's manual that is all planned out for you.

A friend uses this and loves it :)

[Lori C- Texas]

I haven't used this but my friend does. She loves it. It is to expensive for us. http://www.homeschools.org/ My friends daughters have been using this company for years.

[Tarheel Heather]

With the ATS, you still have to check their work. Every twenty lessons is a test that is sent in along with a composition or some other form of writing. It has been nice, however, you may end up being on assorted lessons for different subjects. Then you are all over the lesson manual. Having everything laid out is nice, and I like the accountability for my ds. But we have been waiting to get back to our own groove when he is finished. There is also Abeka, BJU, Covenant Classical, and I think Sycamore Tree provide some sort of accountability if that is your main priority.

 

HTH,

Heather

[BizyPenguin]

My ds used it for 1st grade, but it was not a good fit. Calvert works best for those who don't tweak. There's a Calvert yahoogroup and I recommend you sign up for it and ask the ladies there your questions. They also have a web site with a homeschool forum. You can request their free catalog at their web site, but be warned the glossy catalog will definitely draw you in and make you drool. It's not cheap, but neither is constant curriculum shopping and dropping which many hs'ers are guilty of. Do your research before ordering b/c they have a very strict return policy and you can not sell their teacher's manual no matter what...and it's the TM that is worth it's weight in gold. Does this help? Hope so!

[SandraDumas]

is where we're headed back to...

 

It's very traditional, with a hint of classical. I like it that it's not every subject every day, throw the book at the kid stuff. They make the kids think. It's from a REformed viewpoint and very strong academics. They also offer latin and other extra goodies.

 

There aren't a lot of projects with this. It's traditional schooling, more or less. I used part of K and ditched it but it was a good program. However I recommend the preschool, and 1st-on, more than the K. The k is a little too dry and serious for a five year old IMO.

 

They do have a grade auditing service, which seems pricey but they really give you one-on-one attention, so I hear. The curriculum company itself is very much one-on-one too. They really know you there and will tailor programs to fit your needs.

 

It's pricey but so are most of the all in one scheduled programs.

[Baseballmom]

My first thought before I read the other posts was k-12. I think it would work out well for you.

[EKS]

I'm using several K12 courses with my boys and I'm really impressed.

 

I like that each course runs separately so that if I get off by a day in one course it just bumps that one course to the next day automatically. From what I understand, sometimes other boxed curriculum have the days rigidly laid out, so if you miss one piece one day, you'll be flipping back and forth between lesson plans.

 

I also like that I can choose levels. At the moment, my 6 yo is taking courses at K, 1st, and 2nd grade levels. If he were to take all K or all 2nd it would be bad, but this way it is all just right.

 

There are also lots of optional things if you want to go deeper, but if you don't do them you'll still have a full program. And there are lots of assessments (daily, usually) to be sure things are on track.

 

I used to think I would never go with a curriculum-in-a-box type of approach. But, at least for now, particularly for my younger boy, I'm sold on K12.

[clane]

I love the ease of K12 and the OLS, but some days I would like to be able to delve into subjects deeper without fear of being off schedule.

[Mel]

Most people won't agree with me but you should check out School of tomorow paces - they are so simple to use.

 

Also, Sonlight is great OR the All-in-one curriculums that cover all subjects and include EVERYTHING you do day by day.

 

Just some thoughts...

[Guest]

We used Calvert for 1-3rd and did not like it. What I have done is use their schedule available on the website under sample lesson for the grade you need and use that to plan when we do lessons. Oak Meadow is another choice but it is Waldorf. The Great Books Academy is another idea.