Who switched from TWTM to Calvert

[Susie in CA]

and is happy about it.

 

I feel a little disjointed somehow in our schooling and wonder if I should consider something like Calvert to keep us on track. Has anyone done this? What do you think?

 

Susie

[Tarheel Heather]

We did Calvert for 5 years. Calvert at more than one grade level for us was a pain.

[MIch elle]

and liked some of their books choices but not others. In the end Calvert didn't work for us (K & gr.1 was a total bust; gr 4 & 6 had more value to us).

 

But we continue to use science, art history, and some literature the Calvert way (I bought used Calvert 7 lesson plans & answer keys).

[Carol in Cal.]

I have good friends who homeschooled very successfully using it.

 

Having said that, it would drive me crazy to have a curriculum telling me what to do all the time to the extent that Calvert does. It would not work for me, until maybe high school, which intimidates me and makes me want to run screaming to the hills with panic.

 

But that's just me. Calvert is a good program.

[TracyR]

Calvert is a good program. So far I've used PreK, 1, 2, 3,4th and this year I'm adding 5th.

With that said though their science and history is awful dry. I have never cared for the math. We did enjoy CHOW for 4th grade history though. Have never liked the science for any of the grades. Their writing program works well with natural writers but if you have a child that has a difficult time with writing it can be your worst nightmare. I like their spelling. We've enjoyed their reading selections so far amazingly enough and we add some of the Sonlight books to our list.

I just don't care much for the manuals though they do help you get through things step by step. Too many errors in the manual.

The geography for 4th was terrible. After a certain point the instructions didn't correlate with the book or make any sense.

Of course all curriculums have their pros and cons. But really in the end Calvert is expensive busy work and twaddle. At least it seems that way to me. We get it through a cyberschool and I would never pay for it out of pocket.

 

Now I admit. I do like K12.

[mamakven]

UGG!!! i tried doing 3 levels last year and it was a DISASTER on wheels! no lie... we are going to a more cm/classical feel this year... we are NOT textbook people!!

[Sahamamama]

I feel a little disjointed somehow in our schooling and wonder if I should consider something like Calvert to keep us on track.

 

Maybe if you feel a bit disjointed, but need a curriculum for more than one level, you could take a look at Tapestry of Grace. I know there are many moms on these boards who teach with this curriculum, so you could ask questions about TOG.

 

Also, have you read The Latin-Centered Curriculum by Andrew Campbell? He lays out a plan for covering the basics in a way that minimizes "overlap" subjects. For example, instead of studying so many sub-topics in Language Arts, he recommends doing Latin study, copywork, and copious reading. Or something like that. Anyway, the point is that there is an approach out there that will work for you family, and if you seek, you shall find! :D HTH!

[kailuamom]

After two years of an ecclectic/WTM approach, we did Calvert for 3, 4 & 5 with one dd and last year we did 3 & 6 w/ both dds at the same time. We liked it. I think Calvert is a good, solid program. I was not thrilled with their grammar program (any year), but we supplemented. My dds both liked it. We are going a different route this year for a multitude of reasons, but would go back to it if need be. We really liked grade 6 -- thelesson manual is written to the student and my dd loved that. :)

[Guest]

Look at K12. you may well be MUCH happier. We are using it for Language Arts and science this year for 4th and next year will use it for LA again, history, art, and science. I admit, I am at a loss when it comes to Middle School the TWTM way.

 

We used Calvert for 1-3rd and it was a HUGE waste of time and money. Boring, boring, boring is how my kids and I felt. That and rushed and too much 'teach to the test'.

[rwalizer]

Calvert is solid academically but it is also very boring. We used it for 6th grade and it was great for a very nervous mom just starting out with homeschooling. Once I read TWTM and got a little experience behind me, I felt much better about picking out my own materials. I have only one child so trying to work with more than one grade level wasn't a problem. But it was still just "school at home." You know, "read the chapter and answer the questions at the end" type of schooling and so the things ds read really didn't stick like they would if he had to dig for the answers. That's why we are trying TRISMS for our 8th grade year and I hope to stick with it throughout high school. Maybe it would be helpful for you to find materials that were laid out for you, already planned, so that you already have a ready made schedule. One thing that overwhelmed me in our 7th grade year was trying to schedule all the stuff that I bought myself. Another thing that made me feel unorganized was that I tried to cram too much stuff into our day. If you do decide to use Calvert, maybe you could buy the grade level you need and pass on the advisory teaching service so that you can use the materials the way you like and be on your own schedule.

[Erica in PA]

I recently had the opportunity to look over Calvert's second grade program, and I was surprised to learn that I didn't really like it! I always had heard good things about Calvert, and I expected to like it a lot more than I did. I only saw second grade, so I'm not sure how different the other levels might be.

 

I think there were two main things that I didn't like: first, having used an eclectic/WTM approach for years now, I am used to using attractive, really *good* high quality books in our learning. Calvert's materials seemed much more.. generic? They seemed flat compared to what we would usually use. It didn't seem as engaging or stimulating as other books we've used-- not even as engaging as the *textbooks* we've used.

 

The other thing was the level of work... reading through it, I was very aware that it was a "canned" curriculum, and it felt like one. It was very "one size fits all," which means it's not *just right* for most. I have a son doing second grade work, and most of the work was far, far below what I would expect of him... actually pretty silly, at times, in imo. (I.e. for reading, having him cut out pictures of objects that start with the letter B-- that's more like a pre-K assignment, imo.) But then I have friends who have kids in higher levels of Calvert who tell me about their kids' work, and the level is waaaay above the grade level, almost inappropriately so.

 

I'm used to being able to use resources that are exactly at my children's levels, so this would really bother me.

 

I also didn't get the sense that the work really built upon itself, to make a steady, thorough progression in each subject.

 

Overall, if I wanted a more textbook approach, I'd personally be much happier with Rod and Staff. I use their books for English and Math, and I find that they really give a student a thorough grounding in those subjects. BJU is another good textbook company.

 

Calvert is available free through our local charter school, but I would much rather pay for resources that really fit our family. And I can't imagine paying $1000s to purchase Calvert myself.

 

Anyway, that's just my two cents. As I said initially, I was really expecting to like Calvert, and had considered using it myself through our charter school, but I think I've been too spoiled by the WTM now, and by all the great book recommendations we've gotten from it over the years. :tongue_smilie:

 

Erica

[chiguirre]

and is happy about it.

 

I feel a little disjointed somehow in our schooling and wonder if I should consider something like Calvert to keep us on track. Has anyone done this? What do you think?

 

Susie

 

The weird thing about Calvert is that it is disjointed. There is rarely any connection between reading and science for example. You just keep plugging through the textbooks in each subject. I agree that trying to do more than one grade if your kids are still young enough to need you to teach them is a recipe for burn out.

[rafiki]

.

[Susie in CA]

Well, I guess Cavert is out. I can be boring without help.:D Thanks for your input everyone.

 

Susie

[2cents]

We switched to Calvert a few years ago. I only do Calvert piece-meal but have never been disappointed with their products. I haven't experienced the disjointed feeling others are discribing because we don't use it as a whole program. We've done the history, civics, art, spelling and others as stand alones. I doubt I'd ever use the whole program because we have other choices for science and math and integrate a lot of other curriculum.