General question about curriculum--- everyone please look

[Lara in Colo]

what would you consider the main factors in selecting/discarding/using curriculum?

 

family dynamics (small children, husband help, pregnant momma)

money

the actual curriculum is good/bad/hard to use

dynamics of child using said curriculum (not child's learning style)

?????

????

 

 

for instance:

I was recommending MM to someone and I never finished using it-- I respect the curriculum, I think it is one of the stronger ones out there.  It didn't work for us-- partly because it was dry and I has to fight my children daily to do it, and I didn't really have the time to spend with each child teaching it and sitting on them to do it--- now this was my first couple of years homeschooling and I wasn't as "good" at homeschooling then -- I hadn't learned when to be tough and when to be a softy and when the child was just being truly a brat or was really struggling -- I also had a child going through puberty at that time and another child that really struggled to learn to read.  Then I joined an enrichment group that provided all my curriculum for free and I could pick and choose things that before had been unreachable financially.

I switched to MUS and TT.  I later dumped TT for other reasons and now I am with MUS for three/4 children.

 

so the reasons I don't use MM are complex and interwoven into the curriculum and my life and the child. If I had to make a % guess I would say that :

 

30 % was MM-- it was dry and didn't like fighting the children to do it-- it also needed more teacher time than I was willing to devote to it, I also didn't like that she did a lot of "patterns" that my children just did the pattern and I don't think they learned a thing from that.

 

25% wasn't working for the child's learning style (and I KNOW it wouldn't work for child #3)

 

20% was "new homeschool" mom issues, and family dynamics (younger children needing more of me)

 

25% was that I could get other options and found I liked them better

 

So from my example-- what would you think are the percentages and issues that go into selecting/rejecting a curriculum????

[Arcadia]

100% kids hate the curriculum or find it so boring it makes them sleepy. One of my kids literally slept on his textbooks many times while using K12 through charter.

 

What my kids end up using is whatever they least dislike and gets the job done.

[AK_Mom4]

100000% not working for us. Too hard too easy too much parent involvement requires for my independent child.

 

Life is too short to make homeschooling a harder job than it already is.

[73349]

I wouldn't balance it with percentages, but I'd consider it a flow chart. E.g.,

Step 1: Can I afford it? If not, there's no point in drooling over it.

Step 2: Can I teach with it? If not, it's a doorstop.

Step 3: Can this kid learn well from it and not melt into a puddle of despair? If not, it's doomed. (If I wanted my kid to be miserable at school, there's a bus every morning.)

Step 4: Is it the best option that gets this far through the screening? If yes, buy it.

[LindaOz]

I think a lot has to do with what works with your own teaching style and personality - what you as the parent feel comfortable using. I think you can adapt one curriculum to different kids' learning styles if it is something that you are inspired to use. Often one curriculum can be applied in different ways.

[FloridaLisa]

I wouldn't balance it with percentages, but I'd consider it a flow chart. E.g.,

Step 1: Can I afford it? If not, there's no point in drooling over it.

Step 2: Can I teach with it? If not, it's a doorstop.

Step 3: Can this kid learn well from it and not melt into a puddle of despair? If not, it's doomed. (If I wanted my kid to be miserable at school, there's a bus every morning.)

Step 4: Is it the best option that gets this far through the screening? If yes, buy it.

 

This almost exactly. 

Is it affordable?

Does it fit my teaching style, my ability to implement, my time to teach it?

Does it fit the way I want to approach this subject? (real books or worldview or interactive)

 

Lisa

[HS Mom in NC]

When comparing many different curricula:

 

Educational Philosophy and my educational goals

Pedagogy and teaching methods

Personalities of parent and kids

 

If the one I have isn't working, it isn't working, so I have to try to tweak it first.  If after tweaking it, it still isn't working, then it's time to move on to a new one.

[Sahamamama]

family dynamics (small children, husband help, pregnant momma)

money

the actual curriculum is good/bad/hard to use

dynamics of child using said curriculum (not child's learning style)

?????

?????

 

Probably all of the above, and then some. I'll give examples.

 

Early Reading Instruction -- Someone gave us some Abeka materials, but I put them in a box and never used them (we later donated them). Reasons? For one thing, there were too many parts (cards, tapes, teacher guide, posters, ladders, games, just UGH!). I was teaching a three year old to read (she wanted to learn), and had twin toddlers. Fiddling with "parts" was not going to work for me. For another reason, I hated the way the course taught phonics, hated the way so much was dependent on writing (instead of simply reading), and just hated Abeka's overall "shoulds, musts, and oughts" approach to everything. Just blech. We used OPG and it was perfect. Just one book, just one bookmark, do the lesson, move up the bookmark, simple, done. :)

 

Math Mammoth -- Same as you, I think. I respected the program, but we quickly grew tired of it. So many problems, little spaces, too much, too much. It always felt to me at though something was missing... I'm not mathy enough to know what that was, actually. I think a mathier mother could add things to MM that would retain the joy in math, but I was not that mother. ;)

 

Spelling -- Well... we have used AAS 1, 2, 3, and into 4, but we are ready to be done with AAS. Reasons? First, let me say that, although I respect the program, I don't think my daughters need it. They just know how to spell, are naturals at it, and all three have ended up far beyond the lessons they are "on" in the program. Rather than try to find a re-entry point at a higher level, we're jumping ship to Phonetic Zoo. Why? Because at this point, they are capable of working on spelling independently, and AAS has no independent option. I wish it did. That is, I wish the content from Level 3 and up could be in a more student-directed format. All the lessons are scripted for the teacher to do with the student. We are at the point where spelling can (and should) be more of a "Go do spelling" kind of assignment. They just don't need the hand-holding in that subject, and PZ is a mid-way point between me having to teach each little bit directly and dropping spelling altogether. Actually, if we dropped it, they'd still be fine.

 

Grammar & Composition -- About two years ago, I was bored with FLL and WWE. We tried GWG and WWW. Waste of money, waste of time. I know we're not supposed to trash curriculum on here, so I will not say more. However, these materials were literally trashed. I could not even bring myself to donate them, and put some poor, unfortunate child through that nonsense. Another bad purchase (for us) was CAP W & R Fable and Narrative I. Oh, just, oh, just -- all the "grass is greener" is gone out of me now.

 

Horizons Math -- We have used this for K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and into 4th. There are some good points to Horizons, but we were ready for a change. My 4th grader was just done. She is compliant and diligent. She was not complaining, but I could tell there was something about Horizons that was wearing her down. We switched to CLE Math and it has been a refreshing change for us both. I plan to change to CLE for my younger two next school year, for 3rd grade. So that means leaving Horizons behind. I guess we're just done with it? Is that a reason? It is in this case.

 

 

History -- I've been researching materials for Ancient History, which we plan to start next school year (October 2015). I see some things that I know would not work for us, so those get crossed off the list. Other courses, maybe yes, maybe no. It would be nice to see what I like, up close and in person, but since that's not possible, I have to go by what I can see online -- the samples. So far, I'm liking MOH 1, with some SOTW and MP's Book of the Ancient World. Reasons for a "no" vote include price, overly complicating elementary school History, teacher's guide is too wordy/too much, the art or layout is horrible, too many typos, incompatible worldview.

 

All that to say, there are many factors that go into the formula for whether or not to purchase, use, and continue using a homeschooling product. For that matter, there are many factors that go into the perspective that the products themselves are "curriculum." KWIM? I try to begin with my goals, and then find tools to make those happen. HTH.

 

Edited to add: One factor that will really turn me off from purchasing a product is finding factual or typographical errors in the sample online. Okay, I realize that in the overall product some typos are going to get through, probably. But if you, the seller, are selling this THING to me, expecting me to pay you money, then please hire an editor to at least be sure that the one-page online sample is error-free, thank you very much. [End of rant]. Sorry, it's a pet peeve. :rant:

 

 

[Ellie]

I wouldn't balance it with percentages, but I'd consider it a flow chart. E.g.,

Step 1: Can I afford it? If not, there's no point in drooling over it.

Step 2: Can I teach with it? If not, it's a doorstop.

Step 3: Can this kid learn well from it and not melt into a puddle of despair? If not, it's doomed. (If I wanted my kid to be miserable at school, there's a bus every morning.)

Step 4: Is it the best option that gets this far through the screening? If yes, buy it.

 

:iagree: :iagree: :iagree: