shinyhappypeople Posted May 22, 2015 Author Share Posted May 22, 2015 Um... wow. OK, since I think Memoria Press' science looks completely uninspiring and we're not classical educators, I do note that they use R&S for English and Math, so a vote for MP is a partial vote for R&S. :001_smile: (Whoops, they don't use R&S English. Nevermind. MP is completely off the table for us.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Well, to be fair, you didn't ask which box we thought you'd prefer. You asked which box WE would prefer. [ETA: your actual post says "I want. ..." but the title & poll says "do you prefer." So, I can see where we are not being helpful.] I wouldn't use a Box unless I had to. At that point, my preferences would be less important than 'get 'er done.' I've seen Abeka, BJU, and K12 (K-1st only) and they would be way too much work to get done around here if I was in a 'Have to do a Box' situation. (A box situation for me would be major illness for someone in the immediate family, me having to work at least part time, some sort of more-than-short-term catastrophe, or heaven-forbid, a family member's death.) I would need something that had a checklist for each kid, was fairly easy to accomplish independently (phonics/math would still involve direct teaching by someone), and not take much time to get done while still covering the basics. While it wouldn't be a great fit for any of my kids or even a good fit for some of my kids, MP meets all the requirements in the first sentence for me. There's a reason we're eclectic (not classical) homeschoolers, and it isn't because I'm a curriculum junkie. If I could stomach even half of the religious stuff in some of the non-math subjects of CLE, I'd go with CLE in a box situation. But, even if I was desperate, I couldn't have my kids deal with that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 CLE, but I'd probably shift out history for Story of the World. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnaj Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 For that age- Oak Meadow. I am actually going to be using Oak Meadow for my 7th grader in the fall. I have it in hand and I am loving it. Memorial Press is a close second. It is not secular though, and we prefer a secular curriculum. Everything we have used from MP has been great though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another Lynn Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Well, if you don't want Classical, you probably won't like this option either, but I just stumbled on bundles at Logos. I didn't know they had them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Ok, going back to the main question (get 'er done textbook/workbook for 5th & 6th graders, english/history/science, preferably from same publisher but doesn't have to be), here's my non-box stab. This is under the idea that it doesn't have to be great, just has to check-the-box: Science: Spectrum Science Workbook or Science Essentials Workbook History: This one seems a lot more 'wide open' as I don't know what type of workbook/text you want your kids to do -- Geography? World History? American History? Need more info. English: Language Arts through Literature :crying: (Nevermind. I just can't recommend these to anyone. Blah.) Rod & Staff with or without supplementation w/something Killgallon (Sentence Composing or Paragraph for Elementary or Middle, depending on your kids' writing level). OR Evan More Daily Language Review w/Killgallon (above) or Evan More's Paragraph Writing Made Easy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PollyOR Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Here is what we use for the basics: We use Rod & Staff for English, Math, and Science. R&S Science - we enjoyed their books for grades 3-6. R&S History - it focused more on history from a Mennonite perspective with each grade level. I didn't want to spend a lot of time skipping around as we read. If you have read through SOTW and want a textbook, I would recommend K-12's The Human Odyssey. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. Tharp Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 I can't pick. Rod & Staff is what has worked best for both of my kids so far, which is funny because I had such a strong preference for secular curriculum when we started. I respect Calvert, but it didn't work for us. Neither did MP. If I could, I'd probably combine, R&S Math & Grammar & Reading with Calvert History & Science. ETA: I just double-checked Calvert History & Science, and while again, I respect them, I realize that they wouldn't work for us either. I would go with MP science & history, and supplement with an independent unit on evolution & anything else we felt we needed to cover. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaceful Isle Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 I guess I am alone in this, but if I had to chose a box curriculum, it would be BJU. I really like their reading, spelling, and phonics. I am not fond of their history and science, but I could always pick and chose, and add extras in..but I guess, that is what you are trying to avoid, huh? lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amsunshine Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 Another vote for Memoria Press. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 (edited) ... Edited July 14, 2016 by Guest 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another Lynn Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 I checked out Memoria Press and, while it looks good and solid, its just not for me. I gave up on the classical ed fantasy (for us) awhile ago. We've tried Sonlight (poor fit) and Oak Meadow (poor fit, but I still have a soft spot for OM). I find artistic, creative, living books, hands-on approaches SO appealing ... but they don't always get done. And (say it with me, everyone) "The best curriculum is that one that gets done." Trying to implement what appeals to me (artsy, etc. approach) has left me burned out. :( So, as I get comfortable living on Planet Reality (it's so boring here) I realize that I just need something that will get done everyday. Traditional. Textbooks. Boring-boring-boring but a LOT more effective than winging it with plans that never quite get implemented. Let's get the schoolwork done in a few hours and then they can get on with the things that they're really passionate about. FWIW, what we have that's working now for older DD: IEW- Student Writing Intensive A, Megawords, Math Mammoth. For younger DD (10 yo): Teaching Textbooks - but only sort of. I want to supplement with something, but that's another question for a different day. Okay, so if IEW, megawords, Math Mammoth are working now, why not keep these and add Fix-it grammar or Daily Grams (your choice - I would choose Daily Grams), and a history and a science. If you want these to be get 'er done, I would consider Science Essentials (as RootAnn suggested), and SOTW on CD or America the Beautiful or "Short Lessons on....." from Walch Publishing or something else. For Literature, I would consider Upper Grammar Literature Guides from Logos Press (not as laborious as some literature study guides) or maybe an online discussion book club with Center for Literature (Adam Andrews), no papers - just read and discuss. For younger dd - is anything other than TT working? Keep TT and add in Challenging Word Problems from Singapore to provide more "thinking" problems (possibly a year behind). 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSprout Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 We used this US History Workbook and this US Geography when we needed a year of "just get it done" history. We liked both. We also used CLE Math for most of the kiddos. Logic of English Essentials for everyone (but at different paces). Science was Galore Park Junior Science 3. Weekly summaries for Literature, and CAP Writing and Rhetoric for youngers and Lively Art of Writing workbook for an older student who joined us. It was a pretty good year. ETA: for the ages you have, you really should look at WWS and maybe Daily Grams for Language Arts, and stretch the WWS out over 2 years. Science; Ellen McHenry and K12 Human Odyssey for History with a weekly summary and this workbook: Ancient Geography It wouldn't be a box, but it would be a "do the next thing" which is actually easier, with less busy work. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vickjul Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 If I had to go with a boxed option, Timberdoodle would win hands down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4littleones Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 Other. We have settled with Memoria Press. It gets done, it is vigorous, they have online classes should we need them and the boxed curriculum will eventually go all the way to high school. Finally, I feel secure knowing that the course has been tested on real students in their school. I f these Highlands Latin School students can doit so can my kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 K12 fills this need for us. I have tried just about all the rest of the boxes or seriously looked at them. I do not use the music or the math. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhappyjoyjoy Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 If I were to choose a box, I'd probably go with Memoria Press. I'm doing the MP box for my two oldest next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 (edited) . Edited September 16, 2023 by SilverMoon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strawberryjam Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 I like CLE workbooks a lot, but just for language arts and math (review, we use Singapore Math as core). Language Arts is such a nice one to have a "get it done" curriculum for since it's the most time consuming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSprout Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 Another vote for Memoria Press. Does anyone have practical advice for customizing the whole grade plans from MP? Any ideas beyond white out or post-it notes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hermione310 Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 Does anyone have practical advice for customizing the whole grade plans from MP? Any ideas beyond white out or post-it notes? We are using MP core this year but have swapped CLE math for R&S math and use an alternate spelling program. I've tried a few different ways to easily customize the curriculum manual, including scanning it in and attempting to use OCR in Acrobat. Acrobat was unable to process scanned text, so I couldn't edit the text after scanning it. After monkeying around for a bit, I decided to give in and go old school with my changes to the manual. I have a box of 1x3 sticky labels and place them over the course I'd like to cover, cutting to size if needed. I just write my own lessons in pen on the labels. Although this took me a bit to customize the manual the other night, I think it's still such a luxury to have the curriculum manual in the first place vs. creating the entire plan myself from scratch. Since we use the majority of MP core courses with just a few substitutions, it was worth the time to tweak it to match our customizations. I love being able to open the book in the morning, see today's plan, and check the boxes as we complete classes. Easy breezy! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 I haven't tried any boxes, but I thought I'd throw out another box option I've seen. Homeschool Supercenter sells boxed curriculum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 K12 fills this need for us. I have tried just about all the rest of the boxes or seriously looked at them. I do not use the music or the math. Ds15, a rising 10th grader, has used k12 since first grade. I love heir curriculum in general. My issues and irritation have almost always been with the charter school part of it. I think K12 independent would be awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 But I would also give WTM a look. I am jealous it wasn't available when we started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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