Calvert Question

[doscase]

Hello everyone!

 

My wife and I are brand new to the homeschooling world. We have elected to begin this Fall to homeschool our 9-year-old and 6-year-old. They have been in a small, private co-op of sorts but we feel we need to go a different direction.

 

We have heard rave reviews from friends advocating Calvert. We are newbies and completely lost as to where to begin. What has been the experience with Calvert so far by users here?

 

Also, any advice you can give to beginners like us is VERY MUCH WELCOMED!

 

God bless 

[HomeAgain]

I would take the time you have this month and hit the library.  Check out a few books on homeschooling, and then make a rough sketch of what pulls you.  Do you want to do school at home?  Go for a neo-classical model?  Find yourself gravitating toward more of a philosophy based approach like Charlotte Mason, Waldorf, or Montessori?  What do you see your day looking like?

[doscase]

Good direction and great questions.

 

Our first thoughts for our homeschool approach would be a classical model with a well-balanced diets of the "primary" subjects, but also being strong in fine arts and literature. (I assume all parents want theirs well-balanced:)

 

The co-op our children attended previously was a hybrid of A Beka curriculum in a Montessori type atmosphere (combined classes, not very structured, etc.)

 

My wife will shoulder the bulk of the responsibilities. She is very passionate about it. We are considering spending the days before lunch on work and assignments, and allowing our kids to continue to visit the co-op a few days a week to maintain their interaction with their friends.

[coloradomomof5]

Look around and study the methods.

 

It can be a great fit or it can kill the love of learning and drive the LG to drink. Not a good fit for the kids in our home and took the silly LG YEARS to realize that. Lucky for the littles she did. Bigs r still in recovery mode.

 

It is very much public school at home. Very safe. Very traditional. Set up a room and go. Allows you to school at home. If you want to educate at home it may not be the way to go.

[coloradomomof5]

Look around and study the methods.

 

It can be a great fit or it can kill the love of learning and drive the LG to drink. Not a good fit for the kids in our home and took the silly LG YEARS to realize that. Lucky for the littles she did. Bigs r still in recovery mode.

 

It is very much public school at home. Very safe. Very traditional. Set up a room and go. Allows you to school at home. If you want to educate at home it may not be the way to go.

[Tiramisu]

I have friends who used Calvert successfully for a time. One fully enrolled and had it paid for as a public charter school. They wound up putting their kids back in school after a few years. The other family used the Calvert materials and plans but did not enroll so they could modify it to suit their needs. After many years, they stopped using it because it did not suit their younger children as well and they were disappointed with changes made since Common Core came along. I can tell you the kids from both families were very well educated but it did not suit either long-term.

 

I think it can be helpful to get a curriculum out of a box for the first year until you are less overwhelmed with choices and have a chance to see what works and what doesn't with your kids. I just think Calvert is a very expensive way to do that.

[coloradomomof5]

Btw

I have used Calvert for sale. LG donated with purchase of book set. All grades except 5.

[Vintage81]

I have used Calvert for the past 4 years (PreK, K, 1st and 2nd).  I have mixed feelings about Calvert. I agree with PP who said Calvert is like public school at home. All appropriate subjects are included, but it's nothing super special or super fun.

 

Pros:

• By purchasing a grade level, everything most things you need are sent to you. 
• Teacher manuals and workbooks are all easy to use.
• I liked the Math offered (we did Calvert Math for K, Math in Focus for 1st and 2nd).
• I also like the Reading part of the curriculum. 

Cons

• Really expensive for what you get. If I'm going to pay that much for curriculum, I expect to love ALL of it.
• I did not care for the Science part of the curriculum...it's boring.  Same for Social Studies.
• For my child, the Writing part didn't work either.  She needed a more structured approach, so it was not good for her.

 

Needless to say, I'm moving on from Calvert, but I will say that using it gave me the confidence to branch out on my own. I'm so excited to have more flexibility with curriculum and have more fun. Additionally, for this upcoming school year, I've spent less than half of what I would've spent at Calvert.

 

If you really want to use an all-in-one curriculum, I would suggest looking at some other options out there before you decide. The WTM forums are really helpful with curriculum reviews and advice (the grade level planning threads have been helpful to me). Here's another good resource:

 

http://cathyduffyreviews.com/homeschool-reviews-core-curricula/unit-studies-all-in-one-programs

 

 

Good luck!

 

Edited July 18, 2016 by Vintage81

[ikslo]

Look around and study the methods.

 

It can be a great fit or it can kill the love of learning and drive the LG to drink. Not a good fit for the kids in our home and took the silly LG YEARS to realize that. Lucky for the littles she did. Bigs r still in recovery mode.

 

It is very much public school at home. Very safe. Very traditional. Set up a room and go. Allows you to school at home. If you want to educate at home it may not be the way to go.

LG?

[coloradomomof5]

LG learning guide

Their lesson manuel

[3 ladybugs]

I used Calvert for Pre-K and K. So it could be different in the older grades. To me I didn't like it. I don't know that my son got a whole lot from it either. 

 

The best thing I could say about it is it gave me confidence to try something else. Piecing things together is scary to look at, at first. After seeing what worked and didn't for my son, it was less frightful. 

 

It might be a good bridge for you, but be prepared that it might just be a bridge. 

[Peaceful Isle]

I am using Calvert k next year for my five year old son. I am excited about it and it looks really neat. I did not pay full price at all for it. I bought it used and very cheap. :) I could never afford to buy it new.

[...................]

I have used Calvert Pre-K, K, (sent back 2nd grade), 4, 6 and 8!

 

To be honest, back when I started, Calvert was still affordable.  The entire package for a regular grade (1-8) was about 700.00!  You could add ATS for 150! Now, it's over 1600!  Not including ATS!

 

I will not even bother to list the pros and cons at this point but tell you that it is NOT WORTH THE MONEY ANY MORE.  They have changed the curriculum to reflect their sell-out to the public school charters, and the changes are not good.  Many times they just stuffed things in that didn't belong, randomly picked inappropriate or dumbed down literature and poetry to please the public charters, and meet the common core standards, took out excellent literature and replaced it with dull, junky books just because they "met the standards".... and on top of all of that their customer service has dropped, and they have no passion any more. Their best education counselors have moved on, and their high school program is nothing but a pathetic re-packaging of an online learning system used all over the country for virtual charters.

 

If you still feel like you want to spend 2000.00 on something you can do JUST as well (or better) for 300.00 then PM me, and I will take the time.  :o)

[...................]

Also everything you need iS NOT sent to you.....the Science supplies make NO sense...for example they will send a levers, and pulleys but not the string, the weights, the widget and the doodads to actually do the experiments.  They will send random science supplies that are cool but you still need hundreds and hundreds of supplies to make it work.  They no longer send art supplies, etc.  

 

If you want something all planned out, Sonlight is good, MFW is good, Heart of Dakota is good if your wife is super type A (it is a lot to do in one day), even Abeka is better because you'd have time and money left over :o) 

 

But, like most homeschoolers you will likely be happiest if you pick and choose what works for you. :o)

[Vintage81]

Also everything you need iS NOT sent to you.....the Science supplies make NO sense...for example they will send a levers, and pulleys but not the string, the weights, the widget and the doodads to actually do the experiments.  They will send random science supplies that are cool but you still need hundreds and hundreds of supplies to make it work.  They no longer send art supplies, etc.  

 

 

I stopped doing the Science experiments a long time ago, so I guess I forgot about the lack of supplies.  We would just read the text book, watch a BrainPop video, and maybe answer a few questions. As I mentioned earlier, this was sort of boring, although the kids were entertained by the "Moby" (BrainPopJr) videos. So, we're trying out something completely different this coming year...Mystery Science!  

[...................]

Here is the most egregious example ...sorry to be a downer...in the 8th grade, they were required to switch out some of the poetry as part of their deal with the charters buying their curriculum....someone didn't follow the situation closely enough, and they added in and ASSIGNED some extra poems from teh Calvert Poetry book that comes in the 8th grade package.  

 

Knowing that there would be some inappropriate poetry, I went through ahead of time and ripped out a few...but never would I have expected Calvert to actually assign them.

 

However, I missed one, and Calvert assigned - ASSIGNED and DISCUSSED a poem about how a man feels about murdering a woman...the poem literally goes through the entire process ....

 

My son only read the first line and turned it over to me.  I immediately tore it out and told him he would get an F on the test and follow his conscience rather than read it...then I pulled out the test and it wasn't on the test....I called and Ed Counsellor and got one that I recognized, she had been there many years.....she was shocked, she had no idea that it was added to the manual, in fact she got the manual out while we were on the phone and was still shocked to see it there in bold print before her eyes.  She explained that it was not covered on the test, because it was added it to meet standards...she said she would pass the info along and was very upset about it....

 

My guess is nothing will happen.  Calvert curriculum is no longer owned by Calvert School and the new company is only about their bottom line....imagine how many thousands of dollars it would take to reprint those manuals now sitting on their shelves.

 

This is just one of many examples of how the curriculum has been changed for the worst.  Please look elsewhere.  If you order from any private company selling curriculum you can be sure your children are getting good morals and values, and a good education, for a lot less money.

 

Just my two cents.  :o)

[Guest]

I agree fully with everything Calming Tea said about Calvert. We used almost all the grades over the years. I don't why because we hated it every time. 

 

Have you looked into K12 as an Independent? Much better, except the math and music.

 

Another truely classical option is Memoria Press. It can be boring, though.

Edited July 18, 2016 by Paradox5

[ikslo]

LG learning guide

Their lesson manuel

 

Oh.  You said "drive the LG to drink" so I was confused, thinking it was a person.

[Mrs. Tharp]

I used Calvert for PreK, 1st, and 2nd. I agree with many of the above comments, but I will say that the Lesson Manuals are excellent, and if you feel comfortable spending the money, it's a fine way to begin your homeschool journey. By the end of the year, whether you choose to continue with Calvert or not, you should have a much better idea of what will work for you. 

 

This site has a ton of Calvert reviews. http://www.homeschoolreviews.com/reviews/curriculum/reviews.aspx?id=53

 

One caveat: In my experience, Calvert assigned a lot more than my kids could finish. Feel free to do the worksheets orally or skip work if they understand the concept.

 

I quit using Calvert in second grade because my sons were bored to death by the reading in that grade and the writing was too much for them. The price also increased in leaps and bounds around that time. 

 

Since then, I have had more success with their supplemental materials. Calvert Spelling is quite good and we've also enjoyed A Child's Study of Famous Americans. I plan to do CHOW and their state history course with my younger son next year. 

 

A few months ago, Calvert announced that they were offering course individually from grades 5-8 and I am reconsidering their offerings now that I don't have to commit to using every subject. My sons both see school work as a necessary obstacle to be worked through before pursuing their other interests; so I have no problem assigning a high quality "get it done" curriculum. Btw, I disagree that their newer lit. books are junky. With very few exceptions, it's high quality historical fiction and modern lit. I've also purchased and looked through the history texts for the upper grades and have been pleasantly surprised by their accessibility and thoroughness.

 

Over time, you will learn that no curriculum is perfect, and that your child's education is comprised of many things, curriculum being only one. 

 

Eta: to clarify 

Edited July 19, 2016 by Mrs. Tharp

[kiwik]

Oh. You said "drive the LG to drink" so I was confused, thinking it was a person.

I was thinking Legal Guardian.

[Kat w]

I agree with Tiramisu, first year homeschooling using a big box curriculum. Maybe abeka since they have used it already?

 

As you as a family work through the big box curriculum , it gives you time to investigate othe philosophies.

 

That way, big box way, you know all the key points are being hit. While you look at other programs and get more a feel of the child's learning style. You will definitely learn that more your first year having them at home.