Why is Master Books becoming so popular?

[lulalu]

I am in a group on FB and it seems like everyday someone is talking about Master Books. 

Why is it getting so popular? 

I have looked at the samples of Math and Language for a Living Education. Is it just me or is the writing so bland and boring and lacking? At least from the samples I can see. 

I get the short lessons and Biblical worldview. I would love to use it, but from the samples it just seems too blah. 

If you use and like it- are the samples accurate? Why do you like it? 

[hollyhock2]

Are you asking about the math and language specifically? Because I haven't used them or looked at samples enough to have an opinion. But I have used some of the junior high and high school science courses from MB and have been happy and not-so-happy with them. All the ones I've used have wonderful books to use. Some of them have good worksheets and quizzes, and some of them have really *blah* worksheets. Also, some of the schedules they put in the lesson plans aren't really enough work for the grade level (and that's coming from the most non-rigorous homeschooler on this board 🙂). It depends on the course, but you can get a good feel for them from the samples. So, yes, I would say the samples are fairly accurate.

But again, I only have experience with the science, and not the math or language, so I'm not sure if that's what you were looking for.

[lulalu]

I am looking at just the early elementary. I just looked at language and math samples to see what everyone is talking about, and because those are newer. 

But I don't mind hearing about it all. 

I have some books published by Master Books that I love- Life In the Great Ice Age is my son's favorite book ever. 

Some of the older grades seem to have been around for longer and seem better written from what I can tell. 

[Dudley]

I haven’t used any master books but this week I spent A LOT of time looking through the new language arts samples.i was SO drawn to it.  I was looking for something to condense our language arts a bit. And it seemed to have all the pieces. But the more I looked at the content I’m like it doesn’t compare at all to WWE strong literature selections. And we can’t do spelling 1-2 days a week ,( actually I don’t think doing it 5 days is covering it well enough at our house. 😄). But even after deciding it wouldn’t fit what I wanted I still wanted it! So I had to figure it what it was that was drawing me so strongly. I decided that it was most significantly that it was so visually appealing. That’s what it came down to. I liked looking at it. And I also liked that each day was set up in manageable chunks, each day starting a new page. Now I’m ruined. I can’t find anything else that competes on the visual scale. at all. I can hardly even look at others, which is so rediculous . Why does it matter! (I keep asking myself)

Anyway so that’s my guess, they got a great graphic design and marketing department 

 

[HomeAgain]

Master Books is starting to buy up other popular programs, editing them, and repackaging them to increase their offerings.  All of their things are very appealing, they have a wide variety, and nice neat bundles. 

They aren't for us, but I see many of the comments to go along with a current fad.  MLFLE is the hot thing right now, like LLATL was 15 years ago.  In a while someone else will come out with something and people will gravitate that direction.

[8filltheheart]

Best advice anyone can give another homeschooler.....just bc it is a fad does not mean it is good for your family. @HomeAgain is right.Over the yrs fads come and go. You'll see post after post of people jumping on the bandwagon and then a couple of yrs later, crickets and only a handful are still avid users. 

The best curricula are the ones that you can teach and your children thrive. There is no unicorn that fits every family, every situation, every child.

 

[Mona]

I've noticed that there are homeschoolers that have YT videos in support of MB. One of them may even be affiliated in some way and has lots of subscribers. I took a look at the LA, but it just didn't seem like a good fit for us. I have teens and I'm starting again with a K'er.

[RenaInTexas]

The math is about 3 years below level when compared to other curriculum.

It does get boring and the lessons are somewhat disconnected. 

It bores a math kid to death and gives a nonmathy kid a false sense of accomplishment because it is much easier than the math that their peers are doing.

[Jackie]

In addition to the “fad” aspect, there is an “echo chamber” effect. In a group, someone will use a product and like it. They can then recommend it widely, and a few others will start using it. If they like it, you now have a small group of people recommending it, and it continues to spread, but sometimes only in small pockets.

This is why I tend to quietly watch several homeschooling groups instead of just one: each group has its own general vibe, and it’s favorite methods, and it’s common recommendations. However, sometimes there is almost no overlap between groups. As an eclectic homeschooler, I find a lot of the variety we want in our materials by taking the best parts of many different approaches. OP wonders why Master Books is so popular, yet in the many groups I’m part of, I’ve barely heard it mentioned at all.

Edited February 6, 2019 by Jackie
Typos

[ALB]

Has anyone used The World's Story for history?  I know it is new so I'm hesitant to try it, but I love the pictures and how art work and architecture are integrated with it.  

[CarisM]

My daughter has used MLLE since Level 1. K wasn't available until more recently.  She is at Level 5. 

We start off her math with math facts, review of the concept she is on, then she works 15-20 mins on her next exercise.  I couldn't be more happy with this program. She spends no more than 30 mins total for Math. 

She loves how appealing it is. She loves the little story each week. She loves the short lessons.  She rarely gets things wrong when she is not "rushing to get done".  That is also why we review the concept each day and do math facts. It helps her focus.

We tried a few others and she cried everyday. She is pretty good at math but has always had an abstract thought process.  I think that is why the MLLE works really well for her. 

We plan on continuing with Principles of Mathematics for 7th & 8th.

We started formally doing Grammar last year in 4th using Fix It Grammar. She hated it. I liked it.  But fighting was not good.

So, in Jan of last year I tried LLLE Level 2. She loved it. So much so that she finished it by the end of June.  In Sept of this year we started Level 3. Finished by Dec 31st. Jan this year, she started Level 4.  She is on schedule too finish by the last week of May.  She said she wants to start Level 5 in Sept and start Level 6 in Jan of 2022. 

 She mostly does 2 Lessons (with 5 exercises each) each week.  Occasionally 3!   It takes her about 30 mins to do LA.  I have no idea where to go after that for 7th. But that is still a year and a half a way. 

Btw, each month, she has to do books reports (books of 200-300 pages) on 'her time' that require her to incorporate what she is learning using books of her choice. Maybe that helps. Not sure.

I think these Master Books are great for kids who need that visual appeal.  Mine definitely trives with them.  I'm going to dive into their science books next year.  Not history though.  She loves SOTW!

[Elle Tee]

MasterBooks is the publisher for Answers in Genesis, so it's possible that those affiliated with AIG (or just strongly young-earth creationist in general) are drawn to their curriculum for homeschooling, especially if AIG has been advertising it.

[kristin0713]

It’s very easy to implement and affordable.  And as others have said, they have great marketing and appeal. 

[Mona]

A first time poster resurrected this old thread. 🙂 

[Mrs Tiggywinkle]

I know this is old but I just want to throw this out there. My third grader and kindergartner finished the third grade and kindergarten Masterbooks ELA and math curriculums in early February.  I then enrolled them in late February in our public schools.

Both kids are significantly behind what their peers are doing. And they completed the MB curriculum for the grades they are in.

Edited March 11, 2021 by Mrs Tiggywinkle

[GoodnightMoogle]

I looked into it because of the hype and because I enjoy looking at and admiring different curricula. I dipped as soon as I saw all the Ken Ham materials. No thanks for me.

It’s one thing to teach young earth creationism, it’s quite another to teach children science while simultaneously having a book (“Dinosaurs of Eden”) that features an image of a sharp-toothed dinosaur eating leaves! 😒 I’ll never get over that book cover. I think even if I were a kid looking at that I would feel insulted. I don’t think I could trust him to teach my child real science, and they used so many materials from him.

Personal soapbox aside, I’ve been seeing this curriculum mentioned a lot on homeschool pages I follow. I think it’s becoming more popular because it’s a nice looking “all-in-one” type package. We all know there’s been an influx of new homeschoolers and a package can feel reassuring to people who’ve never taught their own children before. Masterbooks looks really nice, it has everything put together for you, and makes you feel prepared without having to do any outside planning. A lot of people were looking for something like that this year.

I’ll have to take a look at some of the older grades. I wasn’t too pleased with their math selection, though, I don’t think it’s very thorough for a stand-alone math program.

Honestly, I don’t get the hype behind this company. Someone asked in a Facebook group a few weeks ago for curriculum suggestions and so many people said “Masterbooks!” Maybe I’m spoiled because I’ve looked at so many other curricula but it really doesn’t look that exciting to me.

[Not_a_Number]

1 hour ago, Mrs Tiggywinkle said:

I know this is old but I just want to throw this out there. My third grader and kindergartner finished the third grade and kindergarten Masterbooks ELA and math curriculums in early February.  I then enrolled them in late February in our public schools.

Both kids are significantly behind what their peers are doing. And they completed the MB curriculum for the grades they are in.

How are they behind, if you don't mind specifying? 

[Mrs Tiggywinkle]

2 hours ago, Not_a_Number said:

How are they behind, if you don't mind specifying? 

My daughter is reasonably okay at math, but MB didn’t cover the (easy) two digit by one digit multiplication and division she’s doing right now, or elapsed time.  The ELA I feel is hopelessly not on grade level.  Mostly, there is almost no critical reading and little writing practice.  Both of these things she’s doing in public school.

The kindergarten is “gentle.” To be fair, my son has some mild Intellectual Disabilities and so he would have struggled anyway, but MB kindergarten didn’t prepare him well for public school kindergarten.  It could just be my state, but my feeling is that masterbooks is too gentle and is behind grade levels.

Also, it annoyed me that they claim to be Charlotte Mason based and then are not similar to her philosophies at all.

[Gobblygook]

I’ve tried some MB products and my kids hated them. It’s a good thing, because I also found them to be below grade level with not enough practice. I think people like them because they look very professional, they’re easy to implement and they don’t take much time. 

[Not_a_Number]

39 minutes ago, Mrs Tiggywinkle said:

My daughter is reasonably okay at math, but MB didn’t cover the (easy) two digit by one digit multiplication and division she’s doing right now, or elapsed time.  The ELA I feel is hopelessly not on grade level.  Mostly, there is almost no critical reading and little writing practice.  Both of these things she’s doing in public school.

The kindergarten is “gentle.” To be fair, my son has some mild Intellectual Disabilities and so he would have struggled anyway, but MB kindergarten didn’t prepare him well for public school kindergarten.  It could just be my state, but my feeling is that masterbooks is too gentle and is behind grade levels.

Also, it annoyed me that they claim to be Charlotte Mason based and then are not similar to her philosophies at all.

Thanks! That makes sense. I’m sure your DD will catch on quickly. 

Will your DS get accommodations?

Edited March 11, 2021 by Not_a_Number

[AnneGG]

I’m pretty meh on MB. I think they cashed in on the Charlotte Mason name.  They picked a handful of popular CM aspects, watered them down, and put them in a workbook. I’m still trying to figure out how they claim CM when they don’t use real books. 

Then there’s the whole anti-TGTB drama, which just so happened to coincide perfectly with Rebecca Spooner’s video and jump to MB. I find it interesting Rebecca is no longer writing for MB. I was briefly on their app and they have this whole PSA they post anytime some mentions TGTB. You don’t see them doing that with CLE, R&S, Seton, or secular curriculum. It just bothers me. 

 

[Kfamily]

Since I'm always interested in curriculum, I decided to take a look at Master Books. I was especially intrigued since there was mention of it being "Charlotte Mason inspired". 

But, after looking at a couple of their language samples, I can decidedly say that this not at all in keeping with Charlotte Mason. How misleading!

I see that they define it as "inspired", but some of their lessons are actually in complete contradiction to her ideas and methods. There are different approaches to "narration", but this emulates another style and not CM. 

Where are the living books? 

One of the main tenets of CM is to allow children to make their own connections with what was seen, heard or read. Younger children and students new to narration might need some time and occasionally some help getting started with a narration, but this shouldn't be assumed to be needed for every lesson until 5th grade and shouldn't resemble comprehension questions. Narration is not an attempt to "check" a child's comprehension of something. The assumption is made that as the teacher you have cleared the way for comprehension (though building up skills through the years, choosing appropriately leveled books, asking connecting questions from prior lessons, going over unfamiliar words and locations, etc.) and you allow the children to listen carefully and then tell you in their own words what they took from the story. So, comprehension questions are made unnecessary since you have assured through your teaching actions that they are capable of comprehending the story/book and as the teacher you will know from their freely given narration whether that comprehension took place. 

Sorry, if I've stepped on some toes. That was definitely not my goal. I just want to be sure that anyone attracted to a CM education understands that this is not really an example of it. If this works for you, then I think that's great! Homeschooling works best for families when both teachers and students are happy with what they are learning. I just wish they wouldn't attach the CM label to it -not even "CM inspired". It may wonderful as it is, but it is not CM. I think that even "CM inspired" is too much of a stretch. 

Edited March 12, 2021 by Kfamily