New to Homeschool - curriculum advice

[Caglehs]

We are new to homeschooling. I have 2 daughters 4th grader & 5th grader. Looking for curriculum reviews/advice. They are fast learners. 5th grader very quick self teaching/learner.

We looked at Abeka and  like the scope of it but girls hate videos of classroom setting and time when teacher is just walking around. 

So we have also looked at ACE paces but read old reviews saying  it was "dumbed down" and slower paced and not as in depth as Abeka. 

But also had a friend say she loved it for her daughter (9th & 10th grade) who ended up going back to public school and ended up on honor roll last 2 years of high school.

I also like the look of CLE and have read math is spiral which we are ok with and it might be advanced compared to public schools. 

Lastly, we looked at BJU and if we had to use a video program the girls prefer it as it is just the teacher. However,  some of the videos look a little immature for 5th grade ( puppet in English 5 videos). 

With this being said, I would greatly appreciate any advice and love to hear any experience with the above mentioned curriculums.

I know some either love a curriculum or hate it.

Either way I would like to hear what you have to say.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[HomeAgain]

I would take ACE completely off the table.  Accelerated, it is not.  I had the opportunity to flip through it one year and was appalled at what was being taught in comparison to others of the grade level.

What is drawing you completely toward a video, hands off program?  There are better programs than the ABeka, BJU, and ACE.  Much better.  And you can pick different companies for different subjects to find the best fit.

[8filltheheart]

I would recommend stepping back and discerning why you decided to homeschool and what your individual goals are for each child for the upcoming yr.

There is not a simple answer to how to homeschool or what do people use, therefore the question "what would you recommend" has no simple answer. Some homeschoolers take a school-at-home approach. There are lots of providers that offer full curriculum that covers content in a traditional fashion with textbooks, assignments, etc provided. They come in a wide array of different approaches and methodologies. In addition to Abeka and BJU, check out Connections Academy, Oak Meadow, Memoria Press, and Great Books Academy.  That is just a sampling of providers, but those represent different types of options. You might start to discern what appeals to you.

That isn't the only way to homeschool, though. Some homeschoolers use different providers for different subjects. So they might use math from one, history from another, language arts from another, etc.

Other  homeschoolers don't use providers at all. They pull together their own content and teach their kids whatever subjects they have selected in the manner they have decided on.

In addition to researching the providers I listed above, you might also want to spend time reading this site: https://cathyduffyreviews.com/

 

Edited June 27, 2019 by 8FillTheHeart

[Caglehs]

1 hour ago, HomeAgain said:

I would take ACE completely off the table.  Accelerated, it is not.  I had the opportunity to flip through it one year and was appalled at what was being taught in comparison to others of the grade level.

What is drawing you completely toward a video, hands off program?  There are better programs than the ABeka, BJU, and ACE.  Much better.  And you can pick different companies for different subjects to find the best fit.

Video only for additional instruction if I had trouble teaching concept...hands off not necessarily...just a little more independent learning. What programs then would you suggest as being better than the above providers?

Thank you for your response.

 

[wendyroo]

Like the previous posters have mentioned, we use various curricula from a host of different publishers and providers for the different subjects for each of my children.

To get ideas of what people are using for fourth and fifth, you could browse through these planning threads.  If you search you can also find the same types of threads for different grades and previous years.  For my accelerated students I will often browse a planning thread for the grade level they are working at.

2019-2020 4th Grade Planning

2019-2020 5th Grade Planning

[HomeAgain]

1 minute ago, Caglehs said:

Video only for additional instruction if I had trouble teaching concept...hands off not necessarily...just a little more independent learning. What programs then would you suggest as being better than the above providers?

Thank you for your response.

 

Well, I will say the ones you've chosen are no-gos for us because of specific, inherently wrong content that they have published, such as not knowing what electricity is (calling it a mystery, Bob Jones) or that only 10% of Africans are literate (A Beka).  And that's getting beyond the moral implications of the people who publish them.

Other than the material published by the owners of this site, Rainbow Resource has a ton of available options from several publishers, and they have comparison charts to help you narrow down what you want.  I'd also suggest looking through the planning lists here and seeing what others are using:
4th Grade Planning
5th Grade Planning

You can do this!  And if you have trouble teaching a concept, if the teacher's guide isn't working for you or the student has trouble, there are lots of teacher training aids online for free to help you bring in other ideas and ways to reach the student, plus an entire board full of people here who are brilliant at helping to narrow down the problem and what to do. 🙂

[Caglehs]

17 minutes ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

I second @8FillTheHeart‘s Post. And for someone just stepping in to homeschooling, I’d highly recommend seeing if you could find a copy of one of Cathy Duffy’s Top Picks book anywhere. If you have a homeschool store anywhere locally they may have used copies available or you can still find e copies online I think.

Even though last edition is a few years old, she has really good overviews at the beginning of the different approaches toward homeschooling and some questionnaires you can answer to see which programs would best fit you, your kids, and your goals. Everyone here is going to have opinions on materials and those are going to vary greatly, so finding your start place from programs that provide what YOU are looking for are a good start with the overwhelming array of choices and programs out there. Most of the programs out now are still represented in her books, they just may have an updated version out of what she reviewed but most things don’t change drastically. But those questions and overviews will help you get you started and you’ll always tweak as you go and see what works. 

Once you have it narrowed down, this is a great place to ask for more input and detail on particular programs, but just know there is no “best” out there, rather just what is best for you and your kids if that makes sense. 

Thank you. I'm sure no curriculum is perfect and there are going to be inaccuracies in any of them if you look deep enough. Just that when we run in to something like that it is a teaching moment to what we believe. I appreciate your advice.

[wendyroo]

5 minutes ago, Caglehs said:

Thank you. I'm sure no curriculum is perfect and there are going to be inaccuracies in any of them if you look deep enough. Just that when we run in to something like that it is a teaching moment to what we believe. I appreciate your advice.

In general I also believe that I can address small "misunderstandings" in books as teaching moments.  However, I'm finding this method less and less effective as my kids gets more independent (and you specifically mentioned wanting independent learning).  When I was reading everything aloud to them, then I would often question and discuss the author's assumptions and biases.  When the kids are reading more on their own, though, many subtle implications slip through without them specifically noticing...but those biases add up and influence their worldview. 

For example, the kids were listening to an audiobook of Hendrik Van Loon's The Story of Mankind.  They found it an interesting narrative, and were eager to hear more, but whenever I heard snippets I found it disturbing.  He would say things like, "The great-great-grandfather of the human race was a very ugly and unattractive mammal. He was quite small, much smaller than the people of today. The heat of the sun and the biting wind of the cold winter had coloured his skin a dark brown.", and the kids would hear and interpret those statements as historical facts.  But saying that a person, even a long-ago person, is ugly, and then equating that to the fact that he was short and had brown skin, that is not a fact, that is Van Loon's opinion.  But the opinions were stated so assuredly and charismatically, that without my constant presence, support, and discussion, the kids were internalizing those messages as facts...and not even startling facts that they would want to bring up and discuss with me, but just run-of-the-mill facts that seeped into their brains unnoticed and unremarked upon.

 Wendy

[Clemsondana]

With your children so close in age, I'd also consider what subjects could be done together and which need to be done separately.  They might, for instance, be able to do content subjects like history and science together and then do the skill-based subjects of math and writing tailored to their grade level or ability.  My own kids are too far apart for this to work, but if they were only a year apart it would definitely be something that I'd consider.  You might enjoy doing something like Story of the World or Hakim's History of US series with both of them as a read-together.  

For fairly independent geography, we've liked Simply Charlotte Mason's 'Visits To' series.  It's easy to do it independently, both girls together, or with all 3 of you discussing it. The Science Detective workbooks from the Critical Thinking Company are pretty good.  They also have a projects-based book that I'm hoping to experiment with next year with my 5th grader.  

There are lots of ways to do language arts, depending on what you want.  We love Michael Clay Thompson's series.  It's a little unusual, but might be fun to do with both of them discussing it and then doing separate writing assignments.  For reading comprehension, grammar, and editing workbooks we've enjoyed the Critical Thinking Company.  At one point we used workbooks from the Growing with Grammar series (which has grammar, writing, and spelling).  It's very straightforward and written directly to the student, so although it's not a good fit for what my kids need right now, it might suit you right now.  

While I'm sharing what we've done and some neat things that we've found, there are lots of ways to do this.  For K through 4th or 5th, we loved Hirsh's 'What your X grader needs to know' as a guide for science and history topics.  I'd put together units myself based on the topics listed.  Another consideration is what your students like to do.  My kids both hate writing, so we tend to avoid things that focus on things like journaling.  One likes to learn effeciently, so that kiddo does a lot of reading of nonfiction.  The other likes hands-on projects, so I've used subscription kits like tinkercrate to add labs (although one could put together projects themselves, I'm...not pinterest-y and one set of grandparents likes giving subscriptions as gifts).  

[Momto6inIN]

It can be very overwhelming to start homeschooling! I took a full year to research before we started and I still made some mistakes with regards to choosing curriculum that first year (and still do after 6 years!) But rest assured, you can do this!

I agree that taking some time to read Cathy Duffy's book and go through the first few chapters answering the questions about learning style, teaching style, goals, etc. are very very very helpful. I still review those chapters every year or so because my homeschooling has evolved a lot the past 6 years and it's helpful to see where my philosophy and goals might be changing.

Maybe a good  idea to start out with is to start with an all in one curriculum provider for the first year so you can really see what you and your kids like and don't like and what fits and what doesn't fit for you, and also use that first year to read Cathy Duffy's book and do some in depth research as to what you might want to change for your second year.

I personally prefer to pick and choose different curriculum for different subjects, but if I was going to choose an all in one provider I'd probably go with My Father's World or Sonlight or Memoria Press over any of the others you mentioned.

Good  luck and let us know what you picked! 🙂

[Susan in TX]

CLE is a very solid and easy to use curriculum. We currently use their math. I have been homeschooling for many years and I have in the past used their Language Arts, Reading, and some of the science and social studies. It is designed to be used mostly independently by the student so there isn't a lot of teaching that you have to do. This makes it very easy to use especially if you have kids that like to learn that way. 

The downside is it can get a bit tedious. Some kids need a different approach that is more interactive or hands on. 

CLE is also inexpensive and you can buy just the first one or two workbooks to try it out before going all in.

I have used CLE Language Arts and it is a good program but I prefer Rod and Staff English and for Spelling we use Soaring with Spelling.

Susan in TX

[ScoutTN]

Welcome to the Hive and to homeschooling!

I second taking a step back, thinking through your goals and motives, researching various home education philosophies and approaches. Read! Read here and find a few books. The Well Trained Mind is a good place to start. Also Susan Shaeffer Macaulay's For the Children's Sake and a more recent book, Teaching From Rest by Sarah Mackenzie. Cathy Duffy's books, as pp have said, are great basic introduction. 

When getting down to details of curriculum, choose math and language arts (composition, grammar, spelling, literature) first. Then do content subjects like science and history. Have fun with content areas and enjoy being homeschoolers - let your kids pursue their interests! Ask the what they want to study! Don't worry if you make a mistake (or three) and choose something that doesn't work well. We've all btdt. Seconding My Father's World if you're going to choose a boxed set. Way better that the ones you've mentioned in a host of ways, imo. But know that kids are rarely exactly "on grade level" in all areas, so be prepared for it to be a poor fit in some skill areas. Do placement tests for math. 

A caution: No matter how bright and motivated, it's an extremely rare 4th or 5th grader who works mostly independently.  Especially when you are new to this and haven't established a routine and figured out how it works for your particular family. Prepare to be very hands-on! 

 

 

Edited June 27, 2019 by ScoutTN

[Caglehs]

5 minutes ago, ScoutTN said:

Welcome to the Hive and to homeschooling!

I second taking a step back, thinking through your goals and motives, researching various home education philosophies and approaches. Read! Read here and find a few books. The Well Trained Mind is a good place to start. Also Susan Shaeffer Macaulay's For the Children's Sake and a more recent book, Teaching From Rest by Sarah Mackenzie. Cathy Duffy's books, as pp have said, are great basic introduction. 

When getting down to details of curriculum, choose math and language arts (composition, grammar, spelling, literature) first. Then do content subjects like science and history. Have fun with content areas and enjoy being homeschoolers - let your kids pursue their interests! Ask the what they want to study! Don't worry if you make a mistake (or three) and choose something that doesn't work well. We've all btdt. Seconding My Father's World if you're going to choose a boxed set. Way better that the ones you've mentioned in a host of ways, imo. But know that kids are rarely exactly "on grade level" in all areas, so be prepared for it to be a poor fit in some skill areas. Do placement tests for math. 

A caution: No matter how bright and motivated, it's an extremely rare 4th or 5th grader who works mostly independently.  Especially when you are new to this and haven't established a routine and figured out how it works for your particular family. Prepare to be very hands-on! 

 

 

Thank you..I am seeing that as I research that I will be more involved hands on especially since we don't care for the videos accompanying Bju and abeka. My girls really love history and historical fiction and just reading in general so a literature based curriculum might be our best Avenue so far. I appreciate the advice.

[Garga]

 

5 hours ago, Momto6inIN said:

 

Maybe a good  idea to start out with is to start with an all in one curriculum provider for the first year so you can really see what you and your kids like and don't like and what fits and what doesn't fit for you, and also use that first year to read Cathy Duffy's book and do some in depth research as to what you might want to change for your second year.

I personally prefer to pick and choose different curriculum for different subjects, but if I was going to choose an all in one provider I'd probably go with My Father's World or Sonlight or Memoria Press over any of the others you mentioned.

Good  luck and let us know what you picked! 🙂

 

I’m like the above. I choose a different provider for each subject.  

I write a list of all the subjects that I want the kids to learn that year.  For your girls you can combine:  science, history, art, music, logic, a language, literature and any other thing you want to teach.

Grammar and math are usually what people split out and teach separately.  (Though I have combined grammar in the past.)

Once I know what subjects I want to teach, I start researching who provides for those subjects, one by one.  Let’s say I’m trying to pick a curric for science. I start by googling for elementary homeschool science.  I come here and start a thread, “What do you use for 5th grade science? And why do you like it?”  The why is important...if they say they love it for their very advanced child, then that might or might not be what I want.  Or if they say they love it because of all the books the kids read for it, then that may or may not be good for my kids.  My kids have their own strengths and weaknesses and a curric that works great for your kids might be a bad fit for mine.  So, the why is important.  (And sometimes you won’t know your kids’ strengths and weaknesses until you’ve homeschooled for a year or so.)

I read the replies and try to find samples of the currics mentioned in the thread. I search on here for “elementary science” or “5th grade science” or “5th grade planning” and research any curric names that pop up in other people’s threads.  Once I start to narrow down the choices, I see if I can see the currics I’m interested in in person to compare them against each other.  Then I finally make a choice on a science curric. 

Next...I do the same thing for history.  Then for art.  Then for music, etc, etc.  

I’ve found that I like to mix and match and find the best matches for each student subject by subject.  CLE might be brilliant at Math, but only meh at history, which is why I do it this way.  

However, as the person I quoted above said, you might want to get an all-in-one curric for your first year.  It’ll become pretty clear what is working with that all-in-one curric and what isn’t and then the next year you’ll know better what you’re looking for.

 

 

[Caglehs]

10 minutes ago, Garga said:

 

 

I’m like the above. I choose a different provider for each subject.  

I write a list of all the subjects that I want the kids to learn that year.  For your girls you can combine:  science, history, art, music, logic, a language, literature and any other thing you want to teach.

Grammar and math are usually what people split out and teach separately.  (Though I have combined grammar in the past.)

Once I know what subjects I want to teach, I start researching who provides for those subjects, one by one.  Let’s say I’m trying to pick a curric for science. I start by googling for elementary homeschool science.  I come here and start a thread, “What do you use for 5th grade science? And why do you like it?”  The why is important...if they say they love it for their very advanced child, then that might or might not be what I want.  Or if they say they love it because of all the books the kids read for it, then that may or may not be good for my kids.  My kids have their own strengths and weaknesses and a curric that works great for your kids might be a bad fit for mine.  So, the why is important.  (And sometimes you won’t know your kids’ strengths and weaknesses until you’ve homeschooled for a year or so.)

I read the replies and try to find samples of the currics mentioned in the thread. I search on here for “elementary science” or “5th grade science” or “5th grade planning” and research any curric names that pop up in other people’s threads.  Once I start to narrow down the choices, I see if I can see the currics I’m interested in in person to compare them against each other.  Then I finally make a choice on a science curric. 

Next...I do the same thing for history.  Then for art.  Then for music, etc, etc.  

I’ve found that I like to mix and match and find the best matches for each student subject by subject.  CLE might be brilliant at Math, but only meh at history, which is why I do it this way.  

However, as the person I quoted above said, you might want to get an all-in-one curric for your first year.  It’ll become pretty clear what is working with that all-in-one curric and what isn’t and then the next year you’ll know better what you’re looking for.

 

 

I agree that if not this year then next we will mix and match. I do like Cle math but have heard that their history &science don't compare to the quality of their math so we will be learning what works best as we go.

[mumto2]

I also want to encourage you to read the Well Trained Mind and some of the other books listed by a pp.  Planning and using many curriculum providers was one of my favorite parts of Home Ed.  That said I think an argument can be made for using a curriculum with a good schedule for your first year.  You are fortunate that your girls are close in age and can do the majority of their school together.   There are so many good literature based curriculums available now and the schedule will help you figure out what a typical day for your family needs to look like to get through the material in a year.

 

Edited June 28, 2019 by mumto2