MamaReese Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 I know...gasp:eek: If you were going to go with a boxed curriculum which one would you choose and why? I am thinking this may be the best choice for DD next year. The reason being, I want something all planned out, I just don't have it in me to plan everything out. I also feel like she isn't doing enough now. I also need dd to be more accountable in getting things done. If it helps dd will be in 7th grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIch elle Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 I highly recommend Christian Light Education's math, reading and LA programs. BUT they may be difficult to jump into for grade 7 if your dc hasn't had a good foundation in those subjects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 VP Scholars or BJU dvds/harddrive/online. VP Scholars has online classes and complete lesson plan kits too. The BJU stuff is great and it comes with the books too, making it the more economical of the two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 Are you looking for a Christian or secular program? Do you want something that uses living books (like Sonlight or WinterPromise) or something that's more "textbooky" (like BJU, Abeka, or Calvert?) What are you doing now? Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 My oldest is using the ABeka DVD Academy and I've used Calvert in the past with both. There are quite a few options available now. Are you looking for secular or a religious based program and do you want the school to be accredited? I've got a pretty big list for high school I could post if you like. I also think the back of The Well Trained Mind lists many of your options with links and numbers under sources. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MO Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 Would you please post your high school list? My dd is going into 8th grade so we're beginning to think about high school. Thanks, Julie in MO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ida Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 We are using k12 everything except math for 6th grade and I am really enjoying it. We do it consumer direct and I am very glad to not have someone looking over my shoulder. There's a nice mix of things that ds can do mostly independently along with things we need to do or at least discuss together. It's quite rigorous and thorough. There is a nice mix of online work, book or worksheet work, and written response work. I started k12 out of a feeling that I was failing to provide the level of organization and consistency that ds needed. I thought k12 would be a temporary fix while I pulled myself together, but I like it so much that I am now planning to use it at least through 8th grade. I looked through the scope and sequence for the classes in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades and the progression of the material makes complete sense and I really see where we are going with what he is learning and how it is preparing him for high school and college level work. I am extremely pleased with the program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 I'm dividing my kids for the first time ever in most subjects, but we'll be doing Beautiful Feet's Geography program together and some other read-alouds. My younger one will be in Classical Conversations again, but she will do CLE math, reading, social studies, and science. I also have a schedule of novels for her to read, and she'll start Latin. My older one will be in CC's Challenge Program, and thus has most of his program set. At first I was kind of sad about it, but it's time for us in many ways. We've used CLE for several years for both reading and math. Both will be in the Logic Stage, so it's a good time for the transition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland_Mom Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 The Classical Conversations "Challenge A" program might be a good fit, if there is one near you. Your daughter would go to class once a week for about 6.5 hours. Classes are kept to 12 students. Everything is planned out: Saxon 8/7 or Saxon 1/2 Latin's Not So Tough 3 and 4 (fine for a beginner this age) IEW Bible Based Writing Study/discussion of 7 Newberry Novels Natural Science - study of human body systems, plants and animals World Geography - Students learn to draw the entire world, mapping about 240 locations. Biblical worldview discussion/study using "It Couldn't Just Happen" and "Don't Check your Brains at the Door" As far as I can see, the only thing missing from this program is history. This program continues through high school. VP Scholars is another great curriculum - definitely college prep material. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaReese Posted March 23, 2009 Author Share Posted March 23, 2009 Thanks for the replies so far. Either secular or religious. I am thinking something more textbook like, we have tried Winterpromise and some Sonlight and it just isn't our thing, although I really want it to be, it's just not for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paisley Hedgehog Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 nm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDBask Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 We are going all in a box next year with BJU Dvd's or online. This will be 4th and 6th graders. There was a time when I would have been absolutely horrified at the thought of not doing a literature based, Mom intensive, student interest led, unit studylike program. However, life has intervened and reality is much different than my ideal. I need help, and I'm not ashamed to ask! :D No suggestions here, but I think that it is a wise idea for moms to plan a "lighter" year in between several more intense years. Maybe that would aliviate (sp??) some of the burnout we experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 Well, I've been using A Beka totally for Kinder with my boys and I like it. It's very user friendly. Although you have to be careful not to become a "slave" to it. I'm will be using A Beka's phonics/language arts and math program next year, but I wasn't altogether thrilled with their science book, or their history/social studies. Too lightweight. I ordered BJU's Heritage Studies 1 and am teeter-tottering between that and doing SOTW 1. I really like BJU's curriculum, it's much more in depth than A Beka's and I love that it has a lot of geography and map studies, but I am a firm believer in teaching history using a more biographical approach, i.e. teaching about the people rather than just events. People are much more interesting, and BJU's book is pretty typical in its presentation. Of course, I've thought about using BJU and then when we come across historical figures going off on a tangent. So, today it's SOTW 1, tomorrow it'll probably be BJU. I like them both, but there's no real way to combine them, so I think it'll probably be one or the other. I have a few months to figure it out. Sorry for such a lengthy answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 Oak Meadow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree House Academy Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 Heart of Dakota. :) They are a "boxed curriculum" where you get to PICK AND CHOOSE! You just can't beat that! You can pick math on your child's level and it does not have to be the same level for English or read alouds. It is mix and match curriculum in a box. History, Science, Bible, and Reading are all these wornderful living books! We are starting the History and Science this coming fall and then I will likely transition to HOD for everything in the coming years....other than LA (they use R&S) and writing - for LA, I prefer CLE for the older, WP LA for the younger and for writing, they are both starting WWE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRG Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 We used BJU 5 complete this year. Since it was my first year to homeschool I wanted something to help get my feet wet, so to speak. It has worked very well for us. I liked that everything was planned out and it kept us on task. I'm changing things up a bit next year but will still be using some BJU texts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmom Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 I like the whole curriculum sets you can buy from homeschool supercenter. They are a wide variety of different books from different publishers, so there is more room to "tweak" it. IMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 I'd go with K12. I think it is a rigorous, content-rich program, with a coherent presentation of topics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmschooling Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 You might like Heart of Dakota's newest guide Hearts For Him Through Time: Creation to Christ. You would need to add the extension pack since you ahve a 7th grader. Much would be independent, similar to the more textbook curriculums. Everything is included, so it's very "boxed curriculum" like, but still has a classical/charlotte mason feel to it, plus it's ALL planned out for you and your dd. No need to add ANYTHING to it and you can get it all at one place. A new guide will come out each year so you'd have it for 3 years after this one. (It's a 4 yr history cycle) Let me know if you have any questions about it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 I really like BJU's curriculum, it's much more in depth than A Beka's and I love that it has a lot of geography and map studies, but I am a firm believer in teaching history using a more biographical approach, i.e. teaching about the people rather than just events. People are much more interesting, and BJU's book is pretty typical in its presentation. The BJU teacher's manual offers a lot more information than is found in the student book, so that may help you. We use the DVD program, and it's a lot richer than using the book on its own. There is also a notebooking-type worktext that goes along with Heritage Studies, and some kids really enjoy that. There are also tests available, if you're at all interested in testing. We're not talking about long essay exams here -- just a page or two of basic questions and answers, often true/false, multiple choice, and matching. I have to say that while I originally thought BJU Heritage was pretty light, I'm surprised at how much my ds remembers about it, and how much he enjoys learning about history as a result of the DVD classes. Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Laurie Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 Since you don't want lit based, like SL, I would personally choose Oak Meadow or K12. Have you looked at Calvert? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homeschooling6 Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 Have you looked at The Sycamore Tree they sell boxed curriculum, secular packages as well as Christian. Their site is a bit hard to navigate but you can order a catalog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 Would you please post your high school list? My dd is going into 8th grade so we're beginning to think about high school.Thanks, Julie in MO Here is my old list, we changed computers and I'm still trying to recover my files. It is in no particular order and far from complete, but a good start on whats available.;) HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAMS American School 2200 E. 170th Street Lansing, IL 60438 1-800-531-9268 Indiana University High School Owen Hall 001 790 E. Kirkwood Avenue Bloomington, IN 47405-7101 1-800-334-1011 scs.indiana.edu/hs/highschooldiploma.html Keystone National High School 420 West 5th Street Bloomsburg, PA 17815 1-800-255-4937 http://www.keystonehighschool.com North Dakota Division of Independent Study State University Station P. O. Box 5036 Fargo, ND 58105-5036 701-231-6000 http://www.dis.dpi.state.nd.us Texas Tech University High School Guided Study P. O. Box 42191 Lubbock, TX 79409-2191 1-800-692-6877 http://www.dce.ttu.edu University of Nebraska-Lincoln Independent Study High School Division of Continuing Studies 269 Nebraska Center for Continuing Education 33 and Holdredge Streets Lincoln, NE 68583-9400 1-402-472-4422 dcs.unl.edu/ishs Bridgway http://www.homeschoolacademy.com/ ABeka Book Inc. http://www.abeka.com Bob Jones http://www.bjupress.com Covenant Home http://www.covenanthome.com Christian Liberty Academy 847-259-4444 http://www.christianlibertyacademycom Seton http://www.setonhome.org/ Kolbe http://www.kolbe.org Mother of Divine Grace School http://www.motherofdivinegrace.org Oak Meadow http://www.oakmeadow.com ACE Accelerated Christian Education http://www.aceministries.com NorthStar Academy http://www.northstar-academy.org BYU Independent Study http://www.elearn.byu.edu http://www.k12.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tami Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 I'd personally do Sonlight, but one option that has everything very well-planned out is St Thomas Aquinas. I love their syllabus, and think this would be very easy to work with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniferB Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 It sounds like K12 would fit you very well. The plans are so well done, easy to follow, and thorough. The curriculum is 1st class. It's not literature based, but it includes great literature with an excellent literature program, which includes literary analysis and response. I have written several posts about K12 in detail, which you can find if you look up "all posts" under my name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomZ Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Another BJU lover here! The teacher guides are essential (in history) as they are packed full of information and ideas. My daughter loves their history. Their 7th grade grammar is also very good. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bella_gitana Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 We used Calvert our first year. We really liked it, but I wanted to try Lit based, and haven't looked back. Now, if we had to go back to boxed curriculum, I'd pick Calvert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim in SouthGa Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 If you want textbooks, I'd go with Covenant Home Curriculum. They use some BJU, but with their own TMs...I really loathe the BJU TMs! They have a rigorous LA program, and are classical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 I'm going sonlight for history and lit myself next year, but I still plan to use BJU for science. If I was going for a curriculum in a box, I switch everything over to them. I find their materials very readable and the curriculum certainly gets you to college prep levels. No guilt necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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