Living Books Curriculum – Reviews Wanted

LOVED LBC’s 36 week planner.  At the time we used it, I was transitioning from SL’s grid of all items to cover each day of each week to a more relaxed CM schedule.  I really liked some of the books, but my girls struggled with some of the selections, but this was 5 or 6 years ago.  I believe some of the selections they had have since changed. 

I think they have changed how you purchase the books, but at the time, it was cheaper to buy them from Amazon individually if you want new or to buy the whole set used, obviously, was a much better deal. 

I am not sure if they have changed their guide from which you lay out your schedule in the aforemented planner, but if not, I think they could have chosen a different layout for it.  Do note that others really seemed to like it a lot, it just felt chaotic to me, but then I was coming from SL.

The other downside was that, at least at the time, LBC suggested each child be in their own “grade”.  We were coming from SL where I deliberately combined where I could so we could do family studies, so chose to use one package for us with LBC.  At the time there were no high school plans and I had a young one who was very young.  It ended up that I tweeked as much with LBC as I was with SL which was a headache and a half for me for multiple reasons.  Christie, if you are still choosing to have each child do their own thing as I think we talked about before, this probably won’t be as much of a problem for you.

In the end, I would say that LBC was the best thing for us at the time because it helped me to see that I wanted and needed the freedom to choose more of the books for my children and not be tied to someone else’s schedule.  If you’re not after the schedule aspect, you can come up with as good or better fit for your child from the lists of books that can be found several places, IMHO.

Isn’t exhausting!?! It is a serious addiction, constantly planning and looking for something for whatever comes next. It never ends it seems!