What have you loved/hated curriculum this year?

Oh no—we’re starting Write Shop tomorrow!  😊 Maybe we’ll have a better experience.  😂 I feel like we’re not using a lot of actual curriculum this year—we’re sort of hodgepodging things together from a lot of different sources.

Love: SCM Enrichment (Of course), Flip Flop Spanish, Delightful Reading, Apologia’s Health and Nutrition, Masterbook’s Simply K

Hate: Masterbook’s Worldview’s in Conflict and Great Christian Classics—I think Great Christian Classics would be great for an interested, advanced reader.

My school-aged kids are in 3rd, 1st, and K and we have jumped around a lot this year with curriculum.

LOVED: Mathematical Reasoning (Critical Thinking Co.)

– Mind Benders (Critical Thinking Co.)

– TGATB cursive

– Laying Down the Rails

– SCM Resources (scripture memory system, various enrichment items)

LIKED: Life of Fred (Extraneous info is sometimes distracting)

– TGATB Language Arts (what we decided to stick with)

– LLATL Yellow & Blue Book (we don’t like that it’s 180 days)

– Spelling Wisdom/ULW (my kids just don’t understand the quotes)

– MFW Adventures in US History (great if you aren’t someone who feels oppressed by and all-in-one schedule)

MEH– A Reason for Handwriting (kids are starting to get bored)

– Foreign Languages 4 Kids (kids have hit a wall with understanding so it’s really just become screen time)

DISLIKED: Sassafras Science (way too wordy and not much actual science)

– LLATL Red (lessons were too long and had too many components)

Kids here are 4th, 2nd + littles. We’ve flopped around a fair amount, hopefully we’ve settled into a few things…

Loved (or at least loved that it’s working:)

–RightStart (3+ year weve used. We’re in levels C and E, and starting bits from A for preK this year. It’s not perfect, but nothing is, and I can easily tweak it because its not workbook driven. )

–Apples and Pears spelling for both older kids (We’re finishing up A and will start  B in a month or so. 1 needs it, the other tags along to save time, but sometime I’m going to transition her to dictation. I am thinking of going all summer….my struggling speller is learning to spell….but my fingers are still crossed;)

Masterbooks physical science for 2nd grade because my daughter finally likes science. She never really liked all our great living books?? But loves to do this with me…thats my goal for elementary.

Answers in genesis earth and space science for 4th grader. Weve learned alot and enjoyed it and now we watch the night sky together. He slept outside 2 nights this fall watching for falling stars.

SCM picture, poetry, Bible verses. Great together time!

Rod and Staff english. We just started this after Christmas so its soon to tell, but its covering what I want, making my kids write more, and not as tedious as Abeka. Also its “more” than MFW language lessons and doesnt include the picture study that we already do.

Meh….

SCM early modern/ modern. Were slogging through it still! We will be ready to start modern next week. 4th grader likes it 2nd grader does not…..somehow it doesnt feel quite right, but neither did Americas Story, or Our star spangled story…..not sure where to go here. I’m thinking of splitting us up next year…

Songschool spanish daughter loves it son really dislikes it, and I think the songs are annoying, but it’s getting done unlike my handed down powerglide jr or miss mason spanish… I may just use it next year for dd and let ds try Greek like he wants to.

kids are 14 & 16

still getting into a schedule of Morning time: enjoying daily Bible passage reading all together( our focus currently is Psalm 46 until memorized or when we reach the end of the month). Hymn study(our choice), SCM Picture study, SCM composer study. Added Shakespeare, son doesnt care for it (but neither did his two older brothers) we’ll see how it goes.  I won’t insist.  Daughter loving it.

14 yr old LOVES:  winston grammar, Biblioplan history/geography/bible, Pentime (they work in teaching Calligraphy), ACE Science (Earth), Hey, Andrew Greek,

Tolerating ACE math

16 yr old LOVES to do the least amount as possible to get on with real life learning experiences such as Aviation, government topics, Audio Sound technician(runs the sound at our church learning from his Dad), photography in nature…..etc

He’s liking Biblioplan Early American history/Geography.  He follows the schedule for reading from the companion and answers just the weekly essay questions and does the weekly map work.

He likes Power Basics Government.

Likes (per my son):

SCM Spelling Wisdom & Using Language Well

Math Antics

Life of Fred

Anything by Horrible History (books or videos)

Dislikes:

Apologia Science

CLE Language Arts

CLE Math

The Story of Canada by George Brown

Ooo, fun post! I’ve got 9 kids still at home this year, with kids at every level.

LOVED:

– The Good and the Beautiful Language Arts

– The Good and the Beautiful Science (7th grade and under kids)

– The Good and the Beautiful History

– Lots of reading aloud and independent reading.

– Math U See (kids grade 4 and up).

– TGTB Math (kids in 2nd and 3rd).

LIKED, but not loved:

– John Tiner science books with extra question booklets from Memoria Press (high schoolers like it ok, but sometimes they feel like they aren’t retaining enough).