live ed vs. christopherus

[onyxravnos]

if you could only choose one would you chose live ed or christpherus.

i love both but if i bought all the waldorfy-ness i loved i would go crazy. so lets just pretend they are the only choices... which one do you choose?

[Mittsy]

Christopherus!! I really like Donna's style, I love all the support, and having most everything planned out for me. I just feel like this is the best!

[LuxPerpetua]

Christopherus.  It's a lot more detailed, though I resent Donna's view of gifted kids, which comes out in a few of her books.  Overall, though, I much prefer it.

[onyxravnos]

Oooo and of course it's cheaper in the long run... i just need more 'pretty waldorf-ness' 

i'm surprised no one else weighed in... where did all the waldorf HSers go?

[Mittsy]

Just out of curiosity, but what do you mean by "pretty-waldorf-ness"?

[onyxravnos]

i mean the 'pretty' look from waldorf watercoloring / drawing. and just the general natural pretty of waldorf materials

[MamaAcorn]

I haven't used Live Ed, but I have used Christopherus for 4th grade this past year and have 5th ready to go for next year and I've been quite pleased.  It has the right amount of details, examples, and book recommendations for me.  I like that the Kovacs and D'Aulaires books are part of the curriculum. 

[soohum]

Hi friends!

I thought I would share my experience on this subject.  I just ordered Christopherus Grade 1 after researching both Live Ed and Christopherus, and even having a consultation with a Live Ed rep.  First of all I think they are both excellent.  They were both recommended to me by the would-be first grade teacher of my son for this year at a school too far to commute to.  We are doing part time public school and part time Waldorf Homeschool--MTW in public and ThF at home.

Last night, in a moment of trying to create today's lesson plan and daily flow with the Live Ed "Form Drawing" book I had in hand (which I borrowed from a friend to get started) I found myself wanting more structure.  I am a very creative person but the rubber met the road in making the lesson plan and I needed more material and guidance.  I googled things like "Waldorf first grade first lesson daily plan" and schedule and whatnot, and kept finding myself back on the Christopherus site and liked what I saw on the sample pages.  Then I discovered it was less than half the price of Live Ed, and it resonated with me anyway so I just bought it. 

I felt elated.  One milestone achieved!  Curriculum selected and most of the work done for me!  Now I can move on and go buy supplies...we started form drawing today based on what I had but I'll look forward to more structure as we go forward.

Who knows, maybe I'll change my mind later.  I would imagine that if you're a Waldorf connoisseur, you might end up buying both.  They are both excellent.  I would just buy the one that resonates with you most.

Incidentally I can see how going forward my son might *demand* more of a Live Ed style from me--in which I have to make up my own stories.  We had story time today and I read from a book (the seven year old wonder book--a great one!) and he was urging me to make one up of my own.

So we'll see how long referring to the book lasts!

Enjoy whichever curriculum you choose!

Cheerio

soohum

[jumpmama]

I have the christopherous early years books and really love everything about them. SOOOO full of ideas and resources. Way more than I ever expected. My kids love the stories she has in them.