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experience with boxed curriculums-Abeka, Calvert, Sonlight, K12

5K views 13 replies 13 participants last post by  Janaleigh 
#1 ·
After 4 years of homeschooling, being pretty eclectic interest driven learners, I have reached a point where I am needing some ease. In the past, I have loved gathering resources but have reached a point that for this year, I would like to have a bit of time ~not~ thinking about homeschooling, and constantly researching resources for the kids (and I know the kids are ~just~ about at a brink of being able to do some of this for themselves but they are maybe a year or two short of that).

So I have been checking out full-on boxed curriculum, even nifty ones with checkboxes and teachers manuals that tell me what we are doing that day. Now, I am fully aware this will be a different experience, and the various arguments against these (ie-they are not interest-driven), and that we won't have control (which right now I don't want! But I know that I can skip things that a dumb, useless, or that I can modify lessons), etc....

So talk to me about boxed curriculum, your experience, etc.. Do you think it will give me the ease I am looking for? Or am I fooling myself? What have your days been like using a boxed curriculum? How do your kids respond to them? Do you follow the lesson plans?
 
#3 ·
i don't have experience with boxed curriculum really. we used "moving beyond the page" before & i really liked it. it's just way too expensive imo & not worth the price. i also like the way sonlight & winter promise look - but i've never used them actually. abeka is the least favorite of mine that you've mentioned. i'd use rod & staff over abeka (but i'm partial because i actually do use R&S
). i hope you find what you need
 
#4 ·
Well we just started so eventually my opinion may change. We are doing Sonlight and love it. I was looking for a check the box sort of curriculum to "hold-my-hand" during the first year. I love the forums at Sonlight as well, partly for the hand holding and partly for fresh ideas. I substituted LA but theirs is not workbook centered and some love it. In general, I love that I'm not handling textbooks all day. There is an Instructor's Guide but it's not a script. More just an outline of highlights to assist in guiding the conversation... should you want it. Oh and an answer key for the mapping
: I had no idea I was soo bad at geography!
 
#5 ·
We have used Sonlight Core 1 and Core 2 over 3 years now.
We will be moving on to Core 3 in the fall.

It is fairly easy to use. I just open the schedule and pull out the books for the day. If I want to add activities I might look ahead and plan some things in advance. It's easy to see what will be coming up.
If you want something you can just pull out that day and go to it you can do that.
I like the schedule. We are relaxed but it still works for us to have that framework.
We use the 4 day schedule and it is plenty full.

If your kids really dig hands-on-activities you'll have to find them but there are lists on the internet or the Sonlight forums of what others have used to supplement. If your kids are really into a book then activities will probably suggest themselves. I like not being told we have to build a model castle. If dd wants to do it then we'll think of it.

http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/SLsupmenu.htm
http://www.roadstoeverywhere.com/sonlight.htm

We love the majority of the books from Sonlight. Very few duds.
 
#6 ·
I started Hsing with Sonlight and just found that by the time i adapted it to work for my kids and my family, plus planned and scheduled the things that were not scheduled for me (math, handwriting, Catechism etc.) it wasn't worth it. I spend less time planning now following a variety of programs that I have chosen myself.
That being said if you are going to try a boxed curriculum Sonlight was great and really did mean it when they gave their 18 week guarantee. I was able to return everything I didnt want (I kept the reading program) and got 100% of my money back, the only thing I was out was what it cost to ship it back to them.
 
#7 ·
We're going to be using Sonlight in the fall. Unlike most other boxed curriculums, it is a literature-based curriculum, so there are almost no textbooks; the child learns from a variety of living books and other resources. It's true that the math and electives are not scheduled in, but almost no curriculum is going to have EVERYthing scheduled/scripted for you. Some people really enjoy the challenge of creating their own curricula; others enjoy an open-and-go system. I really think Sonlight offers the best of both worlds.
 
#9 ·
I am impressed with Rod and Staff's complete curriculum. We are using the Second grade curriculum right now. I've been told by others who've used it that their reading and grammar is very challening which I like and have found to be true. Rod and Staff is inexpensive in comparison to others and they have terrific customer service. If you are looking for a Christian curriculum, or don't mind using one, you may like this one.

I also like Our Father's World (again Christian) for science and history. This one is great because it uses a five year cycle which allows you to teach the same subject matter to multiple grade levels. You do have to purchase the other subjects separately though, which is not what you were asking for, but if you like the five year cycle this may offer you some of the simplicity you are seeking.

After trying a few things I am probably going to settle on using Our Father's World for sciene and history, and Rod and Staff for reading/grammar/spelling. As for math I am going to complete the second grade Rod and Staff math which thus far I am pleased with, and then decide whether to purchase math separately for her for third grade, or continue with Rod and Staff math.
 
#10 ·
You might like Tapestry of Grace. It has all the resources you need to teach and what books to buy/get from library listed for each week, but you have the flexibility of choosing which readings and activities you'll actually do. You'd also create you're own schedule for the week, like which day you read, do projects etc is up to you.
 
#11 ·
Another satisfied Sonlight user here. You can use the instructor's guide as a script, or you can view it as suggestions and simply follow along with their plan but do as much or as little in a day as you like. We use modified workboxes for non-literature based subjects, like math, and just do what we feel like for that day.
 
#12 ·
I think I told you about my experience with K12. Some subjects were stronger than others, so history and science were rather dumbed down for us. And language arts, really not appealing to boys-to much repetition, activities he was not interested in, when he just wants to read. Sure, we could "supplement", but then we are still obligated to make the motions to keep up with their pace and do their classes. Even the subjects we liked at the beginning, math for one, got stale. So we would do other math activities and again, get behind because you have to follow their progression and schedule. Plus the fact that the school/teacher considers you a "learning coach" and not the teacher, is a little grating to me. And you just don't have any flexibility to try something different.

Good luck, I am always rerouting our path, too, always interesting!
 
#13 ·
Check out Winter Promise. www.winterpromise.com and www.winterpromise.net

I have no experience as I haven't used a boxed curriculum but have researched like crazy and this seems to be similar to sonlight but with much more hands on activities. It is literature based as well. It looks pretty fabulous to me for a boxed curriculum. Just a bit pricey. It has math, history, science, lang arts.....most people seem pretty happy with it that use it.
 
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