What have been hits and misses this year at your house?

[KristineIN]

What have your children really loved and what has been a flop? Either books, curriculum or anything.

Kristine

[Heather in NC]

Hits: Phonetic Zoo Spelling, LCII, SOTW 4, MUS

Misses: any writing program I have tried! :o

[ArwenA]

SOTW 4 was a miss and switching over to Canadian history has been great. It's a hit! Other than that I feel everything is going well. We had a GREAT day today and everyone thought doing a nature study (which we've just started) was "So much FUN!!"

[MelissaMinNC]

MUS Alpha was a flop for us. Spelling Workout was a flop also. Just about everything else - ToG Ancients, Life Science ala WTM, music history with living books and listening to the music, artist study same way as music, have all been a hit. Oh, we're using the Body Book from Teacher Created Resources right now to go with our human body study, that's been a big hit. As dd says, "I think that inside our bodies are gross, but amazing." :D

:)
Melissa

[5wolfcubs]

:)Hits:
Lively Latin
The Elements: Ingredients of the Universe
Story of the World 1
Singapore Challenging Word Problems 2
Singapore Start Up Science 3
Handwriting w/o Tears
Apples Spelling
Building Thinking Skills 2
ALEKS Math
Key to Fractions, Decimals
MUS Gamma & Zeta

:(Misses:
Journey Through Grammar Land

:rolleyes:Can be in either catagory, depending on Mom's prep work:
Tapestry of Grace Yr 1
Tapestry of Grace's Writing Aids

Overall, it has a been a pretty good year! ;)

[dirty ethel rackham]

Hits:
Teaching Company's Books that Made History, Books that Will Change your Life. We have been using portions of this for my 8th grader's literature studies. I am learning so much as he is.

WriteGuide online writing tutor. This has been expensive but worth EVERY penny. My son completed a few fantasic essays as well as prepped for the SAT essay section.


Miss:
Real Science 4 Kids Chemistry Pre-level and Level 1
They took a fantastically whiz bangingly fun subject to explore and turned it into drudgery. Long drawn out experiments and excruciatingly rigorous writing. My goal is to help my kids love chemistry while learning something. This is not working.

[Wendy in ME]

Hits: Lively Latin, Writing Tales 1 and 2, and Right Start Math Transitions

Misses: TOG Ancients and Noeo Biology II

[Beth in Central TX]

Definite hit: CW Poetry for Beginners A (big surprise for all of us); Elementary Apologia Zoology I & II

Nothing has been a flop this year. I have been disappointed with our logic stage history sequence, but that's just because I don't want something as intensive as TOG, but a little more meaty than SOTW. I really like the series by Nothing New Press, but it won't fit nicely into the 4-year cycle that we're on.

[chiguirre]

Hits: R&S Math, Pathway Readers, LLATL Blue, ETC, FIAR

Misses: SOTW1 (for now, the kids like to listen, but don't retain anything), Calvert 1 reading, Bob books Level 2 (Level 1 was great)

Good but not greats: SL Cores A, B, C (kids like the books but these levels are disjointed), Queen Language Lessons for Little Ones (great picture studies and poetry, copywork and phonics are underwhelming)

[Trivium Academy]

:( Misses :(

- LetteroftheWeek.com preparatory curriculum for preschool
reasons: library was not delivering books in timely fashion, too much prep time for the time spent doing. I did realize that I want to pick the books we read and that following a curriculum that says read THIS book isn't for me which probably saved me from jumping on the BFIAR/FIAR bandwagon.

- First Language Lessons Level 2
reasons: I got bored and felt it wasn't providing enough practice

- Skill Drill Grammar workbook
reasons: too much practice, became busywork without clear instruction

- Copywork Grammar
reasons: Tried to use our copywork to teach punctuation and grammar but realized our copywork was over dd's head (my fault)

- Mailboxes Grammar, Mechanics and Usage Grades 1-2
reasons: I felt there had to be a better way to naturally address this area of study, can you tell I had problems this year? Dd liked the workbook but it still wasn't a "great" fit for us.

- SOTW Volume 2
reasons: I tried too hard to make SOTW something we could really enjoy (with church history alongside and using our own books), I realized quickly it is a book that we'd have to just read without other books or pick other books because we didn't want to spend so much time on history. We ultimately picked other books and switched to Tapestry of Grace and changed the focus of our lessons to more language arts.

Spelling Workout by Modern Curriculum Press
reasons: I finally opened my eyes and realized dd was spending too much time on activities that really weren't helping her learn to spell. After fighting the thought that the workbook was busywork with tons of justifications, I researched how to learn to spell and which ways were the most effective and Spelling Workout didn't fit the bill at all. We dropped spelling instruction for 2nd grade.

Doing our own French smorgasbord curriculum
Too much prep

:D Hits :D

Tapestry of Grace
reasons: We've found a home in TOG, this is what was missing from using SOTW and we're loving it. We're in our 10th week of using it and although I'm still figuring out the logistics of how "we" want to use it- we've been able to focus on language arts and build dd's reading skills in just 10 weeks!

Primary Language Lessons by Emma Serl, updated by Margot Davidson
reasons: FINALLY! A language arts solution that fits us, we love PLL with its variety and we're applying more Charlotte Mason principles to our homeschool as I read through The Original Homeschooling Series. We are bored no more!

Explode the Code books 5-8 with Teacher's Guides
Fabulous! These have been very instrumental in helping dd's reading ability and fluency. She just finished book 5 and she's reading with more confidence and accuracy than 10 weeks ago. We're thrilled. Dropping spelling (until 3rd) has been helpful too.

Écoutez, Parlez! French Oral Program
3 weeks and still going, it's been great.

[BizyPenguin]

Hits:
Star-Spangled State Book and Workbook
CLE Math
CLE Lang Arts
ABeka Science
BJ Writing

Misses:
BJ Reading
Jump In Writing
Studying God's Word Bible
How to Teach Art to Children

[Lori D.]

HITS (really enjoyed by the boys):
- Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings (year-long study guide)
- reading/discussing Great Books together, along the lines of TWTM
(abridged version of Gilgamesh, and Fagles translations of The Iliad and The Odyssey all a hit so far!)
- Thinking Toolbox (though, last year's Fallacy Detective was better)


HELPS (items working extremely well for us, even if no one begs for it -- lol):
- Megawords !!!
- Garlic Press publishers study guide for The Odyssey
- MUS Pre-Algebra
- Jacobs Geometry
- Jump In (Apologia's new writing program)


MISSES:
- Analytical Grammar (very "workbooky" and dry after Winston Grammar)
- Total Health -- BUT ONLY because *I* couldn't figure out how to work it in time-wise!! Very worthwhile; we'll try to get it in NEXT year...

[Ellen Redsax]

So, is there anything you can recommend for chemistry? I was thinking of doing RS4K Chem Level 1 with dd next year, but your comment makes me want to look around some more. She will be close to 9 next fall.

[coffeegal]

Hits: Biblioplan, FLL 3, Spelling Power, Growing with Grammar, Latin's Not So Tough, Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, OPGTR


Misses: Latin For Children, Writing Strands

I love it!!! :D/I hate it!!! :eek: : Classical Writing. It's wonderfully indepth. It ties our LA into a whole. It challenges my LA gifted child. It strengthens my LA challenged child while giving him confidence. It drives me CRAZY! lol.

[Linda...inOwasso]

Hits:

Lively Latin
Simply Spelling
Growing with Grammar
SOTW I
Explode the Code
Horizons Math
Singapore Math
Alpha-Phonics
IEW Poetry
VP History Cards

Misses:

Living Learning Earth Science (blah)
Singapore Science My Pals Are Here (zzzzzzzzzzzz)
Spelling Workout (everything that's wrong with spelling instruction!)
Mammoth Math
Writing Tales (overlapped giving us too much grammar, writing, etc...) * Not the curriculum's fault, but the planner's. :)

[Carin' For Seven]

IEW Student cd's A. My daughter has started to love to write because of this program. Huge spelling jump too due to all the writing.

[cajun.classical]

Hits:
Classical Writing Homer--we finished Book A. Woohoo!
Famous Men series, Truthquest History, VP History Cards,
Latina Christiana 1 & 2, Minimus and Cambridge Latin for Reading practice,
Simply Spelling,
Calculadders, Rightstart Math Games (I FINALLY started playing them; they're great!)
Daily Recitation, Picture Study, Composer Study, IEW Poetry
French Prep

Misses:
Show Me Thy Ways Bible curriculum. It was just way too theologically heavy for these ages. We dropped it and switched to reading through the Bible chronologically with the Victor's Journey through the Bible. That's a hit!

[Jenny in Atl]

Hits -
Lively Latin
Latin Prep :D
PH Science Explorers
Plato's CyberED
My World Science
NEM 1 (never would have guessed)
GWG
CW Homer


Misses
History Odyssy (Level One)... (Level Two) is better but not a hit.
LLB Earth Science
About 1/3 of the SL Readers for Core 6 (She thought they were too easy/same story over and over? Boring?) Ugh...

[Pegasus]

Hits:
MUS
EPS Writing Skills (FINALLY found the hand-holding program we needed)
Hakim's History of US
Prentice Hall's Life Science
Sequential Spelling

Misses:
Vocabulary Cartoons (love the concept but first book was too easy for the age-range marketed, we're going to try one of the SAT prep Vocab Cartoons books)
Outsourced art class (teacher canceled more classes than she held)

[Michelle T]

Hits:
Star-Spangled State Book and Workbook
CLE Math
CLE Lang Arts
ABeka Science
BJ Writing

Misses:
BJ Reading
Jump In Writing
Studying God's Word Bible
How to Teach Art to Children

I'm still going round and round on which writing program I'm going to use. Jump In is in the consideration, in fact, it's in my possession. I'd love to hear why it didn't work for your DC.
Michelle T

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

Hits: Key to Fractions (we are supplementing Singapore), IEW Level A, Megawords for both kids, Typing Instructor, Education Exploration Science

Misses: Time Traveler's American Revolution (I LOVED IT, they didn't. Begged to go back to SOTW Q&A and narrations). You just don't mix your crafts with school in this house!!

[happy2homeschool]

For my boys in 3rd and 5th grade --

Hits: :)
Sonlight Core 3 for history (the biggest hit)
Abeka Language 3 and Language B for grammar
Abeka Reading Skills for reading comprehension
Spelling Workout
IEW
Mindbenders

Misses: :(
Writing Strands
Abeka for writing

[Ferdie]

Here are ours for 2nd, 3rd and 5th grade:

Hits:
BJU homesat (english, handwriting, science and math 6) - yeah!!! My children are working more independently so I actually have the time to review their work this year.
RightStart math - I love how this program teaches math strategies. I have three adopted children and they are all strong in math.
Pathway Readers - I love these sweet stories. My younger kids still read out loud to me 20 minutes a day and I never mind hearing these stories again.

Misses:
MFW ECC - I am having a hard time switching countries every couple of weeks, collecting and returning library books and photocopying worksheets. We are only on week 12 out of 36 - oh, no!
Wordly Wise 3000 book 5 - My 5th grader hates this book. We stopped after lesson 5. Might try again next year.

Hope that helps someone.

[Lux Et Veritas Academy]

SOTW 3--- out Maybe I will use it this summer
Wordly Wise 4th grade- Maybe to difficult.....
Saxon Math Facts for 5/6:mad:

[training5]

Misses: Saxon Math 5/4
Wordly Wise 2nd edition book 3
Apples and Pears Spelling book B
Writing Skills book A
Beginning Outlining-finished it.They didn't get much out of it.
MindBenders Beginning
Hits: All About Spelling
SOTW 2
our scripture program
StartWrite-LOVE this!
R&S math

[Karin]

Hits:
SOTW as a spine
Singapore Math, Gelfand's Algebra, MUS (before Pre-Algebra)
R&S English
The Phonics of Drawing (from Masterpiece Art Instruction)

Misses:
Spelling Workout
Saxon Math 1
English for the Thoughtful Child
Jacob's Algebra
Teaching Textbook
Writing Strands

There are other things we like, but by hits I mean not only do they work well, but my dc like them better than any other things we've done in those subjects.

[King Alfred Academy]

Hits...
Right Start Math
All About Spelling
Nature Study
ETC Primers
Language Lessons for the Very Young
Swimming Lessons
Kiddie Records.com
Thorton Burgess Books
Storytime with the Millers
Chess Club...until it started "going south"
Budding Biologist...Biology Club at the local Parks and Rec Nature Center

Misses...
Christian Kids Explore Biology
Saxon 1
SWO

The boys also enjoyed listening to Dad read The Hobbit...again! :)

[rwalizer]

It isn't a bad course, but the instruction was lenghty to read and by the time ds got to the exercise, he had forgotten what he read. He needs to have shorter lessons and then exercises dealing with the new info.

[tess in the burbs]

MUS Alpha about sent my child back to school. While he enjoyed Primer, he absolutely did not connect with Alpha and after considering dropping it 3 times this year.....I DROPPED IT THIS WEEK, whoo hoo!!! :D

So bad: MUS Alpha. we are switching both kids out of MUS...sorry Primer!

Good: EasyClassical science schedule grade 1. I needed a schedule to follow for science to get it done this year. I have enjoyed their choices of spines and activities. It gave me confidence to get it done. Enough that I have put together my own thing next year...very close their own schedule ;)

Good: ETC. As always, this is the one thing the kids still love and do without complaint.

Good find: Memoria Press Copybook. It was the first 3 line handwriting my son had done since HWT and he enjoyed the bible verses and I liked the fact he had to draw a picture to go with each verse....he rarely does art stuff and this forced him to think about it and express the bible verse through art. And he enjoyed it!

[HollyDay]

Hits:
SOTW vol 2
Teaching Textbooks
BJU Science 6
Castelberry Farm Mysteries
Sarah, Plain and Tall series
Classical Writing

Misses:
Noeo Chem 2
Saxon Math
MOH vol 2
WriteShop 1

[Nikita]

I love reading everyone's lists!!

for grade 4, hits:

L'Art de Lire French
Math Mammoth worksheets
Trail Guide to World Geography
Usborne internet-linked science books
weekly craft and drama club
daily memory work for French and math drill

grade 4 misses:
bookstore workbooks for math practice
Writing Strands

for grade 8, hits:

Latin Prep (wow, we love this)
Trail Guide to World Geography
First Lego League robotics

the jury is still out on:
BraveWriter - Writer's Jungle and monthly dictation program
Singapore NSM math
monthly research club with friends

grade 8 misses:
ALEKS math (got boring, not enough practice)
Writing Strands



Nikita

[Daisy]

Hits:

Abeka 3rd grade history (all biographical sketches) - Boy, were we surprised.
American Pioneer and Patriots
Rod and Staff English
Rod and Staff Science - another surprise
ETC
First Reader
Reason for Handwriting

Blah:

MFW: Adventures
Abeka Letters & Sounds K5

Horrible - Couldn't run away fast enough:

Spanish on United Streaming
Exploring American History

[sherylwinter]

Hits:
ambleside read alouds:)
Rightstart B Math 4 8 yo son...I don't like teaching it, but son likes it.
Saxon Math...had dropped it but son needs extra drill so he's doing that along with rightstart
Dictation for spelling...going good
Rightstart Kindegarten Level A for my youngest son...we really like it.
Handbook of Nature Study~wish we had used this b4...great book. Love the details and beautiful little poems.
Rod and Staff English 3~son likes it.

Miss:
SWR...we ended up just using the SWR Bingo and flashcards...2 difficult for me to learn..just simple dictation and copywork is working out better for us.

sherylwinter

[TracyR]

We are using the whole Calvert curriculum for grades 3 and 4 ( and 5th grade math ) .

Here are our hits and misses with the curriculum :

Hits :
Gods of Greece . My girls loved this .
Child's History of the World . Surprisingly we really like it after reading alot of not so great reviews .
Abeka 3rd grade Grammar
Abeka 4th grade Grammar
The 4th grade Geography course
and 3rd grade geography course
4th grade reading ( Robinson Crusoe , Mighty Men , Island of the Blue Dolphins and Famous Legends )
Scott Foresman Spelling
Misses :
Calvert math . Yuck it is the worst fit even for my oldest who is great with math . We used Bob Jones and she did so well . My 8yr old cries and thinks she's stupid, we used Saxon and she did great ! I just have to burn it or get rid of it . Out of all the other math programs we'ved used this is the one that makes me want to cry . I'm looking at trying Christian Light as its like Saxon but in workbook form .

Calvert grammar .. just not enough practice at all . Had to replace it with Abeka's grammar . It introduces the same topics with better explanations .

Calvert's writing program . I personally don't like it at all . Doesn't give the parent enough explanation on how to teach writing at all . It just expects them how to write through osmosis in the 1st grade . I can't seem to find a good/inexpensive writing program. If anyone out there can recommend a good writing program for a 3rd and 4th grader that takes you step by step .... please share !
Wish I could use IEW but its WAY out of our budget .

Kumon workbooks . I thought we would like these for my preschooler . She's not impressed and I think they are just too busy looking for us . My daughter loves the black and white so she can color in things . Going to get Rod and Staff ABC series for her instead .

In between :
Calvert's 3rd grade reading . We like it but not. The stories are a bit dryer then the 1st and 2nd grade . But we are alright with it .

This is my 2nd time teaching Calvert 3rd grade and just cannot get into it . I do like their 4th grade better though . I think we are definitley going to change approach for next year .

[nukeswife]

For ds age 9
hits
Growing with Grammar
Evan Moors Write a Super Sentence
Spelling Workout
SOTW2

misses
Writing strands
FLL3
SL Science 1

Ok for a while but needed something different:
Horizons 3

Not sure yet:
TT5, it's looking good, he's enjoying it and doing well, but we'll see in the long run

For dd age 6
hits
Click n kids phonics
Nora Gaydos readers level 1
Saxon math 1
SOTW2

misses
Horizons K
Spelling Workout
SL Science 1

Ok for a while but needed something different
ETC, she did ok so far in book 1 but want's more colorful things

I guess it just goes to show that when they say what works for one it may not work for another is so true. My ds loves Spelling Workout my dd was trying level A and can't stand it. Oh well

[Aletheia Academy]

Hits:
All the RA's like Little House series, Wizard of Oz, Vos story Bible

ETC Primers- they just love those things

Phonics Pathways- we have been going very slowly (we're on p 40), but I like the sequential building of concepts and skills

Bobs Books- my ds can read these independently to dh!

science: I founded a small 5-family co-op with ladies I just adore. We get together weekly, and I so love the relationships that are developing among the children and the mommies. Plus we did some cool stuff and went on some cool field trips.

Things that could have gone better:
math, especially for my dd, because I expected too much of her and frustrated both of us unecessarily

handwriting, because I have waited too long to start my ds on some sort of sequential, regular practice. He's so done with wipe-off books. I went ahead and ordered StartWrite...I was planning to wait until the fall, but he needs it now.

art- OK- I am the worst mother in the world...my dc hardly know how to hold a pair of scissors! I just don't enjoy that kind of artsy/crafty stuff myself. We did go to the local craft store 2-3 times a month to do their craft. Next year, we're signing up for art classes!

So, truly a mixed bag for us! Live and Learn!

[Karenciavo]

Hits:
Latin Alive! The new upper level Latin program from CAP coming out this summer
Chalkdust Algebra I - after floundering with Algebra for a little over a year, my ds is getting 97-100% on his work.
Horizons Math K
TOG Redesign 2
Lost Tools of Writing
Phonetic Zoo

Misses:
BJ Bible

Too soon to tell, but so far:
I'm loving William Shakespeare (Little Book Audio Classics) from Open Texture (http://www.opentexture.com/products/littlebird/shakespeare.aspx)

[momtolgd]

Hits:

ETC: This has helped my ds grow by leaps and bounds in his reading this year! And dd just started book 1 after doing the primers, and it's going well for her as well. ETC is a definite hit for us!

Horizons Math: We gave this a try in November, planning to pair it with singapore, and ended up dropping singapore...we are loving Horizons.

GWG: We love the simple way it teaches grammar...it is working well here.

SOTW 1: We are enjoying it, when we get to it...ds says it's one of his favorites. I'm having trouble scheduling it in...need to make it more of a priority.


Misses:

SWO: While ds liked the tests, I felt it was too much busywork and he wasn't retaining the spelling words, so we dropped it.

[KarenNC]

Hits:
HWOT Cursive
Singapore Math 2A and B
SOTW 2 and activity guide
Growing with Grammar 3
Spelling Power (and ETC 8, which we finished before starting SP)
Flash Skills Problem Solving 3 and Reading Comprehension 3

Misses:
Wordly Wise 3000 book 3---their reading comprehension was too much for her, which surprised me as she tests really well on reading comprehension in the yearly tests

[kayinpa]

HITS:
Exploring Creation with Zoology 2 "Swimming Creatures of the 5th Day"


MISSES:
Abeka God's Gift of Language...dropped and replaced with ILL which DD likes much better

CLP "Exploring American HIstory" replaced with Guerber's "Story of the Great Republic" which dd likes much better.

[OhElizabeth]

Well I'll just list some of the ones that surprised me or haven't been listed so far:

Hits:
BJU handwriting -go figure, she LIKES doing it!
BJU Music -a bright spot in our day, tons of fun, easy to teach
BJU math -yes, you see a trend here
Shurley Grammar-with it's brief lessons, it's turned around grammar in our house. Ok, they're brief because I only do the practice sentences, meaning 3 a day, a total of like 5 minutes. ;)
Art Fraud Detective-if you've missed this adorable book in the VP catalog, get it! It's given my dd hours and hours of fun, worth the money!
VP lit guides-So easy to implement, great way to get in more writing, and she likes that they're EASY. Not everything in the day needs to be hard, and this is great for us.
Calvert spelling cd's-greatest thing since sliced bread. Call it spelling on the days we don't get to SWR. Call it typing on the days we do. Definitely call it fun.
Typing up a schedule/checklist for the day. This is definitely something I should have started earlier. My blessed dd likes it so much (makes her feel in control?) that she actually woke up, pulled up the Word file I made, and printed her own for today!! Guess it's a good thing. :)

Misses:
RS4K pre-chem-hated this. The explanations in the text were fine, but the set-up, gathering the stuff, etc. was obnoxious for me. I wanted more demonstrations, more doing, less scientific procedure. For the target age, I just felt it wasn't necessary to have so much writing going on.
Anything from WP. I'll just wag my head here and wonder why I bought the stuff. There's just a huge personality misfit I guess, but I can say I tried and go back to my hovel.

[Amy from WT]

This is fun :D. I've been reading it all night!

Our lists:

4th Grade:
Hits -
Exploring Creation with Astronomy
Classical Writing - Poetry
my friend's unpublished Latin curriculum (promise to let you all know when it's ready!!)
Sonlight Readers
Building Thinking Skills Series
Growing With Grammar.....LOVE IT!!

8th Grade:
Hits -
Apologia Physical Science
Art of Argument
Latin Prep!!!!

Misses -
Latin in the Christian Trivium

It was nice to have a year in which we didn't have too many Misses! Our math curriculum fell in the in-between category. We use Math-U-See which I have always loved. But both of my kids are getting older, and I think we might be ready for a switch. So I'm looking around. We'll see. They're both almost done with their current levels and we might try Life of Fred for the rest of the year. But I haven't seen it on anyone's Hit lists yet! Anyone???

[elegantlion]

Misses:
Abeka Math 4 (weeping and gnashing of teeth)
Where is the US are you Geography (as Tim Gunn would say, we "make it work", but don't like it)
Spanish (ds asked to switch to French)

HITS:

Singapore Math :D
HWT cursive (finally a program that worked)
Apologia Astronomy
Drawing Basics with Thomas Kinkade (my son begs to watch this video)
Logic Countdown (I think my son is part Vulcan)
Easy Grammar

[kortney in AL]

Love:
Easy Grammar
SOTW
Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra
Real Science for Kids

[prairiegirl]

For 3rd & 1st grade

Hits:
Vocabulit
ETC
A Reason for Handwriting--Cursive
D'Aulaire's Greek Myths
MP's Christian Studies
FLL3 & 1
OPGTR

Misses:
HWOT--cursive
KISS grammar


Julia
mom of 3 (8,7,5)

[kRenee]

Yes. It's only a short course, but try The Elements: Ingredients of the Universe
as mentioned above. It worked really well for us this year.

[Osaubi]

Great question!

Hits for K
ETC
SOTW 1
RightStart
Nature Study
FIAR
Kumon Maze books

Misses
Anything having to do with art, glue, or scissors
Kumon Numbers 1-30
Kumon Simple Addition they are good books but didn't fit my ds learning style
Art
Make Way for Ducklings(I loved this book my ds doesn't like it at all)
Science experiments(likes science but not experiments)

[Lorna]

Hits


Lightning Literature Medieval British Literature
Dd 12 was really ready for something to help her get more depth out of her reading and she lights up when it is time to do it.
NEM 1
Now we have realized we don't need to cover every question
Singapore Maths Just wonderful as usual.
Galore Park Books
These are providing the back bone of our curriculum and each one we do is vibrant
My own homemade spelling programme I have found tailor making a spelling programme gives us a 100% success rate
The Elements by Ellen McHenry The children love doing this. We are playing and learning.
David Attenborough books These have opened our eyes to the amazing world around us. Perfect for science!


Misses
:banghead:

We don't spend much time on clear misses. It hurts too much!
We tried Writing Strands yet again. I really find it hard to believe in this programme.
Rosetta Stone This is really very expensive for weak results.
Any Science programme for 12-14 year olds from the UK Don't get me started. :001_rolleyes:

[Laura Corin]

Just for another point of view: we loved RS4K Chemistry level I. Calvin would start each write-up with 'chemistry is cool.'

Laura

[Bee]

Hits:Key to Fractions and Key to Decimals (not so much,Key to Measurement).Language Lessons for Little Ones 2 and Language Lessons For the Secondary Child.Spelling,using spelling lists from Ed-helper.SOTW,as usual.The Symphony lectures from the Teaching Company.

Misses:Latina Christiana.My World Science.Sorry,it just isn't exciting to dd.Logic and any sort of organized art activities...just didn't happen this year.

[Closeacademy]

Teaching K and 2nd

Hits:

Spell to Write and Read (3 years running as a hit)
Singapore Math (2 years running as a hit)
My Pals are Here Science
Fun Review Books

Misses:

Tapestry of Grace (I love this program but it was too much.)
Anne's School Place Bible Curriculum (It looked perfect but again too much.)


Middle of the Road:

Rod and Staff Reading 1 for my Ker--When she likes it she loves it. When she is not ready for it it is too hard.

[Chris in PA]

Misses:
Analytical Grammar
Truthquest
Latina Christiana 1 (does flow well)
Apples Spelling
Sequential Spelling

Hits:
MOH Vol. 1
Notgrass World History
Pennsylvania Keystones
Teaching Textbooks
Apologia Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day

[Wee Pip]

HITS:
Developmental Math for the 7yo
5yo is using BJU K Math (which I like, but the 5yo would like to use Developmental Math after she finishes her K book)
Amelia Bedelia from the Sonlight Core 2 readers
Evan-Moor Grammar & Punctuation 2
Handwriting Without Tears (K, 1st, & 3rd)
Explode the Code book 1
Some of our Sonlight Core C books
Games for Writing by Peggy Kaye (just started this one & some of the games have really helped with writing)

MISSES:
Any books by Arnold Lobel. Ugh. I purchased Sonlight Core 2 readers for the 7yo, and it is mostly Arnold Lobel books (Frog & Toad series, Owl at Home, Mouse Tales), and she won't touch these books!! She says they are too dark.
Some of our Sonlight Core C books
Horizons Math. I hate Horizons Math.
Write About Me (Pre-Just Write series.) Bombed big time with the 7yo, but I think the 5yo would love it.

UNDECIDED:
Spelling Workout B
SWR
(I hate teaching spelling to a 7yo, BTW)

[Wildiris]

Grade 5

Hits::party:

SOTW 4~ We just read, do the maps and discuss history
Scholastic Junior~This combines well with SOTW--current events, map skills, etc.
Great Books~ We read and discuss some great short stories.

Near Misses: :grouphug:
Shurley English~ DD dislikes this program for being too repetative and boring, I like that she know what a pronoun is and can find one in a sentence.

Saxon 76

Spelling Workout~ DD can pass spelling tests, but can spell when writing????? What's this about?????

My Pals Science~ DD really needs to develop her study skills for this to work. We use Higher Order Thinking, Workbook and Tests. I'm also writing a Science Fair project outline to supplement My Pals so we can "do" science.

Total Misses: :banghead:

William and Mary Patterns of Change Language Arts for Gifted Students~ I really wanted this to work, but it just doesn't. It is meant for the classroom and not home school. The concept behind this text is great, but it became the bridge too far.

Spectrum Geography~What can I say, we just never do it.

Journaling~Ditto to the above.

[KarenNC]

Another miss for us:
Draw Write Now---seemed like it would be a good way to get some sort of drawing instruction in with the copywork, but pretty dismal failure for us. I am hoping that we will be able to have an actual art teacher through our co-op in the fall as I can only draw stick people.

[BritAnnia]

For ds13 7th grade

Hits:
Lightning Literature 7th - We're just finishing up and ds has loved the reading selections.

Lial's Algebra - A very recent switch and it's going great so far!

The Fallacy Detective - We have fun discussing the lessons and looking for fallacies on tv, etc.

HG Wells - okay, so not a program, but ds has discovered HG Wells and we've been reading The Time Machine, and The War of the Worlds as our readalouds. Very engaging and thought provoking.

Misses:
MUS Algebra 1 - sadly this was not working for ds. He'd used MUS since beginning homeschooling in 3rd grade. Something about the Algebra text just did not connect with him though. I suspect each lesson was a chunk of information slightly too large for ds to grasp. We'll continue to use this as a review tool if/when necessary.

Truthquest - Really wasn't our thing, and perhaps made worse to try jumping in with the last text of the series, geared to older students? It's been replaced by a hodge-podge of my own which is making for a patchy history study this year.

[Robyn]

3rd grade
Hits:
SOTW 2 audio
FLL 3 - ds loves this
Horizons 3
cursive through copywork(I gave up on using any specific program)

Misses:
Oak Meadow's entire third grade program-personality thing, just sold it on Ebay

[chai]

Hits:
Singapore Math: This is our fourth year and I am still very impressed with it.

History Read-aloud: This is still my dd's favorite part of the day.

Story of the Greeks--Guerber: DD really likes this.

LCI DVD: I need the hand-holding. I misplaced one of the DVDs in our move and had to teach the lessons on my own for awhile. We did okay with it, but dd (and I) learn much more with the DVDs.


Near Miss:

Discover for Yourself Bible Studies--Kay Arthur. We have really liked these, but they are getting repetitious. I did not like the Genesis series as much as some of the others--too preachy. I had to skip some days because I didn't agree with everything. Unfortunately, I can't find any Bible study that I like better, so we may continue with this next year.


Misses:
Story of the Ancient World--Guerber, I like the other Guerber books, but I disliked this one. Part of the problem was the strong young-earth slant. I expected more coverage of other civilizations when it is really mostly Israelites.

Horizons Math: I only used it as a supplement. I like the color, but the repetition gets boring. DD said that even the games/puzzles were all the same. From now on, I'll supplement Singapore with Singapore.

History Pockets: DD used to like these, (even asked me to buy more), but this year, she doesn't like them anymore.

Easy Grammar: blah and boring

[coffeefreak]

:smash:Hits:
Spelling Power
Konos
Handwriting Without Tears
Horizons Math
Phonics Pathways

:thumbdown:Misses:
Rod and Staff Handwriting - too rigid
Singapore Math - too unconventional
Veritas Press - too much time spent on one time period (a whole year of Ancient Egypt for 2nd grade - ugh!)

[one l michele]

It took us awhile to find our groove. After using Calvert, FLL, GWG, and R&S (not all in the same year - LOL), we have found Flashkids LA to be the best fit for us. My boys think it's fun and they enjoy the color. My oldest says it provides him with enough review to remember the concepts. I like the price (under $6 a Barnes and Noble) and that it only takes minutes per day to keep them in line for standarized testing. We'll continue this route, then use AG in 6th.

IEW was also new to us this year. We have just the TWSS and this method especially clicked with my oldest, he needs step by step directions and loves checklists.

Simply Stated has been a lot of fun.

Sonlight Hitory, Readers, and Read Alouds have been a hit and my boys say it's there favorite part of their day.

We've found our groove this year and will simply do the next level, it's wonderful to be at this place!

[WABeth]

Hits - 4th grade
Megawords - currently in book 1
GWG 4
Writing Trails in American History
Latin for Children A
SOTW 4
LLB Chemistry
Singapore Math - just switched from Saxon and it has been a big hit
Alphabetter - helping with alphabetizing
ArtPacs


Hits - K
OPGTR
ETC
FIAR
Singapore Math
How To Teach Art to Children
ArtPacs

Misses - 4th
SWO - After 3 years it was time to switch to something that helps the student see when and how to apply the rules (see Megawords above)
Saxon 5/4 - after 3 years finally moved to Singapore - what a difference!

[tmkclscroggins]

Our hits for the year are:

Prentice Hall Life Science
Foerster's Algebra I ( except for those word problems!)
Growing with Grammar 1/2
Sequential Spelling
Truthquest MIddle Ages

Our misses:

Spelling Workout
Write Guide ( we just did one month and that was plenty...it was pricey and we got nothing out of it!)
Winterpromise MIddle Ages - this was a total bomb!

melissa

[JESSICAinMD]

Hits:
Get Ready for the Code
Singapore Early Bird Math
A Reason for Handwriting

A Miss so far:
Phonics Pathways : So far does not seem very effective, I have noticed more progress with ETC. I am thinking of trying other programs soon if things stay like this.

Absolute Miss:
The Letter of the Week Curriculum

[Melissa in CA]

11th grade Hits:
Sonlight Core 300
Sonlight Economics
Jensen Grammar
Lightning Lit British Lit
Practical Drafting w/CAD

5th grade Hits:
Writing Tales 2
BJU Science 5
Sequential Spelling
Word a Day Vocabulary
Sonlight 4 Readers & Read Alouds
Winter Promise AS II Adventure Readers
Outlining by Remedia
Mindbenders

Misses:
BJU Writing & Grammar 11
Winter Promise AS II hands-on notebooking/crafts (booooring)
NOEO Chemistry II (Not bad really, we just like BJU better)
History Pockets of any kind (again...boooring)
Artistic Pursuits

Any other curriculum we use are in the middle: not great hits, but not misses either. :-)

[Shari]

Hits:
BJU Bible curriculum
Science using the WTM cycle (particularly the "How ... Works" series, in tandem with other living books from the library)
Readers from Sonlight 5 Eastern Cultures
MCP Maps Charts Graphs workbooks


Misses:
Saxon 54 with DIVE cds (I had such high hopes for this, but it was a total flop)
Christian Kids Explore Chemistry
Vocabulary from Classical Roots
Mindbenders A1-A2 cd-rom (another one I really wanted to use that just didn't work for us)
Thomas Kinkade art DVD's

[Narrow Gate Academy]

Hits:
TruthQuest AHYS 1
Lapbooks
Read alouds
Letting DD8 choose her dictation passage
SWO
Singapore Math

Misses:
Prima Latina
FLL for DD6
GrapeVine Studies

[Michelle in GA]

Hits:

BJU DVD Physical Science
BJU DVD Spanish I
Chalkdust math (pre-Alg, Geometry)
Truthquest History (Ancient Rome)
Vocabulary Cartoons
IEW C

1 BIG miss:

Speilvogel Human Odyssey (I found that I just don't like textbooks for history)

[KristineIN]

11th grade Hits:
Sonlight Core 300
Sonlight Economics
Jensen Grammar
Lightning Lit British Lit
Practical Drafting w/CAD

5th grade Hits:
Writing Tales 2
BJU Science 5
Sequential Spelling
Word a Day Vocabulary
Sonlight 4 Readers & Read Alouds
Winter Promise AS II Adventure Readers
Outlining by Remedia
Mindbenders

Misses:
BJU Writing & Grammar 11
Winter Promise AS II hands-on notebooking/crafts (booooring)
NOEO Chemistry II (Not bad really, we just like BJU better)
History Pockets of any kind (again...boooring)

Any other curriculum we use are in the middle: not great hits, but not misses either. :-)

Melissa, Word a Day Vocabulary, do you choose a word, use a list? have it e-mailed or something else, just curious.

Thanks,
Kristine

[Melissa in CA]

Melissa, Word a Day Vocabulary, do you choose a word, use a list? have it e-mailed or something else, just curious.

Thanks,
Kristine

Hi Kristine!

Actually I miss wrote the title of our vocab. It is A Word a Week Vocabulary Program (grades 5-8) by Teacher Created Resources. It is a book that I had seen recommended on another list and decided to give it a try. It's been a BIG hit for us! It is not work-booky at all...just a list of words with definitions and pre-written dialog for teaching it to your child.

I teach my son 3-4 words a week orally while also writing them down on a dry erase board. We also try and use them in our speech as much as possible making it rather fun for all involved. I review frequently to make sure he still remembers previous words, and have also made a simple matching card game where he has to match up the words with their definitions. At the end of the week, I will have him write the week's words and definitions in a vocab journal. This is working great for us. We also use Sequential Spelling, so we do spelling first (on same dry earse board) and then work on our weeks words each day. This is saving a lot of time for other more time consuming subjects like...Math. :-)

Some of the words (and their variations) that he has learned this year that he not only recognizes but actually KNOWS are: garrulous, perturbed, arduous, desist, conundrum, ludicrous, stymie, plethora, gregarious, inclement, benevolent, tenacious, superfluous, interminable, intrepid, obdurate, credible, defenestration, mellifluous, discordant, articulate, etc., etc., etc.

He is not learning as many words a week as, say, Wordly Wise would teach, but when we used Wordly Wise I felt that he wasn't actually LEARNING the words but just learning them enough to do all the tedious exercises which he disliked and found to be busy work. I still have Wordly Wise books, and may use them at some point the same way I am using Word a Week. Perhaps by taking it slower, taking a week to 'teach' the words Word a Week style, and then perhaps a week to do SOME of the exercises. For now though, we are loving Word a Week. I highly recommend it for a fun, simple, and not at ALL time consuming option for teaching vocabulary. :thumbup:

[Perry]

Hits:
Latin Prep 1
IEW SWI Level B
Megawords
Hake Grammar
Vocab from Classical Roots
Chalkdust Pre-algebra
PH Science Explorer
United Streaming videos
Hakim's History of US series


Misses:
Easy Grammar
Lightning Lit 7
Rod and Staff Grammar

[Darcy from LWM3B]

Hits:
*Singapore Math
*SOTW 2 (and audio CDs)
*ETC
*Timez Attack
*Chronicles of Narnia (again!)
*the FIAR read alouds
*actually all our read alouds!
*OPGTR

Misses:
*Anna Comstock's Handbook of Nature - just blech. sucks the life out of nature
*Long division - no program, just long division in general.
*Letter of the Week - may be my child, not the program. ?
*FLL 2
* We miss Barbara Alan Johnson on SOTW audio CDs. Does that count as a miss???

Depends on Who You Ask:
*copywork
*narration

[Rebel Jedi Mom]

Do you mind me asking how you combine SL and Winter Promise?
Thanks! Jill

[ABQmom]

Hits: Sonlight readers and read alouds

What works great: MUS--the kids don't LIKE it, but they get it and do well with it.

Miss: Drawing lessons with Thomas Kincaid

[Carol in Cal.]

Hits:
Switching back to Saxon. Why didn't I do this before???
Rod and Staff grammar. Slow and steady wins the race.
Writing Strands. Yes, I really do like it.
SOTW--Still!
Phonetic Zoo--excellent.
Upward Basketball
One day social studies class--report on Brazil
Concordia Voyages for Bible--but I have not been as consistent with this as I would have liked.
Literature Group--DD has made friends with other thoughtful book-lovers like herself.
Story of the 13 Colonies and Story of the Great Republic--Thanks, Kate in CA!
Art coop
Choral group
RS4K Physics Level 1
Those Sonlight science books that are narrative. Name escapes me at the moment, but these are really improving DD's retention.


Misses:
Harcourt CA math--so glad I stopped beating this dead horse.
Quitting German was good. It had started to take way too much time.
I never did start Latin, though. Vocab is probably the best we are going to do.

[Shannon in MO]

Hits:
*TruthQuest Middle Ages AND TQ Ren/Ref w/ some SOTW 2 thrown in for good measure
*Fallacy Detective
*Sequential Spelling
*Huge hit here: Imitations in Writing: The Grammar of Poetry - this is awesome! My dd 13 even used what she's learning to make rhyming clues in iambic pentameter for a scavenger hunt for our ds12 bday today! I plan to have them use what they have written for typing practice & have their poetry bound in a book
*sort of: Teaching Textbooks 7: dd13 has issues w/ any math, but ds12 is liking it for review after finishing Saxon 76. I'm planning to have him start Jacobs Elem. alg. soon (can't afford TT prealg & a friend let us borrow Jacobs!)
*Daily Grams - just enough review for dd this year
*R&S 6
*Apologia General Science - ds12 liked this quite a bit, especially if I didn't assign TOO many pages at once, but he's moving to the BJU 8th grade w/ dd this year instead of continuing in the Apologia series
*The Geography Coloring book by Wyn Kaput or something like that - dd likes this & I make up a page of questions for her to answer while she reads the info (to make her really read it instead of skim!)
*1st semester we finished up Wordsmith (dd13) & Wordsmith Apprentice (ds12) - they were ok, not huge hits like the poetry we're doing now. May do another IIW or try Jump In from Apologia next year?
*History of Science by Hakim - dd13 read this 2nd semester & liked it - it went very well w/ our history studies this year, too. Easy read, one chapter per day - I just read it first & made notes where she needed to pay attention to the secular ideas & judge whether or not they were hokey


Misses:
*Apologia Biology for dd13 - switching to BJU 8th this year (pretty pictures, you know) Also it was too advanced just yet & the chemistry bit had me stumped...we did this w/ co-op 1st semester
*Math U See epsilon for help w/ fractions - Key to series was better for review

I'm sure there is more but now my brain is tired!
Shannon in MO

[dirty ethel rackham]

I have done science in conjunction with a science club for the past 6 years. In the past, we used portions of the Usborne Internet Linked Science Encyclopedia (Materials, Mixtures and Compounds) as a spine. We then would either use the internet links or comb the web for experiments or demonstrations to do. Most of us would then have our kids write up what we did in science club and what we learned. I have to say that my kids remembered so much more from this approach because they were very engaged.

This year, with our younger science club (ages 6 - 9), we tried RS4K. I wasn't too excited about it, but I was outvoted. My daughter asked to quit because she was so bored. When I led it this week, I tossed the book aside and did my own thing. What a joy it was to see kids who were engaged.

[ncmomo3]

Hits:
Lightning Lit. 7
Lightning Lit. 7 (it is such a hit-I must repeat it)
STOW
Voc. from Classical Roots
Microsoft Word by Teacher Created Resources

Miss:-only 1-I was lucky this year:thumbup:
Writing Skills by Educators Pub. Service (t-e-d-i-o-u-s)

[Penny from Tenny]

Great topic!

Hits for 4th & 2nd boys:
Christian Liberty Press spelling - simple & effective
Christian Liberty Phonics (2nd grader) - has worked with 3 boys
Horizons Math
Writing Trails with Great Composers from Logos (goes great with The Story of the Orchestra and individual CD's "The Story of...Bach, Handel, etc."
Latina Christiana I (we use the DVD's - don't think we would have been successful without them)
SOTW 1 - dictation & narration going well
Rod & Staff English - yep, we're sticking with this one, do almost all orally and with the marker board

Misses:
VP Egypt and Rome & Greece - I really wanted to love this but we are finally giving up on VP elementary (watch for stuff for sale!)
Noeo biology I - mainly because of the "One Small Square" books - we don't live where we can utilize this and it is boring/frustrating

Penny from Tenny and mom to 5
ds's 22, ds 9, ds 7, dd 2

[Basketmaker Amy]

We've had a really good year....more hits than misses! (I omitted things that were just "okay")

Hits: SOTW II (with Biblioplan)---loved the knights and castles!, IEW-Medieval Lessons, Vocabulary Cartoons, Latin in the Christian Trivium (I and II), Latin Prep I, Jacob's Algebra and Geometry, IEW's Fix-It!, Simply Spelling, Singapore 4A/4B, MUS, Fallacy Detective/Thinking Toolbox, Apologia's Astronomy, Biology, and General Science

Misses: Spelling Workout, LCI

[Melissa in CA]

Do you mind me asking how you combine SL and Winter Promise?
Thanks! Jill

I only combined the readers/read-alouds.

Coming from several years of using SL, Winter Promise's Read-Alouds were quite light for us (meaning not enough to read each day :)). What I did was take the WP schedule and basically rewrote portions of it doubling up on the WP Read-Alouds (aka Adventure Readers) and adding in choice SL Core 4 Read-Alouds that fit in what we were studying. Wite-out tape works great for this. ;) I also used the SL readers instead of the WP ones that come with the WP LA program. I did get one of their recommendations though, Jason's Gold, and read it as a read-aloud. My son and I loved it as well as the sequel Down the Yukon. Both great 'boy' books.

Anyhow, WP comes with two schedules, one for you and one for your child. On the child's schedule is a spot to write in their reader. I would choose a SL reader that fit in with our unit topic, or a SL biography, etc., and schedule it in. Very simple really.

As for the History books...we used WP exclusively. The books choices were high interest with a lot of great visuals...but we missed the depth SL used to give to our history studies. WP American Story would have been perfect for my son when he was in 3rd...but for 5th, it wasn't quite meaty enough, even with the middler set. I did not list it as a 'miss' though, because it was still a great history year for us.:D

HTH's! If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me!

[vmsurbat]

Jr. High Hits

LL 7 (with son)
BJU Lit 7 with DVD (my daughter is really enjoying Mrs. Vick with this class)
Wordly Wise Vocabulary 7, 8, 10
Jensen's Grammar (after a few years of excellent teaching with Rod and Staff, we appreciate the clear-cut, no-nonsense workbook format)
Rod and Staff Math
Wordsmith Apprentice/Wordsmith--fun little writing assignments
Hearts and Hands Activity/craft kits (all so far but only with my craft-loving daughter)

Jr. High Misses

Feed My Sheep--just doesn't get done
SOTW 3&4--too young for the age (used in Sonlight 7)

High School Hits

BJU Physical Science with DVD (a *great* class)
Math Relief Algebra 1 on DVD (another *great* class)
Smarr Literature--great for science/math types like my son--whole books but not too touchy-feely....

High School Misses

BJU Geography with DVD (takes too long--we are skipping the videos, doing basic book work supplemented by real books:No Picnic on Mount Kenya, The Long Walk, bio of David Livingstone, etc

[freethinkermom]

LBB (age 11)

Hits:

Lightning Lit American Lit
History Odyssey Level 2 Early Modern (LBB does not like the earlier levels with crafty stuff like history pockets. Early Modern has lots of writing which he does like.)
Kinetic Algebra
Teaching Company Geology
Cooking classes from me

Misses:

NEM1 (it was too easy, poor choice on my part)
CyberEd Earth science (he is finishing it, but again too easy and he just does not like it)

Qster (age 6)

Hits:

Math Mammoth Light Blue (curriculum not just worksheets)
Complete Book(s) of Science, Grammar, Geography Grades 3-6 (he loves these colorful books and they are challenging enough to last a little while)
Even-Moore Daily Geography (he finished it in a month, but loved it)
Pokemon Learning League


Miss:

Singapore Math (he understood the concepts fine, but just did not like it)
SOTW 1 (the storytelling format is not our style. I don't know why I even tried since it never worked with LBB either)
Lapbooking

Me

Hits:

Moving more towards a Core Knowledge type schedule
Realizing that it was time to start high school with LBB (started in November when he was 10). This has brought so much calm to our day. LBB is finally feeling engaged and challenged and I am scrambling less to keep up with him (although he is still speeding through science and math at warp speed).

Miss:

Trying to follow WTM too closely with Qster

[Deb in NZ]

but here's my thoughts at this point & looking back to last term (Oct-Dec).

Hits

16yod: Apologia Biology, MUS, Jump In (at her request), Sequential Spelling for Adults, SYRWTL Latin 1, Trail Guide to World Geography, & letting her plan her work from my term goals for her.

14yos: Latin Prep 1, Sequential Spelling, MUS, TGtWG, First Start French

10yos: Typing Instructor, Beginner's Kana Workbook (Japanese writing), MUS, Apologia's Zoology 1, FLL 3, math copywork (homemade), TGtWG

Not sure yet

16yod: Usborne Easy Spanish,

14yos: Apologia General Science (dd LOVED this book, but ds#1 struggles with the amount of writing required), Jump In (he doesn't like any writing, but seems to tolerate these assignments better than most)

10yos: Schonell Spelling

Misses

16yod: SOS Spanish, SL 200, Latina Christiana 1

14yos: SOS French, SL 5, Prima Latina, SL LA

10yos: SL 3 science, SL LA including Diamond Notes writing

We loved our SL 7 + SL 3&4 combination that we finished in September, but found that SL 5 & SL 200 wasn't a fit for our family. I'm still using the books as they're great literature & postage is too expensive to make it worthwhile to return the cores, but I'm not trying to follow the cores in any way now.

JMHO,

[Susie in MS]

No misses so far, but we are doing School-lite right now. :001_smile:

My not quite 3 yo sponge is loving Little Hands to Heaven more with each passing day! :party:

I also got Activites in a Bag for Preschoolers and she loves every activity I have made so far. She even offers lots of "help" creating the activities. :thumbup:

I am eagerly awaiting Language Lessons for Little Ones book 1, so I don't know how that will go, but from the sample it looks like it will be perfect for her age and abilities.

[Another Lynn]

For 3rd grade and K

We've had more of a "miss" year than a "hit" year here, mostly because of my inability to adjust to Classical Conversations.

Hits(Nothing new here):
MUS
ETC (K-er)
Chronicles of Narnia (3rd grader)

Misses:
Classical Conversations - it leaves us with a 4 day week which just doesn't work for us. It is too much memory work with too high a cost (time-wise) - we are missing all the great read alouds we used to have time for.

Love/Hate:
SWR - it is what we need, but has been difficult to implement on a 4 day schedule (because of CC) I think it will get better :)
SOTW vol.3 - my kids love it, but I miss the continuity of story we had when our spines were only CHOW and Island Story. I'm leaning towards migrating back towards Ambleside after CC is over and letting dss listen to SOTW on CDs (finishing vol3 and moving on to vol 4 in the fall).


Great thread!

[HootyTooty]

My son is in First Grade:

Misses:
First Language Lessons, he does not like the way it is scripted and although I have tried to reword it for him- just a no go.
Draw Write Now- I don't know how to explain it, while he thinks the drawing are interesting it just does not appeal to him.

Hits
Real Science 4 Kids: When I tell him we are going to pull out the science books his face just lights up.
Singapore Primary 1a & B: he loves this program and requests to do it first.

So so
Explode the Code 4. I am wondering whether or not I should have skipped him ahead to book 5, since he just flies through it. I wanted him to understand syllables, but it just seems to be more copy work than anything.

Sequential Spelling: I think this one is me. I just don't think he needs spelling at this point, I may try again when we are doing our light summer program to see if that makes a difference.

[Baseballmom]

Hits:001_tt1:
Teaching Textbooks 7
LFC A
Exploring Creation through Astronomy
Shurley Grammar
Tog 2 Redesign
Singapore 3B

Misses::banghead:
Abeka Language C
BJU Bible
Spelling Workout
Math-U-See Zeta

[EKS]

For K:

Hits: Singapore Math, K12 History, and K12 Science

Misses: Explode the Code, RightStart Math


For 6th:

Hits: K12 Life Science, Getting Started with Latin, Hake Grammar

Misses: IEW packaged curriculum

[WTMindy]

Hits:
TOG redesigned Ancients
Apologia-Zoo 1
Memory work on CD
MUS

Misses:
NEM 1
Writing Aids (we have gone back to IEW writing)

[Calming Tea]

Misses:
1.AOP Lifepacs - misses across the board

2.Saxon Math 1 for K-er- This was a disaster and we tried so HARD to stick it out!

3. Using Beechick guide and McGuffey's to teach reading, etc.


Hits:
Horizons Math (LOVE this math!)
Hooked on Phonics (so easy!)
Hey Andrew Greek 1 (son loves it!)

Also- Developing the Early Learner, Rod and Staff Preschool


Other hits that we finished the book but didn't keep going: Classic Curriculum Workbooks (these are great- we didn't stick with them but they are very well done- lots of review and very challenging)

[deeva58]

This is a wonderful thread.

I'd have to say my hits have been:
Math-U-See
FLL

Misses:
Abeka Language Arts

[melissel]

This is a wonderful thread.

Ditto! I'm bookmarking this for sure.

Here are mine, with my verbally advanced 5-year-old, working at a K/1st-ish level.

Hits:
Right Start Math--so fun, and makes teaching math really easy
Handwriting Without Tears
Learning poetry using various resources
Galloping the Globe (we are secular, but GTG provides a nice backbone and plenty of secular resources)
The Magic Treehouse books!

Misses:
Winter Promise's The World Around Us and Animals and Their Worlds (I liked the format, but it was very hard to do small bits and pieces every day. DD dragged her feet every step of the way. It just wasn't her style at all.)

Things we're "Eh" on:
Five in a Row (DD doesn't love it. She doesn't like spending so much time analyzing the same book. It's working for us, though, for now.)

[OneRoomHomeSchool]

Hits:
Abeka Math
ETC books 2 and 3
Abeka Science
Abeka Language


Misses:
MUS Alpha/Beta
BJU Math
Rod & Staff Math
Rod & Staff Phonics
FLL
WTM Gr 1 Science

[countrykiddos]

Hits

IEW - TWSS and SWI - B LOVE IT!
Teaching Textbooks Math - 2nd yr. of this - TT5, TT7 & Pre-Alg.
Singapore Math
Growing with Grammar - Yr. 2 of this also
Startwrite CD
Drive-Thru History DVD's - we just watch them, I don't do the curriculum

Misses

None this year, since we've ironed everything out finally after 9 years or so. Here are some past misses (there are many, many more)

Saxon Math
Writing Strands
Abeka Language
Spelling Workout - didn't "work out" hehe...


I can definitely say that experience has taught me that, in general, curriculum written specifically for homeschoolers has worked out much better for us. Even better are programs written BY homeschoolers.

Kim

[Gamom3]

HITS:
R&S Grammar 4th and 5th grade
Time Traveler American Revolution
God's Design Animal Kingdom and Universe
Abeka 4th grade..dd doesn't really like it much, but she doesn't like math!

MISSES:
R&S History, Science and Spelling
Lial's BMC
Latin for Children A..dc enjoyed it but we just don't have the time
Wordly Wise

[claire up north]

:DHITS:D

1. Sequential Spelling (finally seeing some improvement!!)
2. Spelling Time (online program...kids are very motivated)
3. A Beka math (ok, kids don't love it, but BOY are they learning a lot!)

:ack2:TOTAL MISSES:ack2:

1. Galloping the Globe
2. Classical Writing - Aesop

[Deece in MN]

Hits:
Life of Fred ~ we have done Fractions and Decimals & Percents and are a couple chapters into Beginning Algebra. My ds loves these books! We are always talking about Fred and what he is up to. Sad, I know. :001_smile:
All About Spelling
IEW TWSS ~ I will be purchasing one of the SWI in April at our hs conference.
Exploring Ocean Life from Teacher Created Resources
Evolution: The Grand Experiment and a free lecture series from HHMI about evolution
Critical Thinking from The Daily Spark series
Sonlight 5 books
Ancient Far East kit from Hands and Hearts

That is all I can think of for now.

We really didn't have any big misses. Dd didn't like the EHE from SL 5 so we dropped that and made some adjustments. I like the concept behind Trisms, but we just could not get into a groove with it so we are not currently using it.

[JaneGrey]

Loved the book as a reader. See comments by me and others in this RS4K thread: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?p=347188#post347188

[Mom to Aly]

Misses: SOTW, SAXON MATH, biggest loser ever, most tedious thing we have ever done, we both hated it (dd and I).

Hits: (We just started most of these): MUS, Artistic Pursuits (LOVE IT!!!), HWT, Trail Guide To US Geography, and, as always, almost anything from Evan Moor.

[Rhondabee]

I have done science in conjunction with a science club for the past 6 years. In the past, we used portions of the Usborne Internet Linked Science Encyclopedia (Materials, Mixtures and Compounds) as a spine. We then would either use the internet links or comb the web for experiments or demonstrations to do. Most of us would then have our kids write up what we did in science club and what we learned. I have to say that my kids remembered so much more from this approach because they were very engaged.

This year, with our younger science club (ages 6 - 9), we tried RS4K. I wasn't too excited about it, but I was outvoted. My daughter asked to quit because she was so bored. When I led it this week, I tossed the book aside and did my own thing. What a joy it was to see kids who were engaged.

I decided to use the Usborne for a spine this year with my 10yo, adding in his chemistry set when it fits. I decided not to let anyone know - figured that would be "So boring!" Very glad to see your post!

:001_smile:
Rhonda

[LadyAberlin]

Hits for my 4 yr old

Bible Stories to read
Preschool Plus
MUS Primer
Living Learning Books 1
Developing the Early Learner


Misses
Science is Simple to much work on my part
RightStart - just didn't fit ds's learning style.

up for debate - LLATL Blue It is doing the job and has worked better than anything, it just isn't that much fun so I ordered Alphabet Island yesterday and we will either combine the two or just do AI. We shall see after it arrives.

[Scout]

Hits (for either 3rd and/or 6th grader)

Sequential Spelling
MUS Gamma and Epsilon
Logic Countdown, Orbiting with Logic
Christian Kids Explore Earth and Space
Timez AttackMisses (for one or the other)

Journey Through Grammarland
Great Science Adventures: the World of Space (the only curriculum I just couldn't pick up one more day....)The rest of our choices were neither hits nor misses....

[sagira]

HITS FOR PREK-K (4-year-old)

Peak with Books
Modern Curriculum Press Math Level K

MISSES

Before Five in a Row
Arts and Crafts as a whole (I'm not the artsy type -- dh will take over this Fall as he's an artist :))

[chaik76]

Old thread, but
For last year (K)
Hits: Anything and everything we did that was science-related
lapbooks
Singapore Math

Misses: Abeka reading
OPG (sorry!)
AlphaPhonics

Current Hits (gr1)
T4L Language Arts
Singapore Math and Developmental Math
Magic Treehouse books
Anything science related
Sign language

Current Misses (gr1)
None yet

[She]

This has been a really helpful thread. It got me to researching anyhow.

Hits: The ones that really got us excited.
OPGTTR - I think this saved our homeschooling career. We've been using this as a remedial program since April for my 5th grader and her reading has improved by leaps and bounds. Finally I feel like we're going to be okay. I thought I had tried everything. My older girls never had any trouble with reading, so this was surprising. I'll use this with my son too when he is ready.

Spelling Power

Saxon 65's mental math section

Janice Van Cleave's Chemistry for Every Kid

Misses:

Saxon Algebra I

R&S English 8 - We've loved Rod and Staff, but we've been diagraming for far too many years, and are ready to be done with it. Need to concentrate on writing.

[AmeliaBinMO]

Hits: TOG, Tops Electricity, Perplexors, Apologia Elementary Botany

No real serious misses this year, but ones that we were not very enthusiastic about would be Steck-Vaughn Analogies, and Abeka Spelling
_______________________________

AmeliaB in MO (Laura in MO from the old board)

[BillieBoy]

I had to chime in. I do extensive reseach on all of our curriculum and am so happy to report it has paid off.

Just 7 DD, Happy B-day Baby

We LOVE:

Singapore Math (middle of 2A)Text, WB, Intensive Practice, Extra Practice, Challenging Word Problems, Home Instructors Guide by Sonlight. DD is math crazy; I think one extra WB would suffice, but....
History Odyssey (about to start Middle Ages level 1, Ancients was a blast!)We do most all the extra reading and activities, though lite on STOW
Voyages in English (we love the writting workshops, just started 2)
Spelling Power
English from the Roots Up (we have fun with this)
Trail Guide to the World
Trail Guide to the US
R.E.A.L. Science by Pandia Press (did Life, doing Earth and really concerned that there is no more)
Artistic Pursuits (Great)
Junie B. Jones (all of them, DD loved them, I wasn't crazy about the attitude of the character but it gave DD an insight to PS)
Magic Tree House (Love these)and I would not be able to cope with lesson plans, scheduling etc without....
Homeschool Traker Plus!!! It is a must for me!

Thanks for letting me share

[cindyinTexas]

Hits here this year after using years of Abeka

I really loved Abeka for the earlier years, the phonics program is great.

We are loving
My Fathers World Rome to Reformation which uses SOTW Vol.2

Apologia Biology

Sequential spelling


I really cannot think of any misses at the moment....

Oh, our great big miss was
Math U See (Gulp and I bought 4 different levels because I was sure it would work) My son just could not program his brain to think like they wanted, after years of learning to do things differently.

We usually stick with what I have purchased and if it doesn't work right away we just put it aside for a bit, then pick it back up when I think my child has matured enough to use it. This happened with my oldest. Last year he could not make Apologia Biology work this year he loves it.

I always keep plenty of items on hand if we need to fill in for something that is not working.

Does that make me a curriculum junkie?

[Lovedtodeath]

Miss: Horizons Math. Hard for mom, and too busy and all over the place for DD.

Miss: SL 2 regular readers. Mouse Tales, Frog and Toad, Amelia Bedelia, DD hated almost all of them. She likes tanglewood.com picks much better.

Hit: SL K read alouds all are a hit so far except Mrs. Piggle Wiggle.

Best money spent: http://www.drawyourworld.com/drawwrite.html (http://www.drawyourworld.com/drawwrite.html)

I love Draw Write Now. Draw Write Now is much more than just drawing and writing. They are more like a full curriculum. It is a shame that more people do not know this. It reminds me of the way MFW K approaches subjects.

I bought books 7 and 8. They have lessons on drawing maps of the world and of continents. Then additional draw and write lessons are on animals that live in certain countries and climates. After these lesson pages (that you are probably familiar with) there is an additional page with information about the subjects (continents, countries, climates, animals) and book suggestions for additional reading.

[emmsmama]

I was new to HS'ing this year and dropped the ball in a lot of areas, but can give a big HIT to RightStart Math. Dd is a smart cookie but really learned a lot of wonderful strategies by going through RS Math this year. She didn't always like Math time I admit, but she would probably complain about anything besides playing or doing crafts ;) and she's done well learning with RS so I'm happy with it.

[LanaTron]

I can't say either of us loovvee MUS, but she understands and does the work easily and willingly. No more procrastination, frustration, or tears (from either of us) over math!

Now, these are for 6th, 5th, 2nd, and K.

Other hits :
Singapore math
Megawords
Latin Prep
Learnables French
Explode the Code
My World Science
Hake Grammar
Logic Countdown/Liftoff
Progeny Press guides
Phonics Pathways
Pathway Readers
Handwriting Without Tears

Misses:
Singapore (for dc #2)
Latin Prep (for dc #2)
Learnables French (for dc #2--see a pattern here?)
Wordsmith Apprentice

Love/hate relationship:
Phonics of Drawing

[sweetbaby]

HITS:
Rod and Staff English- mastery and very thorough. Incorporates writing
Contemporary Chemistry: A Practice Approach by Walch Publishing-excellent break down of chemistry for my special needs highschooler
Pathway Readers-great wholesome stories. Fun to read
Wordsmith Writing- Basic writing instruction. Easy to implement with a reluctant teenager who loathes writing.
Progeny Press Literature Guides-Wonderful christian guides. I love the comprehension questions and story analysis.
Math U See Geometry-mastery. Short lessons and plenty of drill. DVDs are very helpful for a mom who hasn't had Geometry in years.


MISSES:
Christian Liberty Press' Building Spelling Skills- I did not see where or how my children had improved in spelling after 2 years of using this curriculum. The words were becoming increasingly difficult with each unit and were not words that I felt 3rd and 4th graders should actually spell in real writing. We are using Spelling Wisdom in our new year.

[Spy Car]

Hits for Pre-K

The Explode the Code Primers A, B & C
Explode the Code 1
Bob Books
Singapore Earlybird Math Standards Edition 1A & 1B
Cuisinaire Rods (for making number "trains" and lots of "free play")
Miquon Math Orange plus the teaching guides for *me* (a recent addition...but already loving)
Lots and lots and lots of read alouds
And Leapfrog DVDs (Talking Letter Factory/Talking Word Factory/Math Circus, very valuable!!!)

Bill