What's working this year?

[bigdogs29906]

I'm just far enough into our year with a 2nd and K'er to start weeding out/ tweaking what is working and what is not.
What about you guys? Do you have any big hits/misses?

[Sheila in OK]

We are in week five of this school year, and have already dumped a couple of things . . . . LLATL Red DID NOT work for my 2nd grader. It was way too "scattered" for both of us. Phonics too easy, writing too hard. We're back to our simple ETC/HWT combo. I did add in the Writing with Ease workbook 1 this week--so far I really really like it.

Also, I don't think MCP Math is going to work for my 2nd grader. I'm going to get him up to par on the math facts and then move him into MUS Beta.

What's going well--Sonlight Core 3!!!

[Cadam]

Our big surprise is that we are loving the drawing lessons from "God and the history of Art". I never thought we have time for art like this but it is the kids favorite thing.

[bigdogs29906]

I've tweaked LLATL Red for my 2nd grader too!

Our lax approach to LA for our K'er is not working at all! He's an early reader, but we haven't pushed the writing b/c he just doesn't seem ready, but that has made for one bored child!

Miquon/ Singapore math is still working for both kiddos though. We love our NOEO science and SOTW. And lastly, Winter Promise's Animal Worlds ~ but the jury is still out.

[Amanda_Jo]

We're in week 3 of Kindergarten- so far most things are wonderful, though not all are going as I had planned!
I love ETC but dd was learning to read faster than she could keep up with the ETC pages due to all the required writing. She is capable of learning each concept in one sitting, but the lessons take her 2 to 3 days to complete. She was getting frustrated at the slow pace so we added OPGTR, we can move through the lessons at her own pace and still use ETC as enrichment.
Again, love Singapore Earlybird and so does dd, but she is flying through it at lightening speed. Math seems to be her favorite subject, she begs to do more math but I don't want her spending an hour a day in a workbook- so we've ordered RightStart. It hasn't arrived yet, but I think it will satisfy her desire to do math for an extended period of time and she can still do her Singapore workbooks as well.
DD is loving Come Look With Me art books way more than I expected and we are both enjoying Discovering Great Artists!
Another surprise is A Reason for Writing- when this book arrived I put it away to use with younger dd when she turns 4, it just seemed too easy for the older dd. Then I noticed dd forming several letters incorrectly during ETC and pulled out the handwriting book. She loves it and asks to do a page every day. I notice that she always forms the letters she's worked on correctly even though there is only one page of work per letter. She also loves the "reward" of coloring the animal after completing the handwriting assignment.
Galloping the Globe is a huge hit!

[JeannineW]

I'm using OPGTR with my K4 son. We are both enjoying it a lot. It is so much simpler than the LLATL Blue book that I used for my first two readers.

GWG is also going well.

I'm not thrilled with SWO. I plan to switch to MegaWords in 4th. I'm not sure right now if I'll keep going with SWO until then or not.

[Linda...inOwasso]

Well, this is my first year using RightStart Math w/ dd5 and I love it! I wish my dd8 could've benefitted from the foundation RS lays, but she's successfully working through a Horizons/Singapore combination so I have no plans to change her math.

I'm happy with Spelling Plus (word lists & dictation) by Susan C. Anthony. We went through several spelling programs before I found one I really liked and plan to stick with.

I'm very pleased with Shurley Grammar for dd8.

The only thing I'm still searching for is a good reading program for dd5. I'd love something that includes short, non-fiction stories as she seems to prefer anything that's "true" or "real." Anyone have any suggestions? :)

[TXMomof2]

We're in week 13 and so far my ds has taken to everything. I find FLL a little slow and very repetitive, so I brush over some areas and focus on things he doesn't know when we get to them.

We switch to RightStart math in January and he likes it much better than Saxon.... no more tears.

I ordered AAS and we'll add this when it arrives.

[Sweetpeach]

What's working:

Atelier Art (2 thumbs up)

Lively Latin (still!)

Explorers Bible (2 thumbs up)

The jury is still out on Singapore Science. I'm not too sure just yet.

[Closeacademy]

What's Working:

Lapbook units from homeschoolshare.com
Singapore Math
Story of the World
Teaching SWR Phonograms with worksheets and pictures that I drew.

What's not:

Spell to Write and Read spelling lists--we are looking at working with Spelling Power and alternating spelling and composition. I am starting to use writing prompts for composition since she is really not ready for the progymnasmata.

The jury is still out:

Ruth Heller's grammar picture books and the charts I made for them.

Math in My World (PS text) inbetween Singapore workbooks to check for gaps, review and take a break from our normal workload.

Abeka cursive workbook


This is all for 1st and 3rd.:001_smile:

[deeinfl]

What's working for my 2nd grader:

Rod and Staff math 2, I cannot believe the speed in which he is learning his math facts. This is also not torture for him as I have read for others and the whole lesson takes him about 15 minutes to complete...I'm not kidding! This is perfect for us because I just want him to learn his math facts up to 20 and will worry about everything else next year in the 3rd grade.

Rod and Staff spelling 2, I think my son is a natural speller, but even so, Rod and Staff is simple, and to the point and the lessons are really forcing him to have to look at patterns in words. This is his favorite subject so far.

Bible Study Guide, I thought of changing this to something more beefy, but my son wouldn't hear of it and told me he loved his bible lessons, so this is a keeper! And he is learning and remembering with the built in memory work.

School of Tom. English Paces-this is so thorough and gentle, not to mention it is a handwriting course as well. Two stones. :) My son completes 1-2 pages a day, that's it, no rush, and he's learning.

These 4 are the great keepers!

What we haven't accomplished...well, we tried to do the unit study provided by one of the homeschool moms for science and my son hated it. I don't exactly know why, but he says it's boring and it was killing the love of science for him. So, I'm not so sure what to do next.

Also we have not gotten to history. While I have a few things, we just haven't been able to get to them.

We are working on learning about China by just reading library books and working on Voice of the Martyrs free already planned China unit. I love it! It's everything I was trying to do already done for me. If anyone is interested you can download the books here

http://www.kidsofcourage.com/downloads

Blessings!!

Dee

[Linda]

We're loving everything this year:

SOTW 1 is a huge hit.

The best math program is the one that gets done everyday; for us that's
MUS (one in Alpha and one in Primer). The math facts are starting to stick!

Week 1 of Classical Conversations was fantastic. The boys are soaking up the material and chanting, singing, and motioning much of the day :-)

And, not a curriculum, but we still cherish our couch cuddle time with whatever picture books we borrow from the library that week.

[ASAHMOF5]

This year I am starting to use The Writing Road to Reading instead of Phonics Pathways and so far we LOVE it. I didn't think anything would compare to Phonics Pathways but this program is so much better for us.

[Chloe]

My dc love it. DD10 and I are going to Switzerland next month, and she can't wait to try out some of what she's learned. I'm trying to do the lessons as well, but she's way ahead of me.

Ambleside Online's book list is also a big hit, even though we're having a hard time implementing the schedule. We're still thinking about moving to MFW and adding in AO's books as much as possible.

Rod and Staff math continues to work really well for my dd.

[Ishki]

So far everything appears to be working, but it's only been 2 weeks. I'm especially pleased with WWE for my 2nd graders and MUS Pre-Algebra for my 6th grader. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Janet

[funschooler5]

We are still adding things, but so far Spelling Power and Noble Knights of Knowledge are the big winners in our house.

[hsmamainva]

My boys are really enjoying the Trail Guide to US Geography!! They love it! They like mapping and finding out the answers to all the questions! That's the biggest hit for them so far this year.

[HFClassicalAcademy]

The best hit this year:
SSRW!!!
Ds6 is in Level 1 and dd4 is halfway through the kindergarten level. We all love it!

Other good programs:
We still like Saxon Math!
HSP Science. Has enough of everything to satisfy me and the kids.


The jury is still out on Shurley Grammar 1. We'll see how it goes as we delve deeper into it!

Other than that, all our other curriculum choices are being well received. Nothing has been dropped!!!

Liz in NC

[arcara]

TWTM is what's working for us! This is just a new approach for us, and it's going so well! We had been using a boxed traditional curriculum, heavily workbook-based, and we were all miserable. We're not using all the recommended curriculum from TWTM (you can see what we are using in my sig), but it's the change in approach that's working for us, and I'm soooooooooo grateful to my friend who passed along this book to me.

One thing I'm surprised about is how much my kids love memorizing poetry! I was worried about introducing this, but they are eating it up!

[Angel]

We are in week 3 here of 2nd grade.

Dd loves Five in a Row.
Saxon 2 is working very well right now, too.

FLL 2nd just didn't work out. This surprised me because she really liked it at the beginning of 1st. I thought I would try the free Scott Foresman English online, but it doesn't seem to be working either. I might break down and buy R&S English 2 here, we'll see.

[sandra in va]

Of the new things we are trying this year....


working:

Child's Geography vol. 2 Holy Land - big hit
Tapestry of grace year 1 - Bible, lit, history - disclaimer: boy is it hard to find a groove! - in wk 3 and I'm just starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel...and it's really still pretty dim :blink:
Mathusee - alpha has really been great for my 1st grader

not:

Writing program of TOG, much prefer IEW will stick with that
TOG lapbook (sticking with it)

[nukeswife]

We've just finished week 5 (this is a week off as we prepare to travel to my parents house)

What's working:
Growing with Grammar
Writing with Ease (huge hit)
AAS and Spelling Power (we use both)
Saxon math (they are overjoyed to be back with saxon)
Noeo Biology 1 (they are really enjoying this and look forward to the other programs from Noeo)

What didn't work:
A Reason for handwriting (they were just sick of this)

What needed tweaking:
History Odyssey Early Modern Times-- was going ok but they want more crafty stuff and I want to spend more time on US history so when we get to the The 13 colonies we'll put HO aside and use the Time Travelers cds from Homeschool in the woods

What we haven't even gotten to yet:
Art -- although artistic pursuits is on the way and we're anxious to check it out and give it a try
Song School Latin-- hopefully we'll start this in a few weeks it looks like a lot of fun.

[Ann in IA]

Hits:
Explode the Code
Sequential Spelling (he actually LIKES this!)
Growing with Grammar (he grumbles a little but I like it!)

Misses:
BOB books

[stephanie]

I'm just far enough into our year with a 2nd and K'er to start weeding out/ tweaking what is working and what is not.
What about you guys? Do you have any big hits/misses?

We're loving Beautiful Feet Geography! My dc are learning all sorts of things without even noticing!

[Kristiana]

What's working here:

SOTW 2
Elemental Science (http://www.elementalscience.com) (Earth Science and Astronomy)
Growing with Grammar (2nd grade)
OPG and ETC (Kindergarten)
Outdoor Hour Challenges
Cursive (2nd grade--he loves it! and writes all the letters he knows in cursive everywhere he can and everything else in print. It looks weird for now, but it works.)
Singapore math--we're just having issues with remembering math facts since I slacked off over the summer. :glare:

What didn't work:
We ditched Spelling Workout and decided that time would be much better spent on Prima Latina for now. I'm just concentrating on whatever words he spells wrong in whatever he writes and will start researching other spelling programs for next year.

I can't seem to find time for FIAR for my 5yo and almost 4yo. That's more a schedule problem though, we really love the program.

I'm still waiting for my WWE 2 workbook and I'm so hoping it will be something we love.

[Paintedlady]

Linguistic Development Through Poetry Memorization book & cds from IEW are huge hits. We started them in early summer and we're using and loving them. The kids always ask to do poetry.

My other picks are working well too, but the poetry is our favorite.

[momto2Cs]

2nd grader:
Dumped Phonics for Reading & went back to ETC. He loves the cartoony aspect of it... and it works!
Keeping MathSteps/Saxon, Oak Meadow, and homemade science & world culture units

K'er:
Dumped phonics work and am now using Letter of the Week
Keeping Saxon, Oak Meadow, and homemade science & world culture units

However, for both, I have dumped scheduling & lesson planning. I am requiring the three "R's" each "school" day, but then am using "guided unschooling" for everything else. I keep piles of library books, activity guides & videos around on our science and world culture topics, and the kids ask me to read, show them things, do projects, etc. In addition, ds has been studying airplane construction, trains and more on his own, while dd is working on poems (mainly Mother Goose) and letter sounds of her own desire.

While I have dumped lesson planning, I have goals in mind for each child. For example, with my ds, I want him to finish up ETC 3 (3 or 4 lessons to go) and to get through ETC 4 & 5 this year. I am shooting for approximately one lesson a week, but I don't sit down and plan it out to the page.

[Narrow Gate Academy]

For the 4th grader:

Latin for Children has been the biggest new hit for this year, and R&S English is working much better for us now I'm using the teacher's manual and the extra worksheets and tests.

For the 2nd grader:

The modified FLL plans I made are going very well. There's enough repetition to get the info, but not so much that it gets boring.

For my PreKer:

The biggest hit for this year is having his own paper craft to make on Fridays while his sisters do their history activities. PP is also going well.

Oldies but goodies:
Singapore Math, Miquon, TruthQuest history, lapbooking, SWO

[Karen in CO]

Second grade:
I decided to use Math Mammoth addition and subtraction to review math (even though we did math through the summer) before starting into our new books. We love it. I like that it is showing the dreaded carrying in a different way and I like the variety of exercises.

I started Just Write with my dd while we wait for the WWE 2 workbook. We love it so far. I think this by itself would be a great grammar and writing program for second grade.

[laylamcb]

So far, Rod & Staff math. I'm shocked. I thought I'd be doing math orally with Ray's, but my dd is loving their little first grade workbook. Ya never know.... We've also been doing a lot of "living" math (http://www.livingmath.net/), reading lots of math readers, and playing Sum Swamp (http://tinyurl.com/6m7yuv). So at this point, math is her favorite thing to do. :001_huh:

And then all of our Ambleside (http://www.amblesideonline.org/01sch.shtml) reading is going great. Next week we read A Midsummer Night's Dream from the Lambs' Tales from Shakespeare (http://tinyurl.com/5c4hl6), and my dd is so excited to use the Shakespeare paper dolls (http://www.amazon.com/Great-Characters-Shakespeare-Paper-Dolls/dp/0486413306) that I bought to go along with it. :001_smile:

[SABE]

Phonics Pathways, MUS Primer, and HWT are all working well here for K so far. It's great to see my son learning new skills and enjoying the process!

[dawn of ns]

Just about everything!

Peterson Directed Handwriting
Megawords
My tweaked progymnasmata
Singapore math
The Elements by Ellen McHenry
L'art de Lire for french

[Vanna]

I'm just far enough into our year with a 2nd and K'er to start weeding out/ tweaking what is working and what is not.
What about you guys? Do you have any big hits/misses?


My oldest son (age 10) is on his 5th Math program (and in the 6th grade). Needless to say, I'm desperate to find the Math curriculum we can "stick with" through the years. My son loves doing his Math on the computer with this CD-Rom program. www.teachingtextbooks.com

Also a hit: Latin for Children. My 3 children (ages 10, 8, & 6) are doing it together. My oldest did Latin Primer for 2 years so he's tutoring the young ones and I only have to jump in now and then. We love the DVD of the homeschool kids doing the chants for each chapter. www.classicalacademicpress.com/

My kids will tell you they love Shurley English Level 3, but this is my 3rd time teaching it and I know that as we get further along they probably won't love it even with doing many written exercises orally and skipping the most tedious stuff like the expository writing exercises.

Have a great school year!;)

[mom31257]

We are really enjoying Mystery of History. It is finally something I can do with the both of them! Dd is really enjoying A Reason for Handwriting. I felt like she needed a refresher, and it's been a joy for her.

Horizons Phonics has had its pros and cons. I like that it's moving fast, since ds was all ready reading some. I don't like that it is labor intensive. Many lessons are 3 pages, front and back, with lots of writing. Writing is difficult for him. A friend of mine told me boys develop fine motor skills later. We are adjusting the curriculum to his needs, so overall it's going well. He is reading more than he was 2 months ago.

All the rest is going just fine. We haven't dumped anything this year.

[Alessandra]

This is our third year with Core Knowledge and Singapore Math -- we still love both of them.

New for us is Ridgewood Grammar -- ds loves it. I also bought Spectrum LA and it seemed to have a lot of busy work, so I will get rid of it.

Explorer's Bible (Beginning and Beginning II) are a hit -- and so simple to use.

We also like logic books from Prufrock Press (more fun looking and much less expensive than Critical Thinking Co, IMO.)

[Paula in PA]

We've not run into any problems with any of our curriculum. I wasn't sure how she would take Secundus, since it's definitely harder than Minumus, but she's had no difficulty with it. She's even enjoying learning cursive, which she was determined she would not like. :001_smile: Everything else is working very well, too.