I did not like their language arts program. They have it so that each day your child does one question. For us that wasnt enough. We are more of a workbook type family. I just didnt feel like their language arts was rigourous enough. I did not like their history at all. I loved their readers and keep them when i sold the rest of the curriculum. The history was very boring for my daughter. I felt like some of the read alouds and books were beyond her level and were really boring for her. She needs more of a hands on program where she can cut and color and do an activity. Their science is similar to the history and it was also a miss. It was a well thought out program and the teachers guide really helps a fist time teacher but for us it just didnt work. The amount of reading was way too much. If you have a wiggly child that needs hands on activity and projects with worksheets for renforcement this is not the program for you. My daughter is very wiggly and doesnt sit still for long periods. Trying to read 4-5 books to her with really no visual or hands on activity just didnt work. I really did love most of the readers and it is a great program it just was not a fit for my second grader.
Good to know. I appreciate your input! I have wondered about all the reading myself. In theory, I love the idea. On the other hand, Iāve got two active little boysā¦
@Forchristandkids, Hi! We love Godās design for life!! The plant unit is really fun, we just finished it and are moving into animals. You just need the teacher text and then only one student text. We read it out loud, ask the questions out loud and then do the activity together. It is scaled for ages, so you would only need to do the items labeled ābeginnersā for your two kiddos. They do have a worksheets/test booklet for the student and I would consider getting that (just one), and make copies as needed. It does contain all of the worksheets/test for all 4 of the green books, but you can use what you want and save the others in case you really like it and continue on in the books. We havenāt used the worksheets a lot, but they have been nice to have, opposed to me making my own charts, diagrams, etc. We have the beginners group and also the next group up (not challenge), so Iām not sure your need for the worksheets for that age group. I hope that makes sense. There is an activity every day so it takes some planning on your part to make sure you have all that you need to complete the activity (some we have skipped, so you donāt have to do everything, as you know, make it work for your family). I plan a week at a time, so on Friday I go through the book and see what all we need for the next week and just make sure I have it on hand, and buy what I donāt, then on each day I pull out what I need. Let me know if I can help you any more with this. Have a great weekend, and rest of the school year!
Hits
Phonetic Zoo level B
IEW
Math U See PreAlgebra
Apologia Exploring Creation with Chemistry
Rod and Staff Math 2 (for special needs kiddo couldnāt get addition and subtraction factsābut this repetition and drill helped)
Growing with Grammar
Misses
Math Mammoth 6th grade- Mammoth is the right name! Cried each night. Dad had to help. He had hard time. Moved to Math U See PreAlgebra- no problem
Hits : making my own curriculum using a pacing guide for core subjects K & 1st - I made sure we hit all the required for the grade at my own pace and in my own order. I felt like my kids excelled by doing this bc I understood what I was teaching - I like to know why and how things are the way they are not just well thatās what they say so memorize it.
-all about spelling lvl 1, my older 2 loved this, I did tweak it a bit to fit our style - the oldest flew through and the middle one is moving slower but sheās younger haha
-DK science workbook - we did a pg a week and they loved getting the gold stars for completed work, & the price was great $5.99
Miss - ABEKA grade 1 curriculum, I think this was more bc of me and my teaching style. I like to have a hand in deciding how I teach and knowing what Iām teaching. I didnāt care for the reading books, I liked my oldest being able to pick out her own books to read, bc then she wanted to read daily. I felt trapped in āok we have to get this doneā - I know for some families this curriculum is great bc I borrowed it from a friend and she did it with 5 kids, but it just wasnāt for me.