The Good, the Bad, and the Boring

As our "school year" is winding down and I find myself starting to look ahead to second grade (wow did I really just type that?!) I've been thinking about the things that worked and things that didn't...

Our math curriculum has been awesome. So much better than I expected. We used Modern Curriculum Press and I will definitely get the second grade book. It uses a mastery approach, so the student fully understands one concept before they start the next, but they also review the concepts so they don't forget.

Phonics, on the other hand, has been a drag. We used "Adventures in Phonics" from Christian Liberty Press and it is the most boring book ever written. Not adventurous at all. I dread it, so I can't imagine how much more Gracie does. You literally do the EXACT same exercises on every page, only with different letters/digraphs. I thought it was good at first, because it taught the rules and seemed really thorough. But as the year went on, it dragged...and dragged...and dragged...I can't wait to be done with this book. I would quit it now, but after doing it this long, it's kind of pointless. I am almost decided on Abeka for Language Arts next year, because they seem to have a more interesting approach and they include spelling with it. I also really like their readers. I shied away from Abeka at first because so many people said it's too "text-booky", but I don't see any way around that for Language Arts or Math.

We started the year with Five in a Row, and I have mixed feelings about it. I love the stories, the kids love the stories, and I love how every thing ties together. I also love that you can customize it and do the projects that work for you.  However, halfway through, I stopped being able to find the books. Our library just doesn't have some, at any branch, so my only option is to order them. But...some of them are out of print! One book costs $40 used on Amazon! I also kind of felt like there were holes...with one book you could study China, with another Ohio... it was fun, but I felt like it jumped around, lacked continuity. I'm thinking of just using the book list next year as extra reading instead of the core curriculum, and not worrying about the books I can't find.

I used Christian Light Education for Bible. Actually, I ordered their Science and Social Studies too, but they were so awful I abandoned them after a few lessons. There was nothing to them. It seemed like preschool level work. There were about five sentences to read and maybe three questions. Science started with colors. "Name some things that are red" Seriously? My kids did that when they were two.
Bible seemed a little better. It was kind of dry but not too bad. Until this week when I tried to find the Easter story and discovered they completely left it out! It went from Jesus' miracles to his ascent into heaven. I was pretty disappointed and will be searching for something else next year.

History is tricky for me. I love History, I just don't know where to start! Do you start with America? do you start with the Garden of Eden? It's also still hard for Gracie to grasp the concept of the past. She understands things happened before, but she can't quite get the idea of "a thousand years ago" yet. In place of History we've worked on Geography and map skills, which has been really fun. We're using "Daily Geography" from Evan Moore. It starts with maps of rooms, schoolyards, streets, and moves on to the U.S. and the globe. Then there are exercises to locate things on the maps using directions and a compass. Pretty cool. I'm thinking of expanding it next year and working out some unit studies for each country.

I think the highlight of the year has been the classes at the Wetlands Institute. We go once a month and it costs $8. Gracie enjoys it and has really learned a lot ( I have too!). It jump started a lot of interests that we were able to dig into more at home and I hope they offer it again next year. I'm also planning on using Apologia Science next year.

So I'm pretty much scrapping everything but Math...I had hoped to be more "settled" by this point, but at least now I know what doesn't work. I feel like I have a better idea of what to get for next year, and I'm excited about finding better books and curricula.

Just as I wrote that, I realized how important that is...that I'm excited. One year is almost done, and I'm not discouraged or burned out. Not everything worked, but overall, homeschooling worked, otherwise we would be frustrated and ready to give up. All things considered- what more could you ask for?

But if you have curriculum suggestions, keep 'em coming!