too many choices

Check around in your area to see if anyone has used curriculum. Sometime you can get it at a reduced price or for free. Then you would only have to buy workbooks, which would be cheaper.

There are alot of choices out there, I agree. CBD sometimes has curriculum for discount prices.

Blessings to you!

 

Sincewe are discussing curriculems, does anyone have any insight as to the Alpha/Omega SOS curriculem? Our church is starting a christian school using this curriculem and I don't know anything about it. I would be interested in sending my kids but first I want to make sure that the curriculem is a quality program and that their education will not suffer. Any input would be great thanks

 

SOS is a computer based cirricullum. As in all lessons are done on the computer and graded automatically. Lessons can also be printed out and used that way. The software will "read" to your child using a built in (I think) text to speech software. You can put in the start and end dates for your school year and it will automatically design a schedule. SOS provides a year long cirriculum for math, language arts, science, social studies and Bible.

A friend of mine used SOS this past year with her son. One drawback they had was that her son doesn't/didn't like working on his own. Unless she could sit there with him, he didn't get much done. She runs her own business and couldn't sit there with him every minute. So if your child has focus problems or simply needs a more physical presence/attention in order to make progress, SOS is probably not for you. It requires a certain amount of independence. Most home cirricullums do, but this one more so than others I have seen. (The child in question has severe health problems and his medications make it hard for him to focus, not to mention that his health problems in the past have required him to have nearly constant attention and now it has become a hard habit to break. He has done much better since they found him a tutor to work one on one with him.)

That said, I plan on using SOS with my chronically ill son this coming year. He loves the computer and is quite independent when not sick. To meet his individual needs I plan on bringing in an additional spelling program called "Sequential Spelling" and will probably supplement extra reading time (for my son reading is mostly accomplished using audio books as he is incapable of reading during a migraine and to much reading can cause one).

We will probably not do all the stuff in the Bible cirricullum (just from the glimpse I got of it on the Alpha Omega website), but from playing with my friend's setup I find I can alter assignments to suit myself. My homeschool asso doesn't require a Bible course and I have control issues in this area.

We will also do various projects and research as he finds subjects that interest him. His dad and he have already begun planning to build a "pin hole" camera for a science project. He is also wanting to learn to cook so I plan on adding him in on the normal daily cooking schedule and finding some materials on nutrition to add to the experience. (homeschooling here is wonderfully flexible!)

 

Please be aware that the "Beka" in Abeka is Mrs. Arlin (Beka) Horton who testified for the state against a brother in Christ, named Kent Hovind. Where you stand on this issue may be a consideration for whether or not you desire to support this curriculum with your $$.

 

Abeka phonics is IMHO, the best produced anywhere. We have homeschooled 6 children using it - all are superior readers.

I use Abeka materials to teach Irish teens and adults to read and write.

Your straw man debate tactic has not place in a fellowship forum.

 

If you are addressing me...I do not desire to debate this issue and did not form my statement in such a way. What I presented was informational only, pertinent to the topic at hand. Mrs. Horton did, in fact, testify for the state against Kent Hovind and there is no opportunity for debate on this issue. The debate would be whether or not she was right or wrong to do so and I have formed no argument relative to this issue. If you are comfortable with her actions, then continue to support and promote Abeka, if you are uncomfortable with these actions, then you might choose otherwise.

 

Our Baptist Academy uses Abeka and the students really seem to like it. I use A.C.E. - School of Tomorrow - in my homeschooling.

***If Mrs. Horton and Kent Hovind need discussed, a thread should be started in a debate forum. Not in a fellowship forum, and especially not in the homeschool forum.

Your friendly mod,
§ue

 

Hi Dittokins, we or my wife that is home schools are kids. We have one that’s finishing Kindergarten, he just turned 6 and we have two others that aren’t school age yet.

First you should determine how you want to teach your children and you’ll find out that each child will respond differently. But some curriculums are more hands on for both you and your child and some are more self paced and guide the child with not as much supervision and the more expensive curriculums have DVD’s and live satellite feeds.

If there’s a home school convention near you, that’s a great place to not only buy your curriculums, but also see first hand. You may check to see if you have a home school group in your area; they’ll be a great support group for you. We belong to a group, which meets once a week for field trips and other type classes.

Like you, we’re strapped for cash too; my wife’s also a stay at home mom. For our sons pre-K, we used “Little Hands to Heaven” Little Hands to Heaven by the time our son was finished and started Kindergarten, he was on a 2nd grade reading level and his writing skills are very good for his age.

For Kindergarten we used “Sonlight” curriculum Sonlight I think in total it cost us around 750 dollars, but we can re-use it for our next two kids. We got the first grade readers, but he still wasn’t challenging enough for him. For first grade, we’re going to mix and match… We attended a home school convention and got plenty of samples.

That’s what I like about home schooling, you can monitor how your child progresses and ensure that he’s learning what he needs to be learning and you can identify if your child needs any extra attention in any area of study. It’ll be a little overwhelming at first, but you’ll get a method going that’ll work out for you and your child.

Good Luck to you!

Oh and remember, if this is your first year, be aware of your States laws regarding home schooling.
-

 

Go to their Website www.aop.com and see what catalogs or other info they will mail you.

 

I say again: Get all the parents in your area to teach their children inside the local church building. No paid staff. Moms and Dads do the teaching. Kids get to interact in a classroom situation. Share the cost of teaching supplies. Pray to your hearts content. Include "One Nation Under God Indivisible" in the pledge. Teach the kids the truth about our founding fathers, not the distortions coming from the ACLU, PFAW, Planned Parenthood, Hollywood, and a whole bunch of politicians.

Be the spark that ignites a wildfire across the nation.

:thumbs:

 

You are welcome

 

This is the problem with home schooling. How can parents who don't even know how to spell provide a proper education for their children? I don't mean any disrespect, but this is an issue. I have seen the following spellings in this thread:

curriculems
curriculums
cirricullum

The word is curriculum when singular and curriculae for the plural.

It is fine to not know this, but how prepared will your children be if they are being taught by someone who cannot spell? I know you want the best for your kids, but know your limitations.

 

At least ONE SOURCE disagrees with you.

 

Picking apart a spelling error on a board that has them in multitude is not an argument for parents not training up their children. These parents are not creating a curriculum, they intend to follow one, so their qualifications are not established by whether or not they can spell curikulem but whether or not they can read it and follow it. If you'd like, I will show you some of the letters my children's public school teachers (can't home school until adoptions are finalized) send home with them and you will find easier words spelled quite creatively. Further, I dated a teacher some time back who in retrospect, I am amazed she graduated high school much less received teaching credentials. As Christians we should be supporting home schoolers and support the parents who take on this difficult task. Far better for the parents to educate the children than for Pharaoh to. Far better for them to get a Christian education than a secular humanistic one.

Btw. I believe I heard this is a fellowship forum, not a debate forum.

 

Excellent post and your closing comment is an apt reminder.

 

While reading, following and theaching the parents are learning also.
I know I am learning or at the least getting a refresher course.

 

I knew someone would take offense. I was not debating, but making an apt observation. I don't believe being a mom or dad qualify one to teach academic subjects to their children. No one is perfect, but like I said, we need to realize our limitations in order to do a service to our children. As for Pharaoh, we aren't in ancient Egypt. I would add that most subjects are not Bible-related, e.g. spelling, mathematics, etc. By their very nature, a "humanist" viewpoint is the study of what humans have learned and done. That is not anti-Christian.

Again, no offense was intended, so I hope you all take my comments in the spirit in which they are offered.