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Does anyone LIKE Abeka? - 4/19/2008 4:53:08 PM
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VisitorinWaiting
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My husband and I have decided to go with Abeka for our children's education. It was what was used for him when he was homeschooled as a child, so he has good experiences with it. I have heard many people here, and in other places, that do not like Abeka...for many reasons...yet all of the other family members that also used it for their education and their children's education really like it. So, I'm just wondering if there is anyone outside of my hubby's family and friends that LIKE Abeka?!? 
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Hebrews 11:13,16 "...They said they were like visitors and strangers on earth...they were waiting for a better country, a heavenly country." (NCV)
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RE: Does anyone LIKE Abeka? - 4/19/2008 5:03:56 PM
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Sunnymom
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IMO it isn't A Beka that folks don't like, but the traditional classroom method and creating 'school-at-home'. However, many MANY people start out with structured curriculum until they get their feet wet in the home education pool, and when they are more comfortable being picky-choosy will add more variety to their resources. Some will become eclectic, using A Beka for some subjects and a relaxed approach for others, while some go all the way to unschooling, or they'll cotton on to Charlotte Mason or the Trivium, and head in that direction instead.
I think A Beka has great material- good quality, Christian focus, etc. It's the textbook approach that I don't use anymore, that's the only reason I don't 'like' it, KWIM? I would recommend using what you are comfortable with.
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RE: Does anyone LIKE Abeka? - 4/19/2008 5:36:29 PM
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PrincessDonna
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From: Cow country, Upstate NY
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I didn't care for Abeka, and I do like some workbook/text curricula.
The Christian school Noah goes to used to use Abeka for all of the elementary. A few years ago, they switched the math to Bob Jones, and have been very pleased with the difference in critical thinking skills. Next year, they are switching the Phonics/Language Arts to Bob Jones also, and I think they will be as pleased with that. The year after that, they will follow with Social Studies and Science. The high school has been mostly Bob Jones since before I went there ('94??).
For young children, I do not like Abeka's focus on memorization and repition. Noah is using their 2nd grade Language book there right now and I HATE it. I can't figure out what in the world they are talking about with their "special sounds". Phonics does not have to be as complicated as they make it, and I much preferred Bob Jones' approach. But...the long and short of it is...Abeka can work for your family if YOU can work with Abeka. I could not, so it would not have worked for us. It drives me nuts to even look at the papers Noah brings home.
Are you and your husband able to go to a homeschool convention in the area? There you should be able to look through a curriculum and ask questions. Abeka was one of the first curricula available for homeschoolers, and at one time was probably the best you could get. I don't believe that to be the case anymore, though I have heard that they will be revising soon because they are aware of some of the shortcomings.
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<----We love you, Mom!!!
But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me.
~Psalm 13:5-6~
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RE: Does anyone LIKE Abeka? - 4/19/2008 7:05:31 PM
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cynthia
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I have used the Abeka readers for my first two children and they have benefitted from the grader readers. I also use the reading drills for my eleven year old. She loves them. Not sure why, but she does. It has helped her comprehension and focus, so I'm really glad she likes them, as she hated math drills. They also have some novels and biographies that we have used.
Based on that, you could say I like Abeka.  Those are the only things I've used, however. I have a friend who has five children, three of whom are of school age. She loves Abeka. It works for her family. Her children seem to be doing fine and I can say from knowing her that she's a great mom.
So once again I agree with Sunnymom. You have to do what works for your family and that doesn't look the same for everyone. I do, however, think it's a good idea to not simply go with what you know before checking into other options, expecially since your way of teaching and your family dynamics may call for a different approach than that which your mother in law used. Who knows, maybe not. If Abeka appeals to you, it may work as well for you as it has for thousands of other families.
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"A tax supported, compulsory educational system is the complete model of the totalitarian state."
-- Isabel Patterson
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RE: Does anyone LIKE Abeka? - 4/19/2008 7:39:16 PM
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Sunnymom
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Something that just came to me is that A Beka has probably changed quite a bit since I used it. Way back in the day, the A Beka curriculum was geared toward classrooms, but was sold to HSers for home use. This made the TEs rather aggravating, as the activities were for classes and not one or two kids at home. So everything had to be 'adapted', and there were things I couldn't use at all.
This may account for some element of dissatisfaction with 'veteran' HSers who had few choices in the beginning of the home education movement, and their current perceptions of A Beka are based on their previous experiences.
Just a thought.
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RE: Does anyone LIKE Abeka? - 4/19/2008 8:42:07 PM
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karlie
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I used mostly Abeka with both my girls and we liked it very much. I adapted the classroom style activities and supplemented with other programs and things at times. We liked the traditional textbook/workbook/test/quiz format. It suited us very well.
I'm not sure what it's like now, or if I would chose something else if I was doing it now, but my girls got a quality education and I have no regrets at all.
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RE: Does anyone LIKE Abeka? - 4/19/2008 8:48:56 PM
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cynthia
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Well there ya go! A charter member of the homeschooling forum who has graduated two children used it and thought it was great.
No matter what homeschool curriculum you use, you will fit in here just fine.
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"A tax supported, compulsory educational system is the complete model of the totalitarian state."
-- Isabel Patterson
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RE: Does anyone LIKE Abeka? - 4/19/2008 9:17:33 PM
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his_chosen
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I tried to use ABeca early on. My aunt had used it for both of my cousins. However, ds1 HATED it. He prefered more unstructured learning--not "school at home". Ds2 didn't like it either. Never tried with ds3 or ds4.
Ds1 is moving into more structured learning with high school. We have Bob Jones (from my aunt!), and ds1 likes it.
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You have a choice. You can throw in the towel or you can use it to wipe the sweat off your face.
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RE: Does anyone LIKE Abeka? - 4/21/2008 10:08:26 AM
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VisitorinWaiting
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Thanks for the responses. I have just heard people say that it's too much like ps, but without teaching in the way ps does. My main problem with ps is not the structure (I like structure)...it's what is taught/not taught that is the problem. I would suspect that is not a problem with Abeka since they are a Christian based company. I am glad to hear that some of you like it...I really think I will too, from what I've seen online and heard from my family... So glad though, to know that not everyone dislikes Abeka.
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Hebrews 11:13,16 "...They said they were like visitors and strangers on earth...they were waiting for a better country, a heavenly country." (NCV)
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RE: Does anyone LIKE Abeka? - 4/21/2008 10:12:42 AM
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PrincessDonna
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The too much like ps line probably just means it was too much book work for whoever said it. IME, Abeka (and Bob Jones) are both more accelerated and thorough than what I have seen and experienced with the public school. Abeka K5 seems to line up more with first grade in the public school Nick goes to.
_____________________________
<----We love you, Mom!!!
But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me.
~Psalm 13:5-6~
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RE: Does anyone LIKE Abeka? - 4/21/2008 7:44:00 PM
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karlie
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I think the reason it worked for us is our need/desire for structure and a plan. I was not one of those design-a curriculum-myself kind of moms. Nor was I creative enough to go textless and find alternative ways of teaching. I tried that for awhile(mainly from pressure from those kinds of moms in my hs group) and found I hated it, my kids were frustrated. It just didn't work for us. I needed and wanted a set structured curriculum with laid out lesson plans and specific goals. I had no problem adapting those for our own needs, and I did enjoy lots of supplemental programs that were unique and creative, but I like structure and steps, and lists, and Abeka gives that for sure! I did use other programs in place of Abeka for certain subjects in junior high and high school(like writing, Bible, and Math), but overall, that was the bulk of our curriculum. For my girls and their learning styles, and my own personality, it was great.
But, I definitely see how it can be less than appealing to those who are very creative and enjoy designing their own curriculum and unit studies.
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RE: Does anyone LIKE Abeka? - 4/21/2008 10:18:32 PM
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Karaboo2
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I liked it when I taught it in a private school ... and it worked quite well for my academically inclined daughter. It doesn't work so well with my son, who is much more of a hands-on kind of learner, simply because it does have the worksheet oriented approach.
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Kara
"I am not here. I am lost. I have gone to find myself. If I should get back before I return, please ask me to wait!"
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RE: Does anyone LIKE Abeka? - 4/22/2008 7:14:39 AM
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Calea37
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I do wish they didn't use all KJV of the Bible. They even use it in the language lessons and it sometimes makes it a little difficult for my son to pick out the parts of speech (although he has gotten more used to it).
< Message edited by Calea37 -- 4/22/2008 7:20:48 AM >
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Calea
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RE: Does anyone LIKE Abeka? - 4/23/2008 8:46:44 AM
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amybreit
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We used the full Abeka our 1st year of hsing (ds was in 1st grade). I was SO thankful for the lesson plan books & how it spelled everything out for me!! I don't think I would have made it through that 1st year w/o that! We still use Abeka math until Jr. High. Someone mentioned the lesson plan books maybe being more geared toward hsers now. I bought a used lesson plan book that wasn't the homeschool edition one year & it was definitely for the classroom (activities for a large group etc...). So, I just adapted those activities or skipped them!
For us, we find all the review in the math unnecessary. We skip activities in lessons & sections in the workbook pages. I must say it took me a while to get comfortable with doing that, because I kept thinking there must be a reason they teach it this way and repeat so much. I came to the conclusion that the reason is because it is geared toward a classroom setting (even though the lesson plan book may be geared to a homeschool, the workbooks are the same that the classrooms use). So, IMHO, some of it is "busy work". We have even combined lessons, so we move through it more quickly. My dd was having trouble with multiplication after our Christmas break. So, we took a break from Abeka (because she needed to focus on that exclusively) and now we are simply doing new concepts in each lesson with an abbreviated amount of the review thrown in. It is working for us.
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<------ Staci & Stoli, our k9 kids!
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RE: Does anyone LIKE Abeka? - 4/23/2008 10:14:28 AM
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judii1
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Ds wants to use Abeka when we homeschool for high school. I don't really like it but it's working for him. He has been using it at the Christian school. The school doesn't do any science experiments or diagramming, though. They also switch between Abeka and Bj for literature.
Has anyone ever tried this with Abeka? I want to set up our high school like a college. I mean do one grade level every 5-6 months so he would finish tenth grade by September 2009. Do any of you think this would be hard do?
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RE: Does anyone LIKE Abeka? - 4/23/2008 4:18:54 PM
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Calea37
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quote:
ORIGINAL: judii1
Has anyone ever tried this with Abeka? I want to set up our high school like a college. I mean do one grade level every 5-6 months so he would finish tenth grade by September 2009. Do any of you think this would be hard do?
Wow! I've never tried to do that; we have enough just finishing the year within the school year time frame! It seems like it would be an awful lot of information to try to cover.
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Calea
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RE: Does anyone LIKE Abeka? - 4/23/2008 4:22:40 PM
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PrincessDonna
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From: Cow country, Upstate NY
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quote:
Has anyone ever tried this with Abeka? I want to set up our high school like a college. I mean do one grade level every 5-6 months so he would finish tenth grade by September 2009. Do any of you think this would be hard do?
Knowing how difficult a curriculum Abeka is, the STUDENT (not the parent) would have be super motivated to make that work. I could have probably done it as a high schooler, or maybe three years over two years, but many kids could not.
_____________________________
<----We love you, Mom!!!
But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me.
~Psalm 13:5-6~
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RE: Does anyone LIKE Abeka? - 4/23/2008 4:23:39 PM
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Leslie35
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I can tell you that abeka is very well done. If you like it go for it. One thing that I had a problem with though is they assume you already know how to do the work. I lost count in the number of times Jack had problems and I did not know how to help him. Sure I had the answer book but they do not always show how they got that answer.
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If I speak with the tongues of angels and have not love I am nothing but a clanging symbol. ~Love is patient and kind, Love is not ill mannered or easily angered.
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RE: Does anyone LIKE Abeka? - 4/24/2008 9:14:11 AM
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Sunnymom
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quote:
ORIGINAL: judii1
Ds wants to use Abeka when we homeschool for high school. I don't really like it but it's working for him. He has been using it at the Christian school. The school doesn't do any science experiments or diagramming, though. They also switch between Abeka and Bj for literature.
Has anyone ever tried this with Abeka? I want to set up our high school like a college. I mean do one grade level every 5-6 months so he would finish tenth grade by September 2009. Do any of you think this would be hard do?
Because the first few chapters of most textbooks are review, you could probably accomplish this by having your kids take the chapter/section tests until they get to a test they can't pass easily. I have done this with Saxon to find where to start the kids each year.
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We have cut way back on that (to my son's GREAT relief!!) 
We aren't trying to get two years in one, but it would be nice to have the extra time! I'm going to do this next year. Thanks for the idea.