I don't know about you, but I feel like we did not get a summer. It seemed like we got a lot of rain, and the temps were pretty low.
Maddy started her first week of school on July 31. Our goal is to be done before public-school kids. This year we are actually getting done about two weeks later than usual, but neither of us wanted to start any earlier.
We chose to try Abeka's homeschool video streaming this year. After the first day I had a lot of thoughts. Some good some not so good.
The videos are amazing. The teachers do a phenomenal job teaching and engaging the video students. The curriculum itself is very rigorous.
The main reason we switched to video streaming is because my job has become a lot more demanding than past years, and I needed something she could take charge of. With this new curriculum she is able to take charge for the most part.
The problem is the way the curriculum is designed. It is set up like a public school, and we both dislike that a lot. Before each video there is some classwork assigned. The video does not tell the students to do the work, but only checks the answers. Before she starts each video, I have to tell her what to do before turning on the video and then she can take it from there. The videos are about 40-45 minutes long. Once the video is done homework is assigned. I don't feel homework should be assigned in a homeschool curriculum. I mean technically everything she does is homework. I would like to see Abeka redesign the homeschool curriculum to be more in line with homeschool, not public school.
One thing I do like about the curriculum is I feel it will adequately prepare her for college. Her grades come from quizzes, tests/exams, and projects. She is not used to having so many tests, but I am seeing a huge improvement in her learning. The material that is covered is extremely difficult. Hearing her answer the teacher's questions as they review each day makes this mama proud.
I am trying to figure out what we can cut out because the workload is not necessary. So far, we have only cut out one book for literature. I've been able to cut out some of the homework.
She is on her fourth week of school now and is starting to adjust more and more. She is struggling to remember everything in history, but I know she will pull through just fine.
We will probably stick with Abeka throughout high school. I do not want to trial and error through those years. Abeka is a lot to handle, but I think she will learn what she needs to in order to succeed in life. I hope to do an unboxing next year, so stay tuned!
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