I am kinda new to this board so "hello." I have a dd who will be in 4th grade next year and I am seriously looking at Abeka. I have used a mix of different materials up to now and I don't feel it is working for her. I also have older sons and they like to be involved w/ picking certain subjects. They went to ps until middle school so I never had to deal with buying the elementary materials. I don't want my dd to miss anything and I think she will like the continuity of one program. Has anyone used Abeka's 4th grade year? What did you think? This year she is using a mix of McGraw-Hill (LA), SOS (Math & Sci), Critical Thinking,and Math-It. Next year I would like to start Saxon 5/4 with her, as we have had sucess with Saxon in the past. That is the only subject that I would considering subbing out. Before we started hsing, many people suggested that we try Abeka, but I didn't really look at it until recently. Any advice? Thanks

My dd will also be in 4th grade in the fall and she has used mainly ABeka since K-4. I must say I don't like the history curriculum as it has no depth whatsoever. The math is fine, but you will be using Saxon so scratch that. The science is very in depth (but I will be using a 1970's edition, so I don't know about the current one. I will only use ABeka next year in science as ahe is getting mighty bored with it. I am going to use ACSI for spelling and Bible, that much I know. I need a good in depth history curriculum for her, if anyone knows of one.

God Bless,
Mary

I teach 5th and 6th grade using the aBecka curriculum at a small Christian school, but next year I will be homeschooling my children instead. I too am looking around for the right curriculum. I can say that I definitely do find plusses with this curriculum.

Every year that I have taught, the majority of my students LOVE the history. I think it is very interesting and informative, but I wish it incorporated more in depth studies of cultures and helped develope critical thinking skills. I will say that the curriculum is intensive on learning quite a bit of geography that we adults have never been exposed to.

The science is really cool in my opinion. It has indepth study with awesome pictures, and it incorporates scripture to further explain controversial (worldly views) issues. The kids in all my classes have always been commended on science related field trips for their knowledge. If I could change anything, I suggest incorporating a science experiment kit. Hands on learning is important to keep the attention of kids.

We all find the Bible curriculum very satisfying. It has great stories with wonderful Bible memorization. I wish, however, it was a little more interactive and thought provoking.

My complaints are with the language and math. Since you are not considering math, I will not delve into that, but I find the same problem in both subjects. The language above all is way too advanced. This is a very aggressive curriculum with tricky wording and exception to the rule questions on tests. By sixth grade, the child has to write an indepth research report (I think this is great); know all state of being verbs, helping verbs, and linking verbs; know the correct verb usages (present, present participle....); know the difference between an adjective or an adverb; know a direct object, indirect object, predicate nominative, predicate adjective, and objects of prepostions; know all pronouns (nominative, objective, possessive, indefinite, demonstrative, and interagative); know how to diagram all this information; and they must know all underlining, hyphening, quotation, and comma rules. I think some of this is above many of the kid's comprehension level, but this is not my concern. I am bothered how fast these concepts are presented. Everyday there are one or two new concepts presented. It goes way too fast with little review and mastery.

One plus for sticking with this curriculum is that most Christian schools use this curriculum. If you ever decided to go the Christian school route, your children would have an easy transition and would be on level. I hope this didn't bore you and was informative.

In His Service,
Marcey

I love Abeka. I used it when I taught at a Christian school. Now I use it to home school. I like it because it reviews things. Some books go over a subject and then the kids never see it again and ofcourse forget it. Some say it is well advanced. The children I have taught had no trouble with it. It is colorful and fun. I don't even use the teachers books. Rose