A Beka vs. A.C.E.
CAShank
I am going to start homeschooling my daughter in a couple of weeks. The
teachers told me that she is "too high maintainence" and they "just didn't
have the time to help her". I have been looking at both the A Beka and
the A.C.E. curriculum and would like to hear the pro's and con's from
people that are using them. My daughter is in the third grade and is
having difficulty in math, spelling and writing. She was considered an
"upper 2nd" grade reader. I would appreciate any information you can give
me.
Cindi
Golden, Colorado
Joe & Marilyn
I do not know about the rest of this group, but I use mostly Abeka! It
is easy to follow, and there approach is simple for children to
understand.
--
The 7 C's
Joe & Marilyn
A, B, C, D, & E
Alan & Susan Roby
Hi Cindi!
I helped teach Kindergarten in a Christian school a number of years ago
(before marriage and children) and the school used ABeka for the K-3
program and ACE for the 4-12 program.
The ABeka program was very interactive and included alot of teaching
methods in the manuals. The Kindergarten teacher (who I worked with) did
alter the speed that the program indicated because the children we were
working with needed a slower pace. But the books were colorful and the
teacher's manuals told the teacher every step of the way how to teach each
concept. In my opintion, ABeka is a solid textbook program.
A friend who currently uses ABeka has told me that the handwriting program
now teaches cursive beginning in Kindergarten. If that is something you
are not comfortable with, you could simply use a different handwriting
program (such as Christian Liberty or the Italic Handwriting Series, for
example).
The ACE program is set up as an independent learning environment. The
kids in this program spent all day sitting in their cubbies completing
workbooks. The teachers were trained to direct the student back to the
workbook if there was a question. They were not allowed to assist the
student in any other way, because (according to the program) that would
make the student dependent on teachers and unable to teach themselves.
If you choose ACE you will have to alter the program somewhat if she is,
as you say, "high maintenance." ACE is for schools who want to educate
the most children with the least staff. Home educators have that freedom,
just keep in mind that it will be necessary to use the program differently
than it was intended.
Susan
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alan & Susan Roby http://www.concentric.net/~robys/bsi.HTM
ro...@concentric.net
6ro...@worldnet.att.net
Richard Killey
In article <54gr4t$j...@newsbf02.news.aol.com>, cas...@aol.com says...
>
>I am going to start homeschooling my daughter in a couple of weeks.
>the A.C.E. curriculum and would like to hear the pro's and con's from
>people that are using them.
>Golden, Colorado
we just started our daughter (was considered a discipline problem at a
Christian school) and decided to go with Alpha and Omega. our
understanding is that A Beka is more textbook style whereas Alpha and Omega
is similar to ACE in that it has smaller work book units (10 per subject per
year) A Beka is probably the most expensive of the three if you get the
teacher guides.
richard
r...@awnet.com
STEDAR
Cindi,
I would suggest looking at a phonics program called "Writing Road to
Reading", by Romalda Bishop Spalding. There is also a supplement written
by Wanda Kennedy Sanseri entitled "Teaching Reading at Home". I am using
this phonics program with my high schooler, fourth grader, and
kindergardener. I began using this program with my five year old son on
August 12. At that time he had no reading ability at all. He now has
mastered a First Grade-ninth month spelling level. He is now beginning to
read Easy Readers. This program covers spelling instruction up to
Freshman Level in College. I highly recommed that you get supplement by
Wanda Sanseri with her phonics cards first. This is all you'll need to get
started. You won't need "WRR" for a few months. You can purchase this
curriculum through "Greater Christian Books" at a discount. Hope this
helps!
Darenda <><
Longview, Texas
Matthew Roy Osborn
cas...@aol.com (CAShank) wrote:
> I have been looking at both the A Beka and
>the A.C.E. curriculum and would like to hear the pro's and con's from
>people that are using them.
Without a whole lot of experience, I still want to say something good
about the A Beka books. Though we've had some of them (for 4th grade
and 7th grade) for only a few weeks, they seem great. The lessons are
clear, progress logically from one thing to the next, are
straightforward and seem easy to understand. They are *definitely*
far better than any books the public schools here had for our kids.
In fact, I wish *I'd* know the simple basics of the math that my
daughter is now learning!
Matthew
Dan MacWilliams
As an 11th grade homeschooler, I use BOTH ACE and a Beka. They are
both very good. ACE is being used for Chemistry [Science] and Algrebra
II [Math] this year. I've been able to pretty much be independent with
those. When I did all ACE in 5th grade, I found them boring in a way,
and a little condescending. (sp?)
As for A Beka, I use it for English and Social Studies. The books are
informative and full of great stuff! However, the work does get
complicated and hard with A Beka, at some points.
I would recommend some flexibility with both these curriculims, as
they are both very rigid in how they're trying to get the info across.
But let reiterate that they're both great bearers of education!
...............................................................
A new study states that students do better in school
when there is parental involvement. We knew THAT all along!
Samhill: Another Homeschooler's Place
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/3070
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