Switching to Abeka- Our 6 Month Progress!

I started our homeschool journey when my oldest son started Kindergarten. Back then, school was simple. A school day looked like doing simple math problems with manipulatives and games, reading to him, and practicing writing letters and forming words. At his age, actual school work only took about 20 minutes a day, and the rest of the day we would spend playing, visiting a zoo or museum. Fast forward a couple of years, and I was trying to teach two grade-school children the important foundational subjects. Prior to this school year, we used a variety of different workbooks for different subjects. I didn’t have many teacher guides, a set curriculum to follow, or organization when it came to our homeschool setup. That may have worked for us for the first year of dipping our toes into the water of homeschooling, but I couldn’t help but feeling like I needed a better way to teach my children. Last year, I could see that my daughter (in 1st grade) was having a hard time with basic math concepts. She relied heavily on number lines and counting on her fingers to do even simple problems. My son (in 3rd grade) was really struggling with creative writing and reading. He was able to read just fine, but his reading comprehension was seriously lacking. My son would usually break down when faced with writing a story or composing sentences. I believe this was because there were major gaps in their workbooks and teaching with our hodgepodge of curriculum.

We needed a change!

I needed guidance and accountability. I needed organization as a teacher to be able to confidently give my children the best education possible. Last fall, I switched to using the Abeka Homeschool Curriculum for all of our school subjects. If I’m being totally honest, I was overwhelmed with all of the books, workbooks, and guides that came with each grade’s curriculum. It was a lot more than what we had been using previously! It only took us a few weeks to get used to the schedule and routine with our new workbooks. I could tell right away that Abeka’s curriculum was thorough- I knew that there wouldn’t be gaps in their learning!

There are a number of reasons why I appreciate having a more structured curriculum, but overall, I love that every subject and instruction is laid out and organized. I don’t have to wonder if my kids are lacking in a particular subject. Having the lessons already planned out for me helps me stay organized and brings me confidence as a teacher. I also love that the Abeka workbooks offer a variety of games and engaging activities that make learning fun!

We’ve been using the Abeka curriculum for 6 months now, and I have already seen such an improvement in my children’s learning! My son is not only reading all of the books involved with his curriculum, but he is reading books *for fun* in his free time! He is improving at being able to form thoughts and ideas into sentences and writing a story or paper. The Abeka curriculum does not lack a variety of writing opportunities for him! He also has plenty of practice with reading and reading comprehension with Abeka’s reading curriculum. I’m excited to see how much more he’ll improve with the months to come.

My daughter is also improving with her math skills! It was so hard to watch her frustrations with math problems at the beginning of the year. Now she’s starting to solve math problems in her head without using a number line or her fingers! I’m very impressed with her level of reading and phonics skills with the Abeka curriculum, and it is much more in-depth than the workbooks I used with my son at this grade level. I know she’s understanding important phonics rules now that will help her in the future.

Overall, I am so happy we switched to Abeka Homeschool! I feel so much more organized and prepared, and I know I’m providing a fantastic education for my children. I’m looking forward to seeing how much more they will improve over the months to come.