Homeschool World Forum

[Jen76]

Hi i was wonder is this a good curriculum i plan on buy it but I would like to hear from you all thanx so much for you time. Jen
http://www.robinsoncurriculum.com/view/rc/s31p45.htm
plz could anyone give me input on this curriculum if you use it and love it or if not thanx so much

[Randigale]

Let me start by saying that I purchased A2, not Robinson. They use the same method and similar book lists, so I feel like I can answer your question, but I just wanted to give you that little disclaimer.

Personally, I was not happy with it. My daughter reads above her level, but the books recommended for her age had so many words that she didn't understand that it took her from loving reading to not wanting to read at all. I don't know which books Robinson uses for history, but if they are anything like A2's, they aren't good. They are classic and written well with wonderful use of language but they aren't historically accurate. For example, in her biography of George Washington was the story of the cherry tree written as if it actually happened!

While the use of language in older books is wonderful, I think it is important to remember that our children do not live in the 1800's. There were several times when I had to explain what was meant by something because it was written in language that we no longer use or that we use differently. I vaguely remember a moment when she asked me what "gay" means and I started explaining to her about her aunt Patty when, in the context of her book, it meant "happy". Plus, I believe that sticking solely with older books is the equivalent of missing out on the wealth of great books which are more recent.

Robinson says that you should use Saxon Math, which sounds great to me. A2, however, comes with a math book which I was not happy with. It "explained" everything in a language that should be reserved for people who already understand the material.

Robinson also recommends that you not teach science at a young age, and his kids did great with that, however, his kids grew up in a very science rich environment and in the country where they could easily explore. My kids live in an apartment in Buffalo. A2 gave me a list of material to cover during the year and I got books and experiments based on that list and was pretty happy doing that. Robinson offers no such list, which might not matter to you. Here in NY, it is important that I have good guidelines because my county wants to know EVERYTHING I intend to cover.

All that being said, I have friends who use Robinson and love it. I also know people who use A2 and love it. If at all possible, I would recommend that you purchase Robinson for use during the summer and, if you don't like it, you can keep it as supplemental material and purchase something different when the next year begins. I bought A2 in January to use for the remainder of this year. It got me by, but next year I will not use it as my main curriculum.

The most important thing with Robinson/A2 seems to be self teaching and learning through literature. I have some thoughts on those things which I will gladly share at your request.

Randi

[Jen76]

thanx for your input after looking into it more my hubby and myself have decided that its not for us we are now thinking about going with LifePacs it looks like the right stuff for us but thanx again for your input

Jen:)