Abeka is a LOT of busy work. It is also thorough. I used it for my first, who absolutely hated it. After about 5 months our first year we made a complete change. (I should mention that she went to private school K-2, where they used Abeka). I finally realized why she was not thriving in school. Abeka is not for every child. But, I did use the reading/phonics for my second when we started K with her. I knew it was good, and it gave her a good foundation.
It’s a great curriculum but not for children who need kinesthetic stimulation. It doesn’t have enough hands on learning for children who learn through this method. It’s great for homeschools that want to follow a school-at-home approach and use workbooks. It’s academically rigorous.
I love the K-2 math, language, reading, spelling. At about 3rd grade, the teacher help books seem to disappear and all that is available is answer keys. It seems they expect you to get the teaching DVD because there is this underlying tone that they don’t think parents can/should teach but the homeschool market is too lucrative to ignore, so they funnel you into needing the teaching dvds. Also, their sales reps never have the teacher books available to look at at conventions, so you don’t really know if you are getting what you need when you order. We don’t use any of it after 2nd grade because of these frustrations.
One last note, we found the scope too narrow and the sequence too fast in the math. Another reason we moved away from Abeka.
Grade levels used
preK
K
1
2
3
Pros
Colorful, spiral-method in math
Cons
Lack of teacher support in the teacher books after 2nd grade.
