# Reviews on Abeka Video



## mommathea (May 27, 2009)

I was looking yesterday at a flier that was talking about the school videos and am looking for any reviews - especially for the 4th grade for next year. While I didn't love the 3rd grade mathbook, we've done good with all of the other subjects. 

It's for an 8yr old boy (won't be 9 till December) He is VERY smart, and needs constant challenge and nudging to get him to do his work.


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## kinderfeld (Jan 29, 2006)

Abeka is what I am using for my son. It is my second year using it. We don't use the video's though bc I'd rather teach him vs someone else. My son just turned 6 and in 1st grade. Abeka is good for him bc it is advanced of public schools by 2 years (i have been told and has proven to be accurate). It is also a college prep program. 

Now, that being said, I have a problem keeping his attention. Then I also have to consider his age and that he is a boy. After reading a few books I have learned that boys just are not made to sit for long periods of time. They are to energetic. So for every hour he gets a 15 minute break. The Abeka repeats a lot. He finds it boring. I have to constantly remind him to stay on task as well. He would rather be playing. I have been told KONOS is good for hands on learning and energetic boys but I don't like it. So I have stuck with the abeka for now. 

I don't know anyone who uses the abeka video's or I would ask them for you. If I remember correctly the last materials display I went to had a video sample you could look at.


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## mommathea (May 27, 2009)

Thanks. Yea, it was the repetition of the Abeka that is killing him. Halfway through this year I ordered Rod&Staff Math, which I think teaches the basics better than Abeka, but still so much repetition. I only have him do 1/4- 1/3 of the lesson. I was just wondering if the electronic/tv/video part of it would help encourage him to stay focused on what needs to be done.


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## jamala (May 4, 2007)

I have taught in public schools and now homeschool my 3 ages 6, 13, 16. Abeka is advanced but VERY boring there are much better choices in my opinion. I like horizon for younger math and teaching textbooks for older math. I have also used saxon for math. I also like apologia for science, it is challenging to all ages. Easy Grammar is a great grammar program and wordly wise is also great for vocabulary/spelling. I also enjoy time4writing.com it is a great class for writing/mechanics/grammar.

We used Abeka our first 2 years homeschooling and the kids were bored with it. The videos are even more boring than the text and are very "dated". They really need to update the material and videos.


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## mommathea (May 27, 2009)

Thanks Jamala.

He's at a 6-7th grade reading/comprehension level, and a 5th grade spelling, and he whizzed by 3rd grade English/grammar. He completely finished Abeka Language3 in 3 months, and now is going through Rod and Staff3- we're skipping through the books hitting on things that I feel is important, and not bogging down in the basics. 
He's a very brilliant student, he's officially a year ahead in school, and because of his comprehension I'm going to have him do 5th grade history and science type work next year. He LOVES the mystery and the story detail combined with facts in history and science and thrives on it

I just struggle with motivating him and keeping him focused on math (Which he is good at but doesn't want to do the work, and instead would sit at a desk and stare at the wall for 8hrs). We've taken to doing most of his math on a white board or orally just so I know he's keeping up, and so he'll actually do some work. If I sit right beside him or if He had 10min before Daddy gets home from work and expects his school to be done, he can do his whole assignment in those 10min with every single answer correct. 

I guess if I could find a math curriculum that is all story problems he'd do great 

I'm going to the regional curriculum fair next week so I'll just have to do a little exploring with some of the curriculum that I'm not familiar with.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

I personally would put him in Saxon 5/6. He is too advanced for the lower levels, and it would be challenging and fun after Abeka. You could stretch the book out by doing every other day problems, you know even the first day then odd the second, on each assignment. Or do 15 a day or whatever. That way you don't have to worry about it being too advanced too quickly. Plus Saxon is circular review which is just the best way to learn and relearn math. If boredom is a problem, then get the game Math It. It is worth every penny. Just find an old book online used to buy, but use your cash on the game.
http://rainbowresource.com/products/001063.jpg

As far as History, I personally don't like Abeka 4, but Abeka 3 is great because of the biographies. Honestly, we mainly read stories set in different times, then looked up facts on the times like the 30s being the Depression. We kept everything on a timeline, and did projects for everything. Our timeline was kind of neat because my kids collected pennies from years in that time zone too. Of course you can't collect pennies from ancient history or from world history, but the kids did collect foreign coins to go with other nations. I think learning should be fun, so it will be retained, so I wasn't a big textbook fan. I am a big fan of historical unit studies using books about those time periods.

R/S science 4 and 5 are plain, but really nice because they cover the entire animal kingdom. My kids loved the one with Mammals in it which I think was 4? You would have to look them up to be sure. We did extra reports and things on different animals while we read the book though. I'm not a text book fan so much, but doing a project on different animals was fun.

This is just my personal opinion, but above all else, I would encourage learning to be fun not boring seat work. No kid should have to sit for 8 hours a day pouting over a math assignment. Especially if you can find an alternative way to do it with a game like Math It or a computer game or perhaps by creating a cottage business where he could figure profits, losses, prices, and have fun doing it while making some money. There are lots of fun ways to learn. Sitting in a corner pouting isn't one of them.


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## jamala (May 4, 2007)

I have the saxon 5/6 with the DIVE cd, It is the entire homeschool kit in excellent condition. PM me if you are interested in it. I am asking $50.


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