Changing Curriculum Mid Year | Have I Lost My Mind? | Language Arts Curriclum

Friends, please listen to the disclaimer at the beginning of the video. This video is about MY kids and their personal needs. Please don't get discouraged. That said, I was so nervous to record this video that I had to do it 3 times before I got the right take. Love you all.
Contact me: [e-mail]
My store: AmandasDesignerDecals.com
Follow Me: TheHandmadeHomeschooler on IG Disclaimer: My family receives a small commission sometimes when you purchase something I link in my description. I'll only link things I use and love myself. Thank you for your support!

[@mandy-maltz]

This is the most supportive group of homeschool moms ever. I feel like we need a facebook group or something to talk and chat! Thank you all SO MUCH for being so sweet and supportive. I really appreciate it.

[@nancyhansen7103]

If you create one I will join in a heartbeat ❤

[@OneBlessedMess]

I would so join this FB group! ❤

[@amandaotten768]

There’s nothing to apologize for when it comes to teaching your kids. That’s the awesome thing about homeschooling, getting to cater to our kids’ unique ways of learning. You’re doing great! 😁

[@carriebradshaw3299]

Hi. We use Moving Beyond the Page. It uses living books and it incorporates writing, grammar, etc. It’s very organized and works perfect without a lot of parent involvement. Look into it! We also use Writing Strands but once in a while as a group. And we also do Fix it Grammar as part of morning group. God Bless.

[@crystaljordan7318]

We are in the same boat! We switched from ABeka to MB this year. We are not loving the LLfaLE. I am so disappointed! I did so much research. I am at a loss where to turn... Thank you for making your honest videos! I am reassured in our experience. I was beginning to think I was "doing homeschool wrong" since our experience wasn't matching so many rave reviews of the things we've tried. I know every family is different. It is just hard when you are the mama feeling alone, overwhelmed and unsure what to do next. Praying your surgery is successful and brings relief. ❤

[@leahrumsey3021]

My oldest ( 8th grade) struggle with writing structure. He is an amazing speller and vocabulary. He is just not strong in writing structure. We switched to the Good and the Beautiful and its been a game changer for him. We like the way it breaks it down and every day he writes a little for an essay. It goes back and forth between Reading, Art, Geography and Language Arts all in one. Its truly has been a wonderful experience.

[@shawnajohnston5292]

Look into Logic of English. I’m amazed at how it is laid out. So many reasons of “why” answered. It’s phonics, spelling, writing and reading in one.

[@nancyhansen7103]

@Shawna Johnston, I just got off the phone with Logic of English. I was totally impressed with what they offer. In fact I could do it with my 4th and 10th grader. So far they are number one on my list to switch too.

[@mattwood2720]

The good and the beautiful!!! And you can try it for free!!

[@OneBlessedMess]

New subscriber here! I am praying for a speedy recovery from your surgery and that it helps!

[@mandy-maltz]

Thank you so very much, I really appreciate it! Thanks for subscribing

[@brittanym58]

Our favorites are Rod and Staff English, Easy Grammar, and living books and nonfiction for literature and history combined.

[@nancyhansen7103]

Mandy, I am so happy to see your beautiful face again. Praise the Lord for opening the new door to remedy your health situation. I will continue praying for you!!! Both my boys are struggling learners. My 4th grader does well with MB but, my 10th grader....well reading is a super struggle. We primarily use the MB for Astronomy and World Story 1 as read alouds for him. I am having a major battle with English for him too. Writing Strands did not work for him. I tried Time 4 Learning since November and he does not like it. I hope I can see other suggestions too but, we are in the same pickle. Next year, I want to combine American History for both kids and I can't make both levels work for my boys with MB. Therefore, next year I decided to do Beautiful Feet for American History and they are primarily living books too. Thank you for all your amazing videos and hope you have a Merry Christmas and blessed New Year.

[@elizabeth0265]

My daughter loves The Good and the Beautiful language arts! I didn't consider it at first because it is such a new curriculum but it turns out it is exactly what my daughter needs

[@lisamarieabbey3931]

Do what’s best for your kids. That’s why we homeschool, to cater to them.

[@linseyk5728]

I totally get it! We're always open to trying new things here. Have you thought about maybe breaking it up? For example, you could do Fix it! Grammar, Spelling You See, and IEW for writing (or any other combos!)

[@mandy-maltz]

Linsey K we just started IEW with my 3rd grader this week. We’ve been doing FIG since the beginning of the year and really like it. I wish I had started it a couple years ago. It’s fantastic!

[@christyfinley9099]

We switched to Masterbooks from Sonlight. Honestly, Sonlights Language Arts seemed lacking to me. Also, Sonlight is pretty time intensive that is one of the big reasons we switched. If your thinking of doing several cores plan on doing school 3-4 hours with each one which means 7-8 hours of school a day for YOU!!! I totally fell in love with the literature of Sonlight and the concept of learning through living books and I still have all my cores ( Preschool- F). We do a lot of their books for read alouds. So I still like Sonlight it’s just not my favorite language we have ever used and it’s very time intensive.

[@annek4093]

We love Sonlight! I do two cores since my kids are 4 years apart and I make it work! I do buy used when I can and that has worked just fine!

[@rusticheritagecrochet]

We used Sonlight this year and thought it would be perfect. The grammar was just too sparse and light, and the writing to vague. I know a lot of people love it, but for us it just wasn't what we needed. Made a change and it was a great fit. The Good & The Beautiful Language Arts has been the best for our family. SO incredibly good and rich learning. Very solid and gentle in the building of writing skills. We are Christians, and have not found anything objectionable in any of the levels, and I've used all of them from 3 through high school. I think I've used almost everything out there over our 15 years homeschooling. Definitely check them out! Best wishes on your choice and upcoming surgery. Praying for you! :)

[@proverbsacademy8189]

History & Literature: Sonlight (w/notebooking, narration, & lap books) - Language Arts: Abeka K-3 & BJU 3 & up - Math: CLE - Science: Apologia - Latin: Classical Academic Press - Memory Work: Classical Conversations. We also add in Nature Study (Charlotte Mason) & some Waldorf philosophies. This is our 7th year & although we've tried other curriculum, these are the ones we always come back to & currently use. :)

[@OFFTHEGRILL]

Great video. Thank you

[@whitney5581]

Hey!! Will be praying for a successful surgery and quick recovery. ♥️ We are also switching curriculum after Christmas and wanted to share with you what we will be using. It's called Gather Round Homeschool, it's new, released in August 2019 I believe. I'm not sure if you follow Rebecca Spooner, but she is the creator of this exciting curriculum. It's unit study style, which has never appealed to me in the past but seriously, Gather Round is a game changer. It's designed to teach multiple children at the SAME TIME. You read to them the lesson, then they have their own student workbooks to work through based on their grade/age. This curriculum is for pre-K all the way to highschool, and it covers ALL subjects except math. It's Charlotte Mason inspired and totally God breathed. Here is the website link to check out and get more information. Their is also free samples to try of the different units that have been released. A new unit comes out each month. I would also recommend joining the Gather Round Community Facebook group which is full of tons of information and reviews. Happy researching, hope you find something that's an amazing fit for your family. ♥️ gatherroundhomeschool.com/

[@nancyhansen7103]

I will be checking this out too!!

[@whitney5581]

@@nancyhansen7103 I am seriously so excited for January!! I feel this is going to give new life to our homeschool! ♥️

[@nancyhansen7103]

I will feel super excited when I can make a decision which way we will go, lol. I have written down everyone's suggestions and calling all one by one.

[@amies8203]

We've been using Gather Round since Thanksgiving and love it so much!!

[@whitney5581]

@@amies8203 that's great to hear!!

[@livinginhisgrace7520]

The struggle is real! I get that. One of my own was not a writer. I was trying different approaches and stumbled upon Charlotte Mason. Between narration, copywork, and dictation, we found the answer. You have to trust the process. The great thing is you can use her technique with any book. Keep using Masterbook books and CM style. We do.

[@bytesofmemory]

We use sonlight but not the LA program. It hasn't worked well for my son. Writing is not his strength either. What has worked for him is IEW student writing intensive, IEW Fix it Grammar, All About Spelling, and then discussing the books we read w/ sonlight and do those parts of it. I hope that helps you!

[@bytesofmemory]

We have liked it but I will not continue next year since I have used it for 3 years with a break in between year 2&3. I like the books but I like being able to pick other books.

[@valeriefletcher2719]

I use Sonlight - I run 2 guides at the same time. Sonlight H for my 7th grader and Sonlight D for my 4th graders. We love it! However, I will tell you that we've used Heart of Dakota and next year we're trying out Winter Promise. They're all Charlotte Mason inspired and honestly, we like them all! Sonlight's book are AMAZING! Really so many people use their book lists even if they don't purchase their curriculum. Just a heads up - I buy all my Sonlight on Ebay for MUCH cheaper. :) Good luck.

[@gbcflower]

Simply Grammar by Karen Andreola is a Charlotte Mason-inspired curriculum. The lessons are short and can be done with multiple children at a time. You might also look into Simply Charlotte Mason's Using Language Well and Spelling Wisdom, though I personally prefer Karen Andreola's book. I've gotten the most help from reading Ruth Beechick's book You Can Teach Your Child Successfully Grades 4-8. I also have two resources that I use as guides, Comprehensive Composition by Kathryn Stout and Learning Grammar Through Writing by Sarah M. Bell and James I Wheeler. Praying the Lord gives you some direction for school as well as complete healing for yourself. God bless.

[@erinwakefield4773]

I have an upcoming 1st and 3rd grader and am trying to figure out what I'm going to do for next school year. There's just so many options....I just want to say I have absolutely fallen in love with your videos!

[@mandy-maltz]

Thank you ❤️

[@homeschooledaroundtheworld4660]

IEW is the best curriculum for writing. I took me forever to accept that fact.

[@jodylund5477]

What is IEW?

[@TheHappyHomeschooler]

I know that this is older and you already went back to Abeka, however, I just wanted to say that I am a Sonlighter, and this year I'm doing Kindergarten through 7th grade. I personally love it, especially the living books. I do think that the LA program requires a lot of hands-on work for parents, particularly in the older grades. I think that LA in general requires more work than some of the other subjects. But maybe that's just my kids ;)

[@davidanddaniellebickley913]

We use and love Sonlight! If your kids are within a couple years of each other in grades, you can combine them. Because we love reading, it’s not time intensive. There have been times though, that we have skipped a book or two, and that was ok. The LA is not difficult or time consuming, but it is thorough. My children love Sonlight, and there is no planning on my part, and so it saves me a lot of time.

[@Nicole5681]

It’s great you are flexible. Have you looked into Learning Language Art through Literacy? It’s more living books, Charlotte Mason approach.

[@ashleygildea6519]

We love CLE, Christian Light Education. This is year 5 with them. You can always use CLE and add in livingbooks, too! It's similar to Abeka.

[@diaryofahomeschoolmama9191]

If you are on facebook, join the sonlight buy sell pages, theres always deals on there. Another option is ebay or buying the instructors guide from sonlight and then buying the books from thriftbooks or Ebay for cheaper.

[@diaryofahomeschoolmama9191]

You can honestly save a couple hundred buying just the instructors guide and finding the books needed used.

[@kathryngeerlings4283]

We had a similar experience with Masterbooks. We love Sonlight too. We combine BJU Press math and language arts and pair it with sonlight. Maybe you could do a hybrid of sonlight and Abeka. Excited to hear where you go with it! I don’t think you can go wrong with literature based learning. We are going to try beautiful feet books next year. Also, the good and the beautiful la is a great option too. Worth looking into.

[@gremlingrove1130]

My kids made leaps and bounds in writing using The Good and the Beautiful. I found it to be simple and straightforward with a little Charlotte Mason incorporated. I didn't follow the recommended schedule so it probably takes us 30min to complete a lesson. Some lessons I did stretch out so it was just one worksheet practice. The kids write so much better. After that one, I totally would go for Abeka and do my own thing with it (I don't really use the curriculum guides).

[@katherinehebding8005]

I love curriculum and have used a lot! I homeschool 4 kiddos. We love "Easy Grammar". It's very clear cut and so true to its name. For writing, for my 4th grader we're using " Daily 6 Trait Writing". It's very straight forward and little chunks of work every day. I have used Sonlight in the past and it's a lot of work with multiple kids. We still use their book lists though, along with a lot of masterbooks. Love your channel!!

[@mandy-maltz]

Thank you so much! That's so sweet of you. I'll look into these, they sound new to me :)

[@katherinehebding8005]

@@mandy-maltz also praying for your health and surgery to help heal you! Have a very merry Christmas!

[@queenpeach7865]

We were using Writers in Residence but we switch after Christmas to Writing Strands, lol but while working on the other I did a lot of research and found Hewitt Homeschooling which is a literature and writing curriculum, not a Christian one though. their website has been down now for a little while but they do have the list of curriculum they carry, and there is some YT videos out there too. Also Gather round looks awesome, haven't tried it yet because MB is working fine with us. I hope and pray your surgery is a success.

[@theunpolishedwife1226]

So we took the sonlight plunge this year. For history, science(hard pass for us), and Language arts. We too have been stealing book ideas for years. My 4th grader is rather gifted but extremely unmotivated as far as language arts go. For her sonlight language arts is a great fit. Lots of reading of good books. Light Grammer she takes to very easy, and inspiring writing prompts every week. Sparking the flame is what she really needed. Now my second grader Grammer and writing are her hardest subjects. It went too fast and asked too much, we switched her fast. They both use all about spelling though because I love solid phonics. My struggling girl is using my father's world language lessons for today now, it moves slower and is more repedative. They both still use the handwriting without tears though, we have used that for a couple years now. And my younger that had to stop sonlight language arts has read almost two years worth of their readers this year already. Lol they just have amazing books! Hopefully that helps somehow :) and prayers for your health struggles and surgery.

[@emt587]

I would suggest looking at Brave Writer! I use it in combination with Masterbooks

[@evabtz]

I just started to use Brave writer with masterbooks. It is great!

[@shinewithjoy2865]

I have language lessons and math lessons from masterbooks and we haven’t been a big fan of either. I’m fact I switched back to Abeka this year- they re did their K-3 curriculum and it’s much better now than in years past! So check out 3rd grade Abeka! Much more practice on grammar than masterbooks and my daughter is learning so much! I’m considering doing total language plus for my daughter who will be in 4th grade next year.

[@beckybean5498]

My daughter only made it through half of writing strands. It was not a good fit for her either. She's 11 & we backed down to LLFLE 5 & will be doing level 6 when it comes out. Idk what we'll do after that. Both of my kids enjoy LLFLE. I Love living books!! I looked into Sonlight too, but can't afford it. Hope you find a good fit. Just do lots of reading & copywork! Especially during this time, keep it simple!😁😘😉📚🥰

[@krosario3322]

Becky Bean My daughter did writing strands in 5th grade, made it 1/2 way through, and hated it. We picked it back up this year (7th grade). Now she loves it and breezes right through!! Sometimes it's just the timing, not the product. I have learned to hang on to books and bring them back out at later dates/or for a different child.

[@TheDailyConnoisseur]

I haven't even watched yet, but had to say that we are switching LA mid-year too so you are not alone :) Ok, now to watch xx

[@TheDailyConnoisseur]

So we are doing MFW world and I find it's not enough... so I was looking to switch to Master Books or kind of like you were thinking of going back to Abeka, I was strongly considering Christian Light Education, which I always loved but wasn't Charlotte Mason enough (well, not at all, haha!).

[@diaryofahomeschoolmama9191]

I say go for it with sonlight, if possible teach them together, they have 3 week samples on their site. We started the year with sonlight this year and then I switched to something else because I thought the grass would be greener. It wasn't, so we are back to sonlight next year. I wouldn't go back to abeka if you know it doesn't make you happy. Literature based is awesome, especially if it's how your kids learn best.

[@diaryofahomeschoolmama9191]

Another option, if you love a lot of the masterbooks bible stuff, maybe go with bookshark so you can add in your own bible stuff ;)

[@audreymcnair350]

Have you looked at Learning Language Arts Through Literature? We are using it this year and it's been so great! And so far, no diagramming 😂😂

[@tarar297]

Would you say Learning Language Arts Through Literature is too light? I'm worried it is for some reason.

[@marydarling6822]

Grammar Galaxy and Brave Writer seem like fun curriculum for reluctance writers (:

[@LearningPlantingGrowing]

We are using funschooling books from the thinking tree. In my humble opinion I dont think diagramming and heavy writing are necessary until upper middle school. Now since relaxing my little 7 year old boy actually asks to do school in his free time because he loves his minecraft funschooling journal. They read a variety of books that interest them and then write and draw about it. We also do the read aloud portion and anything else we want of one level of hear of dakota all together. They love that and ask for us to do it every day. I change things up as needed and I dont care what time of the year it is. Fo what you need to! Last year there were way too many tears with what I chose and so we dropped everything but math and started doing Passport to Adventures from the Waldock way using the Magic Treehouse books and calm happy learning restored lol. We still do units and they love it because mama even orders a game and some activities or plans online to add to it and they think it's a wonderful adventure. Some of our most treasured homeschool memories! Every family has a different recipe for what works!!

[@createdfororder6211]

I understand your struggle. I feel very much the same in regard to Abeka math. However as far as language arts, I recommend Brave Writer. It is so gentle, and they really stress the importance of the parent child relationship and building a lifestyle of writing. I’ll be honest, we used to use Abeka for everything, but starting in third grade, we switched to Brave Writer for language arts. I have never diagrammed a sentence, and I won’t! My son is learning to write by being immersed in good literature - and the Brave Writer curriculum helps us as parents to become our child’s writing coach. It is a program that I truly can build our own lessons using their ideas and materials. My only objection is that they do not have a spelling plan, they will however highlight usual spelling words within a writing passage. Check them out on KZbin.

[@tarar297]

I've tried to wrap my head around how brave writer does LA but I can't get a clear flowing picture. All I end up getting about is drinking tea while reading then the kids write in a notebook... 🤯

[@MrsBurnsfamily3]

It's so hard finding what works for you. I've been around the world and back with curriculums. I love Sonlight so much for certain things, but the LA was not right for us. I'm expecting baby #4 in 5 weeks or so and I just cannot continue schooling the way we have been. I just will not be able to devote the time required to school them that they need, and I'm not okay letting them slip backwards. We've changed curriculum too many times. So. I enrolled all 3 kids in Abeka Academy with the online streaming. I told myself I would never do Abeka because of all the critical reviews 😂 but it's what I need right now. And we are doing fine! We are doing independent study, and I do not require the amount of work they have in the curriculum, nor do I require them to watch every video or even finish every video we start. I feel like I've gained a ton of experience in knowing what we can and can't handle work load wise. Yes, their history is a bit weak, but I've learned how to fill in with living books which we will do. My kids are also surprisingly enjoying the "classroom" experience while maintaining freedom to take breaks and play as needed. And I'm crazy relieved that the teaching is no longer on my shoulders. The amount of curriculum we've abandoned mid-book is a little depressing. But it's also a blessing to throw off what isn't working 🤷🏼‍♀️ I really hope you find what will help you most during your recovery from surgery ❤️

[@seasonalliving2881]

I made a very similar video recently. We switched some major curriculum too. You are not alone friend! I have a second grader. For Language Arts, we use All About Reading for Reading, TPT for spelling, LLFALE for grammar, and for writing we actually use two curriculum-People and Places by IEW and Writing with Ease by Well Trained Mind. Writing with ease is based on living books do you may enjoy it too. Prayers for you wellness and your homeschool! 💕

[@nancyhansen7103]

@Seasonal Living, would any of those that you listed work for my son who is a 10th grader but, working at a Jr. High level?

[@seasonalliving2881]

Nancy Hansen the only one I know of that has a jr high level is IEW...Institute of Excellence in Writing. But I would definitely check out each of these curriculums websites just to be sure. 🤓

[@nancyhansen7103]

@@seasonalliving2881 thank you

[@mommyscribbles]

If you look at grace and grit on KZbin she has used sonlight in the past for her homeschool. Maybe you can contact her.

[@anachildress7169]

She's using the good and the beautiful for everything except math 🙂

[@Rofamily6]

Try The Good And The Beautiful!

[@numbersandstars]

Logic of English is amazing!

[@audraosborn7516]

HEART OF DAKOTA

[@mandersdaro8136]

We started using MB a couple months ago. But I'm thinking I will go back to abeka for Lang. Arts. I grew up with Abeka and learned so much with them. It does get tedious though. Very tedious.

[@heidi6544]

I'm switching up our spelling curriculum after Christmas break. If you don't like something its ok to change it up!

[@merasorash]

Hi! I was just wondering how you curriculum change has worked out. Any regrets or anything you miss about masterbooks?

[@EducationalRoots]

I don’t know that you’ll like Sonlight language arts if you don’t like MB language arts. They’re both “gentle” and do a lot of copywork and narration and things...they’re similar IMO. If you like ABeka without all the “stuff” you might want to look into IEW.

[@BarbaraF272]

I am a new homeschool mum starting this August 2020, would you please let me know what IEW stands for. I am reading through the comment section for additional ideas.Thanks a lot in advance!!

[@thewoodhouse6291]

Brave Writer ❤

[@ACole-el6hq]

Look into A.C.E. curriculum

[@tinaducharme3001]

My daughter doesn't enjoy writing strands either. She is 11. I'd love to hear what you discover in the next step of your journey.

[@lindsayglover8282]

For us, my kids don't like the Language Lessons. We bought them in hopes to streamline it all into one thing. Unfortunately, it has not been a fit. My kids don't re for learning spelling the way that it teaches it, the writing aspect is remedial for what they're used to, and overall just not a good fit. They love the story and the different studies that start each week but that's about it. We consider ourselves to be very eclectic homeschoolers because we use whatever works for our kids' learning styles. All that to say what we do use and love. Language Arts can be broken down into four main areas of study, 1)Reading, 2)Writing, 3)Spelling, and 4)Penmanship. Here are our choices... 1) We use a lot of books from MasterBooks as well as the A Reason For Guided Reading readers. We're going to be adding more reading as we go along but our history is with Beautiful Feet Books which is literature based so they have the Early American books as well as the Character Development books. (Seriously if you haven't checked them out, you totally should!!!) 2) For Writing we use IEW. Hands down most amazing and thorough writing curriculum we've used. We used the PAL program for reading and writing when they were first learning how to read and write and it is such an underrated K-2 curriculum. My kids' reading comprehension and writing skills far exceed grade level because they have such a firm base. 3) I believe you have spelling covered with Spelling You See but we use and love All About Spelling. 4) For penmanship, we love A Reason For Handwriting which you already use!!! At the end of the day, the most important thing is that you listen to what your kids come to you with and have validated their concerns by doing so. You are doing a wonderful job and I think its fantastic that you come with your raw honesty. Healing prayers and prayers of guidance as you journey into looking for a better fit.

[@mandy-maltz]

Thank you so very much. I just started my 9 ear old on IEW this week and he seems to like it. I remembered I had it put back from my oldest several years ago. I'm using that for now, I'm not sure if I'll add something else to it or not. I can't seem to decide. It's the great curriculum debate!