Abeka Vs. Masterbooks | Pros and Cons
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- Опубліковано 25 лип 2024
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Both of these Christian based curricula can work for your family! Here are the pros and cons of each!
ReadAloudRevival.com
Great review!
Got the points. Masterbooks affordable and simple
Thanks bunches ! Just doing my preliminary research into homeschool , curriculums , styles , pros and cons , etc. So much great info here . Concise and yet full of explanation. And conspicuously lacking in an certain pattern I have noticed in this genre of videos... No overly disclaimer filled , apology laden messages . This is refreshing .
This means so much. Thank you! I started this channel to help people. It means so much to hear that it is:) Thank you for taking the time to tell me this.
Thank you for taking the time to make this comparison video! It was very helpful. And thank you for mentioning the read aloud resource as well. I had never heard of that before. This was very timely! Thank you again!
I hope Masterbooks is still working well for your family!😊
I'm so happy this was helpful for you! Thanks for comment! Yes, I am LOVING Master Books. It is peaceful.
Very helpful video, thanks so much!!
I'm so glad!
This is so helpful! I’m a former public school teacher turned homeschool mom. Thanks!!
Yes! It's so interesting to have the perspective of large classrooms versus homeschool:)
I use masterbooks as well and one thing with the spelling portion is that in the back of book it explains their ideas behind it and ideas to make it unique to the child. Same thing with why they don’t have a reading list to go along with the workbooks. They wanted to leave it to each family to choose. I highly recommend the master books UA-cam channel because they really explain their heart and desire behind creating the programs. A lot of good info. Thank you.
Yes!! I'll check out their channel! I do love the room they leave to create:) Thank you!
I really like how you present your review and comparison. Thank you so much, and may God bless you 🥰
Thank you! I appreciate that so much:)
This video is soooo helpful! We are switching to Master Books from Abeka because its wayyy to much work and im so relieved im not the only one who feels that way.
Oh yes! Whew! I felt like Abeka didn't leave room for any creativity on my part. Masterbooks keeps me on target, but there is plenty of opportunity for fun:)
We are doing the same for LA the math we can manage but LA is WAY too much work for my daughter.
I am a former public school teacher too, and we used Abeka this year for my first grader. There have been times when my daughter and I have been overwhelmed with the amount of worksheets. I have been looking into Masterbooks to see if that might be conducive to our family dynamic. Thank you for a wonderful review! I love the details of Abeka, but not the volume of work. We’ve had too many meltdowns over it! Thanks for the reminder to choose what is good for your family…I also like picking and choosing between different curriculums. I feel much more informed now! 😊
I really hope it was helpful! Thank you for this comment and for watching:).
Super helpful. Thank you💖
Oh I'm so glad!!!
Thank you for this review! I hear so many mix reviews but to eaches own. I have a kinder and 1st grader both doing level 1 for math and language arts from masterbooks. We are breezing through the math. A lot of review for my first grader but I can tell he is a lot more confident. Starting the literature arts after doing foundation phonics. Looking forward to diving in! Looks fantastic!
You're welcome! Masterbooks just came out with a math practice book, too! I'm doing a flip through of this next week. I need to check out the foundation phonics for my youngest. Do you like it?
@@LoveThemWell Foundation phonics was a review for both my children. It doubled up as our Bible study. And we paired it with corresponding Superbook episodes. It made it fun and enjoyable. I read a lot of reviews for Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons which seems to be more in depth. I often wondered if I should had done that instead. But we were fine and Foundation Phonics did the job. After we were done we started using the mcgruffy original electric pictorial primer from mott media along with Sherry Hayes Lesson book 1 to help build a stronger foundation before we start LAFALE 1. I love the mcguffy readers. Short sweet reading lessons.
I love your approach!
Thank you!!
I just love Masterbooks!! I do it with my 4 kids and it's so great!
Yes! The more curriculum I look at, the more I appreciate the simplicity of Master Books!
Hey! 1st - on a laptop, sound is good! 2nd - tx for this. I went MB as opposed the Abeka and I appreciate the affirmation. Have a great day
Oh good!! Thanks for the comment! Have a wonderful school year!!
Thanks for the video!
Aww you're welcome! Thanks for watching:)
Lindsey, I am so happy I came across your channel yesterday. I am a mom of two kids ages 4 (almost 5) and 2. This is our first year homeschooling and we are loving it so much, we plan to continue for the years to come. Your sweet nature and teaching style is so similar to mine. We are using Abeka’s K4 program this year because I really just did not know where to start. We are really enjoying it and my daughter is thriving, but after doing so much research on curriculums, I also love Masterbooks. I already have their kindergarten and first grade bundles on my shelf. 🙈 But I have been trying to figure out which way to go and if there is some way to use bits and pieces of both. I love your suggestions, and love to see that someone like you CAN use both of these curriculums in still a Charlotte Mason, relaxed way. I also am a member of Read Aloud Revival Premium and it has totally shaped my homeschooling ideas and encourages me daily! Right now in our homeschool, we just check out so many of the books on RAR’s book list, “A Year in Picture Books” each month and just read all the time. Along with doing Abeka’s K4 as our pace and enjoyment allows. I am planning to continue Abeka for K5, but also have the Masterbook Foundations Phonics course book that I am interested to work through. Now I am rambling, but just wanted to stop in and say thank you for your videos. I am inspired by you and thankful to finally find another mom with such similar homeschooling ways and ideas as myself. ❤️
Oh my goodness, this makes me so happy!!! Thank you for your comment! I'm curious about that Masterbooks Foundations Phonics book! When I first used Masterbooks a few years ago, I think they only had math. I'm looking into what I can do for my 4 year old next year. We really did love Abeka for Kindergarten:) And "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons." RAR is such a good investment! Did you do the Christmas Mommy Meetup online? I felt like I was going to a party haha! Keep in touch! I'd love to hear how things are going! Merry Christmas:)
@@LoveThemWell No I was not able to attend the Christmas Mom meetup because I was putting kiddos to bed! I wanted to attend. We are doing RAR Christmas School this year and are loving it. I’ll let you know how the Foundation Phonics book goes. I think MB’s Simply K book and Math K would be perfect for 4/5 year old if he is ready. If we would not have already gotten into the groove of Abeka K4, I would have just done those two books for K4.
Thank you. I soo love mastetbooks science. Doing Highschool
I have to check out some of their other curriculum besides the LA and Math!
Great video
One child we started with MB and switched to Abeka
Another still using MB
Another perk of HS is being able to tailor to your CHILDS education
Thank you! That's really kind! And yes, it is so nice to be able to teach my kids with different types of curriculum that work for their specific needs.
I have used Masterbooks for 4 years and am teaching 3rd and 1st grade. We are still living it and they are flourishing! It's a gentle start but it's actually working really well!
We had to do the state test and my 3rd grader did amazing! I would NOT say that it's a level behind at all...
The spelling words are for 1 week. The same ones and review on Friday we do a review... I add on words he finds hard to remember from the week before...
This is such good information! Thank you!!
Wow thank you!!!!
I hope it's helpful! Thanks for commenting!
My duahter has used Abeka from K4 to 2nd grade. We switched to Masterbooks this year and although she is doing well, I feel that I am struggling. Hoping “it’s enough” since it doesn’t have as much repetition or practice. I’ve been looking at TGATB as well. It seems like a mix of more structured lessons like Abeka but in a more gentle Masterbooks way. It’s hard to figure out what I like. I appreciate your take! Makes me feel a little better about letting go of Abeka.
I'll have to check that out! Master Books just came out with a new practice book for math and I'm doing a flip through of this next week! I hope it helps! I am always wondering if I'm doing enough. I think it's part of the gig:)
Thank you!
Oh you are so welcome! I hope it helps:)
We use Master Books MLFLE to review concepts learned in Life of Fred elementary math. We also use the "Let's Talk Science" and "God's Design" science books from Master Books. LOVE them!
This is so good to know! Thank you!!
I went through Abeka starting in 4th grade thru 12th. Even attended PCC for 4yrs. I have BAGGAGE. Abeka baggage. Lol. Million and millions of math problems. Lol. My mom told me I got worse the more I did so she circle only the odd or even problems. Lol. I use Masterbooks for my two kids. I did buy the Practice Makes Perfect math books as extra. Only one of my kids really needs the extra practice when it comes to math. I also got a mini chalk board for alphabet or number writing practice for those early years. It’s been a huge help. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law are both private school teachers. They are both amazed at what my kids are learning and that they are indeed learning it via Masterbooks.
This is so helpful! Thank you for sharing this! I was not homeschooled so it was all trial and error. Masterbooks was awesome! It's so fun! Happy Spring!
we also use a grade level ahead in these programs, it seems to be much closer to grade skill in doing so 😊
Thank you for this comment! It's so helpful to hear how other feel about this:)
I've been contemplating trying out Masterbooks. Right now I use Abeka as a basis for math. I'm just trying to see what would be the best fit for right now since we are in the stage of building a good foundation.
Abeka is so thorough. I love that. Masterbooks has been fun as a breather, ha! Because Abeka did overwhelm me a bit. But I think it's such a good foundation!
@@LoveThemWell
As a teacher, what do you feel is more age appropriate? Enough without being too much. So much curriculum out there I get so overwhelmed.
@@amypacholski7199 I think Master Books is a very gentle approach. It's not overwhelming. Abeka overwhelmed me as we got into 3rd grade. I hope this helps!
My 6 year old is homeschooled and has just completed kindergarten. I used different workbooks that were kind of an all in one (reading, writing, math, language arts) First book was I picked up was called the BIG Kindergarten workbook and he breezed through! Second workbook was Scholastic kindergarten workbook and I felt it was a tad bit more thorough and he pretty much breezed through that as well. I wanted a gentle approach starting out because I was brand new to homeschooling and he's also just starting. However, I always questioned myself, wondering if the curriculum I provided was enough. I feel like Abeka would be a good fit for him, more challenging. Thank you.
Abeka is definitely challenging, but you can always make it less so by just not making him finish every page. I really think Abeka is great for the younger grades!
I used Abeka and yes over whelming. It’s meant as a classroom setting however you can fit it to your needs but it is wayyyy too much book work and not necessary in my opinion. I use master books and the good and beautiful because I love them both and to me they compliment each other and master books is so gentle and bonus for me is I love the Bible in it! The picture study is even bible and my daughter likes the picture study. I know all kids learn differently:) but as a parent we teach too and I know it will have to cater to our needs as well. I’ve been stressed for three years with shook and trying to figure it out. I think I’m starting to now:) I pray masterbooks works for you and your children! 🙏
Thank you for this comment! I think it's so valuable! Yes, I do think Abeka was meant for a classroom setting. I'm so thankful there are so many more resources out these days so we can really cater to our children's needs.
I am a former educator as well, but at the pre-k level. I am currently in a masters program for early childhood. I am also struggling with finding a good curriculum for when my daughter 93.5 years old) is officially kindergarten age. She is somewhat advanced in a lot of areas already, but she is also super independent. I want to challenge her with new concepts, but not overwhelm her with busy work. I had planned to do Abeka because I know it is a bit advanced and it what I used in school, but I worry that she may rebel against the busy work.
Hi! At the kindergarten level, I felt like it was perfect. Didn't feel like any of it was busy work. But I've been looking into The Good and the Beautiful and it seems to be on par with Abeka academia wise, but maybe more engaging?
@@LoveThemWell Thank you for your reply. And also my daughter is not 93.5 years old LOL! 3.5. Had to LOL at that.
I found though that Masterbooks is not as far along as Abeka. My 7yo did Abeka math 1 and he did about 40 pages of level 2 in masterbooks math and he's ready for masterbooks level 3 or Abeka level 2. I think math catches up about 4th or 5th grade but my oldest son did grades 4 & 5 in masterbooks and he did level 6 math by 1/2 way thru his 5th grade year before going back to public school and he was on target for mid grade 5. I agree its behind at least in the lower levels. We did abeka language 1 and we ran into the problem of too many worksheets to do in abeka and my son didnt like that but we are also doing level 2 language in masterbooks before he reaches 2nd grade. I do like the abeka spelling also
Yes, I like Abeka spelling. I have noticed that the end of Level 3 in Maseterbooks is becoming more thorough, which is good. I haven't looked at level 4 yet. Yes, so many worksheets with Abeka...didn't give me a chance to add in extra, more fun things.
This is why I want to switch to masterbooks. They will get the basics and I will get flexibility.
Yes, it has served that exact purpose for me! Basics and flexibility.
Thanks for the vid! Do you feel like the grammar for the beginning grades as they are learning to read is enough with MB? I did kinder with Abeka and doing 1st with MB and am worried it isn’t Ingraining it into him enough
Hello! Sorry I'm just now seeing this! I skipped the 1st grade book with my first grader because I was worried about that. And I also made a chart for any information we learned so we could go over it every few days. Just to keep concepts fresh. I hope that helps!! Thanks for watching and for the comment!
I am using Masterbooks, I love it for a lot of reasons, but I have found that I don’t feel like it gives enough instruction or examples when teaching a concept. One big example right now is my 12 year old (struggled with reading, and LA) is on level 4, and he needs more help understanding verbs and all that. As a mom that has a chronic illness and 6 children to manage I find it hard to find more resources to help him.. though at heart I love to do it. It takes me forever to find worksheets to print.. and it may not be exactly on the same exact part of teaching he is on In the book.. idk if that makes sense. Have any advice? I’m thinking of supplementing with an online program like time4learning and see if that helps. Thanks
This video is having issues, including just now getting this comment! I'm so sorry! Yes, this definitely needs supplements. They finally have a new workbook out for math! So that has been helpful! And then for language arts, we make anchor charts on what they're learning so we can review the concepts.
Did you find Abeka k5 prepared your child for level 2 language Masterbooks or is your child ahead in reading?
I loved your video and have a similar teaching style!
Oh thank you! So, I did feel that Abeka K5 did prepare for level 2 of masterbooks language. But I also did "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" during Abeka K5 and I do believe that book helped him become the reader he is right now! He is a great reader. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions:)
Thanks for the tip about going a level ahead in math! I’m considering pulling my kids from their private Christian school who uses Abeka. Will Masterbooks likely be a good one to transition to? I like what I see on their site. I’m definitely nervous but if this is what God is indeed leading us to do I feel like Masterbooks is more where we’d turn. Abeka is great but like you said it’s A LOT
I went through private school (used Abeka), public school, and was homeschooled growing up (used accredited Abeka). I also attended PCC for my 4yr degree.
Now that I have 5&3yr old kids, I use Masterbooks. However, I homeschool with the mindset that I’m NOT pushing my kids through a grade as fast as I can (aka.stick to the schedule), instead, we’ve decided to have the mindset that we are preparing them for the future. If my 3yr old doesn’t understand the ABC’s, then we pause and do more practice on each letter. A mini chalk board comes in handy for that. If my 5yr old needs more math help, there’s the Practice makes Perfect book Masterbooks sells but also, I can supplement with other things around my house (dried beans). Usborne’s My First Reading Library and Bob Books have been blessings to help my 5yr old become comfortable in reading. I haven’t heard of a “1 book is all you need” curriculum. Masterbooks doesn’t have a child do hundreds of addition problems like Abeka had us do, but Masterbooks does feel waaay more real life…more applicable to the world around them. My spouse was unschooled, homeschooled, and did Saxton math. My spouse also got a 4yr degree at PCC. We both really like Masterbook. I would highly recommend it. It might be worth trying their God’s Design #1 over the summer. See if you like it, just as an example.
BTW, I don’t hate Abeka. Lol
Sorry I am just seeing this! What did you wind up doing? These days, I hear great things about The Good and the Beautiful curriculum.
Abeka is about half to one year ahead of grade level. Skip the teacher manuals because they are expensive and not necessary.
Agree! Thank you!
Hello! I’m a first time homeschooling mom, I’ll have a 3rd and 6th grader, I want to make sure they’re learning enough with Masterbooks do you recommend supplementing with anything or this curriculum enough as is?
Hello! Yes, I definitely supplemented this with things from teachers pay teachers. Have you already purchased it? If not, have you checked out The Good and the Beautiful? I have friends using their new stuff and they are raving about it. And you don't have to supplement it.
Just started this year with Abeka coming from public school. Same grades as yourself. It's weird that they expect a new 6th grader to know cursive penmanship, certain math and Language
Do you feel as though you can transition from Abeka to Masterbooks Language on level? For example, my daughter has been at a Christian School using Abeka and we're transiting to homeschooling- I'm interested in using Masterbooks for language and wondering if I can just stay on level. I ask because you reference Abeka being above grade level in some cases.
I am so sorry I'm just now seeing this! Were you able to get your question answered?
My kids use Abeka in a Christian school now and the math teachers do exactly that lol...they circle only about half the problems for homework.
Ok, this is so good to know! I just can't imagine a child having to do it all!
Since Abeka is more along the lines of what is taught in school, are you able to teach it to a mastery level before you move on or do you feel you are just 'teaching to the test'?
If my kids didn't master it, I just spent more time on it. I think if I followed the suggested map, it would be too quick. I am sorry this comment is so late for this question! I haven't had internet for most of the summer.
These are 2 completely different styles of teaching/learning. They are really not comparable. Abeka is traditional as it was made for Christian schools and Language Lessons for a Living Education is Charlotte Mason and a much more gentle approach. It also builds throughout the 6 levels rather than being rigorous like Abeka is.
Yes! I've seen good results from both:)
Why am I watching stuff like this on my one day without kids in four weeks?
Haha! This is so funny and so me!
Hahaha I’m doing the same thing!
Great video , but the thing is that homeschool isn't supposed to be compared with public school ( common core)
Absolutely! My goal at the beginning of my channel was to help those who were Covid Homeschooling and planning on sending their kids back to public school the next year. So common core would be important for them. But you are right!!
Some states require annual testing. ( I’m pretty sure my states test would include common core 😪)
The audio isn't working correctly on this video. Just fyi!
Oh thanks!! I'll check on it:)
Ok...I hope that worked. I have no idea what was up with that! I had to delete the beginning of the video. hmm...
I so wish I saw this video before choosing Abeka. I went with them because my 6 year old is pretty advanced in math and vocabulary. Man do I regret it. She loves learning and gets frustrated with all the hours of Abeka. She loves to sit and do work but the video and pages of work are ridiculously long. I didn'tot dare show her grades from abeka, as they are way too critical of a 6 year olds writing. So disappointed and broke....lol Iv cut so much of the video to get her down to a couple hours. Just money out the window.
Oh I'm so thankful for this comment. It's so good for people to see others' opinions about this. It's so hard when you spend the money on a popular curriculum and it doesn't work!
@@LoveThemWell I will definitely do the pick and choose unaccredited method next year. She does really well with math but the video is 45 min. Its insane for 6 years. Way too much writing as well. Its just overkill and a dated style of learning. Looking forward to adding masterbooks next year.
So are you no longer using First Language Lessons??
We are:) It's part of my morning basket time. The language and math core curriculum books the only thing I've switched up, and I'm really enjoying it. Do you use First Language Lessons? We just go through one of those lessons a day as a family before getting to our individual work in Master Books.
@@LoveThemWell I just ordered level 1, hoping to be able to use it with my 1st grader and 3rd grader. My 3rd grader is mildly dyslexic and dysgraphic. He needs the repetition and oral lessons are usually better than pencil to paper right now. It would be great to make grammar a family subject. From what I can tell my 3rd grader only remembers what a basic noun is from public school. So I guess we’ll see how this goes.
@@homeschool.pray.repeat I appreciate First Language Lessons for the repetition and that it's mostly oral. Sometimes it says for the kids to write down examples, but we just do that together, too, on our white board. We are around lesson 40 and still discussing common and proper nouns. But even my 4 year old can now say the definitions of each and give examples. It's really good. I like the slow pace and that the lesson is really short each day. So my kids don't grow tired of it. I hope it works out for you!! Please keep me posted!
The videos with abeka is time consuming, he started doing the worksheets while the video is running. We don't do all the videos, the kids reading is incredibly boring, often we just read it ourselves and discuss it.
SO good to know! I've never seen the videos. Thank you for sharing this!
You are beautiful and so sweet!
Wow, thank you so much! This was so kind to say:)
MB phonics and language is horrible. It’s so confusing and lacking. Phonics is so important, ABeka did well at teaching reading. All about reading is the best.
I think you're right! As I look back, Abeka was so good for the foundation!