ABeka Homeschool Curriculum Pros and Cons

by Leanne
(Bainbridge Island, WA)

Colorful, challenging, and detailed; ABeka homeschool curriculum provides children of all ages a solid home education. But this mom warns: cutting-edge curriculum comes with a price tag.

I have used some Abeka curriculum for many years. I have 4 children which span 9 school years and within that time period ABeka will revise their textbooks; meaning if I bought a book for my oldest child, by the time my youngest got to that grade, I would have to buy new textbooks because ABeka would have revised them.

This gets to be costly if your children span several grade years. This goes for math as well as history (which you might want to have updated from time to time). So beware when buying used ABeka books... they may be an older edition and ABeka probably wouldn't carry the tests for the older curriculum.

ABeka's books are usually colorful with pictures which make it overall pleasing to look at.

They cover a broad spectrum within a subject although their tests/daily questions can be a bit nit picky. I would much rather have good solid overviews of a subject than be so detailed that the student tends to memorize the details for the test, but then forgets it. This of course is a generalization.... with subjects such as math, one needs to be more detailed.

I have never used all ABeka curriculum for a grade... I usually use it for 2-3 subjects in a given school year; usually math, grammar (because they build on each other) and then either literature or history, but with these subjects, I like to provide variety.

I have never used the DVD program.... I found it to be pricey, although it may come in handy as your students get into high school. With my husband teaching our children math and science, I haven't found the need for this.

Thanks Leanne, for offering some great insight into ABeka curriculum, your used curriculum warning and your helpful tips on how you incorporate it into your homeschool, to make it work for you.