Homeschooling Kindergarten and ACE Homeschool Curriculum Questions

by Melandy Misenheimer
(Sheridan, Oregon)

Oregon mom has questions about homeschooling kindergarten and ACE homeschool curriculum...

My name is Melandy,
I have three children 7, 5 and 2. I want to start homeschooling kindergarten with my 5 year old this September. She's very easy and I know I can do and she would have fun. I would like some info how I would start going about doing it. I did ACE when I was a child until I graduated. I loved it and I know my daughter would too.

When you go to test them after they complete their PACE, how do I do that with a kindergartner? Do you help at all? What is a normal number of PACES every year should they complete to stay on task? Also do I need a license to teach at home? We live in Oregon. Please let me know... Melandy

Hi Melandy,
Congratulations on your decision to homeschool your daughter! Homeschooling kindergarten is fun – I think she would enjoy it too!

Since you enjoyed ACE, you could start with that since you are familiar with it. If that doesn’t work so well, take a look at Five In A Row. Five In A Row (also known as FIAR) are fun, short (one week long) unit studies centered around a short story book that you read each day. After you read the story, you complete different hands-on activities that go along with the book or the book’s theme. I can tell you more about FIAR, if that interests you. Using unit studies is a great way for children, especially young children to learn. Its also very inexpensive and fun to use!

As far as the number of PACES to complete in a year, I think each course comes with 12 PACE workbooks. I found some samples of the ACE homeschool curriculum for you to look at. Although none are samples of their Kindergarten curriculum, they will give you a good idea of how the ACE curriculum is set up.

As far as how many PACES your child would need to complete each year to keep on track, I would think an average child would need to complete approximately one workbook per three weeks (36 week school year). I don't use ACE, but it is similar to Alpha Omega homeschool curriculum (AOP LifePacs have 10 workbooks per course) which we use for some high school subjects. It is okay if a child works slower and takes longer.

If there are tests at the end of each Kindergarten level PACE, the tests are usually appropriate for the age/grade of the child. Your child may or may not need help. If they need help reading the test, then yes, I would help them. If you are reading the questions to them and they don't know the answer, you will know exactly what you need to focus on before continuing to the next workbook. That's the beauty of homeschooling – you can go as fast or slow as your child needs. When problem areas arise, you can take as much time as you need to help your child master a concept.

Sometimes all a child needs is a quick refresher of a previous lesson as a reminder. I had to do that this morning with my eight year old. She had forgotten how to round to the nearest 10, so I quickly went over it with her. She said, "Oh, I remember that!" And, on we went. :)

I sit with my eight year old a lot and work through her lessons with her. Sometimes I leave her to complete questions on her own; sometimes we work through them together. Once you begin, you’ll know how much to help your child.

You do not need a license to teach your child at home. There are no teacher requirements for Oregon. You can find a summary of the Oregon homeschooling laws compliments of HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association).

I hope this information helps you as you begin homeschooling kindergarten. If you have other questions, please feel free to ask!
Have fun!
Heather

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ACE Homeschool Curriculum Question: Can You Help Me Figure This Out?

by Corlene Robinson
(Bethune, Saskatchewan, Canada)

Canadian mom asks about ACE homeschool curriculum and how to place her struggling son in the proper grade...

My son is 12 yrs old and in grade 6. Due to the "no child left behind" policy, he can fail a whole grade and still get bumped to the next grade the next year. He fails tests and goes on to the next chapter without having to redo and learn properly. For instance, I recently had to show him how to add and subtract right. This made me realize how badly our public schools are failing him.

How can I figure out what his REAL grade level is? Because it is sure not grade 6! I am wanting to pull him and either start homeschooling or find a private school in Regina Saskatchewan, Canada, which uses the ACE curriculum. How do I get started? Is it expensive? And how would I know what PACE level to start him in?

Hi Corlene,
How frustrated you must feel about your son’s situation! You can find out where you would need to start your son in the ACE homeschool curriculum by using the ACE online diagnostic test. Once your son completes this test, you will know exactly what PACES to start him in.

ACE homeschool curriculum is quite reasonably priced – about $35 - $40 (US) or so per subject and you can purchase individual PACES. If your son needs to start halfway through a course, you won't waste money by having to buy the whole course. You can buy just PACES he needs.

This curriculum is also easy for independent home educators to use and oversee their student’s home education.

As far as private Christian schools using the ACE/PACES curriculum in your area, try Harvest City Christian Academy, in Regina (http://www.harvestcitychristianacademy.com).

Hope this helps!
Blessings,
Heather :)

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Ace Homeschool Curriculum for Math 3 Questions

by Kristin
(USA)

Home educator has questions about using ACE homeschool curriculum for her struggling math student. Can you help?

Hi, I came across your page about Ace homeschool curriculum and read the reviews. I have a child who's in 4th and has always been a little slower at "getting" it in Math.

We always used a spiral math and she still doesn't have her facts down cold and some of the simple things like subtraction is holding her back.

I took a look at Ace and thought I'd order a few paces and give it a whirl. She is to start in the 3rd grade level after taking the placement test.

I'm worried because I hear so many bad reviews about Ace and that it is lacking and slow or behind the other programs. My child seems to catch onto the geometry stuff quickly but it's the basics that are holding her up.

Do you have any advice for me and do you still recommend Ace homeschool curriculum for Math? Do you think in the end, it is a good enough math to get to college?
Thanks so much!