by Lerrina Collins

Created on: January 17, 2009   Last Updated: September 29, 2010

Abeka is not the cheapest option out there - but they certainly offer thorough course coverage.

My first child. I planned to do this right. No one was going to be able to accuse me of failing my son.

As kindergarten rolled around, I started to sweat. Could I do this? Could I homeschool my son? Who did I think I was? Supermom? Besides, I had two younger children. What was I doing?

While we toyed with the idea of sending our firstborn to public school, I did not feel he was ready to face the big, bad world alone. However, I knew I would be doing him a disfavor if I held him back. Was there a homeschool curriculum which could help me do it right? Help me cover all the basics? Help me know where to start, what steps to take, and when to quit?

While today's homeschooling parents are inundated with abundant curriculum choices, eighteen years ago the options were meager. However, Abeka was there, providing a year long course pre-designed to walk a homeschooling parent and their child through it, step-by-step. Obviously, to a green homeschooling parent, Abeka was like a life preserver in rough seas.

ABEKA DOESN'T SKIMP ON MATERIALS

The box arrived in the mail. I was surprised at its size. Did kids really cover this much material in kindergarten? Granted, kindergarten was years in my past, but I could not imagine I had forgotten that much!

When we opened the box, my son's eyes shone like beacons as he took in the colorful books, animated drawings, and interesting designs on the flashcards and teaching props. It was like Christmas in July. Some of his excitement rubbed off on me as I began flipping pages, looking at the various books, and scanning the teaching helps. Soon I found myself engrossed in the teacher's manual - and I was hooked.

ABEKA'S CURRICULUM IS WELL ORGANIZED

I prefer things organized. Abeka does a top-notch job organizing their curriculum. The homeschooling parent knows what to teach, when to teach it, and exactly where they are in the entire year's scheme. In fact, Abeka's complete curriculum takes much of the headache, heart ache, and hard work out of homeschooling.

Not only that, but their curriculum is extremely thorough. In fact, after homeschooling my son through kindergarten and first grade, he entered public school as a second grader. He scored so well on his pre-entry evaluations, they considered putting him into third grade. However, as he was a young second grader, the school administration placed him with his age group.

ABEKA CAN BE OVERWHELMING

Abeka's only Achilles heel is their abundance. My first reaction to that big box should have been ample warning. However, in my exuberance and insecurity, I failed to realize a basic fact. You do NOT have to do every page - cross every T' and dot every I'. In fact, if you do, you may burn out your young student. I nearly did.

It has been many years since an insecure mother introduced her innocent son to the world of learning. Today homeschool families have a plethora of curriculum options. In spite of this, Abeka has not only stood the test of time, they continue to successfully compete in an increasingly competitive market.

ABEKA OFFERS QUALITY

All in all, Abeka produces quality products, whether you take advantage of one course or an entire year's curriculum. Their text books and workbooks are interesting and colorful. Their subject matter is well-covered and explained in an easy-to-follow format. Their teacher's manuals are well thought out and lead the homeschooling parent through the process. While I would advise homeshooling parents to use common sense in determining when enough is enough, Abeka's doesn't skip on quality when it comes to their homeshool curriculum.

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