A couple of inquiring minds asked me why I was switching back to Heart of Dakota from Ace School of Tomorrow.
Let me start off by saying that Ace is a solid curriculum. It was very helpful for a season. I have friends that have used Ace all the way through, and their children are wonderful, God honoring children. There is nothing wrong with Ace, despite all the negative reviews. I know that it is there if and when I need it.
When we got permission to homeschool my step-daughter, her tutor used Ace. She had the materials already. Wanting cohesiveness, I ordered some for my 7th grader. This gave me the time to work with my Kindergartener. My step-daughter has done well with Ace for her first semester of homeschooling. She will finish out the year using Ace. We will probably use Ace subjects here and there.
The curriculum is great, but it doesn't meet all the goals I have for my children. First, those little workbooks add up. It is wonderful to only spend a bit here and there to get the materials I need. Last year, at tax time, I didn't order curriculum. Instead, I wanted to save money by putting things together myself. That didn't work out as I had planned. So, I used Ace with two of my daughters while I regrouped and prayed.
Ace was easy to plan. However, having graduated one daughter from our homeschool and sent her off to college, I know the type of education I want my children to have. I know what works for our homeschool and what doesn't work as well. I've slowly gained experience by the trying some of this and some of that method.
Workbooks are easy for me. They don't take a lot of space until they are piling up in the crate, finished. They are easy to plan. They don't often require me to shop for extra supplies. They are portable. They cover the basics fairly effectively. With Ace, I could take comfort in knowing that each one was God-honoring.
But the expense of them add up. Yes, they are easy to budget when there isn't a lot of money all at once. My husband and I don't use credit cards, so we live off of his income. We can't often afford to shell out hundreds of dollars or more to buy at once unless we do it when we receive our income tax return. We even set back extra from my husband's check to ensure a decent return. When I add up how much I spent for Ace, with all the extra shipping for each order, the price is just as high as buying something such as Heart of Dakota. Unfortunately, Ace is consumable.
There are some enterprising homeschoolers that have their children write the answers in notebooks or take the worktexts apart and put them into plastic sleeves and then use dry erase markers to answer questions. I didn't do that. My step-daughter used notebooks for her Algebra answers, but it became a nightmare to grade. I can't imagine trying to grade all those subjects every day with bunches of different notebooks!
That was another area where I burned out quickly... grading. I do the Kindergartener's schooling with her, so no grading for her. However, grading six or more subjects for two children meant I was glued to the table for an hour every evening grading, grading, grading. Next year, subjects like math and a couple of electives will be done with a computer program with automatic grading. I may still have a subject or two to grade, but it won't be the overwhelming task that it has become now. I know that Ace recommends that children grade their own work, but that didn't work for my home.
Another area where I watched my children struggle was with the lack of hands-on. There was the occasional project or science experiment in the paces, but not what my 12 year old was used to. The 9th grader also struggled with the lack of hands-on. I supplemented here and there, but I really like when that kind of stuff is planned for me. Like I said, I'm not a natural planner in that regard.
Having watched how my daughters learn, I have seen that they remember so much more when they use more than one sense. For instance, with worktexts such as Ace, they read and answer questions. The repetitive nature of Ace has been great at helping them learn for the test, but not so good at long-term retention or even holding their interest for long. As a result, my children my have developed a little more discipline, but they are BORED!
What has stuck with them? Last year my then preschooler did fingerplays to learn letter sounds. She remembers nearly every one. She dressed up and acted out Bible stories, made HUGE letters with masking tape on the floor and lined them up with blocks or stuffed animals. She remembers it all, and she remembers it with joy! My then 11 year old was learning the poems of Robert Frost by painting, her favorite things, a scene to go with each one. Her favorite book over the last couple of years was about Albert Einstein. She still remembers all the plagues because of the notebooking she did.
When I consider my children's education... this is more in line with what I want for them.
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