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Mood:
a-okTopic: Homeschool Product Review
Hmmm. When I first saw the name of this curriculum the immediate thing that came to mind was the magazine Ideals that my mom used to get around different holidays. The most recent thing that came to mind, however, was "Why is this curriculum so 'Ideal'?" So, after looking it over, I decided to do a "This curriculum is ideal if:" and a "This curriculum isn't ideal if:" type review. So here goes.
Ideal Curriculum is ideal if:
- You like a flexible schedule. As most of you know, we have been going through a horrendous time with our kids lately. Joshua, our nine year old, was diagnosed with asperger's syndrome about a year and a half ago, and Jacob, our 4 year old, is presently being tested for very similar symptoms. Unfortunately we wanted to try out this preschool/early kindergarten curriculum with Jacob but most of his testing has been during the time we were supposed to be doing the reviewing. On top of all of the testing, he also had his tonsils and adenoids taken out and was practically out of commission for about 10 days. That really put a damper on our reviewing time. We were, however, able to use a little of the curriculum and, as we work with it more, I will write more about our experiences. The joy of all of that, though, is knowing that Ideal Curriculum does not follow a rigid plan. You don't have to follow a strict day by day schedule. If that were the case, we would never have been able to use this at all. In fact, Ideal Curriculum doesn't even follow a strict year plan. You can buy month one any time you want and start when you want. In fact, month one was sent to us to try out now - in the middle of the spring. They do suggest that you buy the curriculum in order beginning with month one, because each month builds on the other.
- You like a total package. When you purchase Ideal Curriculum you get everything you need to begin teaching your preschool/kindergarten child. You can either buy the curriculum in hard copy books, or in a downloadable form. We received the downloadable form and received more than you could imagine. You could probably fill two months with all of the stuff that is included in this package. Each month has a Literacy Teacher's Manual, a Science/Social Studies Teacher's Manual and a Math/Calendar Teacher's Manual. You also get everything you need for that month, minus a few craft supplies and the normal pencil/paper/crayon stuff. The extra's, however, are minimal. The different areas cover different things each month. Here is a an overview of what the first four months cover:
- You like a well laid out plan. As you can see by the above chart, the three months are very well laid out and very well planned. Each month comes with a theme and each month builds on the previous months learning. What more could you ask for?
- You like a reasonable price. Some curriculum I've looked at cost less for a year's worth, some cost more for a year's worth. No, other curriculum that I've seen, however, has allowed you to buy a month at a time. With most curriculum you're stuck with what you have. Doesn't fit with your children's learning styles? Too bad! Just hope that you can resell it. With Ideal Curriculum, if you find that it's not working out, you're not forced to continue with it for finance's sake. Just don't buy the next month. Each month is $55.00 for the hard copy version or $30 for the downloadable version. There are discounts if you want to buy 3 months at a time or the whole year at one time. Or, there are discounts if you want to buy a package for multiple students at a time - say for a daycare or private kindergarten.
Ideal Curriculum is not Ideal if:
- Well...er...mmm...humm...I can't really figure out anything. The only thing that I can think to even mention in the "Not Ideal" section is that Ideal Curriculum is not strictly Christian. In everything that I have seen, I haven't noticed anything really secular, like evolution, or anything like that, but it isn't particularly Christian based. With that being said, there was nothing else I could find. Ideal Curriculum is really...well...ideal!
Jacob really has enjoyed the little time that we have used Ideal Curriculum. He has loved the catchy songs (Did I mention that mp3 versions of the songs were included in the download?) and he loves Transportation. I'm looking forward to digging more into it with him.
Not convinced? As usual you can visit their website by clicking here or on any one of the hi-lighted links above. If you like what you see, you can receive a free week trial version of their curriculum to try out on your own. And, as usual you can check out what some of the other TOS Crew members are saying by clicking here. Happy Home Schooling.
As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew I was given a free downloadable copy of month one of Ideal Curriculum's Preschool/Kindergarten Materials to try out and review on this blog.
