You’ve probably heard of it, but can you actually ‘homeschool’ with Abeka Academy? Abeka Academy is a Christian homeschool curriculum with video lessons. You can stream lessons online or on DVD, your child can do school at anytime or anywhere. But is it too good to be true and is it really ‘homeschooling’? After using this curriculum for three years I’ll share my thoughts and How To Homeschool With Abeka Academy.
**This post is not sponsored. It is simply my honest opinion and review.
Interested in how I organize our Abeka curriculum? Check out my Easy Method for Organizing Abeka Curriculum.
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What Is Abeka And Why Use It?
Before I share with you how we implement this curriculum, let me start by telling you what it is. Assuming you don’t already know; Abeka is a Christian based homeschool curriculum. It provides a complete line of traditional Christian educational materials that have been “developed and refined over a period of 50 years in the classrooms of Pensacola Christian Academy”
The curriculum is very sound, all inclusive and written from a Christian perspective. If you are looking for a curriculum that is not ‘religious’ or faith based then this is probably not for you. As it talks about God and references the Bible in almost every subject. It also teaches the story of Creation in both their Bible curriculum and Science. However, if you are interested and looking for a curriculum that includes God in every subject then this would be for you.
Maybe you are wanting an ‘open and go’ type of curriculum that requires very little prep work. Or maybe you are a working parent that would love to homeschool but you also have a full time job. Or maybe you would love to send your kids to private school but it’s not an option. Maybe you’re a busy homeschool mom of many that may need to ‘sub’ out a few subjects because it can be difficult having multiple students needing one-on-one attention.
If you’ve related to any of these scenarios (or maybe one I forgot to mention!) then please keep reading because this curriculum could be a game changer for you!
Want a deeper look into this curriculum? You can always read their full statement and see what they stand for on the Abeka website.
Homeschooling Through The Years
I first started my journey homeschooling about 5 years ago when my oldest started Pre-K. I have always considered my homeschooling style to be Charlotte Mason . However, I definitely prefer an ‘open and go’ type curriculum. Is that weird? Can anyone else relate? I love being in nature, I love letting my kids be kids and having a relaxed style. We garden together, take nature walks and literally spend hours outside. I love reading aloud together and doing all the ‘Charlotte Mason’ style things.
However, I get completely overwhelmed at the thought of setting up for daily science experiments and teaching different curriculums at different grade levels. I hope some of you can relate to this! Maybe I’m just still learning and haven’t figured it all out yet. But do we ever?
Two years ago my son started Pre-K and my daughter started first grade. Our youngest was 2 and I was pregnant with our fourth. We had just moved into our farmhouse, my husband was working full time and so was I. And yes, it was the summer of 2020 with so many unknowns in the world.
What Led Me To Abeka Academy
I was pumped about the new school year and having two students and a little helper! But I was SICK with my pregnancy and did I mention working full time and that we live on a farm? Yes. Burnout was right around the corner. I had severe stress which led to several really scary health episodes and ER visits. Something had to give. Both of our jobs were crucial at the time but our first priority has been and always will be our faith and our family.
Our biggest dilemma was if I was not sitting in a chair beside our kids then school was not getting done. Duh, right? But with my work schedule, pregnancy and health issues that just wasn’t possible. We looked into Private Schools (my mom teaches at a great private school that I graduated from) but again, the time frame just didn’t work. That’s when I discovered Abeka Academy.
I don’t mean to sound dramatic when I say it was absolutely life changing. But it really was!
Abeka Academy
So now we know what Abeka curriculum is and what led me to it, so lets talk about the Academy. Abeka Academy is the Abeka curriculum incorporated with video instructions from their master teachers. They offer both DVD and video streaming options. You can choose the accredited program or the non-accredited program. They understand there’s no ‘one size fits all’ homeschooling style. They offer a variety of options both in their DVD and streaming options and also in payment.
You may be wondering or asking yourself, but is this really homeschooling?? Isn’t this just virtual school? And the answer would be both! Yes, you can use it as a virtual school. You can purchase the full set curriculum and an entire years worth of DVD’s or video streaming. Use it like a virtual school or you can be like us and pick and choose what subjects you will stream and it can be more of a ‘traditional homeschool’ style. If that’s even a thing? Ha!
How To Homeschool With Abeka Academy
I know that was a lot of back story, but I think it’s necessary to understand what it is and how it can be utilized. Now to talk about how I implement it into our homeschool!
When I was working full time, we purchased the entire grade package and the full year of DVDs. I, personally, have never used the accredited program. But it is certainly an option if that is important to you. I had a child in K4 and one in first grade. They watched their DVD’s in subject order and followed along in their books. They did great and learned so much! Not many 4 and 6 year old’s can write cursive and read but my kids were doing great with this curriculum!
Now that I am staying home and homeschooling full time that was WAY too much screen time for them. As I mentioned earlier we enjoy being outside and with our farm, it’s necessary. But we still loved the curriculum and the results we were seeing. Both spiritually and academically. Our solution was to do some subjects as a group and stream others individually.
My Preferred Subjects To Stream or Incorporate the DVD
- Arithmetic– We’ve utilized K4, K5, 1st Grade and 2nd Grade Abeka Arithmetic and I love it. The teachers review and go over things that I either wouldn’t think of or don’t have time to do everyday. The repetition and detailed instruction for each grade is excellent!
- Phonics– Again, the teachers go over and review things I either wouldn’t think of or wouldn’t have time to do. My children have all enjoyed the fun songs and characters they incorporate. The worksheets are bright and colorful and my kids look forward to them (almost) everyday. 🙂
- Bible– The Bible videos are great! Detailed lessons, scripture memorization, it’s all great. It can get a little long so sometimes they will skip songs etc My oldest enjoys watching Bible during the littles ‘quiet time’. My husband and family have been very impressed with their scripture memory.
My Preferred Subjects To Do As A Group
- Reading-Personally, I like to do reading with each child. I like to watch them sound the words and be there to help. My oldest was a great reader until she started watching other students read (on the videos) and then she started struggling. I’m not sure if she was overthinking it, or trying to be like others but reading without the videos has been best for us.
- Science– The science books are great, but sometimes we like to do seasonal ‘unit’s or we’ll use the Abeka book and I will just read it aloud to everyone and we’ll do it as a group. I love science and have always wanted to teach it to my kids so this has worked best for us.
- History– I really love their history, it’s very patriotic. I love the discussions it prompts so I enjoy doing it together as a group instead of individually. I also like to incorporate read-aloud’s that go along with our history lesson.
So as you can see, you can pick and choose which subjects and videos will work for you and your kids. I happen to like some of their science and history but I don’t use all of it the way they recommend. You can also use a different science, math or history curriculum. Do whatever meets the needs of your family.
What Do You Need To Homeschool With Abeka Academy
Because it is a DVD or video streaming, whatever child will be doing the lessons with either need computer or DVD access. We have purchased each of our children a portable DVD player and their own headphones. As our children have gotten older we’ve chosen to stream certain lessons. So they have used the computer instead of their DVD players.
The DVD’s worked great because we could do school in the car while running errands, on a road trip. They could take their DVD player to their grandparents and never fall behind on school. However, now that we only stream certain subjects it can still be just as flexible and it’s not as much screen time.
In Conclusion
The main thing I’ve learned is to be flexible. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing! If you would like a virtual private school-at-home then do it! If you would like to do what we do and stream certain lessons, but not all then do that too! Mom guilt and comparison can be very real.I have felt like a ‘fake’ homeschool mom because I’m incorporating ‘real’ teachers for certain lessons. But that’s not true!
Maybe it’s true for some, but you know what? That’s ok. What works for me and my kids, isn’t going to work for everyone else. Just know that it IS possible to incorporate Abeka Academy without doing the entire curriculum and ever single video. Stream math or reading and then use a different curriculum for science and phonics.
I hope this post has shown some insight on How To Homeschool With Abeka Academy and has been helpful to you!
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