Yes!!! I mix and mash between Abeka and MB. Two totally different approaches, but I think part of me is still not trusting the whole process with Masterbooks, and like the repetition and reinforcement of Abeka. Next year, I think I really want to go all in with Masterbooks and just see what happens. I am totally simplifying...
Yes! TGATB, MasterBooks, Gather round mini units. Agree 100% with the levels and the Biblical with TGATB. I add in what works for our family. Correct on everyone needs to do their own research on what works for their family style and how their kids learn.
Yesss! Definitely a mixer and masher!! We do Master books and Gather Round and about to start TGTB!!! And we throw in other little things from other books.
Just wanted to add, TGTB does have spelling list in their Language Arts book, it’s in the back of the book. We switched from Abeka to TGTB and TGTB has been an amazing curriculum! My kids are enjoying school again, and begging me to do school everyday of the week
THANK YOU!!! I feel this pressure and I've never heard anyone just say, "you don't have to choose." And I just never thought that way! I feel a weight lifted, thank you for sharing ❤️
Yes! I stressed myself out trying to stick to the only one curriculum and when I finally let go of that idea/“rule” it was a positive game changer. I've become a total mixer haha and we love it.
I do exactly this ! Masterbooks is my spine , my roots for teaching . But I love love TGTB readers and some of their course books. It’s a perfect marriage of curriculum for me .
The good and the beautiful was overwhelming for my children and I. At some point in the lesson my kids turned off and we started our day with language arts but couldn’t finish and couldn’t do more.
I am a former public school teacher turned homeschool mom and chose the Good and Beautiful for this first year of home school. I have kids in 5th, 2nd, and TK. My 5th is also using Level 4 GB because I knew she had Language Arts skill gaps even though she is an avid reader. My 2nd grader is using Level 1 because he needed to start there. He has mad so much progress with his reading this year. My youngest was 4 when school started and in what CA considers the first year of a 2 year kindergarten program. She started with Primer K and has moved into Level K. I love The Good and Beautiful for my younger two especially. It has worked well for us this year. I plan to use it next year with my younger two, but I have other plans for my oldest who will be in 6th next year. Thank you for sharing your comparisons.
Love this! We have been using TGTB for a couple years and then tried out Masterbooks (LA) this year. I’ve gone back and forth because truthfully I love BOTH for different reasons! I keep thinking...if I could just blend the 2 together it would be perfect!🤣🤷🏻♀️ so we’re still trucking along and doing both! Thanks for this video!!! I love your perspective!!
This is our first year homeschooling and we chose master books for math and TGTB for LA. We do the same here with skipping lessons/parts of. Yesterday, my daughter was doing multiplication facts after the break and was in tears from being so frustrated so we stopped and pulled out our Usborne times table book (after the tears were gone) read a few pages and then she was fine!! I would have never known she’s loved poetry if we hadn’t gone with TGTB. I’m so happy for my chance to homeschool my babies!! Thanks for all your encouragement girl ❤️
Yes I do this too! At times i get a little overwhelmed with all the amazing resources and trying to fit it in (especially history and science!). But I love mixing and customizing our curriculum. This freedom is such a blessing! ❤
The good and the beautiful curriculum was created by a Mormon. I think she intentionally left out a lot of the biblical approach so her curriculum would apply to more Christians-I appreciate this. I can always add in but it's difficult to read around specific doctrine. She does an excellent job sticking to general Christian doctrine that all Christians agree on.
We’ve used both. And love both. I feel like MB is gentler and easier for me to do with all 4 kids all in different levels high school down to K. I love the simplicity and biblical aspect, so sweet. I’m sure will use some of both again soon. Good to hear your thoughts!
We have used both Master Books and TGTB. We definitely like TGTB much more. I pull curriculum from all different places because there isn’t just one that satisfies all our needs.
We totally mash things up! We use TGTB for language arts, and MB for science, history, and math. That’s the amazing thing about homeschooling- you can tailor the curriculum to each child! You are correct about TGTB not having much Bible. They will occasionally have a verse or a parable, but it’s not often. I’m a fellow boy mom too! We have 4 boys. 2 currently in homeschool.
We also use TGTB for LA and MB for math, science and history/social studies. I'm debating on how I want to mix and mash TGTB and MB for the 21/22 school year for 2nd grade and preschool. Also thinking about adding some unit studies from gather round or TGTB and possibly switching to teaching textbooks for math because my son is finishing MLFALE level 2 so would be third grade math as a second grader next year. 🙈 Any suggestions appreciated!?!
Thank you for posting this!! We are loving TGATB but I love the Bible focus in master books. I wanted to do both just like this but I was worried about doing too much. I’m going to try it out now. I love having that freedom. Your encouragement has made this new adventure so peaceful for me and my kiddos. Happy 2021 Jaime 💜💜💜
Mama...if you want to do both...do both! We are sure enjoying flowing with it in our own way! I can't let go of the simplicity of MB but yet...TG&TB is so good in its own way! 😂🤣 Just taking it one day at a time! HAPPY NEW YEAR, MAMA!
Love this comparison video!! We are using Masterbooks for LA (among other subjects) and are absolutely loving it. I'm thinking we even may make the switch for math.
We do the same, both Master books and the TGATB for the same reasons. I have my boys do one lesson in each of them, but it's not overwhelming to us. I love both curriculums.
This is so freeing! I have been doing TG&TB but it can be alot. I was feeling like Masterbooks was not in dept enough but your approach to use both makes so much sense! Thank you for your encouragement/insight on how your family uses the two curriculum ❤️
If I had to choose a curriculum just because I personally loved it, then i would have been with TGTB since the beginning of our homeschool journey to now. But you are so right about MB! I love how the bible is such a huge part of almost every lesson! I ordered Year 2 of GR and I really am sad to say I think my kids are needing shorter lessons and not to have to sit still for as long as I have to read to them. I figure that will be perfect for Middle school. I just ordered level 5 and level 2 of MB for the rest of the year into next year. I really do miss TGTB. It was so pretty and such a good curriculum! Just didn't work for my kids at that point in time.
Mama, you are doing an amazing job! ❤ Going with what flows in your homeschool is SUCH a freeing feeling and honestly a gift! Once I was OK with changing things up and mixing/mashing....ugh! What a difference that made!
We did Masterbooks L.A. this past school year. We liked it but didn't LOVE it, so this upcoming school year, we are trying tgtb. My kids are very excited about it so we will see!
We use TGTB with Abeka for first grade. I’ve used these two for the last three years. It’s been great. I love when we make a curriculum work for us and not the curriculum drive our homeschool!
We are using the Seton Home study curriculum and we will continue using it...we will just add some things from TGTB, Notgrass, and maybe Master books electives and science....
We have been using The Good and The Beautiful. We love it! My 8th grader is almost done with level 6, and we plan to use level 7 for 9th grade and then move onto the high school levels.
I totally Mix and Mash 😆 It is our second year of homeschooling - my oldest is in 7th grade this year and had a hard transition year after being in the public system for 6 year. My youngest is in Gr. 2 this year and only went to Kindie for 8 months before everything shut due to Covid. We are LOVING Homeschooling :D This year I am finally starting to let go of the notion of recreating “school at home” and bringing in the fun elements of homeschooling. My boys like yours are not big fans of art, writing, or lengthy lessons. Soo we’ve literally got a mix of curriculums . I’ve realized both my boys are visual learners, and one is kinesthetic and the other Auditory. This year we have Singapore Dimensions Math, Apologia Science (Gr.7), Masterbooks Science (Gr.2), Catholic Textbook Project for Social, and Learning Language Arts Through Literature (7 and 2). For my second grader, he has really taken off with reading but his spelling is behind and he hates the usual spelling lists and workbook spelling books.so we are doing All About Spelling Level 1 and 2 - letter tiles, flash cards- the whole meal deal- and he’s really liking it. I just printed off TGATB Level 2 for him to use to change things up so we’re not doing the same thing every day . Thanks for the review !! In the mornings we start with Who Is God? Catechism and A Gather Round Unit Study…. Sooo yup- I’m not married to any particular company 🤪 I’ve been watching your videos for several months now and it’s definitely helping to boost my confidence as a homeschooler- thanks so much 😁
I love them both! This year we are using TGATB and next year we are going to be using Masterbooks! We will probably still use TGATB science though! We love their science! It’s so awesome you feel so much love for both curriculums, I couldn’t pick one either! Thanks for this video!
Lots of mixing and mashing going on here! We started with Masterbooks, but decided to add TG&TB in late September for language arts, and just recently added TG&TB math when we started back after Christmas. The lessons are definitely longer with TG&TB, but I like that the math incorporates lots of manipulatives to drive the lesson home. Masterbooks was great because the lessons were very quick and easy to get through. On the fence about what we’ll stick with next year!
Not a mixer and a masher, but definitely a flip flopper 🤣 We are having great success working for a while in TGTB and then (what feels like a refresher) a while in Masterbooks. I really like both!
I love that you say you love MB’s spelling. I hear so many people say they feel like they supplement with another spelling curriculum, and I cannot figure out why!
Yesssss! This!!! This is my first year homeschooling so the “letting go” is happening extremely slowly 😂 but just this week I have come to terms with this - mashing together 2 different curriculums to create our own 😀
😂 thank you so much! Honestly only because of people like you making videos like this! Gave me the confidence 😀 so thank you! Because I know filming, editing and uploading videos is a lot of work. But they are appreciated xx
The good and the beautiful leaves the bible reading and journaling for the parents to add in they believe things like that should be taught by the parents
I would LOVE to hear of any resources you use in your home, alongside your Bible's! 😍 I am always open to suggestions! We have a few but that's why I like incorporating MB...the Bible studies inside that we can work through together, with our Bible. We have been using the Tony Evans Bible study and we have really been enjoying that.
@@SimplyLivingIt my family we are Jehovah's Witnesses so we have a lot of resources for parents to name a few a brochure called "teach your children", "my book of Bible stories", "learn from the great teacher" and " Illustrated Bible stories" is my daughters favorite as it looks like a comic book but are bible stories. These are all offered for free online at www.jw.org we also do family bible dramas where we actually act out our favorite characters/stories ( no best acting awards coming our way lol but it's fun to do as a family)
We started off the year using ABEKA for everything. Turned out; it didn't fit for us for everything. So now we use a combination of Abeka, TGTB, Gather 'Round, and Masterbooks. It works well for us!
YES!!!! 👆This!!!!! I have actually considered going back to A Beka for my youngest because of where he is at. It is SO thorough and solid. I cannot go back to using it for everything like I used to, but maybe weave in a few things here and there. We will see! Thank you for sharing that, mama! ❤
@@SimplyLivingIt I love that it is thorough & solid, but I can't keep up with the constant barrage of quizzes and tests, and I didn't like the daily fight with my 6th grader! We've found a much better groove now. 😊
I'm very much a mixer and masher! It's nice to hear that we, new homeschooling mothers, don't have to use just one. However, I get overwhelmed with the amount of options out there, I feel buried under all of them. How do you choose what to teach from each curriculum to customize your own?
We are currently using TGTB and Masterbooks for my 1st grader. We've used TGTB for the last few years for my 4th and 6th grader but switched to master books for this year. I love both! For the same reasons you have mentioned. I love the layout of TGTB. in master books, I love the biblical aspect. There is a love hate with both. We also use a little bit of Gather Round among a few others. Our homeschool is random relaxed and full of good content!
This is so informative! I love how you mix them! I have been almost completely set on TGTB for next year but something still doesn’t feel right and so the way you blend them is encouraging that I don’t have to stick with just one. Thanks so much for sharing this!
We used tgatb this year for 2/3 kids and enjoyed it... at first. Then it felt overwhelming to get all the things done. I have been considering master books but worried it wouldn’t be enough. This video has helped me see how I can ‘mash’ the two together and make it work for my reluctant reader boy, my bright boy with autism and my little girl who is eager to learn all the things and be better at it than her brothers 😂 Thank you for sharing what was laid on your heart... it was for a reason 💓
Thank you for the encouragement! We are exploring TGATB this year for my 8th grader, and just ordered one of the science classes from MB. It does seem like different curriculum have their strong points, and also their time and place. To me, it is refreshing to change up the routine or the method a bit. 😊
Love this video! I do the same with mixing curriculum to make sure my kids are getting a well rounded exposure to different teaching methods and information. I will be adding MB to our rotation next year.
I noticed that my daughter does better with TG&TB language arts than Masterbooks. So I think I will mix and match next year. This was out first year homeschooling, so we are getting to know how to do things better. Thanks for this video!
Agree on all of it. I think both are super solid curriculums and you cannot go wrong. Very different... We did a mix of both but 100% tgatb now bc mine do super on it but I can see how master books would on a kid that learns differently.. Different ages, gather round would be a blessing. Seriously best 3! I use a bible mix of all different bible books since tgatb doesn't do a bunch of bible. Make it work for you. Options as wonderful.
@@SimplyLivingIt Have you looked into Apologia’s Who Is God series? So good! I talked about it on my channel a little. We enjoyed the book and learned a lot.
@@SimplyLivingIt I fill a galvanized big tub with these: We pick a devotional and look up the scriptures that correlate daily. Those devotionals we pick from are: Daily truth for Kids( daily grace n co.), Jesus calling ( Sarah Young) or Kingdom family devotion (Tony Evans). Then grab a science bible study: Indescribable( Louie Giglio) or Weird & Wacky ( Bonnie Bruno) and a Bible history study: The Bible Explorers Guide ( zonderkidz) or Bible Infographics set ( Harvest kids and it's the best purchase ever. ). I have Ken Ham's apologetics set in there and the 7 C's set from Answers in Genesis. Got a box of bible trivia cards, gratitude journals and a kids book of prayers. It's kinda a grab a few and plop down together first thing....sometimes I pick sometimes kids usually getting a good mix daily. I'll send ya a pic.
Oh, I couldn’t love this video more! We began using TGATB in August 2020 for my 8 & 6 year old. It wasn’t a perfect fit for us. So we switched to MB after Christmas. Homeschooling has been a lot smoother since we switched! I have purchased TGATB handwriting practice books to add in to LLFLE though. We love the mash up! And I agree the spelling for LLFLE is PERFECT! My oldest was not absorbing any of the spelling words from from TGATB. But since the switch, I think he’s struggled with 2-3 words out of about 30 spelling words! And he’s began reading for fun totally unprompted since we switched!
I kept hearing about the bible in Masterbooks so we got level 1 for my son and there hasn't really been any 😭 At this point in my son's education, Masterbooks want meeting our needs, but I really hope in the future, when he gets passed phonics stuff and is a more fluent reader, that we can revisit Masterbooks. We aren't a fan of the dictionary either at this point. Are the dictionaries still in the older levels of LLFLE? We actually just switched to the good and the beautiful and in the midst of all the controversy with it, I am so thankful for your positive reviews on TGTB. If it weren't for your videos and two of my friends, I probably never would have given TGTB a chance due to what some youtubers have said so again, THANK YOU because it's been such a good fit for my son.
Mama...I have said it before and I'll say it again...follow your heart! Everyone has an opinion...right?! I am going to form my own and follow my convictions! ❤ About MB, there are some pages even in the upper grade levels that we do away with (as with any curriculum) but the Bible studies and simplicity I just can't let go of...yet. ❤ Some days we need quick lessons and MB is great for those days as well! As far as the controversial side of things...follow your heart and your own convictions, mama. ❤🤗
I just found your channel and throughly enjoying it. We love The Good and Beautiful curriculum and have gone through Level 1 to 3. We are currently busy with Level 4. I do agree with you, they don't have bible time entwined, we bought a seperate bible curriculum. We are using More than Words Bible Curriculum from Rebecca. I've been considering buying Masterbook's Language Lessons to use in conjunction with G&B so thank you for posting this video.
This is our first year, and I'm already starting to feel burned out😫 He's in 8th grade. Next year is high school, and I feel like things need to change so much by then. I feel like most of what we do right now, just isn't enough, and it's a bit too easy. However, I don't want to make things too difficult. Right now we do More Than Words, Fix It Nose Tree, TGATB beginning cursive, TT math, and Gather Round. Sometimes it all takes longer than we would like. I feel he needs more ELA, more science, etc. Especially next year. I'm often tempted to put him back in school😢 I know I'm probably still comparing school to "public school."
I honestly had thought about doing both as well but wasn’t sure how I could make that work. This really helped encourage me so much! I especially want to experiment a lot now since only one of my kiddos is school age. Thanks!
Thank you for this!!! This is our first year using TGATB for LA but some days I know ill need something a little " shorter"...Just ordered master books for them to have for those days...Thank you for this!
The good and the beautiful are awesome!!! All curriculums can be used in a way that works best for our kids. I teach journaling anyway in our devotional time. We also use spellings they struggle wiv. I feel the good and the beautiful expects u do have a separate bible timeout does have the Bible be Christian topics in it. The assigned writing can be done at another time. I’m not picky if pictures are in journaling or not. Nothing‘s perfect.
Yes, I mish and mash curriculum!!! E.P. math with Masterbooks Math, and some MEP Math and with Ray's Primary Arthimetic for my first grader. Then I mash E.P. Math with "Math with Confidence" level K for my Kindergartener (sometimes we throw in Under the Home math and I am thinking of doing a few pages from "First Year in Number"). It sounds funny and chaotic so I rarely explain it to people but we just rotate through it, skip some things, and it works!!! I do the same for all our core subjects (Math, Reading, Writing) and I kind of thought I was the weird out there homeschooling mom...so your video was encouraging. Thank you!
It has taken me a couple of years to relax and let things go. I think because they cost so much (especially with overseas postage) I feel I have to finish it. We have tried TG&TB twice and it just didn't fit. We also used MB LLFLE but only for a year even though we loved so much about it. One thing I have found with many curriculums is that her reading is at 1 level, her grammar at another, and her spelling different again. So grammar was on point using either curriculum, but the spelling and reading was way to easy etc. It is easy to get caught up by other peoples recommendations but a great curriculum may not fit your child, in this season. So mixing and mashing can meet your child's needs more closely.
Completely agree with everything said here. I’d also like to add, don’t listen to the homeschool companies when making your decision. We stepped away from Masterbooks after seeing the way they used their social media platform to bash TGTB. We are a Christian household that uses whatever curriculum I feel my kids do best with, regardless of what faith the creator of said curriculum is.
We have been using MB and Tgatb for few years now, tgatb has definitely improve, we didn't like the writing very much and it jump around a lot too, so the new levels are much better. My 7th grader enjoys it but he likes Writing strands much better for writing. Our favorite part about MB is that Bible is at the center of every subject.
I don’t use either of these currently, but what you said about 7th grade really got me! I feel like my fb groups are all like “drop back a level” or “he doesn’t need to be at a certain level” but that just doesn’t sit right with me! 7th grade IS important doggone it! I want to feel like I’m preparing him for 8th grade whether it’s at home or enrolled in public school! I want HIM to feel confident that he’s at the same level as his peers. I’ve never homeschooled before, and I don’t feel that right now. We’re doing GR only (plus math) but I’m just unsure. If I challenge him I get “uuuggggghhhh” and if I let him do upper elementary level, it’s too easy!!! I’m beginning to feel like it’s not a great fit for us, but I won’t be making any changes this year. I said all that just to say....thanks for always being real! And thank you for your seasoned advice!! It’s definitely not falling on deaf ears!💕
I use TGTB K plus all about reading for my special needs son. It works beautifully. I’m so happy he’s my 3rd kid. I would have never had the confidence to go back and forth with 2 full curriculums. Thanks for this video. We love MB too but we don’t us it for LA.
So glad u made this! The Good & the Beautiful is just that... This yr we decided not to go w/ the Lang. arts tho we use their history, science, games, & library still! We will go back to their Lang. in the future. Maybe next yr. or the next. Both of my boys can use the same level bc their Lang. 6 for example, is for grades 6 or 7 so that's something they both can do w/o me or them feeling like they're behind😅! I'm looking forward to it 💗 but for now, we REALLY needed something simple & basic-straight to the point.. Maybe not so many bells & whistles & just focus on the main things & so we went w/ Master Books for the 1st time at the start of this 20-21 school yr. We aren't really doing geography, much science or history but I do throw it in there when I can!! They are doing levels below their grade level. I just stopped trying to push them ahead when they had not truly gotten the concept of things bc of my lack of time-not anything on their part. We are truly loving Master Books Lang & Math (it's our main focus point right now)& I'm so glad I found them! I still deal w/ guilt bc the boys aren't at their grade level but they're finally getting things..understanding!! I'm so thankful for that. Right now, Master Books is a blessing to us & The Good & the Beautiful is my peace of mind for the future knowing that after we get over this hump, I'll be able to order 1 level in Lang. & they'll both be "on track"! I have no negative things to say for either curriculums! 😍
We tried TGTB and my kids hated it - they hate language arts and writing and all the words in each lesson (older versions ) freaked them right out :P We are using Learning Language Arts Through Literature and IEW for writing- it’s the first 2 programs I tried last year that resulted in “zero” tears - 🥇 win ! But … my 3rd grader loved MB’s science last year so this year , MB’s geography, cursive, and bible have been added in :P I want to add in the LAFLE for him as a “quick review/do in your own “ morning work … am I nuts ? I’m a mish-masher and LA is my boys’ weakest subject … they could use something to review / cement ideas they learn . Thoughts ?
We are total mashers!! For my 4th & 6th graders: TBATB & MB both for LA, Bookshark/Sonlight for reading with history, Saxon for math, MB for science. But I want to add IEW for writing and grammar. And my 4 year old will be starting Abeka K4 soon. So many different companies!! 🤪
My oldest is finishing IEW Writing Student Writing Intensive, Fix It! Grammar, All About Spelling and TGTB Level 4 (only the course book). I do TGTB and All About Spelling each day. I use Fix It Grammar twice a week and IEW Writing, 1 writing assignment week. Eventually, IEW and Fix It will be Writing and Grammar in High School. Trying to prepare my oldest to IEW teaching style. The curriculums are working for my oldest. My oldest needed rules for spelling and more guidance in what to write. My oldest found it difficult to write by brain storming. IEW gives something to write. I hope this helps.
I appreciate your opinions and im thankful you shared that. Im gonna check out masterbooks bc ive been searching for a spelling curriculum and havent found one that works for us. Spelling U See i guess is good for some, but i printed out sample sheets from 3 different levels of it and i wasnt impressed. So im gonna check out masterbooks. Thank you Jamie😁
Spelling is a hard one! Evan Mor has some great books for spelling as well. Super cheap...like $8 a book on Amazon. Just good, old fashioned spelling workbooks! 😃
When I looked at TGTB the spelling was included in the placement and it put Sam way behind where he was on all other content areas. I know they do things differently now but we haven't thought about trying it again since what we are doing is working well. We use All About Spelling, IEW fix it grammar and student writing intensive. Then we use the Read Aloud Revival membership for fun lit stuff!
So thankful for your video! Been struggling trying to decide between Masterbooks and TG&TB. Ill have a newborn come next school year and liking both of these curriculum and weighing doing both. Gives me options to switch books when I can't be there %100 with a newborn. How do you plan out each kid doing both sets weekly?
This is advice I often forget about...you control the curriculum, it doesn't control you. We're enjoying a lot of TGTB this year but we're not using the LA...yet. haha My plan is to add it in next year to our Fix-It Grammar and Mad Libs. Between the three...
@@SimplyLivingIt LOVE Fix It! They've been learning all these parts of speech and when to indent and how to use quotations etc etc but with Fix It they actually get to APPLY what they've learned.
We are using THTB writing and I’m excited to try one of their science units; unfortunately, we didn’t enjoy their math and I think the Language Arts may be too much all over the place so we’re using MB Language Lessons and Math
Beautiful clip ! ❤️ Very nice Vlog, Can You make clip.. Organisation, cleaning office desk - Declutter Paperwork your office? cleaning desk old papers, mails, documents ... sorting ripping papers, documents ... can you make that clip?
Thank you! I havnt used either of these although I think I’ve used everything else 🤣 Abeka, MFW, Rightstart etc nothing has seemed to “click” and I feel my boys are behind in spelling, language and in writing. I want them to be proficient in reading and spelling. Considering doing the flip flop method as you so eloquently labeled it 🤣
I thank you for this video. It’ll free a lot of us mamas. My daughter is in 9th grade. We are currently using TGATB Lang Arts HS year 1. It IS a beautiful curriculum, but it IS lengthy. Also, the novels she is supposed to read with the unit booklets are mostly boring. The poetry is ok, the Art is amazing. The geography is great, but she’s required to do World Geography in 9th grade in our state, and we’re already doing Abeka W Geog. So it’s like doubling up on that. We’re going to finish tgatb this year, but probably won’t continue thereafter.
I’m a new homeschool mama and I plan on doing a mix and match, this video really helped me on making that choice. There is so much curriculum out there that I started to stress out on what would be the “perfect fit” for my kids. For 21/22 I will have a 2nd grader, kinder and a rambunctious 3yr old. I plan to use A year of tales for all 3 kids and TGTB la for my 2nd grader, math maybe TGTB since master books was too easy and boring for 1st grader but my preschooler loved it.
I will have the exact same ages next year too! What level will you be starting your 2nd and kindergartener on? I'm so torn between level 1 & 2 for my 2nd grader!
@@kerricrofutt6560 I’m starting my 2nd grader with level 1 since on the website and all CZcams reviews say the levels are advanced and this will be our 1st time using it. This school year we tried online school and it was so hard for him, so I want to rebuild his confidence. My kinder, I ordered the primer k and the kindergarten level since she loves doing school work. I was worried we would run out of school work for her to do with Primer K.
@@crystaldorais4073 Yes! My first grader did online schooling too! She did really well in LA but struggled math. My kindergartener loves school too so I'm not too worried about her! I'm going to get K primer and level K as well! Will you be using TGTBmath as well?! I'm debating on that one!
This is my first year homeschooling my twins for kindergarten. I am a researcher so I researched a TON of curriculum before started ( and I still do 🤦♀️). I knew that just one curriculum wasn't going to work for us. For LA we use TG&TB and add in Explode the Code, for math we use Masterbooks and Abeka. Everything is working really well.. Next year I'm already planning on mixing it up even more. Haha
I would love to hear how you use both Abeka and Masterbooks for Math! I have an upcoming kindergartener who currently uses K4 Abeka. I am planning to use Abeka K5 because I already have the kit and actually we all really liked the K4 program. But I also have all the Masterbooks K and Level 1 books on my shelf and really want to use them. We have slowly been working through Math Level k throughout this year, but because we already have enough to do with Abeka, we are only on Lesson 9. Level 1 MB Math seems to be in line with the Abeka K5 book so just wondering how you utilize both!
I don't use MB for math any longer! I used TG&TB math 2 for my youngest but we will be returning to A Beka as soon as he finishes his book. I'm not loving TG&TB math.
@@chelseaelizabeth1714 For preschool all we did were workbooks from Costco or Sam's club and my girls loved them. Thats when I found out they were workbook kids. I really wanted to try Masterbooks because I loved how I kept hearing how gentle they were. So when it was time to start Kindergarten I got the Level 1. They love it but halfway through the book they were getting bored. We were doing almost a full lesson (which is usually 5 pages) a day but they were getting tired of the copy work since we were doing it all in one day. So I decided to add another workbook with less copywork and more "busy" work. Not that Abeka is busy work but thats the word that came to mind. They love it!! So now we do 1 or 2 pages of Masterbooks a day and like 2 or 3 pages of Abeka a day (at their request). This month they've been asking more for Abeka. So basically when they get tired of one they'll ask for the other. I kind of let them choose. Sorry that was a long explanation. I also want to mention those number are from mostly 1 of the twins. She can keep going and going all day with school. My other is the opposite. She'll do more like 1 page of each a day and I'm completely ok with that. They are 2 different kids and learn differently and at their own pace.
@@SimplyLivingIt TGATB is completely revamping their math curriculum b/c there were so many people that were expressing concerns. We switched half way this year.
@Erin Bryan! Yes, I am looking forward to this so much. I almost fell for the discounted curriculum trick until I read why it was all discounted, Lol! We are going to have to purchase a filler, regardless, ( he only has 20 lessons left in math 2) but, I look forward to seeing what they have to offer come fall! ❤
Ok I have to pause the video right now and ask, how do you get confidence in deciding what to skip in curriculum? How do you know what they need to absolutely do and what is ok to pass on? I am one who tries to have my child do everything on the page or everything assigned and sometimes wonder if I’m making homeschool harder than it needs to be because of it! Thanks for your help mama!
Mama...are you a mixer and a masher like me?! Let me know down below! I can't be the only one! 😂🤔🤣❤
Yes!!! I mix and mash between Abeka and MB. Two totally different approaches, but I think part of me is still not trusting the whole process with Masterbooks, and like the repetition and reinforcement of Abeka. Next year, I think I really want to go all in with Masterbooks and just see what happens. I am totally simplifying...
I'm definitely a mixer and a masher! I use MB, TGATB, and Abeka! And I'm really wanting to try out Gather Round too, lol!
I totally mix and match 😃🙌🏼🙌🏼 I am not loyal to one company 😬
Yes! TGATB, MasterBooks, Gather round mini units. Agree 100% with the levels and the Biblical with TGATB. I add in what works for our family. Correct on everyone needs to do their own research on what works for their family style and how their kids learn.
Yesss! Definitely a mixer and masher!! We do Master books and Gather Round and about to start TGTB!!! And we throw in other little things from other books.
“Make it your own.” This should be every homeschool motto.
We get the opportunity to cater education to our children’s/family needs. What a blessing!
Just wanted to add, TGTB does have spelling list in their Language Arts book, it’s in the back of the book. We switched from Abeka to TGTB and TGTB has been an amazing curriculum! My kids are enjoying school again, and begging me to do school everyday of the week
THANK YOU!!! I feel this pressure and I've never heard anyone just say, "you don't have to choose." And I just never thought that way! I feel a weight lifted, thank you for sharing ❤️
Thank you for being here, friend! You do not have to choose between the two! Use them how you like and in a way that fits YOUR home! ❤
Yes! I stressed myself out trying to stick to the only one curriculum and when I finally let go of that idea/“rule” it was a positive game changer. I've become a total mixer haha and we love it.
Just hearing your say that you don't have to pick just one helps me feel so much better.
Be free, mama!!!!😍😂
I do exactly this ! Masterbooks is my spine , my roots for teaching . But I love love TGTB readers and some of their course books. It’s a perfect marriage of curriculum for me .
The good and the beautiful was overwhelming for my children and I. At some point in the lesson my kids turned off and we started our day with language arts but couldn’t finish and couldn’t do more.
I am a former public school teacher turned homeschool mom and chose the Good and Beautiful for this first year of home school. I have kids in 5th, 2nd, and TK. My 5th is also using Level 4 GB because I knew she had Language Arts skill gaps even though she is an avid reader. My 2nd grader is using Level 1 because he needed to start there. He has mad so much progress with his reading this year. My youngest was 4 when school started and in what CA considers the first year of a 2 year kindergarten program. She started with Primer K and has moved into Level K. I love The Good and Beautiful for my younger two especially. It has worked well for us this year. I plan to use it next year with my younger two, but I have other plans for my oldest who will be in 6th next year. Thank you for sharing your comparisons.
Love this! We have been using TGTB for a couple years and then tried out Masterbooks (LA) this year. I’ve gone back and forth because truthfully I love BOTH for different reasons! I keep thinking...if I could just blend the 2 together it would be perfect!🤣🤷🏻♀️ so we’re still trucking along and doing both! Thanks for this video!!! I love your perspective!!
How did you end up doing both??
Yes, that was one thing I did like about MB. The biblical part of it.
This is our first year homeschooling and we chose master books for math and TGTB for LA. We do the same here with skipping lessons/parts of. Yesterday, my daughter was doing multiplication facts after the break and was in tears from being so frustrated so we stopped and pulled out our Usborne times table book (after the tears were gone) read a few pages and then she was fine!!
I would have never known she’s loved poetry if we hadn’t gone with TGTB. I’m so happy for my chance to homeschool my babies!! Thanks for all your encouragement girl ❤️
Yes I do this too! At times i get a little overwhelmed with all the amazing resources and trying to fit it in (especially history and science!). But I love mixing and customizing our curriculum. This freedom is such a blessing! ❤
I love this Jaime! I love it so much, I just ordered TG&TB for my 7th grader and I am so excited to receive it now.
Yay!!!! Enjoy, mama! ❤
This is the beauty of Homeschool.. you know your child and household the best
YES!
The good and the beautiful curriculum was created by a Mormon. I think she intentionally left out a lot of the biblical approach so her curriculum would apply to more Christians-I appreciate this. I can always add in but it's difficult to read around specific doctrine. She does an excellent job sticking to general Christian doctrine that all Christians agree on.
Yes! I appreciate that as well. ❤
Great to know! Thank you!
We’ve used both. And love both. I feel like MB is gentler and easier for me to do with all 4 kids all in different levels high school down to K. I love the simplicity and biblical aspect, so sweet. I’m sure will use some of both again soon. Good to hear your thoughts!
We have used both Master Books and TGTB. We definitely like TGTB much more. I pull curriculum from all different places because there isn’t just one that satisfies all our needs.
We use mb for math. Lots of other resources for the other subjects. I’m the queen of mixing and mashing. I feel mb is more “open and go”. Which I like
We totally mash things up! We use TGTB for language arts, and MB for science, history, and math. That’s the amazing thing about homeschooling- you can tailor the curriculum to each child! You are correct about TGTB not having much Bible. They will occasionally have a verse or a parable, but it’s not often. I’m a fellow boy mom too! We have 4 boys. 2 currently in homeschool.
❤🤗❤ Thanks for being here, sweet mama!
We also use TGTB for LA and MB for math, science and history/social studies. I'm debating on how I want to mix and mash TGTB and MB for the 21/22 school year for 2nd grade and preschool. Also thinking about adding some unit studies from gather round or TGTB and possibly switching to teaching textbooks for math because my son is finishing MLFALE level 2 so would be third grade math as a second grader next year. 🙈 Any suggestions appreciated!?!
Thank you for posting this!! We are loving TGATB but I love the Bible focus in master books. I wanted to do both just like this but I was worried about doing too much. I’m going to try it out now. I love having that freedom. Your encouragement has made this new adventure so peaceful for me and my kiddos. Happy 2021 Jaime 💜💜💜
Mama...if you want to do both...do both! We are sure enjoying flowing with it in our own way! I can't let go of the simplicity of MB but yet...TG&TB is so good in its own way! 😂🤣 Just taking it one day at a time! HAPPY NEW YEAR, MAMA!
Love this comparison video!! We are using Masterbooks for LA (among other subjects) and are absolutely loving it. I'm thinking we even may make the switch for math.
Enjoy the freedom, mama!!! You've got nothing to lose! ❤🤗
We do the same, both Master books and the TGATB for the same reasons. I have my boys do one lesson in each of them, but it's not overwhelming to us. I love both curriculums.
This is so freeing! I have been doing TG&TB but it can be alot. I was feeling like Masterbooks was not in dept enough but your approach to use both makes so much sense! Thank you for your encouragement/insight on how your family uses the two curriculum ❤️
❤🤗
I'm using A Gentle Feast and throwing in TGTB a couple of times a week🙂
Thank you this is what i needed. I am going to blend them!
If I had to choose a curriculum just because I personally loved it, then i would have been with TGTB since the beginning of our homeschool journey to now. But you are so right about MB! I love how the bible is such a huge part of almost every lesson! I ordered Year 2 of GR and I really am sad to say I think my kids are needing shorter lessons and not to have to sit still for as long as I have to read to them. I figure that will be perfect for Middle school. I just ordered level 5 and level 2 of MB for the rest of the year into next year. I really do miss TGTB. It was so pretty and such a good curriculum! Just didn't work for my kids at that point in time.
Mama, you are doing an amazing job! ❤ Going with what flows in your homeschool is SUCH a freeing feeling and honestly a gift! Once I was OK with changing things up and mixing/mashing....ugh! What a difference that made!
We did Masterbooks L.A. this past school year. We liked it but didn't LOVE it, so this upcoming school year, we are trying tgtb. My kids are very excited about it so we will see!
This is so good! Thank you so much for this video. It's my first year and I was feeling a bit overwhelmed trying to still figure it out.
You are doing a great job, mama! One day at a time! ❤🤗❤
We use TGTB with Abeka for first grade. I’ve used these two for the last three years. It’s been great. I love when we make a curriculum work for us and not the curriculum drive our homeschool!
YES!!!! Doesn't it feel so good?!
@@SimplyLivingIt Yes it sure does 😁
We are using the Seton Home study curriculum and we will continue using it...we will just add some things from TGTB, Notgrass, and maybe Master books electives and science....
Beautifully said and very encouraging!! Thank you!!
Love this. Great advice! Thanks, Jamie!
We have been using The Good and The Beautiful. We love it! My 8th grader is almost done with level 6, and we plan to use level 7 for 9th grade and then move onto the high school levels.
I totally Mix and Mash 😆 It is our second year of homeschooling - my oldest is in 7th grade this year and had a hard transition year after being in the public system for 6 year. My youngest is in Gr. 2 this year and only went to Kindie for 8 months before everything shut due to Covid.
We are LOVING Homeschooling :D
This year I am finally starting to let go of the notion of recreating “school at home” and bringing in the fun elements of homeschooling.
My boys like yours are not big fans of art, writing, or lengthy lessons. Soo we’ve literally got a mix of curriculums .
I’ve realized both my boys are visual learners, and one is kinesthetic and the other Auditory.
This year we have Singapore Dimensions Math, Apologia Science (Gr.7), Masterbooks Science (Gr.2), Catholic Textbook Project for Social, and Learning Language Arts Through Literature (7 and 2).
For my second grader, he has really taken off with reading but his spelling is behind and he hates the usual spelling lists and workbook spelling books.so we are doing All About Spelling Level 1 and 2 - letter tiles, flash cards- the whole meal deal- and he’s really liking it.
I just printed off TGATB Level 2 for him to use to change things up so we’re not doing the same thing every day . Thanks for the review !!
In the mornings we start with Who Is God? Catechism and A Gather Round Unit Study….
Sooo yup- I’m not married to any particular company 🤪
I’ve been watching your videos for several months now and it’s definitely helping to boost my confidence as a homeschooler- thanks so much 😁
I love them both! This year we are using TGATB and next year we are going to be using Masterbooks! We will probably still use TGATB science though! We love their science! It’s so awesome you feel so much love for both curriculums, I couldn’t pick one either! Thanks for this video!
I'm still over here watching you and Torrie and missing homeschooling so much!
You make me smile, mama! ❤
Lots of mixing and mashing going on here! We started with Masterbooks, but decided to add TG&TB in late September for language arts, and just recently added TG&TB math when we started back after Christmas. The lessons are definitely longer with TG&TB, but I like that the math incorporates lots of manipulatives to drive the lesson home. Masterbooks was great because the lessons were very quick and easy to get through. On the fence about what we’ll stick with next year!
I love your approach! Some of us need to be told, "it's ok, you don't have to do it all"
Not a mixer and a masher, but definitely a flip flopper 🤣 We are having great success working for a while in TGTB and then (what feels like a refresher) a while in Masterbooks. I really like both!
Thank you so much for doing this video, Jamie!! 💞
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I love that you say you love MB’s spelling. I hear so many people say they feel like they supplement with another spelling curriculum, and I cannot figure out why!
My boys love old school lists, so I use MB list and have them review it daily before moving to the next list!
This is our second year using TGTB & my girls are thriving & loving it!
Yesssss! This!!! This is my first year homeschooling so the “letting go” is happening extremely slowly 😂 but just this week I have come to terms with this - mashing together 2 different curriculums to create our own 😀
You are doing a GREAT JOB, mama! ❤❤❤❤
You have learned in less than 1 year what it took me 8 years to see! ❤🤗🤗🤗
😂 thank you so much! Honestly only because of people like you making videos like this! Gave me the confidence 😀 so thank you! Because I know filming, editing and uploading videos is a lot of work. But they are appreciated xx
The good and the beautiful leaves the bible reading and journaling for the parents to add in they believe things like that should be taught by the parents
Thank you! I totally feel that should be the case and the exact reason why I don't use master books.
@@Mahagony1985 me too
I would LOVE to hear of any resources you use in your home, alongside your Bible's! 😍 I am always open to suggestions! We have a few but that's why I like incorporating MB...the Bible studies inside that we can work through together, with our Bible. We have been using the Tony Evans Bible study and we have really been enjoying that.
@@SimplyLivingIt my family we are Jehovah's Witnesses so we have a lot of resources for parents to name a few a brochure called "teach your children", "my book of Bible stories", "learn from the great teacher" and " Illustrated Bible stories" is my daughters favorite as it looks like a comic book but are bible stories. These are all offered for free online at www.jw.org we also do family bible dramas where we actually act out our favorite characters/stories ( no best acting awards coming our way lol but it's fun to do as a family)
We started off the year using ABEKA for everything. Turned out; it didn't fit for us for everything. So now we use a combination of Abeka, TGTB, Gather 'Round, and Masterbooks. It works well for us!
YES!!!! 👆This!!!!! I have actually considered going back to A Beka for my youngest because of where he is at. It is SO thorough and solid. I cannot go back to using it for everything like I used to, but maybe weave in a few things here and there. We will see! Thank you for sharing that, mama! ❤
@@SimplyLivingIt I love that it is thorough & solid, but I can't keep up with the constant barrage of quizzes and tests, and I didn't like the daily fight with my 6th grader! We've found a much better groove now. 😊
That is AMAZING and the best feeling, isn't it?! ❤
I'm very much a mixer and masher! It's nice to hear that we, new homeschooling mothers, don't have to use just one. However, I get overwhelmed with the amount of options out there, I feel buried under all of them. How do you choose what to teach from each curriculum to customize your own?
We are currently using TGTB and Masterbooks for my 1st grader. We've used TGTB for the last few years for my 4th and 6th grader but switched to master books for this year. I love both! For the same reasons you have mentioned. I love the layout of TGTB. in master books, I love the biblical aspect. There is a love hate with both. We also use a little bit of Gather Round among a few others. Our homeschool is random relaxed and full of good content!
This is so informative! I love how you mix them! I have been almost completely set on TGTB for next year but something still doesn’t feel right and so the way you blend them is encouraging that I don’t have to stick with just one. Thanks so much for sharing this!
We used tgatb this year for 2/3 kids and enjoyed it... at first. Then it felt overwhelming to get all the things done. I have been considering master books but worried it wouldn’t be enough. This video has helped me see how I can ‘mash’ the two together and make it work for my reluctant reader boy, my bright boy with autism and my little girl who is eager to learn all the things and be better at it than her brothers 😂 Thank you for sharing what was laid on your heart... it was for a reason 💓
I'm planning on homeschooling my two boys with Masterbooks in 21/22 school year.. we are pretty excited about it! 😁
Yay!!!! That is great, mama! ❤
Definitely a mixer and masher here!! Haha ... I respect you so much ❤️ thanks for sharing this!! ❤🙏
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Thank you for the encouragement! We are exploring TGATB this year for my 8th grader, and just ordered one of the science classes from MB. It does seem like different curriculum have their strong points, and also their time and place. To me, it is refreshing to change up the routine or the method a bit. 😊
I love this! I really needed to hear this! I kept trying to decide between the two, but I love them both maybe I can just do both!!!! Thanks for that!
Love this video! I do the same with mixing curriculum to make sure my kids are getting a well rounded exposure to different teaching methods and information. I will be adding MB to our rotation next year.
Yes, and honestly...why not?! Why NOT explore all our options and resources?! It is part of the freedom in homeschooling!!!!😃
I’m definitely a mixer and a masher.
I noticed that my daughter does better with TG&TB language arts than Masterbooks. So I think I will mix and match next year. This was out first year homeschooling, so we are getting to know how to do things better. Thanks for this video!
Happy homeschooling sweet mama! ❤
The lessons for the older kids are longer. Sometimes I have to give my son a break but I don’t let him give up on it.
Agree on all of it. I think both are super solid curriculums and you cannot go wrong. Very different... We did a mix of both but 100% tgatb now bc mine do super on it but I can see how master books would on a kid that learns differently.. Different ages, gather round would be a blessing. Seriously best 3! I use a bible mix of all different bible books since tgatb doesn't do a bunch of bible. Make it work for you. Options as wonderful.
Megan, what do use in your home for Bible?! Maybe I need something specific for Bible and then I could more easily let go. 🤔🤔🤔❤
@@SimplyLivingIt Have you looked into Apologia’s Who Is God series? So good! I talked about it on my channel a little. We enjoyed the book and learned a lot.
Yes, we used it when my oldest was a bit younger! ❤
@@SimplyLivingIt I fill a galvanized big tub with these: We pick a devotional and look up the scriptures that correlate daily. Those devotionals we pick from are: Daily truth for Kids( daily grace n co.), Jesus calling ( Sarah Young) or Kingdom family devotion (Tony Evans).
Then grab a science bible study: Indescribable( Louie Giglio) or Weird & Wacky ( Bonnie Bruno) and a Bible history study: The Bible Explorers Guide ( zonderkidz) or Bible Infographics set ( Harvest kids and it's the best purchase ever. ). I have Ken Ham's apologetics set in there and the 7 C's set from Answers in Genesis. Got a box of bible trivia cards, gratitude journals and a kids book of prayers. It's kinda a grab a few and plop down together first thing....sometimes I pick sometimes kids usually getting a good mix daily. I'll send ya a pic.
Oh, I couldn’t love this video more! We began using TGATB in August 2020 for my 8 & 6 year old. It wasn’t a perfect fit for us. So we switched to MB after Christmas. Homeschooling has been a lot smoother since we switched! I have purchased TGATB handwriting practice books to add in to LLFLE though. We love the mash up! And I agree the spelling for LLFLE is PERFECT! My oldest was not absorbing any of the spelling words from from TGATB. But since the switch, I think he’s struggled with 2-3 words out of about 30 spelling words! And he’s began reading for fun totally unprompted since we switched!
Yay! That's amazing, mama! ❤
I kept hearing about the bible in Masterbooks so we got level 1 for my son and there hasn't really been any 😭 At this point in my son's education, Masterbooks want meeting our needs, but I really hope in the future, when he gets passed phonics stuff and is a more fluent reader, that we can revisit Masterbooks. We aren't a fan of the dictionary either at this point. Are the dictionaries still in the older levels of LLFLE?
We actually just switched to the good and the beautiful and in the midst of all the controversy with it, I am so thankful for your positive reviews on TGTB. If it weren't for your videos and two of my friends, I probably never would have given TGTB a chance due to what some youtubers have said so again, THANK YOU because it's been such a good fit for my son.
Mama...I have said it before and I'll say it again...follow your heart! Everyone has an opinion...right?! I am going to form my own and follow my convictions! ❤
About MB, there are some pages even in the upper grade levels that we do away with (as with any curriculum) but the Bible studies and simplicity I just can't let go of...yet. ❤ Some days we need quick lessons and MB is great for those days as well!
As far as the controversial side of things...follow your heart and your own convictions, mama. ❤🤗
Yeah my son loves the science in master books having the Bible intertwined.
I just found your channel and throughly enjoying it. We love The Good and Beautiful curriculum and have gone through Level 1 to 3. We are currently busy with Level 4. I do agree with you, they don't have bible time entwined, we bought a seperate bible curriculum. We are using More than Words Bible Curriculum from Rebecca. I've been considering buying Masterbook's Language Lessons to use in conjunction with G&B so thank you for posting this video.
YES! We have More Than Words as well and LOVE it!!!! I'm so happy you're here, mama! 🤗💜
This is our first year, and I'm already starting to feel burned out😫 He's in 8th grade. Next year is high school, and I feel like things need to change so much by then. I feel like most of what we do right now, just isn't enough, and it's a bit too easy. However, I don't want to make things too difficult. Right now we do More Than Words, Fix It Nose Tree, TGATB beginning cursive, TT math, and Gather Round. Sometimes it all takes longer than we would like. I feel he needs more ELA, more science, etc. Especially next year. I'm often tempted to put him back in school😢 I know I'm probably still comparing school to "public school."
I honestly had thought about doing both as well but wasn’t sure how I could make that work. This really helped encourage me so much! I especially want to experiment a lot now since only one of my kiddos is school age. Thanks!
So love this review... It's so helpful! Thank you thank you!
Thank you for this!!! This is our first year using TGATB for LA but some days I know ill need something a little " shorter"...Just ordered master books for them to have for those days...Thank you for this!
The good and the beautiful are awesome!!! All curriculums can be used in a way that works best for our kids. I teach journaling anyway in our devotional time. We also use spellings they struggle wiv. I feel the good and the beautiful expects u do have a separate bible timeout does have the Bible be Christian topics in it. The assigned writing can be done at another time. I’m not picky if pictures are in journaling or not. Nothing‘s perfect.
Yes, I mish and mash curriculum!!! E.P. math with Masterbooks Math, and some MEP Math and with Ray's Primary Arthimetic for my first grader. Then I mash E.P. Math with "Math with Confidence" level K for my Kindergartener (sometimes we throw in Under the Home math and I am thinking of doing a few pages from "First Year in Number"). It sounds funny and chaotic so I rarely explain it to people but we just rotate through it, skip some things, and it works!!! I do the same for all our core subjects (Math, Reading, Writing) and I kind of thought I was the weird out there homeschooling mom...so your video was encouraging. Thank you!
We use both here also currently ...mix n match different things different days
It has taken me a couple of years to relax and let things go. I think because they cost so much (especially with overseas postage) I feel I have to finish it. We have tried TG&TB twice and it just didn't fit. We also used MB LLFLE but only for a year even though we loved so much about it. One thing I have found with many curriculums is that her reading is at 1 level, her grammar at another, and her spelling different again. So grammar was on point using either curriculum, but the spelling and reading was way to easy etc. It is easy to get caught up by other peoples recommendations but a great curriculum may not fit your child, in this season. So mixing and mashing can meet your child's needs more closely.
Completely agree with everything said here. I’d also like to add, don’t listen to the homeschool companies when making your decision. We stepped away from Masterbooks after seeing the way they used their social media platform to bash TGTB. We are a Christian household that uses whatever curriculum I feel my kids do best with, regardless of what faith the creator of said curriculum is.
We are mashing Truthquest and IEW and Bible this year.
Thank you so much for this video!! It’s so incredibly helpful.❤️
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We have been using MB and Tgatb for few years now, tgatb has definitely improve, we didn't like the writing very much and it jump around a lot too, so the new levels are much better. My 7th grader enjoys it but he likes Writing strands much better for writing. Our favorite part about MB is that Bible is at the center of every subject.
I don’t use either of these currently, but what you said about 7th grade really got me! I feel like my fb groups are all like “drop back a level” or “he doesn’t need to be at a certain level” but that just doesn’t sit right with me! 7th grade IS important doggone it! I want to feel like I’m preparing him for 8th grade whether it’s at home or enrolled in public school! I want HIM to feel confident that he’s at the same level as his peers. I’ve never homeschooled before, and I don’t feel that right now. We’re doing GR only (plus math) but I’m just unsure. If I challenge him I get “uuuggggghhhh” and if I let him do upper elementary level, it’s too easy!!! I’m beginning to feel like it’s not a great fit for us, but I won’t be making any changes this year.
I said all that just to say....thanks for always being real! And thank you for your seasoned advice!! It’s definitely not falling on deaf ears!💕
I use TGTB K plus all about reading for my special needs son. It works beautifully. I’m so happy he’s my 3rd kid. I would have never had the confidence to go back and forth with 2 full curriculums. Thanks for this video. We love MB too but we don’t us it for LA.
I am doing the same thing 😁 just starting TGATB but keeping Masterbooks for the Bible lessons ❤️
Wait, what???! I'm not alone???!!! 😍😍😍
So glad u made this! The Good & the Beautiful is just that... This yr we decided not to go w/ the Lang. arts tho we use their history, science, games, & library still! We will go back to their Lang. in the future. Maybe next yr. or the next. Both of my boys can use the same level bc their Lang. 6 for example, is for grades 6 or 7 so that's something they both can do w/o me or them feeling like they're behind😅! I'm looking forward to it 💗 but for now, we REALLY needed something simple & basic-straight to the point.. Maybe not so many bells & whistles & just focus on the main things & so we went w/ Master Books for the 1st time at the start of this 20-21 school yr. We aren't really doing geography, much science or history but I do throw it in there when I can!! They are doing levels below their grade level. I just stopped trying to push them ahead when they had not truly gotten the concept of things bc of my lack of time-not anything on their part. We are truly loving Master Books Lang & Math (it's our main focus point right now)& I'm so glad I found them! I still deal w/ guilt bc the boys aren't at their grade level but they're finally getting things..understanding!! I'm so thankful for that. Right now, Master Books is a blessing to us & The Good & the Beautiful is my peace of mind for the future knowing that after we get over this hump, I'll be able to order 1 level in Lang. & they'll both be "on track"! I have no negative things to say for either curriculums! 😍
We tried TGTB and my kids hated it - they hate language arts and writing and all the words in each lesson (older versions ) freaked them right out :P
We are using Learning Language Arts Through Literature and IEW for writing- it’s the first 2 programs I tried last year that resulted in “zero” tears - 🥇 win !
But … my 3rd grader loved MB’s science last year so this year , MB’s geography, cursive, and bible have been added in :P I want to add in the LAFLE for him as a “quick review/do in your own “ morning work … am I nuts ?
I’m a mish-masher and LA is my boys’ weakest subject … they could use something to review / cement ideas they learn .
Thoughts ?
We are total mashers!! For my 4th & 6th graders: TBATB & MB both for LA, Bookshark/Sonlight for reading with history, Saxon for math, MB for science. But I want to add IEW for writing and grammar. And my 4 year old will be starting Abeka K4 soon. So many different companies!! 🤪
So many different options! Making it work for you is most important! ❤
My oldest is finishing IEW Writing Student Writing Intensive, Fix It! Grammar, All About Spelling and TGTB Level 4 (only the course book). I do TGTB and All About Spelling each day. I use Fix It Grammar twice a week and IEW Writing, 1 writing assignment week. Eventually, IEW and Fix It will be Writing and Grammar in High School. Trying to prepare my oldest to IEW teaching style. The curriculums are working for my oldest. My oldest needed rules for spelling and more guidance in what to write. My oldest found it difficult to write by brain storming. IEW gives something to write. I hope this helps.
We use Abeka but my 3rd grader struggles with spelling and cursive 🥴. I'm hoping to try TGATB or Masterbooks with those subjects soon.
This is so good! Thanks!
I appreciate your opinions and im thankful you shared that. Im gonna check out masterbooks bc ive been searching for a spelling curriculum and havent found one that works for us. Spelling U See i guess is good for some, but i printed out sample sheets from 3 different levels of it and i wasnt impressed. So im gonna check out masterbooks. Thank you Jamie😁
Spelling is a hard one! Evan Mor has some great books for spelling as well. Super cheap...like $8 a book on Amazon. Just good, old fashioned spelling workbooks! 😃
@@SimplyLivingIt thank you! I'll check that out😉
Thank you so much for sharing! Very helpful info.
Right there with you! We mix!
When I looked at TGTB the spelling was included in the placement and it put Sam way behind where he was on all other content areas. I know they do things differently now but we haven't thought about trying it again since what we are doing is working well. We use All About Spelling, IEW fix it grammar and student writing intensive. Then we use the Read Aloud Revival membership for fun lit stuff!
Thank you for this review!
So thankful for your video! Been struggling trying to decide between Masterbooks and TG&TB. Ill have a newborn come next school year and liking both of these curriculum and weighing doing both. Gives me options to switch books when I can't be there %100 with a newborn. How do you plan out each kid doing both sets weekly?
This is advice I often forget about...you control the curriculum, it doesn't control you. We're enjoying a lot of TGTB this year but we're not using the LA...yet. haha My plan is to add it in next year to our Fix-It Grammar and Mad Libs. Between the three...
Fix It Grammar is SO great...isn't it??!!😍❤
@@SimplyLivingIt LOVE Fix It! They've been learning all these parts of speech and when to indent and how to use quotations etc etc but with Fix It they actually get to APPLY what they've learned.
Great points! Thank you!
We are using THTB writing and I’m excited to try one of their science units; unfortunately, we didn’t enjoy their math and I think the Language Arts may be too much all over the place so we’re using MB Language Lessons and Math
❤
Beautiful clip ! ❤️ Very nice Vlog, Can You make clip.. Organisation, cleaning office desk - Declutter Paperwork your office? cleaning desk old papers, mails, documents ... sorting ripping papers, documents ... can you make that clip?
Thank you! I havnt used either of these although I think I’ve used everything else 🤣 Abeka, MFW, Rightstart etc nothing has seemed to “click” and I feel my boys are behind in spelling, language and in writing. I want them to be proficient in reading and spelling. Considering doing the flip flop method as you so eloquently labeled it 🤣
I thank you for this video. It’ll free a lot of us mamas. My daughter is in 9th grade. We are currently using TGATB Lang Arts HS year 1. It IS a beautiful curriculum, but it IS lengthy. Also, the novels she is supposed to read with the unit booklets are mostly boring. The poetry is ok, the Art is amazing. The geography is great, but she’s required to do World Geography in 9th grade in our state, and we’re already doing Abeka W Geog. So it’s like doubling up on that. We’re going to finish tgatb this year, but probably won’t continue thereafter.
I’m a new homeschool mama and I plan on doing a mix and match, this video really helped me on making that choice. There is so much curriculum out there that I started to stress out on what would be the “perfect fit” for my kids. For 21/22 I will have a 2nd grader, kinder and a rambunctious 3yr old. I plan to use A year of tales for all 3 kids and TGTB la for my 2nd grader, math maybe TGTB since master books was too easy and boring for 1st grader but my preschooler loved it.
I will have the exact same ages next year too! What level will you be starting your 2nd and kindergartener on? I'm so torn between level 1 & 2 for my 2nd grader!
@@kerricrofutt6560 I’m starting my 2nd grader with level 1 since on the website and all CZcams reviews say the levels are advanced and this will be our 1st time using it. This school year we tried online school and it was so hard for him, so I want to rebuild his confidence. My kinder, I ordered the primer k and the kindergarten level since she loves doing school work. I was worried we would run out of school work for her to do with Primer K.
@@crystaldorais4073 Yes! My first grader did online schooling too! She did really well in LA but struggled math. My kindergartener loves school too so I'm not too worried about her! I'm going to get K primer and level K as well! Will you be using TGTBmath as well?! I'm debating on that one!
Another great video 👌
Thank you 🙏 this was helpful! Just starting out.
This is my first year homeschooling my twins for kindergarten. I am a researcher so I researched a TON of curriculum before started ( and I still do 🤦♀️). I knew that just one curriculum wasn't going to work for us. For LA we use TG&TB and add in Explode the Code, for math we use Masterbooks and Abeka. Everything is working really well.. Next year I'm already planning on mixing it up even more. Haha
I would love to hear how you use both Abeka and Masterbooks for Math! I have an upcoming kindergartener who currently uses K4 Abeka. I am planning to use Abeka K5 because I already have the kit and actually we all really liked the K4 program. But I also have all the Masterbooks K and Level 1 books on my shelf and really want to use them. We have slowly been working through Math Level k throughout this year, but because we already have enough to do with Abeka, we are only on Lesson 9. Level 1 MB Math seems to be in line with the Abeka K5 book so just wondering how you utilize both!
I don't use MB for math any longer! I used TG&TB math 2 for my youngest but we will be returning to A Beka as soon as he finishes his book. I'm not loving TG&TB math.
@@chelseaelizabeth1714 For preschool all we did were workbooks from Costco or Sam's club and my girls loved them. Thats when I found out they were workbook kids. I really wanted to try Masterbooks because I loved how I kept hearing how gentle they were. So when it was time to start Kindergarten I got the Level 1. They love it but halfway through the book they were getting bored. We were doing almost a full lesson (which is usually 5 pages) a day but they were getting tired of the copy work since we were doing it all in one day. So I decided to add another workbook with less copywork and more "busy" work. Not that Abeka is busy work but thats the word that came to mind. They love it!! So now we do 1 or 2 pages of Masterbooks a day and like 2 or 3 pages of Abeka a day (at their request). This month they've been asking more for Abeka. So basically when they get tired of one they'll ask for the other. I kind of let them choose. Sorry that was a long explanation. I also want to mention those number are from mostly 1 of the twins. She can keep going and going all day with school. My other is the opposite. She'll do more like 1 page of each a day and I'm completely ok with that. They are 2 different kids and learn differently and at their own pace.
@@SimplyLivingIt TGATB is completely revamping their math curriculum b/c there were so many people that were expressing concerns. We switched half way this year.
@Erin Bryan! Yes, I am looking forward to this so much. I almost fell for the discounted curriculum trick until I read why it was all discounted, Lol! We are going to have to purchase a filler, regardless, ( he only has 20 lessons left in math 2) but, I look forward to seeing what they have to offer come fall! ❤
Ok I have to pause the video right now and ask, how do you get confidence in deciding what to skip in curriculum? How do you know what they need to absolutely do and what is ok to pass on?
I am one who tries to have my child do everything on the page or everything assigned and sometimes wonder if I’m making homeschool harder than it needs to be because of it!
Thanks for your help mama!
When things are repetitive...we skip! ❤My younger self would have NEVER skipped. But, here I am! Lol!!!! 🤣😂🤣