Anyone use the same curriculum every year?

[Mysweetseven]

I was told that there was a study done that homeschool students who follow the same curriculum from start to finish are generally 2-3 years ahead of their peers. I haven't verified this yet buy reading the results myself but it did come to me from a trusted source. I'm not so interested in my children being "ahead" of their peers but rather wondering if this is a better learning option for them?? I can also see that if you start with a certain curriculum and it isn't a good fit that sticking with it throughout may not be best for a child either. So I'm curious if anyone has started with and used the same curriculum yr to yr?? What are your thoughts on this?

[7mom7]

Interesting...I could see how that would be true. I bet there is more backtracking and confusion by changing the curriculum each year. My kids are too young for me to tell but DS1 has gone from pre-k to 1st grade in the same reading program. He's for sure ahead of his peers in reading. I also felt really strongly that I wanted to choose the right math program the first time around and stick with it.

[Kristi26]

Hmm, that's interesting, but I tend to think it has more to do with the kid and his/her ability than the actual curriculum. DS1 and DS2 have both used varying curricula over the years. They began school life in the local PS (change #1 happened during DS1's PS career) and then came home for cyber school (change #2) and then finally settled into homeschooling (change 3). Some of curriculum choices were great for us and we'll stick with them, others were not so change 4 will come again in the fall.

DS1 has always struggled with school. He's dysgraphic and dyscalculic and thoroughly struggles with staying focused. DS2 has always had a very easy time with school and is generally very good at it. Both had lots of curricula changes but only 1 of the 2 has an easy time and could be considered "ahead."

[tallanvor]

I love the idea of it, and to an extent we do, but ODD has always been a bit of a challenge to find a greqt curriculum fit for. It seems we change something every couple years. We have always used the same math program, and the younger two will always have the same science program (ODD from now on will). Their English/grammar program won't change, either.

The only thing my kids have clearly been ahead in is reading. They have all read on a 2nd-3rd grade level by the end of kindergarten. But that is too early to be included in that study.

[MrsAsh]

As a student I used Bob Jones 1-12th grades. I was 1 year ahead. That was due to skipping K though. I did like knowing what to expect from my books each year, change always makes me very nervous and school was challenging enough for me (dyslexia).

[3 ladybugs]

This fall (assuming I can stay on track this year ), we will be doing our third year of Calvert. They are going to be adding a high school curriculum slowly in the next 4 years so it is possible that we will stick with them. It will really depend on our finances. If for some reason we have more cash to spend, we might go to another curriculum later.

I started my son early so it stands to reason he will finish early. He is 4 right now and in Kindergarden.

[RainandRedemption]

Very interesting!

I think any kind of change, and especially a lot of it, is hard on a child and diminishes their ability to grow intellectually. For me, I was constantly moving across the country and state to state and changing schools. My focus was always on moving, adjusting, figuring out my new surroundings and peers, and dealing with the ridicule (I was bullied).

My son struggled a lot the year we moved across country, stuck him in tball, had his cousins (he never meet before) spend days at a time in our home, and sent him to prek.

So I think a lot of factors play a part. And I agree, changing to a curriculum that suits a child more is always better than sticking with something they're struggling with.

Ds is just going into 1st next fall (although we might start in the summer). He did Abeka in prek and for k at home. We couldn't be happier to ditch that program. We started ambleside online about a month ago and have new math programs for the fall (or summer idk yet) and I do, very much hope they'll be right for us and we won't have to switch. Although I will, if they're not working

[HeatherlovesCDs]

I think as long as it is working for you, sticking with the same program (per subject) is probably best. With that in mind, we are using MFW and planning to stick with it. I do add in a few things and I'm planning to stick with those through the years as long as they are working as well.