For those of you who read my other post regarding transition from private to public...I recently had a conference with the teacher of the private school since I wrote that post. Now I have additional concerns. Please bear with me as I travel this road to make this decision. Thanks Nita

This page has outlines of the Abeka program for all the grades, and this specific address should take you to see the 5th grade curriculum.

http://www.abeka.com/Resources/ScopeAndSequence.html#5th

I don't see that outside sports are not allowed, but that may be the particular's school policy. It may be more 'successful' to say that the curriculum requires it rather than have it seem like the school administrators don't want the students exposed to outside influences at all if possible. There may be some other reason entirely. I was sort of surprised not to see some mention of sports or P.E. under the health topics.

I don't think the program itself has to be that way. Any particular school, or homeschool, for that matter can opt for its own interpretation of how to use the abeka resources for the purposes of education.

my bias is that I think sports, or other physical or artistic activity is important to people's well-being on a critical level-- especially for children because those activities allow them at least a little self-directed time, and can provide some meaningful stress-relief

Thanks...I viewed the web site and made a copy of the curriculum. Amygdala, do you have a child who has taken this curriculum? Nita

It isn't the Abeaka curriculum that eats up the time, but rather the way the school chooses to administer it. Several private schools in my area use it. One is like the school you describe - homework & projects 24/7. Two others are more moderate in their approach & they have one project every 9 weeks.

A lot of schools feel if they should load the kids up with homework & projects, it makes them a "better school because of the rigorous program."

If you have reservations about this, follow your gut instincts & don't look back.

Ditto to what Caroltta says. A mother's gut instinct is usually powerfully insightful and should not be ignored. Wish someone had told me that when my older son was in preschool.

I am in that boat now-my son is going into 6th grade and has been in public since 2nd (he attended a christian for k and 1st and that school is just too far away). This other christian school we are looking at says he will not be at grade level with the abeka curriculum and he should repeat 5th. He's at grade level in public so we've already said we would not allow that. Did your son go to this school and did he have to play catch up?

After nine freaking years, I'm sure it's fresh in her mind....as if it would be relevant to the situation today anyway.

As a parent and a teacher, I don't think ANY child should be condemned to spending every waking second on schoolwork. You're not going to raise a very well-rounded person that way. It's important for them to engage in activities with their peers--be it sports, dancing, music, arts, gymnastics. In my opinion, it's VITAL for them to be encouraged to do a significant amount of volunteer work (at that age, my dd was raising puppies for the Seeing Eye--I'm sure, with the nightmarish curriculum you're describing, she would NOT have had time for the daily care of her puppies, nor the 4-H club meetings, activities and trips that were involved in the project). And really? They just to be able to have hours for 'down' time--time to go for a bike ride, or visit grandma, or bake some cookies--or help Dad rake the leaves, talking on the phone with friends, going to the mall, etc. As a teacher, I'd have to say that a child who is restricted to spending virtual every waking hour on school work, is going to grow up to be one who may have some serious issues--including things like not being able to interact well with peers, or maybe not being able to relax when it's appropriate for example.

You're going to have to sit down, evaluate what you like about this school, how important it is for your child to be able to engage in other activities outside of school, whether or not you can provide him with a good academic education--that you can afford--in another way. Only after you've looked at all your alternatives, will you be able to make the right decision.

I don't know you--but if what you've described is completely accurate, then I feel so sorry for your child, if he's going to be put in a situation where he's going to lose a year of childhood's golden days.

I teach 5th grade in a school that uses the Abeka Program and I can say that yes the curriculum is demanding and requires a lot from the students, BUT
(1)The teacher should break up the projects (Never more than 1 huge project at a time maybe 1 huge and 1 smaller but usually its the end of one and the beginning of another)
(2)The large projects are broken up into stages. The research paper is divided up into many different sections (books, 10 Note cards, another 10 note cards 1st draft, 2nd draft etc) each of these elements are assigned and then checked a student should not be allowed to go to the next section until the previous is complete.
(3) Also the research paper is done a lot in school... Most of the 4th quarter of Language is spent working on the research paper in class
(4) Science projects are not that difficult usually a Poster Board with pictures and 10 facts on it (5) Book reports just like in 3-4 However during the 4th quarter their book reports have to be about their research report so that the get information.
(6) I know at our school sports does not start until 7th grade

I hope this helps