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Abeka 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 resources are available in physical and digital format and include textbooks, workbooks, readers, and videos. Products can be purchased individually or as grade level kits.
Abeka Academy reviews are listed separately.
Website: Abeka
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(78 Reviews)
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Contributor Reviews
Reviews are solely the opinions of the contributor.
Grades Used: 1st and 3rd
I just started using A Beka this year though we started homeschooling midway through the school year the previous year. I used Horizons by Alpha Omega my first year and was in tears nearly every day due to the frustration from the materials and the difficulty of understanding of how to really cover the material. I finally switched to A Beka despite the few negative things (mostly everyone has hit the negative reviews I heard at least twice in this forum) I heard from people and we love it! I can see why some people do not like it, I can see how the repetition can be aggravating if your child does not need it. However, for me I just manipulate the curriculum to fit my children's needs, I have one who really needs that reinforcement of lesson coverage while my other does not need it and I omit it or cover the reviews briefly. Now as for the complaints about seatwork, I don't see that because I do not know how else you would be able to teach multiple grades without using seatwork to occupy one child while you teach the other? Though we do not do all of the seatwork I still don't see it is a good reason for not choosing A Beka because to me if you don't like it just omit it. I have also read from many reviews that A Beka does not inspire creative thinking, I think for that one it is too easy to have your child do projects on their own outside of the curriculum that inspires the creative thinking process. I hope to any homeschool parent out there that remembers what it is like to start out new would want to encourage a new homeschool parent to a curriculum that is not difficult to use and at the same time user friendly, I believe A Beka is it! I may juggle some different math programs in with our current A Beka math program because I feel at times we move a little slow but I would not go out and swap out my whole curriculum. I think for ease of use and trying to get started with Homeschool that A Beka should be highly considered in your home. Do the dvd's if you are too scared to teach all on your own at first! Good luck to anyone just starting out and remember it may be difficult at first but its so worth it!!!
Grades Used: K-10
I have been using Abeka for 12 years with my 3 sons. I like that the lesson plans are completely done for you. I did not always do everything they had listed to do. I did find though that some things that I might have skipped with one child I may not have skipped with another. I love that flexibility. I have found it to be very thorough in the phonics and grammar/composition. I did however supplement with an extra writing curriculum in their high school years and switched to a different math curriculum in the high school years. We love Abeka and I know that people complain that it is so repetitive, but I think that is a good thing. Not all children get things quickly and need that extra "busy work". I think it is great that Abeka realizes that and has that available. If your child does not need that extra repetition great, skip it and move on or go back later and use it as a review if needed. My older two children used Abeka through the 10th grade and then dual enrolled at the college and have done great! Thank you Abeka!!
Cons: No teacher's edition for Social Studies
Grades Used: K
I really like the phonics and reading curriculum (It's how I learned to read when I was five), but I'm a little worried that the newer edition moves faster than the old version. The little readers are bright and colorful and the kids enjoy reading them. The only downside is that Abeka does not put much focus on sight words, so if a child transitions into a regular school in first grade, they will be behind in that aspect.
The handwriting curriculum provides great practice for the kids, and integrates reading into handwriting early on. It also includes proper punctuation instruction as well.
With such great T.E.'s for phonics/reading, I was disappointed that there was not one for Social Studies. It's fairly straight forward, but having a teacher's book with additional ideas for activities beyond the workbook would be helpful. Also, some readers to go with it would be a good way to tie in reading/LA with social studies.
I have also used Abeka reading in a classroom setting as well, and I found that it is definitely not a good curriculum for ESL students, it moves too fast for them. but I did use the readers once they got the basics of reading down and they kids really enjoyed them. My students with stronger English did well with the program though.
Grades Used: K5 and 1st
With no "teacher" training, I was impressed with the ease of all subjects. I will be teaching myself for 3rd grade. We used the DVD for 1st grade and it was wonderful. The bright colors are enjoyable and the intertwining of scripture throughout all the courses makes it an A+ for our home. I also found American Heritage Girls (Christian scouting group) to have many like minded badge earning opportunities that go along with many classes, which creates another great homeschooling bonus, learning and fun. Very excited about 3rd grade!
Cons: school at home
Grades Used: K-6
I have used Abeka for verious subjects for many years. If you are new to homeschooling Abeka is wonderful because everything is well writen and laid out so it is easy to teach. It is a school at home approach with textbook style busy work. You can easily skip an busy work and move on to the next topic. If you complete Abeka you can feel confident that you have few if any gaps in your childs education. FIVE STARS!
Cons: Very time consuming.
Grades Used: K5 and 2nd grade
I really like the Abeka program but as I said if you only use the books and not the video program it takes a while just setting things up for the next day. If you are a seasoned homeschooler it might be ok for you because you will know what could be left out but this was my first time and I felt like I should go directly by the program guide which is great for step by step teaching but for a beginner it is incredibly time consuming. I became overwhelmed and gave up on it. If you can afford the DVD program and you children will sit and listen to them they are great there's no prep work just grading of tests. Unfortunately my children found them too boring and it became a daily fight just to get them to sit thru them. But with all this said I think the Abeka program is great and kids can learn a great deal from it if you don't have to fight th to do it.
Cons: MATH
Grades Used: PreK-4th
We are second generation Abeka users and still love it. My children have loved learning how to read with this program and have done very well. It is done very orderly and the children find the work fun to do. We do not like the Math program as my children became frustrated with it. All the other programs are done very well though.
Cons: math moves very quickly, we take our time with the lessons
Grades Used: 5,6,and 7th
We have enjoyed this program. It is thorough, math moves a little fast.
Cons: alot of work for underaverage students
Grades Used: K, 1,2,3,4,
Beka covers all information very thoroughly. I absolutely love their phonics program - especially if you have an above average student. The teachers manuals are thorough and easy to use - but you shouldn't try to cover everything they tell you to - it is too much. Cover the basics and what your student needs to work on.
Cons: many pages of busywork; customer service not great
Grades Used: K-10
We have the used A Beka curriculum for most subjects for two children since 2001. Overall we have been pleased with the thorough content, the nice presentation, the phonics approach to reading, the grammar, spelling and vocabulary emphasis, and the great teacher resources. We agree with other reviews that mention too many pages of seatwork, but we just are careful to only assign the amount of work that is needed for the individual child to master the material; some children need extra work, and others don't. We have had some issues with the customer service department; although the staff is very polite, they do not seem to be trained well at thinking through solutions to problems that sometimes occur with their computer system (such as conflicting balance on account page and on paper sent with books). We like the Biblical references included in the material.
Cons: Too MUCH seatwork & repetition.
Grades Used: 2nd
This was our first year using Abeka for 2nd grade. Love the phonics, my daughter has learned so much. Too much seatwork, my daughter was so overwhelmed with the seatwork, we stopped doing seatwork half ways through the year. Great cirriculum and covers so much, but too much work for some kids. Would love to continue to use it, but I am afraid we will get behind again this year as we did last year.
This is a thorough curriculum that makes sure children learn the task at hand. Repetition is good for retention and practicing helps in learning new concepts. It mixes fun with diligence and hard work. This curriculum is great in Bible stories. The children know what to expect when curriculum is followed. I do not recommend for parents who are unorganized and like to fly by the seat of pants. It is laid out very well and basically tells you what to do and when to do it..you just have to follow it. DVD's are very well made and easy to keep up with as a parent. You make sure the students follow along and are comprehending. You grade papers to see where help is needed. The DVD's helped me out when I had baby #4 at the beginning of the school year. I have been impressed with the outcome of this curriculum so far. Both my 3rd and 4th grader love reading and supplement Abeka with tons of books about things they are interested in. They even do Science experiments on their own from books they have. We have tried our best to instill a love for learning in our children and Abeka has helped in that.
Grades Used: K 5
The ABeka K5 phonics program is wonderful. I have used it it with my oldest daughter, who is 6. She is now in the first grade and is a great reader.I just started using it with my four year old. I highly reccomend it!
Cons: Repetative
I am using Abeka for Phonics, Spelling, Reading and Math. I suppliment Abeka science and history with other Unit Studies. I am VERY impressed with the Phonics program for ABeka. My daughter went to a private preschool and a public school for kindergarten. When we started with ABeka Phonics this year she looked at me SO confused. I wasn't sure I was doing everything as I should. Then I realized she didn't have Phonics in kindergarten. I pressed on and I cannot express enough how pleased I am with her progress. She is reading so well because she is understanding the "phonics" rules. Spelling with Abeka is not intense enough. There is not enough practice the first time around. I have to create extra work sheets for my daughter so she can practice with the words and she still isn't spelling well. Beyond three letter words, she gets lost. However, she is in first grade so I know she has a little time to learn to spell. ABeka is very repetative in Phonics, Math, Spelling and Reading. As for Spelling I know she will have the same words in another lesson down the road so I don't worry as much. I actually ordered a different Spelling program, but went back to ABeka because the words follow along with the Phonics and Reading they are doing. I would not call Abeka fun but we try to make it fun in our own way. Abeka Math is very good. My daughter is doing very well in math. Again, one thing I have learned with Abeka is it is very repetative. If your child does not get it the first time it will come back around again and they will pick it up then. If my daughter mastered it the first time we quickly review and move on. If she did not then we go over the whole lesson again and continue to work on it. The reading books that go along with Abeka are great. They work right inline with the Phonics lessons your child is learning. Over all with this being my first year homeschooling I wanted a cirriculum that told me exactly what to do each day and for my daughter not to fall behind. Abeka does all that. The teacher lesson plan literaly tells you exactly what to do. Everything with ABeka works together and I think that is what has helped me stay with it. Phonics, Reading, Spelling and Lauguage Arts all work together so that your child is actually doing work that they are currently learning.
Grades Used: 1st and 2nd
This is the second year we used Abeka, and my daughter loves this ciriculum. It is easy to use and she actually enjoys going to school. Love Abeka!
Grades Used: 4TH AND 7TH
MY DAUGHTERS LIKED USING THE ABEKA SCIENCE CURRICULUM AND MY YOUNGEST LIKES THE ABEKA MATH ALOT.
Cons: I have to usedditional resources because they don't cover enough material.
Grades Used: pre-K thru 12th
I do Love Abeka and have used it for many years. I have 9 children in various grade levels and Abeka is used by all. I use additional material to expand on things because I want them to learn more, retain better.
Cons: lots of workbook review (I overcome this by using only the K and the 2nd grade workbooks at a relaxed pace through the K, 1st, and 2nd grades)
Grades Used: Phonics:K4-2, Readers:K4-5th
I have not seen anything as thorough as A Beka!
These are the wonderful resources that I use over and over and over with my children as they start out:
K4 readers- are *awesome* to teach beginners how to build words!
K4 ABC Writing Tablet-I prefer this in K because of lighter work load.
K5 Letters and Sounds workbook- starts with the basics and builds...interesting and colorful...its easy to assign a page at a time
Handbook for Reading- *the most important* phonics tool for everyone in my opinion....covers the short vowels and consonants for K level all the way through to teaching the complex phonetic sounds that some other curricula leave untaught.
1st grade readers- adds step by step practice, making learning to read well easy
2nd grade Letters and Sounds- builds the confidence in advanced phonics
2nd grade readers- these *really* make reading enjoyable to the student
(Basic Phonics Charts- nice to have, good practice)
This is my complete phonics program using A Beka. If I left anything out that they make, its because I used it and found it to be excessive for the individual home education setting. I am beginning this process with my fifth child now:)
We also have all the reading books through 5th, and my children love them!
Grades Used: 3-5
We use the dvds and it makes learning so much fun. It spirals and my daughter is able to retain the information. The teachers are amazing.
Cons: Not enough explanation for H.S
Grades Used: 5,6,9,10
Abeka is really great for K-6. The curriculum for high school can be a lille challenging to teach especially Plane Geometry. There are not enough explanations for each lesson. A video for this course would be helpful.
Pros: very indepth; lots of repetition; lots of review before a test;
Cons: repetition is sometimes too much; Also, I'd prefer not to have so many different books & booklets. For example, why not have all the history tests, quizzes & skill sheets in the history book, rather than 4 different books? And there are several books for most every subject. For this reason, it's a pain if we are going to be doing school work away from home because you have to look in the curriculum for that day and figure out which quiz books, test books, skill sheet books, & text books to bring.
Grades Used: 4-8
My oldest daughter will only use Abeka for her science. We got it for her when she was in 4th grade and she has never wanted to use anything else since. She loves the pictures and the way the lessons are laid out. Very easy for her to understand and retain.
Cons: Some times see gaps in the History that I supplement with whole books but would do that with any curriculum I'm sure.
Grades Used: K-4 so far
We have used Abeka since the beginning and have loved it for the most part. I use the eclectic approach so I have not used the complete curriculum, but Phonics, the readers, Science and Health and some History have been a good fit for us.
Cons: too much repetition
Grades Used: K, 1, 2, 3, 4
Loved their program on teaching to read! Went at child's pace, not theirs. We have boys and the seat work became too much for boys. A lot of writing and a lot of repetition.
Grades Used: 1,2,3
We have used Abeka books in many subjects areas and enjoy most of them. Our particular favorites have been the Science texts, and, the Health, Safety and Manners texts. The page layouts are easy to read with a good choice of font,use of color and pictures. I actually use just the Teacher Editions, as they include all the student text material. I give the chapter quizzes orally as the T.E.s have the answers. I also do not choose to do all of the suggested activities. We supplement heavily, and at times the Abeka is actually the supplement. I like the Health, Safety and Manners books very much. They nicely reinforce what we her parents are harping on! We have used Abeka for grades 1,2 and 3, in addition to our other resources.