Lots of people find the HomeGrownMommy website as they search the web for reviews of the Accelerated Christian Education curriculum. We are in our fourth year of utilizing ACE and it gets two thumbs up – from teacher and student alike!
Here are the things I like best about ACE:
Consistency
- ACE helps me create a consistent learning environment, even when life is anything but consistent! One of my little ones might be sick or I might get sick. There might be an unexpected visitor or we might need to go be a blessing to someone else. Any number of things can throw the proverbial wrench into our very well-planned schoolday, but the way ACE is designed helps me make sure that the learning happens each and every day.
King James Bible
- Yes, I’ll admit it unashamedly – I am a KJV-only Christian! Regardless of which version you decide to read, it’s nice to have a curriculum that sticks with just one version in every subject.
Self-Guided
- Life is busy whether you have one child or 10 children! I am so glad that I don’t have to spend hours preparing lessons and writing lesson plans in order for learning to happen each day. My son can sit down at his table and get his own studies going. Don’t get me wrong, we do interact throughout the day and I have one-on-one time set aside for he and I each day. But, by and large, he is learning how to be independent and self-motivated.
Goal Setting
- I like the fact that ACE teaches children how to set goals. When I worked outside the home, I needed to set goals each day in order for me to feel like I accomplished something. But, I had to learn that as I went along, through trial and error. Thankfully, my son will know this valuable skill before he ever steps foot on his first *real* job.
Repetition
- How many things do you remember the very first time you are told? Some things, but probably not the majority. By the time your student is done with ACE, they will know their facts inside and out!
Good Character Traits
- Each PACE (or workbook, if you are new to ACE) focuses on one good character trait throughout its 30-40 pages. For example, my son’s Math PACE #1053 is focusing on Fearless (to learn not to be afraid because God is with me). Most of the comic strips throughout the PACE will illustrate that character trait. This year, he will complete 72 PACEs! That’s 72 different character traits that he has thought about in just one year!
Easy To Grade
- I don’t have papers flying every-which-way, I don’t have one curriculum for math and a completely different one for science. It is systematic and it is predictable – I need that at this point in my life!!
Thorough
- You do not have to worry about gaps in education with the ACE curriculum. By the time he has graduated, I know for sure that my son will have covered everything the state wants him to cover (and more).
Bible Memorization
- This is a huge factor for me. I really want my kids to have a good working knowledge of the Bible and the best way to accomplish that is to have them memorize parts of itI also take God’s Word very seriously when it says that we need to hide the Word in our hearts. When I was trying to do this on my own with the kids, it was hit or miss. Now, Justus has it right there in front of him on just about every page and, yes, there is a test!
Easy To Organize
- Everything is all together, all the time. He does his work at the same desk everyday and keeps his PACEs there. All the PACEs are the same size and everything fits neatly into any regular easy-to-find office organization device – they have lots of different kinds! I love the office supply store!
Regardless of the reason, I LOVE homeschooling my kids! Sure, there are tough days when they “don’t wanna” and there are even tougher days when I “don’t wanna” but it is worth it to see that light in their eyes as they begin to understand something. It’s worth every moment that I get to be with my kids instead of anywhere else.
Now, it’s your turn! You ACE veterans out there, chime in and tell us what you like best about the curriculum that is so commonly referred to as a “God-send for our family”!
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Great series of articles! I too use ACE with my own 5 children, and enjoy it very much.