Yes. Very easy to use, one page per day, and if you hit something hard, just stop and work on the concept. And a lot of what she’s saying is not in there is actually 100% in the other booklets that come with it like the drills, game, suggestions and teacher guide, but you don’t even need the teacher guide to add the drills and games. Total scope of Abel’s gets your kid to prealgebra in seventh grade and if your kid enjoys it- advance to start algebra in eighth grade.
From a mom who did K-3 in Abeka recently with our youngest kids, as well as some middle and highschool grades years ago with our older kids, I can tell you the workbook is only a part of what kids learn. There is so so much more our kids learned by us having the teachers guide. Another thing we loved about Abeka was the option to do video lessons, we have done Abeka with and without the video lessons but the workbooks are only a part of the program, the teachers guide gives a lot more instructions that you wont find in just the student workbooks.
@@posttenebraslux7571 The Abeka's teaching manuals gives you ideas for how to explain things better that they are learning about, little projects for them to do, and side projects for them to do to further learning what is in the book.
The older Good and Beautiful math was more of a mastery program. Mastery always appears to move more slowly than spiral, but eventually surpasses it. Now both programs are totally spiral so it's not surprising at all that they are so close. Spiral is ideal for the classroom where students with an age range of up to 5 years are learning maths together. Multiplication and division are typically taught to children aged 9/10 (3rd grade public school), some second graders are 9 by the end of the 2nd year, but developmentally it's unusual for an 8 year old to "get" multiplication and division because of the abstract nature. Also, typically schools don't ever complete an entire book. The left hemisphere of the brain used for abstract thought, logical processing, and symbol imagery is not online until 7 and the concept of time doesn't solidify until age 8. Some kiddos take even longer to click with the abstract concepts of multiplication and division , though they may be able to understand conceptually with concrete objects and rote memory skip counting. Kate Snow created ewer math facts that stick program after teaching so many 10 year olds who didn't get math facts. Until the early 1900s formal arithmetic wasn't taught until age 10. But Montessori proved very young children can get math earlier when you consider how they learn developmentally.
I have found the most effective way to teach multiplication is by skip counting. skip counting is multiplication in simpler terms. if your child memorizes their skip counting from 1-10s thats a game changer.
Great review. With my oldest girl (11) we did CLE Math through midyear grade 4. It was a rigorous curriculum, but I found that my daughter would go through it not understanding what she was doing. So she went through the motions, but didn't retain a lot of the math. She just wasn't mentally ready for it I guess. We tried TGTB Math 5 with her this year for the first several months however, she just couldn't get the grasp of the way they presented their material via video/workbook. We switched her to Teaching Textbooks and 💡 everything started clicking. My son is finishing up TGTB level 1 this year and he loves it. We will be sticking with it for him. We also use TGTB Language Arts for both kids and we love that! I'm at a point in my life where I don't care about a rigorous curriculum, I don't want to be a drill sergeant parent (that's what it felt like when we used CLE). As long as our children are learning according to our standards I'm happy. Tfs have a blessed weekend 🌷
Thanks for your feedback! I totally get where you’re coming from! Glad to hear TT works for your oldest and TGTB works for son. It’s so wonderful when you finally find what works for you!
Thanks for posting this! My daughter has been doing Abeka and it's going great, but I just bought The Good and the Beautiful Math as well. I'm looking forward to using both in a way that works for us!
My daughter is finishing up the good and the beautiful 6th grade this year. It's much more rigorous later. I can tell you that I'm experienced in Abeka, having done Abeka in middle and high school...and having taught my children Abeka to 3rd grade. I won't use Abeka unless I'm desperate.
Thank you for doing this review. I appreciate it, we currently do MB and my youngest doesn’t vibe with it, so I was hoping TGTB would be more interesting for him! This was great to get to see some options and comparisons.
We used TGATB 2 this year, almost done. We really enjoyed it but I do feel like I could have used more parent instructions. I occasionally needed more ideas on how to explain new concepts in various ways to help my son understand. There's really not much explanation. Fine for second grade math. I'm hoping level 3 gives more help in that way.
Ahh I see what you mean. I think the old version did give more of a thorough explanation to new concepts (but people complained it was too long), so they shortened it but maybe it was too much?? We haven’t started level 3 either so I’m not sure!
Same here. The level one is ok but they don’t explain the concepts well either we will be going back to Abeka for everything. I thought I’d like the good and beautiful stuff but I think we are more a traditional family. That and kids learn by repeating concepts.
As a Montessori guide myself, I really appreciate Abeka. I feel that TGTB has too much stories and explanations and other lessons integrated to it as compared to Abeka which is concentrated on the lessons itself.
Both programs look great but for my own sanity I would have to choose Abeka. For the way my brain works TGTB pages are so cluttered with the teacher notes and problems all on the same page. I understand they have reasons for doing it that way and I know it works great for a lot of people but the clutter makes my brain short circuit 🤣 Now if they offered TGTB with a separate teacher manual it would be my hands down first choice.
@@thepracticalhomeschooler yes!! Usborne books have to much randomly scattered all over the page for my brain! They are beautiful but I just can't concentrate on the information🤦♀️
I always tell everyone that the updates TGTB have been doing are game changer. We were not a fan of any of their things until the updates started. We will be starting Math 2 in 2 weeks 😁. So excited!
@flutterby6390 honestly the only thing we use from TGTB is the handwriting. We found much better things to use otherwise. However, if you are just starting out, and on a budget, then TGTB might be what you're looking for.
I want to thank you for doing this. I love love a lot of aspects of abeka because it's so through and solid. However, I feel I can no longer do all the lesson reading and planning ahead. I have decided to start a "grab and go" for my boys. I was just not sure how TGATB compared to the Abeka 2nd grade level. I am ready to start with 2nd grade.
Thanks for the video. I just wanted to jump on and say We started with Abeka 1 and 3 (parent led) math at the beginning of the year. It is very thorough, a lot of parent instructions, alot of visuals and charts, actually it’s pretty overwhelming. We switched my 3rd grader to Teaching Textbooks level 4 in December and it’s going much better for her. My youngest still uses the Abeka workbook, but now I pick and choose what part of the lesson plans I go over each day with him. We supplemented with TGTB free printouts for a few months but he did not like it as much. Abeka is Definitely not as open and go as TGTB if you do teach from Abeka parent led books. I’m still trying to figure out what to do next year for them! Great flip throughs!! I was wondering what Abeka 2 looked like! 😊
That’s exactly how I would do it if we did Abeka as our main math and I used the lesson plans. It can truly be a lot and overwhelming, I agree! We used the lesson plans for LA and I picked and chose as well and made it my own. I look at Abeka lesson plans as they give a bunch of activities for the lesson and you choose the ones that work best for your child. Thanks for the feedback!
Thank you for this great comparison. With Abeka there is so much in the teacher manuals that go along with the worksheet, and that is where the oral part of math is found or as TGTB calls it mental math. They also have speed drills to do daily to strengthen addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division (these are in the tests and quizzes book, so maybe that part would have been good to use to supplement, the quizzes and test also incorporate oral answers). With the worksheet being front and back this is designed to have one side for classwork (what they are learning that lesson) and one side to do as seat/independent work. Abeka does elapsed time as well, it can sometimes be hidden in a word problem not with a picture. I will say I also heard Abeka was advanced so seeing what others have to offer compared to Abeka is very helpful! Hope you are able to choose which one to do next year! Abeka Arithmetic 3 dives deeper into division, multiplication, multi-step problems, solving for n, conversions and roman numerals make another appearance!
Question, so you use TGATB but supplement or like add more work by using Abeka’s workbooks? I sometimes want to switch to Abeka, but it is so pricy and seems so overwhelming! And I always thought you would have to get it all, so it can be used correctly. Could you help me understand more of how or why you use TGATB’s workbook, but use Abeka’s workbooks too.
Not sure if someone has already commented this, but we are doing Abeka Arithmetic 2 this year, and there is a quite a bit of “mental math” worked into the lesson plan 👍 there is usually a section of oral combinations, and then a section called “thinking cap” where the student will work out some sort of word problem in his or her head. The exams also have an oral evaluation portion.
That’s my plan for my daughter. We currently use MUS but I want to add TGTB for the spiral review and other topics taught. How do you do both? I’m trying to figure that out before we even add TGTB in.
They (like most of our stuff), were bought second hand lol, so I have no idea 🫣 The manufacturer says LeeIndustries.com but I’m not sure if they sell directly.
So new to starting researching homeschooling. Liking Abeka and TGTB, I like how abeka has academy led (to my understanding less hands on for the parent) is TGTB very parent led? I do want to be involved but I just am not a super teacher so I don’t want to be 100%. I hope that doesn’t sound horrible ❤😂
So I have been teaching my daughter how to read, she knows all her letters sounds, and she does read some two letter words but when she reads three letter words, she sounds out the words correctly but she doesn't say the correct word.. does that make sense?? Like she says that mom sounds like mm.. o..mm .. but then she'll tell me it says mop.. is this normal?? Do you have any tips??
Very normal! Blending the sounds is tough. Just keep demonstrating and practicing! Be sure you're not dragging out the phonetic sounds. As in a quick T sound...not "tuh" if that makes sense. No stress it will happen!
My daughter had trouble with blending with TGATB. we switched briefly to Learning Dynamics and she took off. She is doing well and we are back to TGATB. I don’t know if it was the new curriculum or time or both but it helped to switch it up.
Thank you so much for the comparison videos!! My little one isn’t even 2 years old yet, so not ready for school, but I know I’m definitely going to homeschool. I don’t know much about it though so was looking into it and wow.. so much to look into. Your videos are helpful and appreciated! But genuinely curious- on TGTB, it has the answers in brackets where it’s written in black for the parent to read. After a while especially with a second grader who can read themselves.. do they pick up on it and use the answers to their advantage or have you not had that issue? Also how long would a math session take each day? Thank you in advance!!
I’m sure they could and kids have. Mine haven’t but you could also just not show that part when you’re reading to them. It has never been an issue for us! Lesson take like 15-20 minutes for kindergarten and get longer from there as the level ps increase. But it also varies greatly from child to child. I’d say that’s an average though
When you say you supplement after you finish TGATB workbook with Abeka, how far do you go in the Abeka workbook before stopping and moving on to the next school year? We have always used Abeka but just started swapping out curriculums for certain subjects, but haven’t switched math yet.
It depended on the child and the year. If some of the Abeka levels were way ahead of TGTB they would do half the book. Sometimes they did most of the Abeka book. But whatever they didn’t finish during the year they either do over the summer or into the next year.
Question- what would you recommend doing for a 3rd grader going into Abeka that hasn't been introduced to cursive yet? I noticed all of their ELA is cursive, and he's still learning to read manuscript.
Their grammar is not in cursive just their handwriting. So you’d be ok with that. If you want to introduce cursive, but feel like the 3rd grade level is too much you could always go with a lower level from Abeka or find a different beginner cursive curriculum.
My granddaughter is just finishing 2nd grade in a private school that uses Abeka. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how well she did with some of the concepts that are traditionally taught later. She did learn to tell time and it covered elapsed time as well. She learned multiplication facts through 12 and learned the division facts at the same time. I taught in public schools for 38 years, and I have to say that I would like the book with the scripted lessons built right into the workbook if I was teaching her at home. I liked how they used real-world examples and not just a page full of math problems.
@@brendahowell5946 honestly, now that she has finished 3rd grade, I’m glad she learned the times tables in 2nd. The elapsed time is a waste of time in any grade before 4th or 5th in my opinion. We’ve been doing it for years and the level of thinking needed just isn’t there yet. She gets it one day and it’s gone the next.
With TGTB, which multiplication tables do they learn in 2nd grade? For A Beka, they learn both Multiplication and Division tables 0,1,2,3,5,10, and 11. My daughter had trouble with borrowing in subtraction, and we have really had to work together on the division too. Thanks for your video!
Wow this new updated version may have me change my mind on using it again next year. we did second grade this last year with tgatb and I honestly didn’t like it very much with all the extra fluff.. may just go ahead and give it another go .thank you!
For a first time homeschooling mom (I am assuming that you are not a teacher by profession) I recommend The good and the beautiful. It has a lot of stories, explanations, instructions, and activities to be read by the parent to the child.
We love TGTB and love that it’s fun!!! We love the examples they bring into it!!! My son does a mental math workbook in level 4!!! We love that the games are in the lessons!!! We love that TGTB teach metric and °C as we are international!!! I thought TGTB where advanced in math compared to what they where learning in our public school, but I think the school they came out off didn’t teach well and also kept them back. We supplement math!!!
Love your videos! Thanks for sharing! Do you find TGTB hard to teach? I’ve heard that it may not be so clear for the parent teaching a concept and they have to outsource to find another way to teach. Also, are you daughters usually good at math? Would you recommend this to a child who may struggle?
I haven’t personally had that experience (not to say others haven’t). They’re good at math (not geniuses, but also don’t really struggle to understand most math concepts). As far as a child who may struggle…I have heard different things. I’ve heard that this curriculum finally helped when all others didn’t but I’ve also heard that it didn’t work for some children, but something more straightforward did. Once I narrow down my curriculum choices I always show my kids which ones I’m considering and get their initial feedback as well.
So we did tgtb level 2 and i definitely didn't struggle explaining my daughter anything. I personally liked it, but my daughter still dreaded doing math even though it wasn't boring..BUT i do feel like you definitely need to supplement with just doing addition and minus problems on the side..knowing doubles or simple math helps so much in 2nd and 3rd grade.
I have been using Level 5 with my older boys. We had been using Masterbooks Math Lessons and Level 5 was not giving them enough instruction. I have been impressed by the Level 5 from TGTB as it has been very advanced in many sections, and I love the way it covers the topics. I have been really grateful for it. I have now used K, 2, and 5. I have bought 1, and 3 for next year. I have been very happy with it and I am grateful for the free downloads (even though I do buy the curriculums too).
Glad to hear level 5 is working for you guys!! (We’re doing that next year with my oldest). I agree about the free pdf…. Even though we buy the hard copy, it’s such a blessing knowing they are free if needed!!
Done both and omg we are switching back to Abeka! TGTB is WAY too much. Wait untill the 3rs grade TGTB Math....4 pages of reading and it takes an freaking hour to get through it. So over it. I might switch back mid year to Abeka.
Do you have the old TGTB math? I know the old math was much longer as far as the text goes. The new math is much more simplified in it's approach as that was a complaint that many parents had.
@@thepracticalhomeschooler no I have the new math for 1st grade and 3rd graders. My 3rd grader opens it up and immediately is overwhelmed. There's way too much storyline and not enough math. He like the Abeka style where it's more of a worksheet that he can easily see, identify the math probably and get moving, 2 pages and done. TGTB is 4 pages for the 3rd grade. And with 2 kids I'm constantly reading stories and games. Math used to be our easiest and fasted subject but it's just not. There's so much fluff. If I only had one kid it would be ok.
I’m using ABeka Arithmetic 1, for the 3rd time. I don’t love the teacher’s manuals, but it is a thorough math program so I have kept with it for each kid. However, I switched from ABeka to Apolgia for this kid’s grade 2 math last year and it was not good. That said, I’ve been considering doing level 2 with this level 3 kid, as a review and allowing them to go quickly through then transition into level (Knowing ABeka is a year ahead). having used the teacher’s manual, I’m wondering how it works when introducing and reaching topics. Like, with the manual, you’d introduce Roman numerals on lesson 146 (made up #) and then you’d do the work pages with Roman numerals in like lesson 149. Do you feel you’re able to introduce concepts well enough, with only the student book? If that makes sense. 🙃
I’m not sure, because I’ve only used Abeka math as a supplement not a main math but at the 2nd grade level, especially if it’s review, I’m sure it would be ok
Just of curiosity (this has been my first year homeschooling and we are in kindergarten), why do you supplement? Have you always supplemented or was there a point when you decided/needed to? This is all still so new to me and when you said that I wondered if that’s something I should be doing!
Great question! It’s definitely not something you HAVE to be doing, only if you feel like it will help your kids and they don’t put up a huge fight. Many people don’t supplement and it’s just fine. I personally do because I think it just really helps cement those facts they’ve learned and gives some extra practice, as well as helps cover any gaps. Their worksheets only take about 5 minutes so it doesn’t add a lot of extra time to their independent work.
THANK YOU very much for taking the time and effort to show us in detail both resources! Truly helpful! Your House looks very beautiful and BLESSED! Many heavenly graces to you and all your subscribers! 26-Aug-2024
i use TGTB because its immensely cheaper, and now their big subjects are free. abeka was almost 3x the price and was so scattered around and their website is not clear cut on what to get. its either buy the whole set (expensive) or try to buy it piece by piece, which is just silly
I've heard some people use both Abeka AND The Good and Beautiful. Do you belive that that would be beneficial if we feel The Good and Beautiful is lacking?
This was a perfect comparison. We use Horizons with TGATB. We are really enjoying the mix of the 2. I really like the real world examples that are presented in TGATB.
@@juliequates9529 We're in the lower levels of TGATB, I haven't done grade 3 yet. But, the way we are doing it is 3 days of Horizons M, W, F and 2 days of TGATB Tues, Thurs. When I first did this, I noticed that Horizons had overlapped with TGATB. Even when it didn't line up, my child didn't care. We just work through both books in sequence and when he finishes, we will move onto the next book. We homeschool year round. I like that he can work independently most days in Horizons, he might need a 5-10 minute explanation and then he can move on to all the other sections because Horizons repeats so much. I also like that he can sit with me for TGATB. In the lower levels (k-1), TGTAB has a lot of real world application and critical thinking that Horizons does not. The combination is currently working for us. He already asked me to order TGTAB L2 for when he finishes L1.
I agree, I've done TGTB preschool language arts and it was a lot of reading and too much on the page. We are using Horizons K for math this year but I am planning on switching to Abeka next year.
I’m rewatching this. 😬 My daughter LOVED math with the older version of TGTB math. We went to Abeka, and most of the time she doesn’t want to do any math. At all. She can do it, but she doesn’t like it for some reason. So maybe we will revisit TGTB for the rest of the year.
Thank you for this! My son will be using level 2 next year (we are new to TGTB) and my daughter will do level K. Your videos aren’t so helpful! I’m thinking that level 2 might be too easy for my son...maybe supplementing the Abeka would be a good choice for us also!
If you’re not sure, there is an assessment on TGTB website and it will show you where to place your child so you don’t buy a level too high or too low.
Im from Mexico, We are using TGTB level 4, and my princess loves it !! but I know people who works with ABEKA same age, and it makes me so difficult, my child doesnt know de divisions yet, She is working in, but I get surprised with the content of Abeka. My other girl dont want anything in english, but I want jaja, but your video it so cool , and it will help me to choose from de next school year. Thanks !!
I personally thought the tgtb level 2 math was great. But I do feel like they should of definitely thrown in some simple addition and subtraction problems to keep it fresh in their minds. But thats an easy fix. Nevertheless my daughter still dreaded doing math..even though the games made it fun. Imooking for something else. Any suggestions from anyone is appreciated
We have done tgatb(original version), master books,and teaching textbooks. My daughter hasn't liked any of them. 😂 She finds math so challenging. In the fall we will begin apologia math. Katherine Gomes's (author) videos gave me helpful insight into showing kids why math is important and I hope🙏 it resonates with my daughter. It may be that she will never love math, but my favorite as the teacher, was master books, followed by tgatb. We will soon see about apologia!!
I would take the old tgatb a million times over Abeka's. We love the old too. I would say if you would prefer a public school workbook with nothing special bc but pretty straight forward old school tactics, get Abeka. I taught elementary school and what was taught in abeka was simply not retained by mine because of the memory work and lack of thought into the process of learning. I'm kicking myself so much. We were actually way behind because we had to repeat and start a level prior in tgtb-it did not correlate with the year and a half or I would have been able to stick to the next level. If you want a thoughtful and intentional, literature based, charlotte mason approach that sticks in application at a later time, despite maybe a 6ish month gap in "grade level" then TGTB ( I've just done old so I assume new is better) is a winner. It adapts to so many learning styles too!! Just my opinion.
Sorry it didn’t work for you and you felt frustration. While it works really well for some families, it definitely doesn’t work for everyone! We’re so fortunate to have so many different options now ☺️
Does your 4th grader also use Abeka as a supplement? We went back and forth with those two math curriculums this year and finally ended with TGTB but I am still not convinced it's on par with other curriculums.....but now if I got abeka 4 again maybe they would be. Thanks for this comparision.
No she didn’t. I’m honestly not familiar with 4th grade Abeka or the new TGTB math level 4 so I couldn’t give you a fair comparison or tell you one way or another. Im sorry 😕
I have used abeka for k-5th. The 4th grade book is a huge jump from the 3rd. They get pretty intense and it also moves away from the cute, colorful style and is just a plane page of problems. But I haven't seen a math curricula that is up to par with it yet, besides maybe saxon, but Saxon has a lot more busy work imo.
@@TheTidyNest thank you! Do you think Saxon is up to par with Abeka? I was looking at that for next year but looking at the 6/5 for next year for my 5th grader and it seemed a lot of things she already knows. Thanks!
Abeka looks so much more organized and clear to me for some reason
I absolutely agree.
Yes. Very easy to use, one page per day, and if you hit something hard, just stop and work on the concept. And a lot of what she’s saying is not in there is actually 100% in the other booklets that come with it like the drills, game, suggestions and teacher guide, but you don’t even need the teacher guide to add the drills and games. Total scope of Abel’s gets your kid to prealgebra in seventh grade and if your kid enjoys it- advance to start algebra in eighth grade.
Me too
Same for us!
TGTB math is all over the place. We quit it.
From a mom who did K-3 in Abeka recently with our youngest kids, as well as some middle and highschool grades years ago with our older kids, I can tell you the workbook is only a part of what kids learn. There is so so much more our kids learned by us having the teachers guide. Another thing we loved about Abeka was the option to do video lessons, we have done Abeka with and without the video lessons but the workbooks are only a part of the program, the teachers guide gives a lot more instructions that you wont find in just the student workbooks.
Please give example.
Thanks.
@@posttenebraslux7571 The Abeka's teaching manuals gives you ideas for how to explain things better that they are learning about, little projects for them to do, and side projects for them to do to further learning what is in the book.
hi, how many hours a day did elementary school take y'all? Thank you!!
This really helps for the next year purchase of Abeka. thank you
New follower!! this is my second year of homeschooling, and this review has been very helpful, best regards from Central America. Keep up the work!!
Awesome! Thank you!
The older Good and Beautiful math was more of a mastery program. Mastery always appears to move more slowly than spiral, but eventually surpasses it. Now both programs are totally spiral so it's not surprising at all that they are so close. Spiral is ideal for the classroom where students with an age range of up to 5 years are learning maths together. Multiplication and division are typically taught to children aged 9/10 (3rd grade public school), some second graders are 9 by the end of the 2nd year, but developmentally it's unusual for an 8 year old to "get" multiplication and division because of the abstract nature. Also, typically schools don't ever complete an entire book. The left hemisphere of the brain used for abstract thought, logical processing, and symbol imagery is not online until 7 and the concept of time doesn't solidify until age 8. Some kiddos take even longer to click with the abstract concepts of multiplication and division , though they may be able to understand conceptually with concrete objects and rote memory skip counting. Kate Snow created ewer math facts that stick program after teaching so many 10 year olds who didn't get math facts. Until the early 1900s formal arithmetic wasn't taught until age 10. But Montessori proved very young children can get math earlier when you consider how they learn developmentally.
I have found the most effective way to teach multiplication is by skip counting. skip counting is multiplication in simpler terms. if your child memorizes their skip counting from 1-10s thats a game changer.
What would you recommend for a 10yr old that has dyscalculia?
This was so incredibly helpful. I really appreciate the comparisons.
Thank you for taking the time and energy to share this information with us! Very helpful!!
Great review. With my oldest girl (11) we did CLE Math through midyear grade 4. It was a rigorous curriculum, but I found that my daughter would go through it not understanding what she was doing. So she went through the motions, but didn't retain a lot of the math. She just wasn't mentally ready for it I guess. We tried TGTB Math 5 with her this year for the first several months however, she just couldn't get the grasp of the way they presented their material via video/workbook. We switched her to Teaching Textbooks and 💡 everything started clicking. My son is finishing up TGTB level 1 this year and he loves it. We will be sticking with it for him. We also use TGTB Language Arts for both kids and we love that! I'm at a point in my life where I don't care about a rigorous curriculum, I don't want to be a drill sergeant parent (that's what it felt like when we used CLE). As long as our children are learning according to our standards I'm happy. Tfs have a blessed weekend 🌷
Thanks for your feedback! I totally get where you’re coming from! Glad to hear TT works for your oldest and TGTB works for son. It’s so wonderful when you finally find what works for you!
Thank you for sharing! This was incredibly helpful.
Thanks for posting this! My daughter has been doing Abeka and it's going great, but I just bought The Good and the Beautiful Math as well. I'm looking forward to using both in a way that works for us!
Glad it was helpful!
My children used Abeka through all grades. We loved it. Never heard of TGTB
It’s a newer company. It gained popularity in the last 5 years or so
Thanks for showing the side-by-side!
I've been waiting for this video! Thank you!
Aww ☺️❤️
My daughter is finishing up the good and the beautiful 6th grade this year. It's much more rigorous later. I can tell you that I'm experienced in Abeka, having done Abeka in middle and high school...and having taught my children Abeka to 3rd grade. I won't use Abeka unless I'm desperate.
Thank you for doing this review. I appreciate it, we currently do MB and my youngest doesn’t vibe with it, so I was hoping TGTB would be more interesting for him! This was great to get to see some options and comparisons.
Glad it was helpful!
Great side by side. Thanks for an awesome video.
Abeka Arithmetic 3 was great 😊!!! Get it!!! This was a great review. From my experience with both of these curriculum you nailed this review. 😍
I think I’m going to! And thank you ☺️
Do you have to get the teacher manual for arithmetic 3?
We actually started with TGTB Math and after about 2 months, I needed to find another curriculum. I went to Abeka and it's the best fit for us!
We used TGATB 2 this year, almost done. We really enjoyed it but I do feel like I could have used more parent instructions. I occasionally needed more ideas on how to explain new concepts in various ways to help my son understand. There's really not much explanation. Fine for second grade math. I'm hoping level 3 gives more help in that way.
Ahh I see what you mean. I think the old version did give more of a thorough explanation to new concepts (but people complained it was too long), so they shortened it but maybe it was too much?? We haven’t started level 3 either so I’m not sure!
Same here. The level one is ok but they don’t explain the concepts well either we will be going back to Abeka for everything. I thought I’d like the good and beautiful stuff but I think we are more a traditional family. That and kids learn by repeating concepts.
I have also seen that TGATB is a bit more teacher-intensive and Abeka is easier to use as independent work.
Yes especially for the younger years like this
As a Montessori guide myself, I really appreciate Abeka. I feel that TGTB has too much stories and explanations and other lessons integrated to it as compared to Abeka which is concentrated on the lessons itself.
Thank you for this my daughter is going into 2nd grade and this review was helpful.
So glad!!
Same! I’ve watched almost all your videos 😅 I’m down the rabbit hole!
Such a great comparison as always. Thanks for sharing this.
Thanks Emily!! ☺️
Both programs look great but for my own sanity I would have to choose Abeka. For the way my brain works TGTB pages are so cluttered with the teacher notes and problems all on the same page. I understand they have reasons for doing it that way and I know it works great for a lot of people but the clutter makes my brain short circuit 🤣 Now if they offered TGTB with a separate teacher manual it would be my hands down first choice.
I get that! That’s how I feel with usborne books haha
@@thepracticalhomeschooler yes!! Usborne books have to much randomly scattered all over the page for my brain! They are beautiful but I just can't concentrate on the information🤦♀️
I always tell everyone that the updates TGTB have been doing are game changer. We were not a fan of any of their things until the updates started. We will be starting Math 2 in 2 weeks 😁. So excited!
Yay! Good luck on math 2 😄😄
I'm doing the older tgatb level 1 almost finished with it and debating sooo much if we should stick with it for 2 or move on to abeka 3.
Please tell me how it went?? Am looking at starting this year...
@flutterby6390 honestly the only thing we use from TGTB is the handwriting. We found much better things to use otherwise. However, if you are just starting out, and on a budget, then TGTB might be what you're looking for.
@@KitKat_1589 thanks..... May I ask what you are using for math and language?
I want to thank you for doing this. I love love a lot of aspects of abeka because it's so through and solid. However, I feel I can no longer do all the lesson reading and planning ahead. I have decided to start a "grab and go" for my boys. I was just not sure how TGATB compared to the Abeka 2nd grade level. I am ready to start with 2nd grade.
The good and the beautiful do a lot with Roman numerals in level 4. My daughter just finished that level and is a pro at them now!!
O thanks for sharing that! We’re finishing the old level 4 and they touch on them a bit but not much.
Thanks for the video. I just wanted to jump on and say We started with Abeka 1 and 3 (parent led) math at the beginning of the year. It is very thorough, a lot of parent instructions, alot of visuals and charts, actually it’s pretty overwhelming. We switched my 3rd grader to Teaching Textbooks level 4 in December and it’s going much better for her. My youngest still uses the Abeka workbook, but now I pick and choose what part of the lesson plans I go over each day with him. We supplemented with TGTB free printouts for a few months but he did not like it as much. Abeka is Definitely not as open and go as TGTB if you do teach from Abeka parent led books. I’m still trying to figure out what to do next year for them!
Great flip throughs!! I was wondering what Abeka 2 looked like! 😊
That’s exactly how I would do it if we did Abeka as our main math and I used the lesson plans. It can truly be a lot and overwhelming, I agree! We used the lesson plans for LA and I picked and chose as well and made it my own. I look at Abeka lesson plans as they give a bunch of activities for the lesson and you choose the ones that work best for your child. Thanks for the feedback!
We have decided to use SCM arithmetic as our core and I print out 1tgatb wksht per week just for a 'colorful' correlation. Love SCM.
Great video as always Lauren! Always love watching your videos ❤️
Thanks so much Gina! You’re the best!!
Thank you for this great comparison. With Abeka there is so much in the teacher manuals that go along with the worksheet, and that is where the oral part of math is found or as TGTB calls it mental math. They also have speed drills to do daily to strengthen addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division (these are in the tests and quizzes book, so maybe that part would have been good to use to supplement, the quizzes and test also incorporate oral answers). With the worksheet being front and back this is designed to have one side for classwork (what they are learning that lesson) and one side to do as seat/independent work. Abeka does elapsed time as well, it can sometimes be hidden in a word problem not with a picture. I will say I also heard Abeka was advanced so seeing what others have to offer compared to Abeka is very helpful! Hope you are able to choose which one to do next year! Abeka Arithmetic 3 dives deeper into division, multiplication, multi-step problems, solving for n, conversions and roman numerals make another appearance!
Thanks for sharing! ☺️☺️
Lots of good information in your comments…the lesson plans/teacher guides are essential. The workbook is not meant to be a stand alone.
My son is now 26 years old. He went to Christian Private school. Where he did Abeka for PreK. He was very well prepared for Kindergarten.
Question, so you use TGATB but supplement or like add more work by using Abeka’s workbooks? I sometimes want to switch to Abeka, but it is so pricy and seems so overwhelming! And I always thought you would have to get it all, so it can be used correctly. Could you help me understand more of how or why you use TGATB’s workbook, but use Abeka’s workbooks too.
Can you do BJU vs TGTB English/Math video? I can't find any videos that compare these two! :)
Not sure if someone has already commented this, but we are doing Abeka Arithmetic 2 this year, and there is a quite a bit of “mental math” worked into the lesson plan 👍 there is usually a section of oral combinations, and then a section called “thinking cap” where the student will work out some sort of word problem in his or her head. The exams also have an oral evaluation portion.
Nice! Good to know! I wasn’t sure since I don’t have the lesson plans. Thanks for sharing and clarifying!
So excited to see the flip through of Math 2 we are starting that in the upcoming year!
Yay! It’s great!!
Abeka does do the elapsed time in the 3 grade.
We use Math u see for our main math and supplement with TGATB.
Nice! I can see how they would pair nicely together
That’s my plan for my daughter. We currently use MUS but I want to add TGTB for the spiral review and other topics taught. How do you do both? I’m trying to figure that out before we even add TGTB in.
@@DorelisaGC I use an easier level. So she was in Epsilon in Math u see and doing TGATB 4. It was mostly review with some new concepts.
@@heatheraz4680 that’s exactly what I was thinking. Thanks
This is what I’m planning to do for my 1st and 3rd graders. MUS and then tgtb. We are coming from abeka
I love your cream colored dining room chairs. Where are they from?
They (like most of our stuff), were bought second hand lol, so I have no idea 🫣 The manufacturer says LeeIndustries.com but I’m not sure if they sell directly.
We are doing Abeka 2 is it enough . I feel she is not getting enough! First time homeschooling I feel so overwhelmed
I know it can feel overwhelming. Abeka is most definitely enough!
So new to starting researching homeschooling. Liking Abeka and TGTB, I like how abeka has academy led (to my understanding less hands on for the parent) is TGTB very parent led? I do want to be involved but I just am not a super teacher so I don’t want to be 100%. I hope that doesn’t sound horrible ❤😂
Abeka’s third grade does move quickly with division and has a lot of measurement conversions. I haven’t seen the new level 3 of TGATB.
Thanks for letting me know! If we use Abeka 3rd grade we will certainly take it slow!
So I have been teaching my daughter how to read, she knows all her letters sounds, and she does read some two letter words but when she reads three letter words, she sounds out the words correctly but she doesn't say the correct word.. does that make sense?? Like she says that mom sounds like mm.. o..mm .. but then she'll tell me it says mop.. is this normal?? Do you have any tips??
Very normal! Blending the sounds is tough. Just keep demonstrating and practicing! Be sure you're not dragging out the phonetic sounds. As in a quick T sound...not "tuh" if that makes sense. No stress it will happen!
@@juliequates9529 thanks:)
My kindergartner does that too sometimes! It’s all part of the learning to read process…keep practicing and it will come in time!
@@thepracticalhomeschooler thank u!!
My daughter had trouble with blending with TGATB. we switched briefly to Learning Dynamics and she took off. She is doing well and we are back to TGATB. I don’t know if it was the new curriculum or time or both but it helped to switch it up.
Thank you so much for the comparison videos!! My little one isn’t even 2 years old yet, so not ready for school, but I know I’m definitely going to homeschool. I don’t know much about it though so was looking into it and wow.. so much to look into. Your videos are helpful and appreciated!
But genuinely curious- on TGTB, it has the answers in brackets where it’s written in black for the parent to read. After a while especially with a second grader who can read themselves.. do they pick up on it and use the answers to their advantage or have you not had that issue?
Also how long would a math session take each day?
Thank you in advance!!
I’m sure they could and kids have. Mine haven’t but you could also just not show that part when you’re reading to them. It has never been an issue for us! Lesson take like 15-20 minutes for kindergarten and get longer from there as the level ps increase. But it also varies greatly from child to child. I’d say that’s an average though
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply! I am loving your videos so much ❤
When you say you supplement after you finish TGATB workbook with Abeka, how far do you go in the Abeka workbook before stopping and moving on to the next school year? We have always used Abeka but just started swapping out curriculums for certain subjects, but haven’t switched math yet.
It depended on the child and the year. If some of the Abeka levels were way ahead of TGTB they would do half the book. Sometimes they did most of the Abeka book. But whatever they didn’t finish during the year they either do over the summer or into the next year.
Question- what would you recommend doing for a 3rd grader going into Abeka that hasn't been introduced to cursive yet? I noticed all of their ELA is cursive, and he's still learning to read manuscript.
Their grammar is not in cursive just their handwriting. So you’d be ok with that. If you want to introduce cursive, but feel like the 3rd grade level is too much you could always go with a lower level from Abeka or find a different beginner cursive curriculum.
My granddaughter is just finishing 2nd grade in a private school that uses Abeka. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how well she did with some of the concepts that are traditionally taught later. She did learn to tell time and it covered elapsed time as well. She learned multiplication facts through 12 and learned the division facts at the same time. I taught in public schools for 38 years, and I have to say that I would like the book with the scripted lessons built right into the workbook if I was teaching her at home. I liked how they used real-world examples and not just a page full of math problems.
After I made this video I did fine the elapsed time part! But yes I love the straightforward aspect of TGTB!
Thanks since you was a teacher do you think it’s to much for 2nd grade
@@brendahowell5946 honestly, now that she has finished 3rd grade, I’m glad she learned the times tables in 2nd. The elapsed time is a waste of time in any grade before 4th or 5th in my opinion. We’ve been doing it for years and the level of thinking needed just isn’t there yet. She gets it one day and it’s gone the next.
I have taught Abeka math for 29 years in a Christian school. It is an excellent curriculum.
thanks for sharing!!! Do you use the lesson plan books for Abeka for the Math?
No we don’t, just the worksheets. I would only use the lesson plans if it was our main math.
We did elapsed time in abeka in 1st grade.
I'm not sure if you mentioned this but does TGTB start with review as well
Not really. It pretty much gets right into it!
With TGTB, which multiplication tables do they learn in 2nd grade?
For A Beka, they learn both Multiplication and Division tables 0,1,2,3,5,10, and 11.
My daughter had trouble with borrowing in subtraction, and we have really had to work together on the division too.
Thanks for your video!
They don’t do specific tables or families in TGTB level 2. They just teach the multiplication process with random multiplication facts
I am first time homeschool mom do u have good tips for me
Wow this new updated version may have me change my mind on using it again next year. we did second grade this last year with tgatb and I honestly didn’t like it very much with all the extra fluff.. may just go ahead and give it another go .thank you!
It’s quite different from the original (some elements are the same though!)
I have one in 2nd using Abeka. I feel overwhelmed I’m not sure she’s getting what she needs. First time homeschooling it’s overwhelming
For a first time homeschooling mom (I am assuming that you are not a teacher by profession) I recommend The good and the beautiful. It has a lot of stories, explanations, instructions, and activities to be read by the parent to the child.
We love TGTB and love that it’s fun!!! We love the examples they bring into it!!! My son does a mental math workbook in level 4!!! We love that the games are in the lessons!!! We love that TGTB teach metric and °C as we are international!!! I thought TGTB where advanced in math compared to what they where learning in our public school, but I think the school they came out off didn’t teach well and also kept them back. We supplement math!!!
That’s interesting that TGTB is advanced in your area. It’s cool to see how things are in different areas of the world
Abeka actually covers elapsed time starting in 1st grade. They cover it in their Lesson Plans, not in the worksheets.
Thanks for sharing that 😊
Love your videos! Thanks for sharing! Do you find TGTB hard to teach? I’ve heard that it may not be so clear for the parent teaching a concept and they have to outsource to find another way to teach. Also, are you daughters usually good at math? Would you recommend this to a child who may struggle?
I haven’t personally had that experience (not to say others haven’t). They’re good at math (not geniuses, but also don’t really struggle to understand most math concepts). As far as a child who may struggle…I have heard different things. I’ve heard that this curriculum finally helped when all others didn’t but I’ve also heard that it didn’t work for some children, but something more straightforward did. Once I narrow down my curriculum choices I always show my kids which ones I’m considering and get their initial feedback as well.
So we did tgtb level 2 and i definitely didn't struggle explaining my daughter anything. I personally liked it, but my daughter still dreaded doing math even though it wasn't boring..BUT i do feel like you definitely need to supplement with just doing addition and minus problems on the side..knowing doubles or simple math helps so much in 2nd and 3rd grade.
I have been using Level 5 with my older boys. We had been using Masterbooks Math Lessons and Level 5 was not giving them enough instruction. I have been impressed by the Level 5 from TGTB as it has been very advanced in many sections, and I love the way it covers the topics. I have been really grateful for it. I have now used K, 2, and 5. I have bought 1, and 3 for next year. I have been very happy with it and I am grateful for the free downloads (even though I do buy the curriculums too).
Glad to hear level 5 is working for you guys!! (We’re doing that next year with my oldest). I agree about the free pdf…. Even though we buy the hard copy, it’s such a blessing knowing they are free if needed!!
Grade 2 Abeka Arithmetic highly recommended!
We use centimeters here in school for Canada 😅
I honestly think about you guys when we cover celcius 😂
@@thepracticalhomeschooler Haha basically the whole world.
@@Rjmaaske right? Haha!
Thank you!
Done both and omg we are switching back to Abeka! TGTB is WAY too much. Wait untill the 3rs grade TGTB Math....4 pages of reading and it takes an freaking hour to get through it. So over it. I might switch back mid year to Abeka.
Do you have the old TGTB math? I know the old math was much longer as far as the text goes. The new math is much more simplified in it's approach as that was a complaint that many parents had.
@@thepracticalhomeschooler no I have the new math for 1st grade and 3rd graders. My 3rd grader opens it up and immediately is overwhelmed. There's way too much storyline and not enough math. He like the Abeka style where it's more of a worksheet that he can easily see, identify the math probably and get moving, 2 pages and done. TGTB is 4 pages for the 3rd grade. And with 2 kids I'm constantly reading stories and games. Math used to be our easiest and fasted subject but it's just not. There's so much fluff. If I only had one kid it would be ok.
I’m using ABeka Arithmetic 1, for the 3rd time. I don’t love the teacher’s manuals, but it is a thorough math program so I have kept with it for each kid. However, I switched from ABeka to Apolgia for this kid’s grade 2 math last year and it was not good. That said, I’ve been considering doing level 2 with this level 3 kid, as a review and allowing them to go quickly through then transition into level (Knowing ABeka is a year ahead). having used the teacher’s manual, I’m wondering how it works when introducing and reaching topics. Like, with the manual, you’d introduce Roman numerals on lesson 146 (made up #) and then you’d do the work pages with Roman numerals in like lesson 149. Do you feel you’re able to introduce concepts well enough, with only the student book? If that makes sense. 🙃
I’m not sure, because I’ve only used Abeka math as a supplement not a main math but at the 2nd grade level, especially if it’s review, I’m sure it would be ok
I did the exact same thing and am wondering if my child will
Need to repeat grade 2. What did you decide in the end?
Just of curiosity (this has been my first year homeschooling and we are in kindergarten), why do you supplement? Have you always supplemented or was there a point when you decided/needed to? This is all still so new to me and when you said that I wondered if that’s something I should be doing!
Yes curious too on why you chose to supplement TGATB
Great question! It’s definitely not something you HAVE to be doing, only if you feel like it will help your kids and they don’t put up a huge fight. Many people don’t supplement and it’s just fine. I personally do because I think it just really helps cement those facts they’ve learned and gives some extra practice, as well as helps cover any gaps. Their worksheets only take about 5 minutes so it doesn’t add a lot of extra time to their independent work.
THANK YOU very much for taking the time and effort to show us in detail both resources! Truly helpful! Your House looks very beautiful and BLESSED! Many heavenly graces to you and all your subscribers! 26-Aug-2024
@@IsabelRodriguez-nv2ue thank you for your kind comment ❤️ I’m so happy to hear you found it helpful!
i use TGTB because its immensely cheaper, and now their big subjects are free. abeka was almost 3x the price and was so scattered around and their website is not clear cut on what to get. its either buy the whole set (expensive) or try to buy it piece by piece, which is just silly
I've heard some people use both Abeka AND The Good and Beautiful. Do you belive that that would be beneficial if we feel The Good and Beautiful is lacking?
Yup! That’s what we did! I just used the Abeka worksheets (not the lesson plans) as a supplement
This was a perfect comparison. We use Horizons with TGATB. We are really enjoying the mix of the 2. I really like the real world examples that are presented in TGATB.
Is that a lot of work daily? I'm thinking about that combo for my 3r grader who does enjoy math
@@juliequates9529 We're in the lower levels of TGATB, I haven't done grade 3 yet. But, the way we are doing it is 3 days of Horizons M, W, F and 2 days of TGATB Tues, Thurs. When I first did this, I noticed that Horizons had overlapped with TGATB. Even when it didn't line up, my child didn't care. We just work through both books in sequence and when he finishes, we will move onto the next book. We homeschool year round. I like that he can work independently most days in Horizons, he might need a 5-10 minute explanation and then he can move on to all the other sections because Horizons repeats so much. I also like that he can sit with me for TGATB. In the lower levels (k-1), TGTAB has a lot of real world application and critical thinking that Horizons does not. The combination is currently working for us. He already asked me to order TGTAB L2 for when he finishes L1.
That sounds like a great combo!!
We LOVE Horizons! 😃🥰
I agree, I've done TGTB preschool language arts and it was a lot of reading and too much on the page. We are using Horizons K for math this year but I am planning on switching to Abeka next year.
I’m rewatching this. 😬 My daughter LOVED math with the older version of TGTB math. We went to Abeka, and most of the time she doesn’t want to do any math. At all. She can do it, but she doesn’t like it for some reason. So maybe we will revisit TGTB for the rest of the year.
Lol my house is always crazy on filming days too lol 😂
It’s always something 😂😂
@@thepracticalhomeschooler yes 🤣🤣🤣
This was so helpful but not helpful lol!
Just what I needed to hear and see but still have to make the decision 😁
Decisions. Decisions. 🧐😄😁
I am struggling to teach with Abeka the good and the beautiful math looks more fun to me.
There is an obnoxious amount of mental math in the Abeka lesson plans 😂 we do only Abeka until grade 4
Thank you for this! My son will be using level 2 next year (we are new to TGTB) and my daughter will do level K. Your videos aren’t so helpful! I’m thinking that level 2 might be too easy for my son...maybe supplementing the Abeka would be a good choice for us also!
If you’re not sure, there is an assessment on TGTB website and it will show you where to place your child so you don’t buy a level too high or too low.
Im from Mexico, We are using TGTB level 4, and my princess loves it !! but I know people who works with ABEKA same age, and it makes me so difficult, my child doesnt know de divisions yet, She is working in, but I get surprised with the content of Abeka. My other girl dont want anything in english, but I want jaja, but your video it so cool , and it will help me to choose from de next school year. Thanks !!
Aww ❤️
I personally thought the tgtb level 2 math was great. But I do feel like they should of definitely thrown in some simple addition and subtraction problems to keep it fresh in their minds. But thats an easy fix. Nevertheless my daughter still dreaded doing math..even though the games made it fun. Imooking for something else. Any suggestions from anyone is appreciated
We have done tgatb(original version), master books,and teaching textbooks. My daughter hasn't liked any of them. 😂 She finds math so challenging. In the fall we will begin apologia math. Katherine Gomes's (author) videos gave me helpful insight into showing kids why math is important and I hope🙏 it resonates with my daughter. It may be that she will never love math, but my favorite as the teacher, was master books, followed by tgatb. We will soon see about apologia!!
Beast Academy is a great supplement.
I’ve seen that one…it looks fun, but a little challenging. Does it seem that way?
I would take the old tgatb a million times over Abeka's. We love the old too. I would say if you would prefer a public school workbook with nothing special bc but pretty straight forward old school tactics, get Abeka. I taught elementary school and what was taught in abeka was simply not retained by mine because of the memory work and lack of thought into the process of learning. I'm kicking myself so much. We were actually way behind because we had to repeat and start a level prior in tgtb-it did not correlate with the year and a half or I would have been able to stick to the next level. If you want a thoughtful and intentional, literature based, charlotte mason approach that sticks in application at a later time, despite maybe a 6ish month gap in "grade level" then TGTB ( I've just done old so I assume new is better) is a winner. It adapts to so many learning styles too!! Just my opinion.
Sorry it didn’t work for you and you felt frustration. While it works really well for some families, it definitely doesn’t work for everyone! We’re so fortunate to have so many different options now ☺️
Does your 4th grader also use Abeka as a supplement? We went back and forth with those two math curriculums this year and finally ended with TGTB but I am still not convinced it's on par with other curriculums.....but now if I got abeka 4 again maybe they would be. Thanks for this comparision.
No she didn’t. I’m honestly not familiar with 4th grade Abeka or the new TGTB math level 4 so I couldn’t give you a fair comparison or tell you one way or another. Im sorry 😕
I have used abeka for k-5th. The 4th grade book is a huge jump from the 3rd. They get pretty intense and it also moves away from the cute, colorful style and is just a plane page of problems. But I haven't seen a math curricula that is up to par with it yet, besides maybe saxon, but Saxon has a lot more busy work imo.
@@TheTidyNest thank you! Do you think Saxon is up to par with Abeka? I was looking at that for next year but looking at the 6/5 for next year for my 5th grader and it seemed a lot of things she already knows. Thanks!
@@TheTidyNest thanks! Yes the only thing I know is that Abeka 4th is more serious than the younger grades and more intense.
ADHD brain... soo much on the pages... :(
Totally understandable!