ACE Curriculum!

Back in 2017 when I was working at the church I was researching possible homeschool options for Owen. He was having a rough year! That's when I first came across Lighthouse Christian Academy. It a Christian homeschool program and that uses ACE curriculum which was the same curriculum that Michael and I used growing up. Of course I was working at the time so that wasn't an ideal solution.

 Fast forward to March 2020 when Michael and I decided that homeschooling was what we wanted for our kids and it became a very real option. I did do a ton of research on homeschooling. I actually found an online FREE Christian homeschool program called Easy Peasy. It was created by a Christian woman for her own kids, but God told her to put it online and to create it as if it would be used by others and not just her kids. God also told her to offer it for free. They even have two different online community pages on Facebook that have over 70K followers and are quite active. I really did consider that an option. 

After talking it over with Michael....his preferred method was going with LCA. He really felt like it would be better for the kids to be in an accredited program which EP is not. He also loved that it wouldn't fall solely on my shoulders...we would have an advisor that could help us along the way. Lastly, he really loved that we were familiar with the curriculum so helping our kids would be easier for us. My hesitation with EP was the fact that the kids would all be online. We only have 1 desktop computer and 1 laptop. I knew that even though the program would be free we'd have to buy each of the kids their own computer/laptop in order for them to do school at the same time. I know that a lot of kids are doing online school right now, but I'm just not a sit in front of my computer all day person. I really liked that with LCA the kids would be working out of PACE's which are little textbooks. Offline....no charging necessary! :) 

Another thing that I really like with LCA is they have the kids take Diagnostic Test. With EP I would have had to guess where I thought my kids were according to grade level. The kids took their diagnostic tests starting on Tuesday, August 4th through Thursday, August 6th. 

The first day the kids worked on English and Word Building. We did get to a part in the English testing where it had the kids write out the letters in cursive and none of my kids know cursive so I had to call Ms. Erline and leave a message about going forward or not. While we waited I gave the kids their Word Building tests. Jack and Owen actually did great with their spelling. 

After they were completed with English and Word Building, they moved onto Math and Reading. 

The tests were particularly hard for Ella & Zeke. I explained that the purpose of the test was to get to a point where they couldn't do them anymore. It was supposed to be hard so LCA would know which PACEs to assign them. 

Zeke and Ella ended up needing to work a little bit into Friday, but once they were finished I scored their work, packed it all up and took it to the post office to ship it back to LCA. They reviewed the kids work and then I talked with Ms. Erline about where the kids were going to be placed in each PACE. Of course ACE is a different program than what is used at public school so there are certain nuances that they aren't used to. Frankly there are also things that they just don't teach in school anymore. It's definitely more of a classical education than public school is. 

Just for my record keeping I'm going to list what PACE # each kiddo started in. 

Owen: 

Math - 1051

English - 1054

Word Building - 1073

Science - 1085

Social Studies - 1085

Jack: 

Math - 1051

English - 1049

Word Building - 1073

Science - 1073

Social Studies - 1073

Ella: 

Math - 1016

English - 1015

Word Building - 1025

Science - 1025

Social Studies - 1025 

Literature / Creative Writing - 1025

Zeke: 

Math - 1009

English - 1014

Word Building - 1013

Science - 1013

Social Studies - 1013

Literature / Creative Writing - 1013

The PACE's number do represent a certain grade level and they are all behind in at least one subject according to public school standards, but that doesn't bother me at all. First off by doing the Diagnostic Testing, LCA is able to figure out what skills they are lacking in and then have the kids do GAP PACEs. For instance Zeke is starting in Math PACE 1009, but then his next PACE is 1015. By the end of the year he'll be finishing PACE 1035 which is only one PACE away from finishing 3rd grade. Normally kids are only required to complete 12 PACEs a year, but since the kids are a little behind they are doing more. Zeke is going to finish a total of 16 Math PACEs this year. Next year he'll only have to finish 1 extra to be right where he needs to be at grade level. 

For the most part the older boys are at 7th grade level in their work with the exception of Math and English being at 5th grade level. 

Ella is working at a 2nd / 3rd grade level which isn't shocking. She had an IEP at school and always struggled the most with reading. She didn't have any services from school since March and then prior to the Covid shutdown her classroom was in such chaos all the time I feel like 3rd grade really was a wash.  

The thing with ACE curriculum is ACE stands for Accelerated Christian Education. After this year the kids will take the diagnostic testing again in the PACEs they are behind in and possible get to jump a few PACEs so they won't have to review topics that they have since mastered. When I was at school growing up I able to do more PACEs than the allotted 12 a year so I was actually in 3rd grade doing 5th grade work. It's really a great program since every kids gets to go at their own pace...pun intended! 

After talking it over with Ms. Erline and coming up with a game plan for each kiddo she placed the curriculum order. This summer we've had a couple things stolen from our porch and mailbox so I was worried that our order would come while we were camping, but thankfully it came the day before. 

 

3 heavy boxes filled with PACEs and Score Keys. It weighed 104lbs altogether! I wasn't going to go through the boxes until we got back from camping, but I couldn't help myself I was so excited to see everything. Plus I wanted to inventory it and if something was missing get that information to Ms. Erline quickly so it could be sent out. Thankfully nothing was missing! 

 

Once we got back from camping, Michael had the kids work outside in the yard with him so I could have the house to myself to get all the organizing done. It was so much more material than I had anticipated. When I had bought school supplies I bought a label maker that came in handy. I also realized that I needed to buy a two drawer file cabinet. In hindsight it would have been better to buy a 4 drawer, but I was able to make it work. I ended up finding the file cabinet on Offer Up for only $25. 

The black file cabinet is what holds all of the Score Keys for the PACEs, all Owen's PACEs and the PACE tests that the kids need to take once they are finished with their PACE. On top of the file cabinet is a black box storage container that I use to put all the school extras like our math kit and the stapler. The gray briefcase is a microscope I bought off Offer Up during our first week of school. 

From the big group of yellow Math PACEs back it's all Owen's PACEs for the year. 

This is so comical because prior to getting all the materials I actually thought I would be able to fit everything in these 6 tiny drawers! The top three contain Jack's PACEs and the bottom 3 have Ella's. 

Zeke's PACEs are all stored in this plastic tub in the IKEA cabinet. 

I am using the kids book boxes I bought for homeschool earlier in the year to hold their score keys for their PACEs. This is on the dining room table which is where the kids all score their work. 

ACE Curriculum is definitely different than Public School. Each of the kids had their own struggle during the first week, but they will get better and better as we go along. 

Just for my records here is our school schedule. 

8:15am - Bible Reading (Currently reading 1 chapter in the book of Joshua every day), Pray for our day and the Pledges (American Flag, Christian Flag & the Bible). 

8:30am - PACE work

9:15am - First Recess

9:30am - PACE work

10:30am - Second Recess 

10:45am PACE work

11:30am - Lunch Time

12:15pm - PACE work

1:00pm - Third Recess

1:15pm - PACE Work

For the most part especially Ella and Zeke have been finishing right after lunch, but the older boys work is harder so it takes them longer. On Friday everyone was done with school by 2pm. We are going to start walking the track at 2pm on Monday's and Friday's so if they aren't finished with their work by then they'll just have to finish when we get home.