Maria (chocolatelover) wanted to know what I think about the Robinson Curriculum, so here are my first impressions. We had a trial week and it went very well. I will update after we have used the program for a few months.

First of all, we agree with a lot of things that Arthur Robinson says about the values of independence and excellence. We have always brought up our kids to be as independent as they can be, and that also extends into our homeschool. My son (age 10) has been essentially self taught for months now (using materials bought for our usual method, which is described in The Well-Trained Mind) and my daughter (age 7) is not far from it. We already use the Saxon math program, and we already require much reading and writing. So the Robinson method meshes well with what we already have in place in our home.

I've also had the tendency to treat science as an extracurricular activity, rather than a major subject. There are so many things in science that little kids can't grasp because they don't have the maturity or the math. I've always felt uncomfortable trying to simplify topics. I feel it is better to wait to introduce something until they can fully understand it. I feel the same way about literature - I don't like abridged or simplified versions. It's just something that bothers me personally. Anyway, when the kids are interested in something, I try to get them adult books on the subject (when appropriate) and they can read what they want to read and do what they want to do. We also garden, nature journal, visit science museums, etc. Reading Dr. Robinson's thoughts on this has made me feel less guilty about running our science studies this way. Less guilt is always a plus!

My biggest concern was the aesthetic quality of the printed books. I like "real," bound books. My kids don't have a problem with it, though. Kids are so adaptable! The boy read five of the books this week and Dd read three.

I like the vocabulary flashcards very much, and so do the kids. Also included are math fact flashcards, but we don't need those because my kids both know them already.

You should know that we have no plans to stop watching nature shows and documentaries, or to give up our cookies. I admire that they don't watch tv or eat sugar, but I am not willing to go that far. Also, Robinson frowns upon children learning "extra" things like foreign languages. I take exception to this and will continue with our Latin studies.

Normally I would not have spent this much money on something I could put together on my own, but I am having a fit of the lazies. I think this will be a great program for us while we are living with my parents and have little room for a lot of different materials. It will also be a great time saver for me while I am working on my college courses. I'll let you know how it turns out - wish me luck.

I am also interested in RC...however I am wondering how much it costs to print out and bind the books? Can this be done at a print shop, or do you need a book binding machine and a gallon of ink?
Kate

I am not binding the books for now. I am just three-hole punching them and sticking them in cheap plastic binders, one for each child. Then I just rotate the books through the binders. When both kids have read a book, I toss the pages. (I will purchase any titles that they love.) I have printed five books and have gone through about one and a half packages of black ink, so around $15 worth. My printer isn't exactly efficient, though, so you can probably do better than that.

It costs me around $5.00 to print a book. That is using a laser printer and comb binding the books.

If the print is a thick kind of font, you could try printing it in draft. That might save some money. I buy printer cartridges on line and don't buy the name brand. It's way cheaper--$7 compared to--what--$40?

Also, I use 24# paper as the lighter 20# weight is a little too much see-through.

I basically punch holes and put in a binder type of thing.

Good luck and have fun.

Thank you for the update Melanie.

I'm glad that it is working for you.
We wouldn't give up sugar or tv either...

I also agree with the science aspect of RC...

Please continue to keep me updated.