Choosing Homeschool Curricula

An Overview and a Few Options

This is such a huge topic that I cannot possibly mention every homeschool curriculum available. I will only be able to mention a tiny snippet of what’s out there. The different philosophies of educating children have driven a lot of the homeschooling books and curricula that have been published in the last 20 years. Unschooling, Charlotte Mason, the trivium, child lead education, Waldorf, Montessori, etc. Some curricula will use aspects of different philosophies while others are built around just one main idea.

I will not be discussing the philosophies behind homeschool curricula. That is a huge topic where you may have to read quite a few books to fully understand them all. I will simply focus on curriculum and give you some examples of different types, so you can research a little more and decide what is right for you and your children. Again, I will only be able to show a little snippet of what is available, but hopefully it will give you enough information to help you decide which way to go. Then you can dig a little further on your own.

I would like to introduce you to a few curriculum publishers that offer complete curriculum, so you don’t have to look around for all the different subjects and books, etc. You can purchase them all together in one place. Later, in several different posts, I will write about other single subject curricula.

Traditional textbooks and that question again.

No matter what curriculum you choose or what grade your child is in, you will be doing some of the teaching. You can’t get away from that. However, there are certain types of curricula that require more time from the teacher and others that require minimal time teaching. That’s where that question comes in. How much time do you want to spend doing the teaching?

If you would like to do all the teaching, then traditional textbooks and workbooks are one choice for you and your family. Many publishers of these types of curricula offer the option to purchase all the materials you would need to teach your child, but they also offer online options where your child can watch a teacher in a classroom. I mention this, because I am going to recommend some homeschool books, but I don’t want you to be confused since they offer both options. I will be referring to purchasing all of the student books and teacher’s guides/ lesson plans, so you can teach the lessons to you child. I will discuss the online options later.

Abeka.com is my #1 choice for traditional type books to homeschool your child. It is what I used to teach all of my children in the elementary grades. In the earlier grades, the teacher’s guides actually tell you what to say as you teach your children. It can’t get any easier than that! There is nothing to plan out or figure out. It’s all written out step-by-step.

Another benefit is that you can purchase everything your child needs for the whole year in one place. They offer curriculum packages that include every subject for the entire year. This is a Christian publisher and that is reflected in their homeschool materials.

BJUpresshomeschool.com is another traditional-type curriculum publisher. I have not personally used their materials. I have viewed the books and I have friends who have used Bob Jones homeschool materials for all their children in all grades. They really liked this curriculum.

AOP.com/lifepac Alpha Omega Lifepacs. This follows a scope and sequence of traditional type curricula as well, but it is workbook based. Each subject has 10 workbooks or “Lifepacs” as the publisher has named them. Instead of having separate texts and workbooks, everything is included in the 10 workbooks. There is also a teacher’s answer key that comes with each subject.  

Not-so traditional homeschool materials.

If you would like to venture out into something a little different, I have some recommendations for that as well.

Sonlight.com is a very literature rich homeschool program. I used their history curriculum for 2 years in our homeschool during the middle school years. They also have a teacher’s guide with lesson plans already done for you. Just open it up and get teaching. Sonlight schedules different books for silent reading by the student and reading aloud by the parent.

 You can purchase everything you need from Sonlight, however, they offer several different programs for some subjects, so there will be some more research to do. For example, at the time of this writing, they have 6 different math programs to choose from. On that same note, you do not have to purchase a complete package from Sonlight if you don’t want to. You can pick and choose what components you would like.

I think everyone should check out Sonlight. There were some great books my family enjoyed so much that we never would have read if it were not for this homeschool curriculum.

Amblesideonline.org is a website that is free to everyone. It is based on the philosophy of Charlotte Mason, a 19th and 20th century educator who wrote a 6-volume series on educating children. There are schedules and suggested books for each grade. It is also literature rich and uses lots of high-quality classic literature. When you read classic literature in unabridged, original versions, it makes all the difference. You also realize how much you missed watching a movie or reading a shortened version of a great story.

There is a lot to learn about this curriculum to understand the way it is put together. The authors have put links to the original 6 book series by Charlotte Mason, so you can read it for yourself. They have groups to ask questions and discuss the curriculum with other homeschoolers as well.

What if I’m not a Christian?

While I am a christian, I understand there may be someone reading this who is looking for more secular based homeschool curriculum.

Most major homeschool curricula publishers that I am familiar with and that offer complete curricula are Christian based while some companies that publish certain subjects are not. For example, my favorite math program is Teaching Textbooks. This is not a Christian math program. It’s just a math curriculum like any other. Shurley English is an amazing English program, but it is not a Christian-based curriculum either.

It would seem that if you are looking to avoid bible verses or references to Christianity, you would probably have to shop around a little more to pick and choose materials for each subject. This is where websites such as Christianbook.com and rainbowresource.com can help. Both of these websites offer all kinds of curricula for homeschoolers. Most will have samples for you to preview as well. A simple internet search should bring up some ideas too. I have one more recommendation as well.

If you were intrigued by the Sonlight curriculum mentioned above, then you may want to look at bookshark.com. It is the secular version of their original curriculum.

Final thoughts

I hope this has given you a starting point to choose curricula that will work for your family. I think it can be overwhelming to see everything available all at once. I wanted to offer a few options to get you started. The research could go on forever. It might be better to pick something and get started. Your research can continue as you start homeschooling your children and you become familiar with their learning styles and so on.

Let me know your thoughts and if you have any questions.

Email me at Mary@whatabouthomeschooling.com

“…And the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning.”

~Proverbs 16:21

I am not affiliated with any of the publishers or curriculum companies mentioned in this blog post at the time of its publication.