For example, when learning about ancient history, the courses would cover the most important people from the bible. Children can learn about the people who played important roles in the Christian movement. It’s also important to remember that homeschooling is a lifestyle choice; as such, you have to put in the time to research the curriculum options available and find the one that suits the student or students’ needs.
In many situations, this can be a daunting task – especially for those who are new to homeschooling. After all, there are a wide array of resources and programs to choose from. However, your goal should be to choose the right curriculum, and the best way to do this is by getting to know more about some of the most popular options available today.
The right curriculum is going to fit well with your lifestyle, and it will provide your child the education they require. What’s most important is that the curriculum resonates with your child’s needs. To help you choose the right curriculum, review the information here. You can see some of the most popular curriculum options and learn more about them. This information is designed to help you make a more informed decision.
Time4Learning
Time4Learning is a website that’s designed for homeschooled children in grades Pre-K through high school. The learning curriculum covers science, social studies, language arts and math. It was designed around the CompassLearning Odyssey, which is an interactive, online educational system that’s been around for several years. In 2016, the CompassLearning Odyssey program was acquired by Edgenuity, and the programs offered are also used in many traditional schools today.
To use this homeschooling platform, students pay a monthly membership fee that is based on the student’s grade. There are discounts available if you pay annually or semi-annually. Parents will be given a unique login for their child, which is where they create lesson plans, assign work and access their student’s records. With this program, the student’s work and their records can be printed out and parents can choose grade-level courses with customized lessons. While the Time4Learning platform is mainly focused on the core curricula for science, social studies, language arts and math, the program has recently added Time4Languages, which includes foreign language instruction. This is charged at an additional fee.
Abeka
For the past four decades, Abeka has been designed and refined to offer those who use it a comprehensive curriculum. They created engaging textbooks that are intended for use in homes. The curriculum offered with this program comes with easy-to-use lesson plans for parents, along with free online resources.
Abeka is offered for students in preschool and goes through high school education. The courses offered include penmanship, writing, spelling, science, music, math, language arts, health, foreign language, Bible, and art. Parents also have access to the Abeka Academy, which is an accredited online program that can be used to supplement the student’s studies.
The virtual school option offers report cards and maintains transcripts for students. Some of the other features of this program include daily lesson plans, videos, keys, quizzes, textbooks and tests. The previous work done by the student will determine the grade level placement. After the end of every grading period, students will receive their report cards and evaluations. Those in high school will receive a diploma after they have completed the course and an annual graduation ceremony is held for students.
Sonlight
With Sonlight, students learn through Christian-centered curriculum that utilizes literature-based learning solutions to help educate a child from the perspective of God’s truth and love. This is a parent-directed program that allows for more parent-child interaction than some of the other programs on this list.
The engaging activities that are included with this curriculum include reading books, along with new opportunities to develop better communication by ongoing, directed discussions. With the Sonlight program, parents have the ability to establish themselves as a source of direction and wisdom. The program nurtures the family relationship by offering several stories and pictures that all revolve around the family unit.
There are full grade level packages available, ranging from preschool through high school. Sonlight also offers college prep courses, as well as placement tests. The program is complete and comes with a simple instructor’s guide that helps parents as they work to teach their children. All of the subjects required are included in each of the curriculum packages. There are also exclusive kits that can be purchased for lessons such as piano and science. Each of the programs comes with complete lesson plans, a full schedule and discussion questions.
Apologia
Apologia is another popular Christian homeschool option. It offers several science lesson options, all of which are created from the creationist point of view. A favorite for many parents and students is the zoology lessons, as there are notebooks available for the junior and middle-school levels. Currently, Apologia offers curriculum and courses for children between the grades of kindergarten to 12th grade. An appealing feature of this program is that you can purchase a single book to use with multiple students.
LifePac
LifePac is a Christian homeschool curriculum created by Alpha Omega Publications. It is designed for students in grades kindergarten through high school. This Christian program was created by a team of experts who have had years of combined experience teaching in a traditional classroom setting. LifePac is a curriculum based on the mastery of learning. The students who use this homeschool curriculum have to master and complete the previous lesson before moving on to the next. There are ten different work texts for every grade level, which offers an entire year of learning for students. On average, students are able to complete a workbook every three to four weeks.
Switched on Schoolhouse
The Switched on Schoolhouse computer-based, comprehensive Christian homeschooling curriculum is a product of Alpha Omega Publications and designed for students in grades three through 12. This program offers students an in-depth study of the New and Old Testaments. Students will study the New American Standard Bible and the King James Version of the Bible and will be exposed to a much wider array of information and lessons than with some of the other curriculums found on this list.
There are seven themes covered in the Bible curriculum, which include Christian evidence, Christian growth, Biblical geography, Biblical literation, attributes of God and Theology. There’s a special focus on every grade level. With this curriculum, history is taught by the student reviewing the record of man, and the relationship he had with God. American and World geography are covered as one of the main six themes. Some of the other themes that are encountered with this curriculum include social studies, economics, citizenship, government, religious history, and others.
In addition to the themes mentioned above, students also have access to several elective courses, including civics, computer information, business, British literature, the Civil War, French one and two, essentials of math and elementary Spanish. Some of the features of Switched on Schoolhouse curriculum include up-to-date information, a daily work report, quick installation and automatic grading. This program also offers placement tests for students.
A World of Adventure
Another unique learning experience is A World of Adventure. It helps bring the past to life for students. This is done by allowing students to have the opportunity to experience customs from centuries past. During their studies, students are able to meet characters that lived a long time ago and have the opportunity to step back in time to see pharaohs, pyramids, the first Olympic games, castles, knights, and erupting volcanoes.
The initial volume in this curriculum includes 180 days of lesson plans and is available for grades four through eight. There are also supplementary materials for students who are in grades kindergarten through grade three. The program covers six history-based units, which all integrate the necessary subjects, except for mathematics. Every one of the lessons also includes 30 days of lesson plans that are correlated with six different time periods, including the Age of Exploration, the Renaissance, the Middle Ages, Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt. It is required that the program is completed in this chronological order.
KONOS
KONOS was originally written in 1984, by Jessica Hulcy and Carole Thaxton. It is a Bible-based unit study curriculum. The actual name of this program, “KONOS” is derived from the word that means “cone” in Greek. The inverted cone represents God at the very top of all knowledge and creation, and it represents that God is the apex of all life, and that he oversees all things. The goals of this program are to educate children and show them the way of Godly character, how to be a family, how to create a real love of education and learning, and how to achieve academic excellence.
An appealing factor of this program is that parents have the opportunity to be master teachers to their children. With a focus on character traits, an integration of all-important subjects, an array of hands-on activities and more, this program offers parents the opportunity to teach as if they had years of experience in the classroom. The program itself is designed for multi-level learning and it is created in a way that helps build and maintain strong sibling bonds.
Bob Jones University
Providing a thorough, complete Christian education is the ultimate goal of Bob Jones University. Today’s Christian educators receive support by use of textbooks and other materials that help to instill a biblical-based worldview, encourage critical thinking, use technology solutions and provide an academically rigorous program that relies on parental support for success. Students who are enrolled in this program are introduced to educational content that is right for their particular academic level. Upon learning the content of each lesson, students can begin to analyze, to evaluate, and to create.
In an effort to offer students and parents a much more rigorous program, the writers of the textbooks took extensive time to research various educational practices, sequence and scope. They also learned about the ultimate academic standards for students at all learning levels. Thanks to this extensive research and the amount of time put into the creation of the lessons, the material is full of descriptive text, and it asks questions that help to promote critical and deep thinking in students. There’s also a wide array of media integrated into each lesson and unit, including charts, maps, illustrations and photos, which can help to promote a much deeper understanding and appreciation for the topics covered. The available teacher editions will help parents provide their children with clear instructions for each lesson.
Veritas Press
The curriculum provided by Veritas Press is designed to help students fall in love with learning. The lessons are designed to teach a child where they are developmentally, and provide them with educational challenges just right for their abilities. The coursework provided by this program is available in a format where students can go at their own pace through an online platform. Veritas Press offers education for grades kindergarten through 12th grade, and includes the following subjects: science, reading, math, music, logic, literature, Latin, history, Greek, grammar, geography, composition, Bible and art.
Veritas is a Christian school, homeschooling provider that has been a leader in this industry for the past two decades. They are also one of the oldest Christian home schools that is an accredited online education facility available today. With this program, students have access to the learning resources needed to build a solid foundation to prepare them not only for college, but also for life in general. Some of the online resources that are provided by Veritas Press include instructional videos, curriculum guides and discussion groups. Upon completion of all courses, those who reach the 12th grade will receive a diploma.
Selecting the Right Christian School Curriculum
The process of selecting the right Christian homeschooling curriculum for your child is a very important decision. However, there is quite a bit of information out there today that you can use to help you make your decision. It may also be smart to talk with other homeschooling parents to find out about the lessons that worked and even the ones that did not work for them. It is also important to remember that each child is different, and you need to choose a curriculum and learning plan that is based on your child’s abilities and the way they learn best. This will help you set your child up for success now and in the future.