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Homeschooling Curriculums

post #1 of 19
6/6/09 at 2:11am
Thread Starter 
Though it's a long way off, I am curious to find different curriculums for homeschooling (I do like to plan early ). While doing my own research, I come across various Christian curriculums. I would not feel comfortable teaching Bible. I'm not an atheist, by any means. I just don't think that I could teach it. Are there any homeschool curriculums that are not Bible centered? Or are there curriculums that are multi religious?

Thanks in advance :
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post #2 of 19
6/6/09 at 4:18am
Most of what is out there is Christian based, but you can find secular stuff if you look hard enough. Science curricula include NOEO, REAL Science 4 Kids, R.E.A.L. Science..

History you can look at History Odyssey or Story Of The World. SOTW does have a slight Christian slant to it but it's easy to work around.

There's also Oak Meadow, Enki, and a few other full curriculums that are secular. You can also take a Christian curriculum and turn it religion free. I know with Sonlight it's easy to remove the bible portions in the early years and find a different science program to go with. A lot do Charlotte Mason without trouble. Just poke around, see what you can find.
post #3 of 19
6/6/09 at 9:20am
We do Oak Meadow and it's definitely not Christian. Enki, like the PP mentioned, is great too! Definitely check those out!

I'm Christian myself but have no desire to go overboard with my kids. I feel like they'll pick what flows with them later. So a non-Christian curric was really important to me.
post #4 of 19
6/6/09 at 10:36am
We use Sonlight and leave out the Bible.
post #5 of 19
6/6/09 at 10:49am
many curriculums that have bible can be left out easily. for example, many homeschoolers use popular methods like charlotte mason, classical, etc. and they omit any religious teachings. in fact, there are secular yahoo groups dedicated to helping you. here's a good link to help you find what you need: http://www.successful-homeschooling....urriculum.html hth.
post #6 of 19
6/6/09 at 6:07pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you so much for all the helpful advice! I really appreciate it
post #7 of 19
6/8/09 at 12:12pm
Since it's a long way off, you have lots of time to think in terms of putting together a more individualized set of materials rather than buying one company's idea of what a curriculum should be. That would allow you to pick from sources that specializes in each subject. Take a look, for instance, at the FUN-Books catalog. You won't need much of anything to begin with that isn't already part of what you do with your child, and you'll be able to just bring in a few more things along the way as various subjects come up.

There are general guides you can refer to for seeing what would be taught in schools at certain times - like World Book's Typical Course of Study and Rebecca Rupp's Home Learning Year by Year: How to Design a Homeschool Curriculum from Preschool Through High School- but you have the wonderful luxury in homeschooling of being able to tailor everything to your child rather than tailoring your child to a program. An especially good book ahead of time would be Homeschooling, the Early Years, by Linda Dobson - it has input from lots of homeschoolers about their experiences with young children.

Lillian
post #8 of 19
6/8/09 at 1:15pm
It gets easier to find secular materials once you've looked around awhile. There are also secular homeschool lists which can stear you in the right direction. Many times it is easier to find things by subject rather than looking for a complete homeschool curriculum.
post #9 of 19
6/8/09 at 5:06pm
You may have missed it but there's a big forum of homeschool curriculum reviews. I've found it really helpful.
post #10 of 19
6/9/09 at 2:27am
Thread Starter 
I just logged in to MDC (I work nights now), and I just want to thank you all for the wonderful suggestions! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! :
post #11 of 19
1/27/13 at 9:40pm

We've used Calvert and Oak Meadow but will be transitioning to Evolution Homeschool.  We like Evolution Homeschool's concept of helping kids become active learners but researching what they learn and by picking their own reading materials.

post #12 of 19
1/31/13 at 1:15am
Hmm, 1 post about a new "curriculum" that's just a repackaging of materials already out and drudges up an old thread? I've seen similar on other boards...

In response to a thread going on three years old, I would question how secular NOEO is. I also thought R.E.A.L. Science 4 Kids was neutral on topics like evolution. There are also a secular Sonlight yahoo group and a secular Charlotte Mason site. Intellego Unit Studies are secular if you'd like to create your curriculum with unit studies.
post #13 of 19
2/2/13 at 7:28am

nice to see the link to the reviews of various curriculums, but they are all very outdated. i would guess that in the last 5-6 years many of these products have changed, or there are new options. i would LOVE to see new reviews of curriculum, would be very helpful.

post #14 of 19
2/3/13 at 1:27am
Assuming you mean secular, my current favorite two are Beast Academy Math (currently only grade 3 available) and MCT (Michael Clay Thompson) Language Arts. Dd loves Island Level and I can see us continuing to Town Level. We also utilize Math Mammoth Light Blue Series (bought through Homeschoool Buyers Coop for less), Zaner Bloser for handwriting, How to Spell by EPS, and Modern Curriculum Press items like Spelling Workout and Phonics. We do have some lightly religious curricula or curricula from Christian companies that I alter as needed. (Learning Language Arts Through Literature Red Book, Classical Writing Primer and Aesop, and Story of the World 1.)
post #15 of 19
2/4/13 at 7:23pm

MCP (now owned by Pearson) Phonics is a very solid curriculum for elementary phonics. My experience is that kids learn by repeating skills over and over (not a bad thing). Their workbooks tend to be colorful and easy for the kiddies to write in. Secularhomeschool.com posts tons of listings and reviews about secular homeschool curriculum packages and individual subjects, too.

post #16 of 19
3/7/13 at 7:50pm

We love and have used the K12 curriculum from the beginning of my now Senior (graduating with a 4.06) and Sophomore. Very engaging curriculum and you can use it independently as a homeschooler or you can enroll in one of the charter schools that uses this curriculum depending what options are in your state. Either way, the curriculum is great.

post #17 of 19
3/16/13 at 2:59pm

If anyone wants to drown their brain in available curricula for every subject under the sun, I'd suggest ordering a catalog from Rainbow Resource. Their catalog is mammoth & will keep you busy researching. orngbiggrin.gif

post #18 of 19
3/27/13 at 12:10am

Hi cupcakeladybub

For homeschooling curriculum, we are using beestar. It's curriculum-based for grade 1-10, including math, ELA, vocabulary, science, etc. Programs are full of all real life world problems, challenging stuff to help kids thinking. Worksheets are timed and scored. Math is free for any grade, other pros are just $20-30$ per semester. Hope it helps!
Lisa
 
post #19 of 19
4/3/13 at 7:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by heket View Post

Hmm, 1 post about a new "curriculum" that's just a repackaging of materials already out and drudges up an old thread? I've seen similar on other boards...

In response to a thread going on three years old, I would question how secular NOEO is. I also thought R.E.A.L. Science 4 Kids was neutral on topics like evolution. There are also a secular Sonlight yahoo group and a secular Charlotte Mason site. Intellego Unit Studies are secular if you'd like to create your curriculum with unit studies.
NOEO is neutral. I am religious but prefer neutral science materials and NOEO fits the bill easily.

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