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If you HAD to choose a boxed curriculum…
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A friend is asking what kind of curriculum to use. She’s not a planner and wants the box. 🙂 I know about My Fathers World and Sonlight. But are there any others that you would recommend that are CMish?
Winter promise looks really interesting to me. It is very hands-on. For CM friendly, I think MFW would be my choice.
I have always thought the literature used in Veritas Press grade sets was excellent. Lots of living books. They do up a plan on CD for you based on your history era choices and add ons. So all done up for you, classical education but FULL of great books, use of narration and copywork in the early grades for sure, quality education. I think it’s called Veritas Press Scholar’s Academy.
We used Winter Promise last year. I would say that it is definitely more CM than MFW or Sonlight (and I have used both). But we did find their Language Arts a bit difficult to follow, and very ‘workbookish’, especially compared to SCM. They have LOTS more reading and (I think) more interesting book selection than MFW or Sonlight. It is about the same time commitment as Sonlight, but you can do History together as a family (as opposed to Sonlight’s system).
I think what you recommend would greatly depend on how old her kids are and how new she is to homeschooling. MFW is very low key, very Biblically sound, but a bit weak in their LA and literature. You really have to beef up the reading and add in your own CM methods to call MFW a ‘CM’ curriculum. If you are willing to do that, though, it is a great base. And it is probably the most affordable option.
Sonlight is extremely structured and a bit difficult to do together as a family (in my opinion). But if she only has one or two children, it can be a good way to get rolling in homeschooling. I wasn’t crazy about introducing my kids to Bhuddism, Hinduism, etc…in first grade, as Sonlight does. It was also cost prohibitive for us when we got past three children. I think you are looking at an average of $800-$900 per child to use Sonlight.
Veritas Press does look really cool, too. Also very pricey, though! They have a great tool where you can plug in all your kids and find out exactly what to get for them together and seperately. The grand total was a shocker for me.
With any of these, you are adding in Math, Science, and choosing literature and Language Arts for each child. Why couldn’t she use the SCM family guides for History/Geo/ Bible that have a daily plan? She is really going to have to add in the other elements in any curriculum, you know? When I look at the SCM website/guides I breathe a sigh of relief :). It just seems so much simpler than any of the ‘box’ curriculums I have used in the past.
Here are the CM ones I know of:
http://www.livingbookscurriculum.com
http://www.tanglewoodeducation.com/grade1.htm kind of
Could you suggest a book list for SCM and where to buy needed items?
I would go with Heart of Dakota. To me it seems like the best planned and laid out for a new homeschooler. Everything for the day is on a two page spread. No flipping back and forth. The books are excellent. The price is very good. It is truly all inclusive. If we weren’t where we are in our history cycle, I would be using it. http://www.heartofdakota.com/index.php
Though each day is not scheduled, Queen Homeschool Supplies has their CM Easy Packs available.
We took a break from MFW this year to try a variety of ideas. However, as neat as these ideas are, MFW was a great fit for our family with a toddler around.
Thanks for the responses. I agree that she should use SCM and schedule from their free curriculum guide. But it is still a lot if decisions and I think starting out from a simple box in the mail is what she wants for now. I can’t really blame her, I AM a planner but still wanted the plans given to me when I first began. 🙂
My only suggestions (so far) for her is to read books about CM methods. I will add the above boxed curriculum ideas to these CM books and let her decide.
Thanks again everyone!
We used Ace Paces when we first started homeschooling. It is biblical based and it keeps up with and exceeds ps standards. It also passes the Iowa school curriculum for state standards which are pretty strick. A few other states as well. I guess it really depends on what the state standards are and what she is looking for in the future. For instance does she want to continue threw High School with a book set? Ace Paces does go threw High School and does give a diploma. So, I guess you need to ask her what she seeks and then go from there. If she wants to go with SCM friendly curriculum then she may want to look at those two aspects. 🙂 It also is pretty cheap compared to other curriculum and can be bought off of e-bay new really cheap. I am just suggesting another christian based box set.
Blessings !
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