Covenant homeschool curriculum

[Greg]

My wife and I are looking for a full curriculum for our daughter this coming school year. She will be starting 4th grade. I saw Patrick's thread on Sonlight's curriculum which was helpful.

I came across the website for Covenant's curriculum. Has anyone used it with their children? Would you recommend it?

 

[Puritan Sailor]

We looked at that one too. It looked good in being distinctively Reformed. But we were concerned about the rigor as well as the cost. I'd enjoy any feedback too.

 

[Pergamum]

Rigor.

Is more rigorous more better? I know many schools give so much homework that just looks like busywork. I am looking for quality and a curriculum that won't chain my kid to a desk but motivate self-learning and non sitting and desk-work learning

 

[Mindaboo]

We used Covenant for one year with my oldest daughter and didn't like it at all. I like what they had to say on a lot of different topics, but when it came to the material it wasn't that great. I loved reading their statements of faith and learned a lot from the site.

For one thing, they covered a lot of subjects. I believe it was like eight subjects per day for grade one. That was a little much. They also used Bob Jones and some other curriculums, they pull from a bunch of different sources. It wasn't their own curriculum and it didn't seem to back up theologically what they were stating as their belief statement. I thought there was way too much busy work, all of it was work book based. I don't like the work book approach. There is a place for workbooks, but not in every subject. I found it was very hard to teach, the lesson plans were not well laid out and I didn't have the confidence at the point to do them on my own. I was spending around 6-8 hours a day for first grade, who has that much time for one kid? I don't think it would be a good fit for multilevel teaching. It really confines you to one grade level. I do as much with all four of mine at the same time as I can.

After one year of Covenant I switched to Sonlight and that is my favorite curriculum. I found I really prefer a literature based curriculum and Covenant didn't meet that need.

 

[rescuedbyLove]

I used Covenant Home last year with my fourth-grader and kindergartener. At the time I thought it was just fine; I thought it was probably the best one out there, being reformed and all. But then I came across Christian Liberty Press's curriculum-and fell in love with it!! It is reformed, and it is overall MUCH more Christ-centered than CH. And what's funny is that I had already been using several of their (CLP's) books with both of my children as a supplement with CH, without knowing that these books came out of a whole curriculum (I think I got them on Amazon, or CBD or something...)! The thing about Covenant Home (in my estimation) is that it seems very much like a secular curriclulum, just with a Bible study thrown in (most of the Bible lessons are very good, but what about the other subjects?). Now, don't get me wrong, they do throw some Bible verses and random Puritan facts into their other subjects, but they do not make those subjects themselves revolve around GOD. For example, in CH's science books, they are just regular science books with Bible verses thrown in (like 1 verse per chapter). And what's more, the verses never seem to have anything to do with the lesson. But in CLP's science books all the content of each lesson is used to point to GOD and HIS greatness. The books are actually about God and His glory--and they use God's creation to teach children about HIM (His creativity, His wisdom, His power, His goodness, etc.--after all the Bible teaches us that God created all things to display His glory, not just glory, but HIS glory--it's there to point us to Him, and cause us to worship Him!). They even talk about the greatest thing we have to worship Him for, and that's His mercy found in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (now that's a science book!) I also had one of their history books (1st grade), which is VERY good (I even used it with my 4th grader!), and this book makes the cross of Christ the center of all the other historical events it teaches (like it actually is)! To be blatantly honest with you, when I first flipped through some of these books and read random parts of them, I fell to the ground crying and worshipping God. The books are so God-centered, that I looked at books' the publisher, thinking, I've got to find more of these books! So I searched on the internet, and I found CLP's website! I was SO thankful when I read their Standards for Evaluating Christian Curriculum: Our Curriculum
This was the kind of curriculum I've always dreamed of (and prayed for)!!
Last (and least), CLP is SO much cheaper than CH. I don't know why--I've compared them both extensively--and quality-wise, CLP is better (if you want to teach your child to see the world through the lens of God's word, in light of the fall, sin, God's mercy, and the cross). Please do not assume that more expensive=better curriculum. CLP is so great that we had already decided that we had to get it, before we even knew how cheap it was. Not that it's perfect or anything (only God's word is), but I haven't found anything I don't like about it yet...
Okay, this probably sounds like a commercial or something! I do not work for Christian Liberty Press!

P.s. These smileys are great!

 

[TimV]

The best thing for you to do is to get involved with a local HS association. They do all the paper work, and there is a big help network. Most people end up mixing and matching, using different brands for different subjects, and you get good feedback from others Christian homeschoolers.

 

[Grace Alone]

I used Covenant Home last year with my fourth-grader and kindergartener. At the time I thought it was just fine; I thought it was probably the best one out there, being reformed and all. But then I came across Christian Liberty Press's curriculum-and fell in love with it!! It is reformed, and it is overall MUCH more Christ-centered than CH. And what's funny is that I had already been using several of their (CLP's) books with both of my children as a supplement with CH, without knowing that these books came out of a whole curriculum (I think I got them on Amazon, or CBD or something...)! The thing about Covenant Home (in my estimation) is that it seems very much like a secular curriclulum, just with a Bible study thrown in (most of the Bible lessons are very good, but what about the other subjects?). Now, don't get me wrong, they do throw some Bible verses and random Puritan facts into their other subjects, but they do not make those subjects themselves revolve around GOD. For example, in CH's science books, they are just regular science books with Bible verses thrown in (like 1 verse per chapter). And what's more, the verses never seem to have anything to do with the lesson. But in CLP's science books all the content of each lesson is used to point to GOD and HIS greatness. The books are actually about God and His glory--and they use God's creation to teach children about HIM (His creativity, His wisdom, His power, His goodness, etc.--after all the Bible teaches us that God created all things to display His glory, not just glory, but HIS glory--it's there to point us to Him, and cause us to worship Him!). They even talk about the greatest thing we have to worship Him for, and that's His mercy found in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (now that's a science book!) I also had one of their history books (1st grade), which is VERY good (I even used it with my 4th grader!), and this book makes the cross of Christ the center of all the other historical events it teaches (like it actually is)! To be blatantly honest with you, when I first flipped through some of these books and read random parts of them, I fell to the ground crying and worshipping God. The books are so God-centered, that I looked at books' the publisher, thinking, I've got to find more of these books! So I searched on the internet, and I found CLP's website! I was SO thankful when I read their Standards for Evaluating Christian Curriculum: Our Curriculum
This was the kind of curriculum I've always dreamed of (and prayed for)!!
Last (and least), CLP is SO much cheaper than CH. I don't know why--I've compared them both extensively--and quality-wise, CLP is better (if you want to teach your child to see the world through the lens of God's word, in light of the fall, sin, God's mercy, and the cross). Please do not assume that more expensive=better curriculum. CLP is so great that we had already decided that we had to get it, before we even knew how cheap it was. Not that it's perfect or anything (only God's word is), but I haven't found anything I don't like about it yet...
Okay, this probably sounds like a commercial or something! I do not work for Christian Liberty Press!

P.s. These smileys are great!

Amber, I do not homeschool full-time, but I have purchased some Christian Liberty materials and am very happy with them. I love it that they make the books so affordable! I do recommend their materials to other reformed homeschooling parents.

The Bible Study book I have at the moment is Level B, A Study of the Doxtrines of the Christian Faith, and it is based on the children's catechism. I also liked that they give the option of Saxon Math for a small additional fee.

 

[Mushroom]

For what it's worth, the publishers of Covenant hold to paedo-communion. That may be immaterial, but it is stated in their literature, and that comes from a guy who is not yet convinced paedo-communion is unbiblical.

Lots of stuff by CLP is great, but we never got the impression they were Reformed in their theology. Covenant and Veritas are the only two we've encountered that are. We don't use either. Hmmm...

 

[rescuedbyLove]

Christian Liberty Press most definitely is reformed.

Here is a quote from their Standards for Evaluating Christian Curriculum:
While there are many attempts to formulate a biblical worldview, the simplest approach is to follow the basic doctrines of Scripture. Textbooks and other materials should be shaped by the fundamental truths of Scripture. Doctrines such as the Trinity, creation, sin, redemption, etc., should direct the approach to every subject. These truths have been summarized in the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms (1647). These embody the great teachings of the Protestant Reformation and are the tradition in which we stand. They render a unified and integrated system of truth which provides the framework for curriculum.

Here's the page:Our Curriculum
I strongly recommend reading this page to anyone even remotely interested.

I also have the book that Janis mentioned that is based on the Catechism for Young Children (Do arminians ever use catechisms?). It explicitly states that "God does the choosing of His spiritual children on the basis of His perfect will. It is the duty of Christians to tell everyone about their need to trust in Christ as Saviour and let God give the gift of faith to whomever He wishes." (p. 76)

Also, the History book for 1st grade introduces children to Augustine, Luther, Calvin, and Jonathan Edwards (in very easy-to-understand language--but with enough content to intrigue my fourth-grader!). Their science books are amazing and their Bible study books are so good, that I think I will let my mom borrow them as commentaries to help her understand how certain things in the O.T. teach us about Christ (i.e. things in the tabernacle, etc.). Seriously! (She just became a Christian this past November-- "out of nowhere", God just changed her heart! Praise the Lord!)
Anyway, their books are Christ-centered, and God-glorifyingly reformed!

 

[rescuedbyLove]

The best thing for you to do is to get involved with a local HS association. They do all the paper work, and there is a big help network. Most people end up mixing and matching, using different brands for different subjects, and you get good feedback from others Christian homeschoolers.

Almost every family at my church home schools, and they pretty much all use different things and/or mix & match. I am using a couple of other things as well in addition to my main curriculum. One thing that I think is so great (and wish I could have had when I was a kid--but I can just use it now!!) is a software program called Word Roots (grades 4-12+), from The Critical Thinking Co. "Word Roots teaches students the meanings of Latin prefixes, roots, and suffixes commonly used in English."
The Critical Thinking Co.™ - Word Roots A1 Software
It also comes in workbook form, if you like that better. But as for us, we have enough workbooks--she needs to learn how to use the computer so that when she gets older she'll be able to get around on really cool Reformed forums with greater ease.