Home-Schooling (Reformed Materials) ?

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ANT

ANT

Puritan Board Junior
As most of you know, I have 5 boys ...

Ages 19, 17, 15, 5 & 3

The oldest is in college already (1st year.)
Our 17 & 15 year old go to a private Christian school.

My wife and I are talking about homeschooling the 5 & 3 year old. For a number of years, my wife has worked days and I have worked nights. We just recently started talking about homeschooling the little ones. That would mean ... It's Daddy's job to do it (Which I'm totally cool with, even excited about it.) We would be starting the 5 year old in Kindergarden, and the 3 year old in Pre-K.

Is it easy to do? I have no clue, but I'm up for a good challenge. I think it would be the greatest thing in the world to be able to teach my little ones how to read and write, and tell them about the men and women who followed Jesus before us.

Anyways, I'm looking for good reformed curriculum (Preferably leaning towards the Presbyterian side.)

Has anyone ever used Covenant Home Curriculum?

Here's their web site ...
http://www.covenanthome.com/document_detail.asp?document_id=133

I will appreciate and take all the input I can get on this.
Your recommendations will be thoroughly looked into.

Thanks!
 
You are talking right up my alley, Anthony! I have a friend that uses Covenant Home. It is expensive and is eclectic (they pull from other curriculum sources and publishers). If you can schedule yourself you might look at what they have, look at what others have to offer, and create a curriculum for yourself for le$$.

Here's my take on curriculum that I have researched.....

Abeka Phonics (THE BEST! IMNSHO!) I used it as a child and turned into a speed reader...all my children use it...(I've played with 2 other curriculums this semester and ugh! BJU and MCP) Advice choose one and stick with it!

Saxon Math is the best as well...however my children have started with Modern Curriculum Press and Abeka due to $$ and until they are in 4th or 5th.

Apologia Science is also the most recommended for young earth creationists.

I have a preference for Unit Studies due to having many children. I started with Weaver...it is great for the younger children but didn't have the reading and history I wanted (I am considering going back to it for the younger ones). We are currently using Tapestry of Grace (TOG) as it DOES have what I want in history and reading. Both can be what you make it. Though TOG has a more Reformed leaning....is classical method to a unit study and living books style. Weaver is mildly classical with a stronger Charlotte Mason approach which also endorsesliving books (but her book recommendations are not as great).

I'll dig and have more for you later.
 
Colleen, you might want to explain what BJU and MCP are. It sounds like Anthony is a homeschool newbie and won't know what those are. I don't even know what those two are. :candle:

Anthony, I looked at ovenant Home too and it looks cool. A cheaper one that is reformed and very easy to administer and is fairly inexpensive, cheaper than Covenant Home, is School of Tomorrow. You get a 20 or 30 discount if you buy a certain amount can't remember what it is. Here also are some websites I have collected so you can look around and see the many things available out there. Most of these are the classical approach. There is sooo much out there now its tough to decide. I have a bunch more link on my other computer. Maybe Colleen has some too. May God bless your efforts.


Cornerstone Home Academy

Classical Homeschooling

Trivium Pursuit
 
Ditto Abeka and Saxon Math.

Actually, depending on what your dc knows, I'd just go to Kmart, or a teacher's store and pick up a beginning writing book, and math book, and the Dick and Jane reader. (Or something similar, even Dr. Suess would work) and start them out now, and wait until August to buy curriculum for your five year old. (The three year old I'd keep in misc. workbooks for another year.) It will give you an idea of what they know, and how quickly they'll catch-on.
 
Has anyone ever used Covenant Home Curriculum?
Click to expand...

We used that for awhile. I really liked the Bible stuff. My wife changed because she started becoming more relaxed and didn't want to follow their schedule.

We now use Veritas Press. Covenant Home is good if you think that you want everything laid out for you.
 
Thanks everyone for all the advice. I look forward to doing alot more research on this over the next couple of days.
 
We ordered the Pre-K and Kindergarten packs from Covenant Home Curriculim on Sunday evening. I can't wait until they get here. We looked at a local school/homeschool supply store the other day. We picked up a few extras there. The waiting has us all on the edge of our seats. My 5 year old (Willam) has a calander on the fridge to check the days off while he is waiting for his books. It's so exciting!
 
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Colleen: How easy is Abeka phonics? We used the 100 Easy Lessons and liked how easy it was. Everything was scripted. How would Abeka compare?
 
Very scripted. Get the workbook, the beginning reading books (these are more pamplets and cheap), the Handbook for reading, the Phonics charts (small) and their cassette tape, and the curriculum guide for the phonics. This is only my suggestion of course.

I've looked at 100 EL and didn't care for it. I didn't feel it gave enough practice or consistancy. Abeka spirals upward and they practice writing at the same time causing it to stick. Right now we are using MCP and BJU workbooks as they were what I was able to get locally (we bought late this year and were limited in funds, didn't want to spend it on shipping) I am not happy with either. And they approach the phonetic method in an opposite direction. MCP and BJU do ending sounds/word families (as do many public schools) and Abeka does beginning blends.
 
Modern Curriculum Press...MCP
Bob Jones University...BJU

I should probably post most of the acronyms for our new fellow homeschooling parent!

TOG....Tapestry of Grace
AOP....Alpha Omega Publishing
SOS....Switched on Schoolhourse
RS or R&S....Rod and Staff (don't get me started!)
TQ...TruthQuest
KONOS...KONOS (lol)
CM....Charlotte Mason
ACE now known as ACCES?....School of Tomorrow
LLATL....Learning Language Arts Through Literature
SOTW....Story of the World
VP....Veritas Press

There's a start...
 
I got my TOG.:lol: I am still sifting through it and getting to know it. I thought it was just history but it is unit studies if you want to use it. Colleen how much of it do you use? Do you use it as unit studies?
 
Year one, and I only have unit one so far. I am thinking seriously about using the Easy Grammar she has incorporated into her program. I haven't chosen a good syntax grammar program yet. I don't mind making it easier on myself either using her geography etc that she has incorporated. Which grammar do you use again??
 
I use Easy Grammer...the children like it so much more, and I am mixing it with Learning Language Arts Through Literature to round it out.

I have the entire Year 3. 20 families decided to use TOG for the first time this year, so we all bought the same and co-opt. I enjoy the co-oping. But again like every other year we end up down to Arith, writing, and phonics only during the winter...I usually say that I school from spring through autumn. My children don't do well in the winter...I think it's a cabin fever thing. I'm kind of that way too, I need my sunlight. It was so nice today, I let the children play for 1.5 hr and then school. So we will probably catch up on history and science over the summer. I am thinking about using TOG only for my older one from here on for now and go back to Weaver for the younger. TOG doesn't work well with K-3rd, too intense. I teach the 4th-6th graders at the co-op, so I always have reading to do each week on some topic. The past three weeks was CW, one of my favs. I really stretched the kids minds and blasted assumptions. Had one kid try to tell me that I was making slavery sound like a good thing...by the end of class he realized that I was just showing how slavery was used by both sides for political purposes before in during the war. This last week we dealt with the role of women, children, and blacks in the war. :detective:
 
Wow, Homeschooling really sounds so involved, You all sound like you have so much on your plate. Please tell me it's not going to be really difficult starting out.

I'm defenitely going to do this. I'm just feeling a little more weight on my shoulders reading through everything you do. That comes with time, right? Were any of you nervous starting out?
 
No, I get more nervous as they get older. Mostly because it is easy for us to compare our kids to the public or private school system. You need to relax and let your kids enjoy learning, not push them.

It also may seem more involved because Augusta and I are pulling from different sources on our own and are using a Unit Study that requires us to plan and choose what and how we are going to teach.

You've chosen an eclectic program, but it is already pulled together for you and planned day by day for you. That what you are paying for, less work on decisions and planning. I think you will do great...personally, dad's usually do. But few dad's are able to be the ones to homeschool.

Also, I chose to do the co-op, wasn't neccessary. Thus, yes I have a class to prepare for with kids that are older than mine. I enjoy it. I just hope I don't get any parents mad at me...lol! I was PE teacher for the Lyceum this past autumn. That was fun! The co-op (and Lyceum) only meet once a week. So not bad really.
 
Also, it's homeschool...not regular school. Don't run it by bells and and such. Do what is best for your family. When hubby worked second shift we would spend the day as a family and when he left for work and the little ones were napping I would school the oldest...then he would play and school between 8-10pm. He enjoyed it that way....and I've never gotton quite used to first shift ever since. Also, we school spring through autumn with minimal during the winter. Why? Because that is what works best for us. Probably be different if we were in a nice warm state like yours though...lol.
 
Yeah, it is kind of nice down here in Florida.

Except during hurricane season! :candle:

Thanks for the explanations.
 
I received all of the books and materials in the mail today. I'm so excited! I'm going to stay up late tonight looking and reading them over. Hopefully I will be able to get started with them tomorrow.
 
After opening the boxes, and looking at all the material .... I think I'm going to take the weekend to prepare and get ready. I'll start on Monday, there is more to read up on than I thought. :bigsmile:
 
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