Curriculum
Nevada Christian Home School has provided this page as a resource only for those who are seeking out homeschool options; it is not an endorsement from Nevada Christian Home School. This list has been provided to NCHS from a variety of homeschool parents and does not reflect the personal opinions of the NCHS board or it's members.
Select the curriculum or materials you are going to use
This is the decision that can be the most difficult for new home schoolers.
There are so many choices, and most of them are good. In this decision, research
will help, as well as talking to veteran home schoolers. If you know someone who
has a similar approach or outlook as you, ask them what curriculum they use and
why. Curriculum choices truly deserve separate pages of their own. Here are a
few tips to keep in mind when you start looking at curriculum.
a. Begin with the 3 R’s, reading ‘riting, and
‘rithmatic, and then build on them.
b. You can easily spend a fortune on curriculum that
looks good, so it may be helpful to work from a list of what you need when
buying, however, don’t avoid a book that you really want to use because of the
cost. Good curriculum can cost more but it is also worth saving for.
c. If you have a large family you might want to look at
how your choices will hold up to long term use. Alternately, if you like
workbooks, you may want to look at the cost of replacing them over time and
weigh that versus the ease of use.
d. Most home schoolers end up buying something they
didn’t use. Don’t beat yourself up over it; look for a used book sale, sell it,
and move on.
e. When looking at curriculum keep in mind your
personality and that of the child who will be using it. If you like things
organized, you might like a textbook over unit studies. If your child likes
workbooks, they may be a better choice than another approach.
f. Buy what you need now, not in the future.
Circumstances and approaches can change.
IF YOU HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, FEEL FREE TO CONTACT NEVADA CHRISTIAN HOMESCHOOL. WE ARE AVAILABLE TO HELP!
Here's some of our favorite curriculum choices
Soon after starting home schooling and getting on a few mailing lists, you'll have more choices of curriculum than you'll know what to do with or could ever possibly use. After a few years, most veterans start sorting through all the catalogs, toss out or give away many, and stick with their favorites. It would be a good idea to request catalogs from as many providers as possible.
If you want a complete curriculum from one source there are several
choices. This can be an excellent idea for people who don't know where to start
and just need to do something for the first year while they become accustom to
home schooling. Keep in mind that all of these companies also sell curriculum
separately, apart from a complete package.
The "big" names in home schooling are ABeka and Bob Jones. Both offer
several complete packages, including DVD's and videos, for grade levels. They
are expensive, but also very good programs. Both of these providers originally
wrote their textbooks for Christian schools. You can buy just what you need
individually or a complete grade level. All the texts have corresponding
teacher's guides, tests and quizzes. They provide complete scope and sequence
booklets, which are nice to have, that show what topics are taught in each
subject for every grade level.
http://www.abeka.com/
A Beka Books
P.O. Box 19100
Pensacola FL 32523-9100
877-223-5226
http://www.bjup.com/index.html
Bob Jones University Press
Greenville SC 29614
803-242-5100
Alpha Omega has several curriculum choices. They have Horizons, Life Pacs,
Switched on School House, and the Weaver curriculum. Life Pacs have a set of
booklets that you do for each subject. You can buy them as a set or individual
books. You can also buy a complete set of subjects for a grade level. On the
Homeschool Reviews site
http://homeschoolreviews.com/ Life Pacs are often recommended for kids who
are struggling with school. They seem to be gaining in popularity, along with
SOS, Switched on Schoolhouse. If you are interested in having your child
do school work on the computer, Switched on Schoolhouse might be a good choice.
You can get a complete grade level set or individual subjects. The program will
give the student tests and keep grades. It requires mastery of a subject before
you move on.
http://www.aop.com/retail/default.asp
http://www.aop.com/
Alpha Omega Publications
300 N. McKemy Ave.
Chandler, AZ 85226
Toll Free: 1-800-682-7391
Phone: 602-438-2717
Fax: 480-940-8924
CLASS, Christian Liberty Academy School System, is an affordable way to gather a
complete curriculum and have someone else keep grades and transcripts for you.
They have pros and cons. You can also get a curriculum kit from CLA, Christian
Liberty Academy. It's very affordable. It's a complete year of school, but you
keep grades and records. You can also order individual books from their catalog.
http://www.homeschools.org/
CLASS
Attn: customer service
502 West Euclid Avenue
Arlington Heights, Illinois 60004-5495
847- 259-4444
Rod and Staff is a popular provider whose material is written from an Anabaptist
and a small town/rural position. They do not have an online link but can be
reached at:
Rod and Staff Publishers
Hwy. 172
Crockett, KY 41413
606-522-4348
Rod and Staff materials can be
purchased from Milestone Ministries - you can see the material on line and
Milestone will send you free sample pages.
info@milestoneministries.us
Christian Light Education is also written from an Anabaptist stand. As do most
providers, they offer a complete curriculum or individual subjects.
http://www.clp.org/
Christian Light Publications
P.O. Box 1212
Harrisonburg VA 22803-1212
Phone: 877- 226-8010 or 540- 434-0750
Sonlight is a literature based unit study approach to home schooling and offers
complete curriculum packages.
http://www.sonlight-curriculum.com/
Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
8042 South Grant Way
Littleton, CO 80122-2705
303-730-6292
Five in a Row is a literature based unit study curriculum for preschoolers
through 12 years of age. They have a very informative website about their
curriculum.
http://www.fiveinarow.com/
Five in a Row
P.O. Box 707
Grandview, MO 64030-0707
816-246-9252
KONOS provides a unit study curriculum for home schoolers. It was written for
grades K-8, but they recently have added a high school world history course.
http://www.konosetc.com/
KONOS etc
PO Box 173
Price, Utah 84501-0173
Phone: 435-613-1321
Fax: 435-613-7090
Apologia science is quickly becoming a preferred choice for science. The books
are written specifically for home schoolers by a former university professor and
feature science labs that are easily duplicated in your home. Apologia has a
great support system.
http://www.highschoolscience.com/
Apologia Educational Ministries
1106 Meridian Plaza Suite 220
Anderson, IN 46016
Phone: 888-524-4724
Fax: 765-608-3290
Saxon math is a long time favorite choice of home schoolers. They take an
incremental approach to teaching math, where a concept is introduced and then
practiced daily along with other concepts. This means that every assignment in
Saxon is a cumulative review of all material covered up to that point. Saxon has
recently expanded their books to include phonics and spelling. They have a large
support system in place to assist you.
http://www.saxonpublishers.com/
SAXON PUBLISHERS
2600 John Saxon Blvd.
Norman, OK 73071
800- 284-7019
Home Science Tools is a great place to go to order science equipment. Their
service is fast and efficient.
www.homesciencetools.com
Home Science Tools
665 Carbon Street
Billings, MT 59102
800-860-6272
Veritas Press is a curriculum provider that specializes in the classical method
of Christian home education.
http://www.veritaspress.com/store/home.asp
Veritas Press, Inc
1829 William Penn Way
Lancaster, PA 17601
800-922-5082
A favorite book distributors catalog is from the Rainbow Resource Center. Their
latest catalog is 1 ½ inches thick and has 974 pages. It lists the products and
has a description for each selection. Additionally, the prices are good.
Although you can order from them online, it can be helpful to have
a catalog and order online using the product number.
http://www.rainbowresource.com/index.php
Rainbow Resource Center Inc
Rt 1 Box 159A
50 N 500 East Rd.
Toulon, IL 61483
888-841-3456
Christian Book Distributors is another favorite book distributor. They have
several different catalogs that you can request and are constantly sending out
new ones.
http://www.christianbook.com
Christian Book Distributors
P.O. Box 7000
Peabody, MA 01961-7000
800-247-4784
This is by no means all that is out there. It seems like new curriculum is being
developed for the home school market every year and new book distributors are
constantly opening.
Home School Legal Defense Association or HSLDA is a very worthwhile organization
for all home schoolers to join. It's like an insurance policy to protect our
freedom to home educate our children.
http://www.hslda.org/
Home School Legal Defense Association
JOIN HSLDA through your Nevada Christian Home School
membership and
receive a discount!
P.O. Box 3000
Purcellville, VA 20134
540-338-5600
Don't forget your local Teacher Supply
Store, Bookstore, and Library are other options available to you. Another
great resource is your local used curriculum book sale usually sponsored by
support groups in your area.
There are so many other choices (these links will help you find them.) They are
full of information:
Homeschool beginner page:
http://www.homeschoolchristian.com/Beginner.html
curriculum ideas:
http://www.homeschoolchristian.com/Curriculum/index.html
Helpful links page:
http://www.homeschoolchristian.com/Links/index.html
Complete curriculum providers:
http://homeschoolreviews.com/1complete.html
Donna Young's site:
http://www.donnayoung.org/index.htm
Nevada Christian Home School has provided this page as a resource only for those who are seeking out homeschool options; it is not an endorsement from Nevada Christian Home School. This list has been provided to NCHS from a variety of homeschool parents and does not reflect the personal opinions of the NCHS board or it's members.