Home School Curriculum Recommendations

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ThankingHIMdaily

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Hi! I'm planning to home school next year for the first time. I have a 5th grader & a 2nd grader, I also have a toddler & an infant @ home (all boys). I've looked @ Christian Liberty Press, Covenant Home & Sonlight. I'm leaning more toward CLP's CLASS program. Any advice? Thank you!
 
I started off using CLP with my oldest and in our case, we eventually left it because we didn't care for the mathematics program or the reading program. I used their science and history books for the lower grades (through 3) and then switched to Apologia (for science) once we got to 4th grade. I liked their Bible.

If any of your children are struggling with reading, I would recommend using the Amish (pathway) readers and supplement it with Explode the Code and some sort of spelling once they get to grade 2.

For math, we use Horizon math for K-5 and switch to Singapore at grade 1 and stay with it through grade 6. When they are finished with that, they should be ready for Algebra (so you can stretch out the 5A to 6B books to grade 8 if you need to).

As you can see, we have never stuck with just one program. As far as BJU, I like their language art books are good but have never used them for any length of time.
 
My daughter is currently in a classical christian school and they are using Veritas Press for most things. If we change her to homeschool that would be our first choice. Having grown up around BJU I'd have a hard time using theirs, though that's probably purely selfish reasons.
 
JumpingUpandDown said:
My daughter is currently in a classical christian school and they are using Veritas Press for most things. If we change her to homeschool that would be our first choice. Having grown up around BJU I'd have a hard time using theirs, though that's probably purely selfish reasons.
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I can certainly understand that sentiment. I also had connections with BJU growing up, and I can't bring myself to use their stuff much unless I need to. We looked at Veritas and steered away from it because at the time, it was going to cost us more than anything else we looked at. I don't know what their prices are like now.
 
My wife and I piece together our cirriculm but we supplement our homeschooling by participating in a Classical Conversation Community. I highly recommend looking into Classical Conversations. I can't succinctly explain what CC is but here is link to the websight CC 101. If the classical model of learning is new to you I would suggest reading Dorothy Sayer's article, Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning.
 
Though we don't participate in Classical Conversations, we are aware of the program and know a lot of people who use it. It doesn't work well with our family, but it is a super good program.
 
My disclaimer is that I do not homeschool, but I do consult with homeschoolers whose children have learning problems. I like CLP science and history for the lower grades. You might use them as your basis and then supplement with other things like books, videos, experiments, and field trips. From what I've seen, the beginning reading is acceptable unless the child is having difficulty. In fact, I have their beginning phonics readers and use them occasionally as a supplement. I also had the first two levels of their Bible curriculum and it was very good from what I recall. Math-U-See is a very good math program as it teaches concepts and not just calculation. The parent has to watch a DVD showing how to present new concepts to the child when new concepts are being introduced.
 
Thank you all for your help. Since I'm completely new to homeschooling I want something that will be easy to use & good for my boys at the same time.
 
My wife and I piece together our cirriculm but we supplement our homeschooling by participating in a Classical Conversation Community. I highly recommend looking into Classical Conversations. I can't succinctly explain what CC is but here is link to the websight CC 101. If the classical model of learning is new to you I would suggest reading Dorothy Sayer's article, Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning.
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I tutored in CC for two years. We loved the program, but can't afford the cost of four kids. My oldest daughter took Challenge B and 1 and loved it. My other kids took Foundations and Essentials. I liked the memory work. It is a great program.
 
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