It is that time of year, the annual occurrence in which February brings dreams of planning next year as we grow restless with the current years’ plans. I think it may just be easier to daydream a bit when we are in the winter doldrums. It can also be helpful to start thinking through what we would like to change, try, or move away from. If you are new to homeschooling or considering making the switch to homeschooling, now is a great time to really look into options. It can be overwhelming heading into the sea of curriculum.
Today’s post is going to give you a quick glance at various favorite curricula I have used over the years. I hope you find these glimpses helpful.
First and foremost, my family has been enrolled with Mother of Divine Grace School, based in Ojai California for about 15 years now. The methodology is phenomenal. I encourage you to check it out. In addition to my appreciation of the methodology, I am grateful for the ongoing support of my consultant who guides me through each year with all of the twists and turns, ups and downs. She has always been helpful in choosing exactly which books and courses each of my children have needed. Mother of Divine Grace School also keeps all records and transcripts and they are fully accredited. Another benefit of Mother of Divine Grace is that I have been able to use various curricula instead of or in addition to their standard curricula options. My children have had various needs over the years and I have been able to meet those needs while remaining enrolled in Mother of Divine Grace, which allows us to reap the benefits of a classical liberal arts education. The Mother of Divine Grace consultants help parents navigate the flexibility of curricula while still touching on the content and formation goals.
You might be surprised to know that I lean toward a Charlotte Mason style and absolutely love the Unit Studies approach. So why do I desire to keep my children within a classical education model? This quote taken from the Mother of Divine Grace methodology page (mentioned earlier) sates the bottom line well: “Liberal education in its perfection is Catholic education, for it has the same end, identically, as the Catholic faith: the highest, best, and most perfect object, God.” The beauty of Mother of Divine Grace School is, I can pull in curricula to implement those other styles. And the booklists fit the bill for Charlotte Mason’s “Living Books”.
Now, moving on to some various favorites (in no particular order):
History/Geography:
What l loved most is Around the World with Picture Books. The booklist is wonderful! I loved the connections between artists, musicians, and others famous role models, in addition to the geographic content. It was like the cream of the crop for Charlotte Mason AND unit studies!
I also really enjoyed their Early American History study. Beautiful Feet Books has a number of wonderful studies, but these have been my favorites.
Geography units, Explore the Continents, and Tour a Country were my favorite from CHC. These units were so much fun! I think they can be used for a wider range than their suggested ages, so consider these for multiple ages.
The Time Travelers Series might be my most favorite history curricula ever! These are complete unit studies for specific time periods in American history. They are activity-based studies and are jam-packed with projects, games, experiments and activities. We have completed a handful of these units and have had a blast doing so! I have also enjoyed some of their Hands-On History Activity packs, particularly Artists and Composers (these pair nicely with Around the World with Picture Books), and their Hands-On History Lap Paks, particularly US Elections and The 20th Century in America, as well as their Literary Genres unit study.
Note: While this is not a Catholic curriculum, I still find it to be excellent. When a more protestant viewpoint arises here and there you can simply skip those areas or use them as a teaching and conversation opportunity. Also, you can use these units in completion or as a supplement to a different history program. While I have used them in completion in the past, I mostly use them now as a supplement to Mother of Divine Grace’s history which has a richly Catholic perspective. You can see a booklist for Mother of Divine Grace history here.
Religion:
My newest favorite resource for catechesis is Into the Deep. I began using Into the Deep to really delve into a good study on The Mass. I quickly realized I needed more of this curriculum in our schooling! So, for the past year and a half we have been working our way through, Into the Deep Level Two, and we are almost ready to begin Level Three. I cannot express enough the magnitude of beauty this resource provides. I have tears in my eyes with almost every lesson. In my 26 years of homeschooling, I have never used a religion curriculum this beautiful. I highly, highly recommend!!
A few years back I used two books from the Didache series. I only have experience with Understanding Scripture and The History of the Church. This series is for high school students.
Note: Our Moral Life in Christ really delves into chastity and Theology of the Body. I just want to mention as each student is so different and each family approaches this topic differently. You can see the table of contents here; Click “Look Inside” and see the final page of the contents, Ch. 14.
While I don’t use Catholic Heritage Curricula for our main catechesis study, I found Preparing to Receive Jesus, At the feet of Mary, and Saints and Seasons to be lovely supplemental studies.
Language Arts:
Reading: Teaching a child to read can be so very challenging. I have never used a program better than All About Reading. When I found this for my youngest two, I had wished I had known about it years ago for my older girls. It just works so well.
Grammar: Easy Grammar for 6th grade and up is our go-to. For younger grades, we always used Primary Language Lessons and Intermediate Language Lessons. These both help prepare for later grades when grammar is introduced. Stick with the editions I have linked. Newer editions are completely different and not recommended.
Spelling: In the past I have used All About Spelling (This was good to use in tandem with All About Reading) but in recent years have found Spelling You See to be helpful.
Handwriting: My girls have always enjoyed these books from Catholic Heritage Curricula to be a fun and less painful way to work on handwriting.
Math:
Teaching Textbooks is something we always default to after trying other math curricula. We like the digital aspect, with the ability to go back and re-watch lessons if needed. Grades are kept continuously which is greatly helpful.
Recently we have been working our way through the Key To series. While it may become monotonous at times to stick to one area of math (percentages, decimals, fractions and so on) for weeks or months on end, we are really seeing the benefit of the focused time on each area. For younger children K-2/3, we always enjoyed the Abeka Books or Mathematical Reasoning.
Science:
My children have always found Behold and See to be a fun approach to science, especially for grades 3-6. In the later years we stick with Mother of Divine Grace’s standards, Concepts and Challenges and Milliken. Both can be found on this page over at MODG Books.
Fine Arts:
Catholic Heritage Curricula has a lovely art study, Ever Ancient Ever New, which has two levels. They offer beautiful art appreciation study cards for PK-Grade 4 as well.
I must share with you these beautiful art study books from Mother of Divine Grace! They would be an excellent addition to any homeschool or family library.
Don’t forget the above-mentioned artist and composer study from Homeschool in the Woods!
Aside from the composer study I mentioned, I don't have much to offer in regard to teaching music, as my children have always taken lessons (voice, piano) and have taken part in choirs. Mother of Divine Grace offers some music studies. You can see those here.
Latin:
While Latin is challenging for me, I have found this one from Mother of Divine Grace to be the least intimidating study.
I recently learned about Homeschool Connections. What I like is that you can take single courses to supplement, without having to register as a full-time student. They have a great variety of courses to choose from. The student platform is very easy to use for the live courses.
A few final, random thoughts!
Be sure to check out Cathy Duffy’s 103 Top Picks for Homeschooling Curriculum to find out your teaching style, as well as your child’s learning style. This will help you narrow down the best curriculum to purchase for your family. You may be able to find this or a previous edition at the library.
Five in a Row is a fun one to use in the younger years. Each book you read becomes a unit study. Speaking of unit studies, there is nothing wrong with (especially in the younger years) planning units for your entire year. You might add in a math book to meet that need, but all other areas of study can be covered in a unit study (geography, history, reading, and more). You can simply pick units based on what you’d like to study and plan your learning around those. For example, you could study each season. Within each season study what is typically happening in that season; pumpkins, apples, trees and leaves in the fall. Study snowflakes in the winter. Maple sugaring is another great winter/spring unit. Study butterflies, and birds in the spring. Study what your child loves; horses, spiders, volcanoes, and so on. You could study artists and composers, trucks, and trains. You could study the solar system. With each unit, borrow books from the library, find activities and experiments galore online, take a field trip connected with what you are learning about. If you are studying something like cranberries or blueberries, find out where they are harvested and study that state, mark it on a map, learn about the process of harvesting. Local libraries often have classes and events on things like this seasonally. We once attended a presentation at our library on the harvesting of honey. It was a great add-on to our study on bees and honey. When you begin to brainstorm about what you'd like to study, the units come together pretty quickly. The possibilities are endless!
Have fun!
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
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