Charlotte Mason, You’d Love This Notebooking Resource!

 Age, Charlotte Mason, Elementary, Handwriting, High School, Language Arts, Middle School, Organization, Writing  1 Response »
May 112012
 

I think the favored 19th century educator would agree  – this resource is far from ‘twaddle’.

Jimmie over at The Notebooking Fairy has made available an e-book which clearly and concisely explains the art of notebooking.  Not at all new to using this method, I was pleasantly surprised to find my definition of notebooking greatly expanded!

It’s so much more than simple lines on a paper and a drawing, graphic or clipart at the top (or the bottom, or across the page…). Notebooking is not another subject to complete, nor does it need to be done everyday.

The author describes it as “a way to integrate subject areas and a way of teaching and learning.” Incredibly versatile, having children keep a notebook of learning experiences is an excellent way to cement the knowledge gained!

Notebooking Success will equip parents with:
  • Seven solid reasons why notebooking is fitting for any learning style
  • Step-by-step instructions for creating notebooks
  • General guidelines for implementing at each grade level from 1st to 12th
  • Three notebooking pitfalls to avoid
  • Using notebooks with Charlotte Mason, Classical and Textbook styles
  • Extra resources :: 50 different things that can be kept in a notebook (organized by grade level), links to notebooking pages and more!

lang arts notebook

 {photo credit}

My favorite part of the this e-book resource was the instruction and encouragement on teaching children organizational skills by using notebooking.  While this seems obvious to me now, I hadn’t considered the critical thinking skills my children were gaining by putting their notebooks together — this section is worth a read!

Reasonably priced for homeschool budgets, Notebooking Success is a valuable resource, an excellent addition to any parent’s list of homeschooling guides and helps.

Highly recommended!

~ Written by Daniele of Domestic Serenity

Excellence in Literature: Reading and Writing Through the Classics (IEW)

 Classical, High School, Language Arts, Literature, Middle School, Writing  No Responses »
May 022012
 

Wondering what your student can do with all those

wonderful writing skills they learn using IEW in the younger years?

 

The IEW system is a complete writing system that homeschooling families can build on from year to year. If your family has worked through the Teaching Writing: Structure and Style course and your older student is now looking for ways to use apply their skills to other subjects, the Excellence in Literature Content Guide for Self-Directed Study series by Janice Campbell is the perfect way to connect great literature and great writing. There are two books to choose from: American or British Literature. You can download a sample of the American Literature guide from the IEW website and also one for the British Literature guide.

These courses are written directly to the student and not the parent, allowing the student to build time management skills and allowing a measure of freedom. The author says that these courses will introduce “literary reading”, where the student learns to read with discernment.

Video introduction from the IEW website

We are just finishing the American Literature course which features nine different authors, offered in chronological order by literature movement. Each book is introduced by giving background to the author and the time period along with suggested follow-up topics to write about.  The background links and resources are a rich mix of primary sources, biographies, art, music, and additional context material in written, audio, and video formats.  The background research before reading the book is fundamental to this literature/writing course and will give the student a more three-dimensional view of the literary selection.

Points to Consider

  • Targeted to students in grades 8-11 (My 16-year-old son used this as part of our 12th grade curriculum.)
  • Units include suggested additional honors texts and links.
  • Provides models, tips for general study skills, additional writing helps, sample writing pieces, and grading rubrics.
  • We found it necessary to have a copy of the course book and the literature selections for highlighting and notes.
  • The guide does not give a daily reading plan for each book. I assigned one week for background work, one week for reading the book, and two weeks for writing, as suggested by the author.
  • There is usually more than one suggested writing topic.
  • $29.00 – My son kept notes and thoughts in his book so I would suggest that each student have their own course book.

This IEW product was a success in our family and we will be moving on to British Literature next year.

Notes and Information Can Be Written in the Book

I love that we can take the pattern from this literature guide and apply it to future books.

  1. Complete background information through internet research into the author and time period.
  2. Read the book with a writing topic in mind, keeping notes as you read.
  3. Follow up with a formal writing piece using the topics or ideas from the assignments in the course.

You may be interested in my other Institute for Excellence in Writing product reviews:

 

Written by Barb-Harmony Art Mom. I blog at Harmony Art Mom and am the creator of Harmony Fine Arts. I would love for you to join us for the Outdoor Hour Challenges at the Handbook of Nature Study.

Harmony Fine Arts Plans for Art and Music Appreciation

 Age, Art, Charlotte Mason, Elementary, Fine Arts, High School, Middle School, Music  101 Responses »
Apr 232012
 

You are in for a treat at the end. Don’t miss the giveaway!

Dear homeschool parent,

Are you like me? Do you long to enrich your homeschool with studies of composers and artists? Do you wish that someone would just do it all for you? You know, invest the time in research, find the online links, point you to the resources you need? All I really wanted to be able to do was open something up and teach. Have it all right there and not have to pull it all together myself.

It’s done. Yes, really. It’s all done for you. Barb-Harmony Art Mom has created just what you need. She, too, was like us. Here is what Barb has to say about the Harmony Fine Arts (HFA) plans she created:

The idea behind this program came from my own home schooling experience. I was always searching for a plan for picture study and composer study. It seemed simple enough to do myself but I just never did it. I also wanted to use the classical style and Charlotte Mason’s ideas for our art and music. I wanted all the great resources organized in the four-year cycle of history. I wanted it to be flexible and easy to use. I never found what I was searching for so I decided to do it myself!

This is the art and music appreciation program for busy people. We have done all the research and organizing. You are able to open our plan and offer a great program for your children.

As mentioned above, the plans are organized by the four-year cycle of history. They are presented as follows but plans for individual grades are available:

  • Grammar – Grades 1-4
  • Logic – Grades 5-8
  • Rhetoric – Grades 9-12

(First grade plans are a general overview and gentle introduction to composers and artists. Starting with grade 2, the plans work chronologically through the four year history cycle.)

Art Plans:

Offer three options so you can choose what is best for your homeschool.

  • You can simply choose picture study with links to view all the art online for easy viewing.
  • You can add in an art appreciation study with short activities.
  • You can even follow along in certain grades with the formal art program Artistic Pursuits or Drawing with Children or Mark Kistler’s Draw Squad – depending on the grade level.
  • Depending on which option you choose within the art plans – you can allow for one or two 45-minute art periods per week.

Composer Study:

  • Choose to study the composers and listen to their music or
  • Enhance your music study with suggested books

Included: artist and composer notebooking pages, coloring pages of famous art.

How we use Harmony Fine Arts Plans in our home: we adopted Angie and her boys at Petra School’s Wednesday habit of artist and composer study. All this means is that we push back the dishes from lunch. I open up the Harmony Fine Art Plans on my computer. I turn on the music of the composer we are studying. Or I click over to the optional online listening of Classics for Kids. We might work on a notebook page while listening.

Next, depending on the day, I might click over to view artwork of the artist we are studying. We may follow with an artist notebook page or a Draw Squad lesson. This takes 15 to 30 minutes once a week. But building a weekly habit has tuned us all in and made us want more the rest of the week.

  • “Can we play that again? I really like it.” 14-year-old
  • Six-year-old whistling along to Beethoven’s 9th Symphony when I turn on the classical music just for listening fun.

The Many Benefits of Art and Music Study:

Cost: All costs are listed on the order page of the Harmony Fine Arts website. Bundles are available as well as individual year plans. I purchased the Middle School Medieval/Renaissance Plans at the start of this school year for $17.44. A whole year of study for the whole family for less than $20 – one that brings that much learning and enjoyment? What a bargain!

Print or ebook? Harmony Fine Arts Plans are available in both print or ebook format.

In Summary: What I originally intended for my middle-schoolers to study has extended to full blown appreciation for the whole family – all five children.

  • The artist and composer studies compliment our Tapestry of Grace studies beautifully.
  • For this mama, using HFA plans is easy. I just click to open the plans, click to print what we might like to compliment our studies, click to print a coloring page for the younger ones.
  • Not to mention, this type of enrichment is pure delight. It might just be what your homeschool needs too.

“All my music I wrote for God.” ~ J. S. Bach

I shared about our studies on my Hodgepodge site and my friend Kimberly, a pianist and life-long musician, had this to say…

“It warms my heart when I hear children learning about classical music! So many of those composers had such a love for God and were certainly gifted. When you mention Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Debussy, etc. to most children, they have no idea who they are. It’s so sad because these musicians have had such an impact on our world. It’s wonderful that you’re sharing this education with your children!” ~Kimberly

I agree – there is so much history and part of HIS story we can learn from those gifted and Godly. With thanks to Harmony Fine Arts for creating a wonderful tool for just such an education.

Now for the giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Homeschooling for over a decade now, Tricia faces a daily dose of chaos with five children. She shares a mixture of free art lessons, recipes and the practical at Hodgepodge. Her husband, Steve, also shares reviews here at Curriculum Choice.

Pin It

On the Quest for Quality Children’s Literature

 Age, Charlotte Mason, Classical, Elementary, Language Arts, Literature, Living books, Middle School, Reading  No Responses »
Apr 022012
 

Let’s be honest. In the ocean of children’s books, there’s a whole lot of flotsam and jetsam. Just because a book is popular doesn’t mean it’s worthwhile. On the flip side, just because a book is decades old doesn’t mean it’s a classic. Parents, particularly homeschooling parents, need someone whom they can trust to help them guide their children toward high-quality literature.

A superb resource that has directed me for years is Honey for a Child’s Heart: The Imaginative Use of Books in Family Life, by Gladys Hunt. Familiar to many homeschooling families, this excellent book makes a strong case for a life of literature. Hunt writes:

“Children and books go together in a special way. I can’t imagine any pleasure greater than bringing to the uncluttered, supple mind of a child the delight of knowing the many rich things God has given us to enjoy. Parents have this wonderful privilege, and books are their keenest tools.”

Honey for a Child’s Heart is divided into two parts. The first part, “Using Books to Help Children Grow,” offers many good discussions and much food for thought. Hunt underscores the extreme importance of reading and offers suggestions on how to foster a literary atmosphere in our homes. She challenges us to consider who or what we allow to influence our children. Moreover, Hunt discusses aspects of good literature and how to discern the quality of books our children read.

Part two, “Best-Loved Books for Children,” is an annotated book list for children up to age 14. Hunt divides the lists into groups such as classic picture books, books for beginning readers, classic children’s novels, historical novels, and animal lovers’ books, among others. She also offers a chapter on poetry.

Hunt’s writing style is rich and vivid, and her love for literature is reflected in every chapter. Moreover, I appreciate her Christian perspective, her awe of God as Creator of all things lovely, her expansive tastes, and her cautious stance on wholesale censorship. Every time I pick up this book to read, I find myself nodding in agreement with her. Yellow highlighter glows on so many pages of my copy!

Books are a powerful medium, engaging our imaginations, emotions, spirits, and understanding. As informed parents, we want to guide our children through the murky waters of children’s literature and help them select worthwhile books instead of twaddle. With Honey for a Child’s Heart in hand, you’ll be better equipped to help your children make the best literary decisions.

Ellen stays busy home educating two middle-grade daughters, chasing two corgis, managing the family’s busy household, reading as much as she can, and writing about life at Bluestocking Belle.

Pin It

English Literature for Boys and Girls by H.E. Marshall

 Charlotte Mason, Classical, High School, History, Junior High Language Arts, Literature, Living books, Middle School  2 Responses »
Mar 282012
 

Ambleside Online has influenced our family in many ways, not the least by introducing us to great books.  One that we’ve been using for many years is English Literature for Boys and Girls by H.E. Marshall, written in 1909.  We are blessed to have a century-old copy for our children, complete with roughly cut pages and sturdy binding.

In 85 delightful chapters, H.E. Marshall traces English literature from the ancient Irish legend “The Cattle Raid of Cooley” to Tennyson. She includes excerpts of stories and poems, summaries of larger works, and many interesting biographical and historical tidbits. She expresses strong opinions about authors and works, and occasionally makes some disparaging remarks about various branches of the Christian faith.

English Literature for Boys and Girls is a solid book, full of information.  Since history and literature are so closely entwined, it includes numerous references to kings and queens, to the changes in the English language, and to cultural innovations such as the rise of newspapers.

As a random sample, in chapters LVII and LVIII Marshall discusses Milton, “a cold and lonely man.”  She begins with his childhood, quotes 14 lines of On his being arrived to the age of twenty-three, and continues, discussing his life and his poetry as well as venturing into the conflict between Puritans and Royalists.  While Milton became more embroiled in politics, his personal life suffered. He lost his sight, his wife died, “his children ran wild,” his second wife died, and he began to write Paradise Lost.  Several pages and excerpts later, Cromwell died, Milton married again, and the blind poet wrote Samson Agonistes, the tragic story of Samson in his blindness.

Don’t let the “Boys and Girls” part of the title fool you; this is not a childish book at all and shows just how far educational standards have slipped in the last 100 years. In fact, Ambleside Online, a rigorous Charlotte Mason curriculum with classical leanings, recommends English Literature for grades 7 to 10.  The subject matter is not too easy for today’s teens, but occasionally Marshall’s intended audience causes her to write in a somewhat patronizing way.  As I’ve come to expect from old authors, the English would be considered advanced today even though it was written for boys and girls, but no well-read modern teen would have difficulty with it.

All of our teens have read significant portions of this book over the course of several years.  Each week they studied a chapter or two and I would ask for either an oral or a written narration.  They have become familiar with early English literature and I am amazed at the history they know.

English Literature for Boys and Girls is a brilliant work, ideal for introducing modern teens to both literature and history.  It is fascinating, lively, thorough, and eminently suitable for young people since no ‘adult’ topics are included as is often done nowadays.  Of course, modern literature is not covered (and Jane Austen was left out, a serious flaw in my opinion). Even so it is an excellent book for homeschooling families, especially those interested in classical education or Charlotte Mason’s methods. 

It is available online at Project Gutenberg  and The Baldwin Project.  You can also buy a book here.

-Written by Annie Kate, a Christian homeschooling mom of five, who reviews and blogs at Tea Time with Annie Kate.  You can read her other Curriculum Choice reviews here.

Disclosure:  As usual, I am not paid for my reviews and my opinions are my own.

Pin It

Daily Grammar

 Age, Charlotte Mason, Elementary, Grammar, High School, Junior High Language Arts, Language Arts, Middle School, Online  1 Response »
Mar 092012
 

Grammar is a subject near and dear to my heart. I know not everyone can (or will) admit to that, but there it is. Throughout my children’s elementary years, we explored several different grammar curricula, and all have had their good points. This year, however, I came across a FREE curriculum that is thorough and easy to use and free. (Did I mention that already? Sorry. I really like the word free.)

Daily Grammar provides 440 lessons, which cover:

  • the eight parts of speech
  • the parts of a sentence
  • grammar mechanics

Lessons are grouped by topic and include one quiz per topic. Nouns, for example, comprise five lessons and a quiz. Each lesson also contains an answer key, which is helpful if, say, predicate nominatives aren’t your thing.

Daily Grammar offers other useful features:

  • an archive page, which makes it easy to find the lessons you need
  • a glossary of grammar terms, in case you need to brush up on your grammar definitions
  • eBooks, FlipBooks, and Workbooks available for purchase, should you prefer to use these
  • the Daily Grammar Blog
  • a Facebook discussion group for questions, comments, and general grammar gab

One of the best features of Daily Grammar is its short lessons. Each lesson takes only a few minutes to complete.

At the beginning of each week, I print out the lessons we’ll cover that week. To keep our focus, I opt to stick with one topic per week. I’ve found that the easiest way to print the lessons is to copy and paste the text into a word processing document. I print the lessons and answer keys for myself and the lessons alone for my children.

Daily Grammar is comprehensive enough to stand alone as a complete curriculum for older elementary and middle grade students. Since each short lesson has only around five practice exercises, some children might need more reinforcement.  Daily Grammar would also serve well as a refresher course or a supplement to other grammar curricula.

And the price is right, too.

Ellen stays busy home educating two middle-grade daughters, chasing two corgis, managing the family’s busy household, reading as much as she can, and writing about life at Bluestocking Belle.

Pin It

Nature Study Through the Holidays: A Mini Book of Nature Studies for Easter + Giveaway!

 Bible, Charlotte Mason, Nature Study, Science, Unit study resources  20 Responses »
Feb 132012
 

“Let them once get in touch with Nature, and a habit it formed which will be a source of delight through life. We were all meant to be naturalists, each in his degree, and it is inexcusable to live in a world so full of the marvels of plant and animal life and to care for none of these things.”
– Charlotte Mason

My family and I were privileged to enjoy this Easter study last year. We plan to enjoy parts of it again this Easter.

You can focus on the Easter story over the course of a week, a month or longer – using this ebook study in the way that best suits your family. Authors Cindy West and Melissa Leach say, “Our hope is that you will read a selection from the Bible…then get outside to find sweet signs of the Author.”

Included are:

  • Bible references for the Easter story
  • Hymn list for the Easter season

Nature ideas/walks organized to compliment:

  • Palm Sunday
  • Sweet Fragrances
  • The Passover
  • Mount of Olives
  • Black Friday
  • Burial
  • Resurrection
  • Traditional Easter Studies

Within each section above, the following is included:

  • Suggested books to accompany the topic study.
  • Ideas and suggestions for nature study. (For example, while studying the mount of olives it is suggested you go on a hike over a hill. On a scavenger hunt based on the jelly bean prayer – you and your children spend time finding something in nature to represent all the colors mentioned in the prayer.)
  • A notebooking or sketching page to complete a follow up activity.

Bonus features:

  • Where to Study Nature: offering encouragement for those living in cities to find parks plus simple ‘get out in your own backyard’ motivation.
  • Gearing up and Being Safe: From using common sense and having a healthy fear to ‘leaves of three let them be’ and a list of suggested backpack gear.

As a teacher I found this Easter Nature Study through the holidays to be easy to reference and use right then. All the ideas were compiled for me in one spot. The notebooking pages – I only had to print out. All I needed to do was add some books – and for the children to catch my enthusiasm.

  • Easter Nature Study Through the Holidays is a mini unit study available for $5.00. Visit Shining Dawn Books to learn more about any of the full-length nature studies.
  • Nature Study Through the Holidays Easter Mini Unit is 32 pages with seven full-color notebooking pages.
  • You can view a sample of this ebook at Shining Dawn books here.

A seasonal unit study such as this is a refreshing change up in routine for us. This mini book of nature studies for Easter helped us hone our senses, prompted us to get outside – and opened our eyes to His love for us!

What better way to welcome the Easter season?

Now for the giveaway!! Cindy West, owner of Shining Dawn Books and review author here at The Curriculum Choice has kindly offered five (5) copies of her ebook to give away!!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

~Tricia has been homeschooling for over a decade. She faces a daily dose of chaos teaching five children. She contributes a blend of writing at parenting, frugal living and homeschool sites as well as her own daily Hodgepodge.

Pin It

Envision Teaching Latin with Visual Latin

 Classical, Hands On  No Responses »
Dec 162011
 

The thought of teaching Latin made me want to hide under a table. I did not think there would be any way for me to teach Latin. I never took Latin in school. I have no experience in this subject and quite frankly it is an intimidating subject if you are unfamiliar. Knowing that I decided to homeschool to provide a better education I knew I would have to find away to teach my children Latin. Latin will help build a strong foundation for English. A person who knows Latin will have a firmer grasp on vocabulary and spelling. I had to find a way to teach this subject without fear. Enter Visual Latin. The “visual” was enough for my interest to be peaked.


My daughter on lesson 3: Gender Words. She would draw a girl when it was a “girl word”.

Visual Latin DVDs add breathes life back into this dead language. Foreign languages can be intimidating to teach but the “visual” aspect of this program takes the pressure off of you. In fact, you can learn along with the children. I think the most fun about being a homeschool mom is revisiting lessons and learning new ones.I enjoyed learning some Latin and we all enjoyed the ease of this program. In just minutes a day using a multi-sensory approach you can begin to understand the foundations of Latin. The lessons are solid and fun. A far cry from stuffy and intimidating lesson you may have come to expect.

Here is the scope for the first ten lessons:

LESSONS 1 to 10:

1. Being Verbs Basics | To Be and Not to Be

2. Being Verbs Basics | Predicate Nominatives and Adjectives

3. Gender | Boy Words and Girl Words

4. Singular and Plural | E Pluribus Unum

5. Declensions | Meet the Cases

6. Adjectives Learn to Agree with Nouns

7. The Case Files | Nominative and Genitive

8. Counting to 10 in Latin

9. Active Verb Basics | Indicative Mood

10. The Case Files | Accusative

I will disclose to you that this is not my first Latin program. I had one that made me rethink teaching Latin to begin with and a few I truly enjoyed. Visual Latin is in the “truly enjoyed” category. I will be purchasing the other two sets. Visual Latin came highly recommended by a few homeschool friends so when I had the chance to review it I was thrilled. I am also happy to report my friends were right, Latin can be taught in an interesting and fun way.

You may purchase Visual Latin at The Compass Store.

Richele is an eclectic homeschooling mom to four reflections of God’s love whose greatest accomplishment thus far was teaching physics, folding laundry, and playing Candyland simultaneously.  Find her blogging at Under the Golden Apple Tree.

 

It Just Couldn’t Happen

 Bible, Biblical Principle Approach, Hands On  No Responses »
Nov 112011
 

What an exciting new product! As a home-schooling family, this has just taken it’s place in our standard curriculum! Want to address those tougher questions about biblical vs scientific subjects typically taught in schools? This is fantastic for that, too! The book is easy to read, geared for all ages as it is well written, and has fantastic pictures to captivate.

It Just Couldn’t Happen outlines the points of view in easy to digest segments, providing not only “facts” but a means for you to discover and understand how science comes to its conclusions as well. They encourage learning more, seeking your own answers and going further. (perfect for library visits or building further for older children). The “Just for Fun” area is a fantastic addition to the book as well. At the end of each chapter they place fun, fanciful questions (such as: if you could live on any plant, what would it be an why?) and hands-on experiments. These engage minds and hands, bringing the subjects to a new level of imagination and interaction; a perfect way to retain knowledge and fuel further passions for learning!

I also love that the book takes both science and bible verses to guide you on the learning journey; something so other books so often fail to do. It’s a delight to see that science CAN be merged with Biblical wisdom and rather seamlessly as well. Overall, the book was a delight. I received this as an e-book to review from Book Sneeze, but honestly, I may go out and buy the tangible paper version – I see this being a beloved portion of our curriculum for years to come.

PROS:

  • Beautifully written, easy to read and understand concepts
  • Stunning pictures that really captivate the mind and the imagination
  • Fun experiments and questions to further enrich concepts

CONS:

  • For us, it was only that the book ended too soon; we had a blast with this book!

 

Pictures of Table of Contents and an except from inside the book.

Paths of Exploration

 Charlotte Mason, History, Living books, Science  2 Responses »
Nov 072011
 

Have you ever pictured the perfect curriculum, and then searched high and low for it, only to come up with nothing? That was me, looking for a Bible-based, unit study approach curriculum that was Charlotte Mason friendly.

There are living book approach curricula out there, but I always look at them and feel SO overwhelmed!  And then at long last, I finally found it! I had the pleasure of reviewing Paths of Exploration, the first book in the Trail Guide To Learning series by Geography Matters. 

Written by homeschool veterans Debbie Strayer and Linda Fowler, not only does this curriculum use living books, but it tells you exactly which books you will need. The book list is not left up to my imagination, which can run wild.

The age range for this curriculum in grades 3-5. However, I am using it with my 7-year-old, who is in second grade, and she is doing well. I also have added the optional Middle School Supplement  for my 6th and 8th grader.

We just finished up the first six-weeks, which were all about Columbus. The lessons didn’t get into the darker side (consider the age range) but we did discuss as a family some of the things we didn’t agree with as the study progressed.

What’s included-

Two, beautiful hardback books- filled with guided curriculum, including History, Geography, Science, Grammar, Reading, Art, Nature Study, and Spelling which cover an entire school year, with CD-ROM of different levels of student notebook pages.

What I love about Paths of Exploration-

  • There are extras that you can add-on for even more learning  like lapbooks, Bible supplement, Middle School Supplement.
  • It is rooted in the education philosophies of Dr. Ruth Beechick.
  • POE marries nicely with Charlotte Mason.
  • Encourages engagement with dictation, discussion, and writing.
  • The kids love it. There have been no complaints about school with Paths of Exploration. They love the readings, enjoy the maps and activities, and clamor for the Nature Study. They even enjoy the copywork and dictation! And, they finally get regular art in each week.
  • The living books chosen as the base for this curriculum are wonderful. You even get to cook, using the cookbook, Eat Your Way Around the World, by Jamie Aramini.
  • I finally have a guide to incorporate Nature Study into our homeschool.
  • Geography Matters is a home-based company, located in Kentucky.
  • The cost- If you have a good library, you can spend as little as $150.00 {which is for the textbooks and CD-ROM}. You can also buy the Paths of Exploration curriculum, and all of the books you will need for the year for $375.00. That is for all subjects except Math, for an entire year. For me, I am using POE with 4 children this year, which is an amazing deal in my book.
  • This curriculum is non-consumable! The student pages are printed from the included CD-ROM, so everything else is reusable year after year. }

What I don’t love-

  • Nothing! This curriculum has been an answer to prayer!

Right now, there are two more titles in the Trail Guide To Learning series, covering American History, with three years of World History planned. The World History is going to be geared for grades 6,7, and 8.

You can also preview the other two years that are available, Paths of Settlement and Paths of Progress. Other helpful information, and families who are using the Trail Guide To Learning series, as well as an updated reading schedule can be found in the Yahoo Group.

If you are still looking for “the one”, I hope you will give this curriculum a try!

 Older Entries