This week, I have been blessed to have LOTS of time to myself while accompanying my husband on a business trip. We try to do this once a year so that I have time to get away from the busy-ness of life as a home schooling mom, to be ALONE, reflect, pray, read, and be REFRESHED. It is a wonderful way to refocus, and I find that I return home refilled and ready to give again! I also find that the things I study, hear from the Lord, and talk about in the evenings with my husband are rich resources to which I return in the weeks and months to follow. (I do also spend time napping, reading a book, or watching a movie for fun, but I really treasure this time away and try my best to use it as productively as possible so that I come home more ready to serve, not more selfish and wanting lots of "time off.") If the Lord opens the opportunity for you to have some time away like this, DO IT! I pray that He will make a way for you!
This week, I spent many hours researching and talking to the Lord about our home school schedule and curriculum. There are some really great curricula that I have been interested in, and since we are coming up to a transition point in our home school, I have been wanting to look into them and see what direction we might want to go next. My older three children are entering grades 3-5, and I am also beginning to lightly include our next three (who will all be 4 and 5 years old this fall). I do not believe that learning needs to be intense at these ages, but they are all very interested and I want to encourage their excitement to be part of our school!
After spending so much time researching these curricula and reading many great reviews, I thought I'd go ahead and post my findings so that perhaps they may help another home school parent who wants to find out more about them. Just be aware that I have not actually used the first two (Trail Guide to Learning and My Father's World), so this review is simply based on my research. We did use Five in a Row a few years ago, so that review is more based on experiential knowledge. I hope it helps!
Trail Guide to Learning
Cost: $160 for Basic (teacher & student books);
$400 for Complete (includes all required books)
Pros:
complete curriculum (just add math)
lesson plans & student checklists already made - minimal/moderate prep time
printable student notebooks pages(or buy pre-printed)
multiple grade levels (starts at 3-5)
customized activities for each level
focuses on developing thinking skills
real “living” books
taught from biographical perspective
teaches from unit study/Beechick/Mason perspective - unified themes, copywork, dictation, geography, history as stories, nature studies (science), literature, art & music
supplemental Bible lessons coordinate with lessons - these focus on a character quality that ties in with the unit’s biography, including worship time, discussion, and weekly memory verses & longer memory focus for the entire unit (about 6 weeks)
“develops thinking skills that lead to comprehension and writing ability”
“uses copying and dictation process to acquire language and writing mechanics”
“gradually connects grammar to reading and writing naturally”
“builds skills naturally through reflective thinking and discussion”
also has optional assessment CD-ROM to evaluate student progress
optional lapbooks add a presentation to review/show what has been learned
Cons (for us):
The first three years are all centered around American History, which we have been doing already for the past 2 years through Across America. This would enable us to go deeper, but I was anticipating starting a more comprehensive world history curriculum next.
The following three years, which will cover World History (starting with 6th grade), have not yet been developed.
Will this teach from a Bible-first perspective, or merely add-on Bible themes to secular history? Here is a quote of their philosophy: “Following the example of our key historical figures, biblical principles are foundational to the comprehensive nature of this curriculum. Ideas based on pagan and secular thought systems, such as the classical approach, are not included. Instead it works with the developmental levels of children and honors their God-given time table. Following this pace in presenting new skills and content is highly motivating and helps children achieve success and understanding.”
The 2nd edition of the first year’s curriculum is in printing stage, so the books are only available in digital format at this time, with hard copies to be sent in late spring or summer.
The books used for science/nature are from an evolutionary perspective. In one review, the reviewer said that the author of Geography Matters is working on creating replacements for these books. This may be a problem with other curricula as well, not just this one.
Helpful Reviews:
“The Trail Guide looks like a promising solution for families looking for book-based unit study that takes the guess work out of the process and is easy for parents to use.”
“The curriculum is designed to teach students “How” to think rather than just “What” to think, using real books and activities with a purpose. . . . Although the curriculum seems to be biblically sound, it does not include an actual Bible curriculum. For an additional fee, users can purchase the coordinating Bible curriculum. . . . Since the authors claim the most important connection for students to make is the one between their faith and the view of the world around them, I believe this Bible curriculum should have been an included portion of this course. . . . For me, the biggest disappointment was that the checklist pages in the back of each book were not included on the CD-rom for easier printing. . . . Trail Guide to Learning: Paths of Exploration offers guidance as well as flexibility for different ages, developmental levels, and learning styles. It is true that the necessary resource materials are somewhat costly, but considering the broad use of the items over many years of schooling and the ability to use the same course with several students of different ages, we found the cost justifiable.”
Includes her own pros/cons list.
Very positive review.
This reviewer started with My Father’s World (includes a link to why it didn’t work for their family), then changed to Heart of Wisdom & Charlotte Mason (another link), and then in article why they changed to Heart of Dakota, and finally ended up with Trail Guide to Learning.
My Father’s World
Cost: $352 for Deluxe package (Bible, Social Studies, Science, Music, Art, & Read-Alouds);
$279 for Basic Package (all of the above except Read-Alouds)
Pros:
Nearly complete curriculum. Need to add language arts (Emma Serle’s Language Lessons is recommended), math (Singapore Math is recommended), and possibly a foreign language (Rosetta Stone is recommended).
Begins with Exploring Countries and Cultures, an overview of world cultures based on true stories of missionaries to teach Bible, geography, science, art, and music.
Continues with four-year chronological study of world history, integrating Biblical and ancient civilizations’ histories, including hands-on projects, timeline, and history notebook. Titles are: Creation to the Greeks, Rome to the Reformation, Exploration to 1850, and 1850 to Modern Times
Targeted for grades 3-8, with high school curriculum also available.
All levels are completed & published.
Teacher’s Manual includes daily lesson plans in a weekly chart format. Lesson planning should be minimal/moderate. Planning sheet includes blank boxes for adding language, math, reading, and foreign language assignments.
Integrates Jewish feasts & how they point to Jesus.
All history is viewed from a Christian perspective.
Supplemental recommended reading lists for library borrowing add read-aloud and independent reading options.
Science is from Creationist perspective.
Uses Window on the World, which we have used and very much enjoyed in the past.
Weekly memory verses and daily readings from Matthew.
Hands-on activities related to 15 countries.
Science focuses on different habitats coordinating with the country being studied (i.e., desert, rainforest, etc.) Also includes weekly nature walk and nature journal (ala Charlotte Mason).
Art projects and music from countries being studied.
I like the idea of exposing the children a foreign language course. At this stage, I believe Rosetta Stone includes a level that is primarily listening and speaking, not studying the grammar and writing, though those can be added as the children are ready to do so.
Fun activity: as you “travel” to each country in the first year, each child adds a flag sticker for that country into their own “passport.”
Cons:
There are separate curricula for each of the grades K-2, but these I do not feel are necessary. Grades 2-3 can begin to join in with older children in the rotation through the 5 years.
Language, spelling, and handwriting are not integrated. But I do enjoy using the recommended language curriculum, so that may not be a big issue.
Student checklists are not already prepared, though possibly I could simply copy the teacher’s planning sheet for the week and give to each child.
Geography information to be added to maps has to be looked up by each child in several reference books (included in curriculum). This could be quite time-consuming. I could possibly reduce the number of features to be labeled, to help reduce time spent on this.
Reviews:
2nd (albanyaloe) and 3rd (marbeewe) reviews are most helpful.
“MFW courses are clearly structured with easy-to-understand instructions. Lesson preparation time will be required primarily for gathering necessary materials, so planning ahead is essential.”
(Skip down to the 2nd-8th Grade Multi-Age Curriculum” part of the review.)
This is a mom explaining why she decided to switch AWAY from MFW mid-year to Heart of Dakota.
This is a mom explaining why she decided to switch TO MFW from another curriculum.
This is a very positive review with details why she likes it so much.
Five in a Row/Beyond Five in a Row
Cost: $35 for teacher handbook, plus any books that you decide to purchase. Books can also be checked out from library, though some may be hard to find.
Pros:
We enjoyed doing this before.
It is fun and easy.
There are handbooks from preschool through high school
We already have several of the books for Five in a Row.
Beyond Five in a Row uses chapter books (fewer books, so we’d want to purchase them), and I believe it’s more independent work than the first set.
It’s focused on keeping the family together. Olders can enjoy listening to youngers’ read-alouds, and vice versa, and then work on separate projects based on their own reading.
Might possibly allow for more free play time in our day. More afternoons for playing outside & pursuing interests like baking and horses & fort-building and knitting. And mommy’s naps. :)
Cons:
This is a very “light” curriculum, and not at all thorough or systematic.
In the past, I have found that some of the books are harder to get.
Need to add systematic language and math. May also need to add a lot of other content if we want to study broad history/science subjects. The focus of this study is to allow students time to go deep in areas of interest on their own, but I’m not sure how well undirected/mom-dependent study would work for our family. In this season, I need to minimize my planning time to maximize my time with the children.
It is biblically oriented, but not biblically based. Does not include Bible studies organically, so Bible study would need to be added.
The lessons do not build upon each other. It’s more an eclectic approach designed to simply enjoy learning than a systematic study of any particular subject. (This could be a “pro” or a “con.”) :) Their statement: “Five in a Row Publishing has no intention of modifying our curriculum either now or in the future to accomodate [governmental core standards]. We remain committed to our long-term goal of helping children fall in love with both reading and learning as they discover the wonderful world of education on their own terms. . . . Now more than ever, FIAR offers parents a clear choice between trying to fill pails or light fires. Our students have consistently tested well above grade level in standardized testing for two decades and we believe students who are taught using the thoroughly proven Five in a Row philosophy will continue to be both academic and social leaders among their peers.”
Helpful Reviews:
The first two reviews basically confirm my concerns about the time required to make this a full-featured curriculum.
This review brings out the positives and why I have GREAT memories of our time using Five in a Row when our older children were in the early grades.
More very positive reviews.
Other curricula that have similarities, but about which I have not done as much research: Hearts of Dakota, Tapestry of Grace, Heart of Wisdom, Story of the World.
I think all of the above are great options. While doing all this research, I prayed that the Lord would direct my thoughts and help me to see what will be best for our particular family in this particular season. Unexpectedly, I feel that for now it is none of the above. After we finish up the study we are currently working on (Across America by Hewitt Homeschooling - which we are greatly enjoying, by the way), we will take some time to go deeper in a few areas of interest (like helping the neighbor with her horses, baking, sewing, and gardening), while reading more books and watching great documentaries about some of the people and places we have studied (like Lewis and Clark, Thomas Jefferson, etc.). And, of course, continuing our math and language studies. Not to mention enjoying our new baby who is due in July! I look forward to revisiting these curricula again in the future, seeing new develpments, and starting something new!
