kbp14 Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 Hello everyone, I have not started homeschooling yet, but I am looking through the mounds of curriculum out there. What is the best Christian homeschooling curriculum that isn't conservative? (I consider our family moderate.) I found Memoria Press to be the best I've seen, but I wanted to know if there were other options other than secular. Thanks! K 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 What specific subjects do you want to be Christian? Bible? Literature? History? Math? Science? If it is science, do you want Young Earth Creationism? Old Earth Creationism? Evolution? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbp14 Posted February 27, 2018 Author Share Posted February 27, 2018 I'm thinking more about the religion lessons. I wouldn't mind if religion blended with other subjects though, but that isn't necessary. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 Ok - then I can't help. We just read the Bible together - stories when they were little, actual Bible when they were older. And we went to church where our church taught Sunday school. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 Most of the politically moderate, mainline Protestant or Catholic families I know just use secular materials for homeschooling and leave the religious education to church, religious ed classes, or materials they specifically chose for religious education. If you don't want to sort through the specific religious worldview and are okay with secular materials, there really are more than ever and would probably suit you better. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbp14 Posted February 27, 2018 Author Share Posted February 27, 2018 Thanks everyone! I've thought about using Godly Play (a Montessori curriculum) along with classical curriculum, but I wasn't sure if that would go well together or be too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 Do you have school age children yet or are you just looking to start with kindergarten materials? What homeschooling or education books have you read? What draws you to Montessori? What draws you to classical? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbp14 Posted February 27, 2018 Author Share Posted February 27, 2018 I am still in the early stages of research--we won't be homeschooling until next year. (I am a planner though!) I actually just ordered Well-Trained Mind. Waiting for it to arrive! I was really drawn to Memoria Press because it seemed simple--I like the school in a box idea, for at least the first year of homeschooling. (So I can figure out what I am doing!) I also love the use of virtues and ethics and logic in their curriculum, which seems to be a focus in classical curriculum. However, I get the feeling that it is very rigorous, and I don't want my child to hate learning or get burnt out. Godly Play is used in my church. I have taught 2-4th graders using this Montessori curriculum and it does spark some wonderful conversations. Sometimes I think it is too laid back and not rigorous enough though. I think I would prefer this for younger children, but not for older. This curriculum does talk a lot about church history and saints, which I love. We are Baptist, but love church tradition and lean slightly Anglican. This curriculum seems to be a great combination of the two. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lolobeth802 Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 We consider ourselves progressive Christians and instead use secular materials and curriculum and add religious studies that align with our world view. Hope this helps! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 How old are your kids? I think most people just select secular or secular friendly materials, as others have said. I've never found a packaged curriculum a good fit here, and the few I've tried I wouldn't recommend in your situation. If you want a bible curriculum and the kids are elementary Telling God's Story might be a good option given what you described. For younger kids, all kids really, I love the children's bible The Jesus Storybook Bible, is beautiful to me. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2_girls_mommy Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 We are mainline protestants. We use just about anything. I prefer things that aren't completely focused around religion for history and social studies like SWB's materials that include church history but don't center lessons around faith. I don't actually mind Rod and Staff materials for math or English. They are mennonite materials, so I don't use their social studies, science, or religion because their teachings don't line up with ours. But I like the lessons in English and Math and don't mind the sentences that my kids are correcting being Bible stories or the math problems including references to Bible stories. I actually like to reinforce the Bible in our schoolwork, just not specific religions' takes on it. For actual religious studies, yes, I have used Memoria Press Christian Studies one year. It is straightforward Bible, not a religious study for a specific denomination. Most years we just use materials from our own church. For instance this year we are reading the New Testament on a schedule with our church, plus doing a specific Lenten Bible Study on the book of John that our pastor is leading. When my kids were younger, I even used Rod and Staff's Bible reading/phonics program in 1st grade. Again, I found it just Bible stories and was ok with it. Where things get tricky is in history and science. That is where disagreements may lie. I have even let my kids do Apologia with co-op because they like to do science with their friends, but we read and talk about things we don't agree with. And I have done plenty of studies to show them old Earth Creationism and the science to back that up with them to counter it. Honestly, as popular as Apologia is, it isn't even that good of a textbook in the early grades for how popular it is. There are way better options out there for a fraction of the cost. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiara.I Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 I was really drawn to Memoria Press because it seemed simple--I like the school in a box idea, for at least the first year of homeschooling. (So I can figure out what I am doing!) I also love the use of virtues and ethics and logic in their curriculum, which seems to be a focus in classical curriculum. However, I get the feeling that it is very rigorous, and I don't want my child to hate learning or get burnt out. I'm not a school-in-a-box person, so take this as it fits (or doesn't!) your style. I chose a math and handwriting (printing) curriculum. That's all I started with. We were already reading Bible stories. Then I added a history. Eventually a science. Basically, as I found things I liked, I added them in. I felt like that allowed me to pick the best choice for our family for each subject. If I'd gotten a boxed curriculum I would have been locked in to what the publishers thought was best for us! <shudder> LOL Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North Coast School Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 (edited) We are progressive Christians. We use secular curriculum for most subjects, then attend church every week plus Sunday School and youth group. My first thought when reading your message was Godly Play, even before you mentioned it. Do you have a church in your area that has that program as Sunday School? That might be a good thing to look into. Many Episcopal churches and some Lutheran and Presbyterian churches are using this program. The materials are prohibitively expensive for the home teacher, so you might benefit from connecting to a church with the program. https://www.godlyplayfoundation.org Edited February 28, 2018 by North Coast School Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbp14 Posted February 28, 2018 Author Share Posted February 28, 2018 Yes! I really like Godly Play. Our church uses it and it is well done. We will be moving to a different state (not sure where yet) before we will start homeschooling, so I want to make sure I have something in case we can't find a church with a great children's ministry! Thanks everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherGoose Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 We read the Bible, using an age appropriate children's Bible, and go to Sunday school. I've not felt a need for a curriculum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 (edited) I wouldn’t worry about this just yet as you’ll probably end up piecing things together. FWIW I am baptist and lean Anglican too! I looked and looked for a Bible curriculum which would be perfect for us and never really found it but I found many resources along the way such as : Jesus Storybook Bible Leading Little Ones to God CLP My Memory Notebook ( in fact we had the lost success with Bible memory and catechism the years we used this; I wish I had never gotten rid of it) 😢😢 (Christian liberty press sells it) Awana (yes Awana was a very special part of our kids Christian upbringing) Two of our four churches had fantastic children’s ministry where my kids really learned a lot. One had nothing, and the other’s was so watered down they just didn’t learn much. So pick your church partly depending on what they’re doing with the kids. A church with very slightly different theology that is pouring htonthe kids all through high school with high standards for their teachers and written, take home materials is better than a church that seems more fun or whatever but the kids just mostly play in Sunday school IMO. I really if I could recommend only two resources in our entire homeschooling would say that My Memory Notebook and Leading Littel Ones to God. As far as school materials we picked different things year by year and it all worked out. Memoria Press is a good curriculum and if you really love it I think you’ll get betray results but you can also be a little flexible. For now stick with that Montessori thing it sounds awesome. Edited February 28, 2018 by Calming Tea 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YodaGirl Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 We're Southern Baptist. Long Story Short (Old Testament) and Old Story New (New Testament) studies are pretty good. Each book takes a year or two to get through. You can sometimes catch them on Kindle for $1-2, whereas they're typically $10-20 each. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 I really like Bible Study Guide for All Ages. It just uses the Bible and goes through each story without adding in the doctrine of any particular denomination. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenecho Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 I'm sort of in the same boat--so I'm glad you asked this. I'm moderate too, and the last church we went to, before we moved, was more "liberal" (in quotes, because a "liberal" Christian would still be pretty conservative to many). They also leaned sort of Catholic/Anglicanish (as far as I understand that, because I came from a much more traditionally Baptist church background...but they did things like observe lent, and follow a lectionary, and we studied Thomas Merton, a Catholic monk, in one of the small groups...things like that). So, for younger kids I'll add one more vote for the Storybook Bible and Godly Play (which was done at our church). If you like combining your history with your Bible teaching, for Ancient Times I find Story of the World was a nice balance. It is "secular" but it reads like a book that was trying to be useable by both secular homeschoolers and Christian homeschoolers, and leans a little bit on a Christian side (has Bible stories, and treats them more like fact than the other ancient stories and myths it includes). I have a guide on how I integrated old testament readings with it (covering not the whole Bible but most of the major stories). I'll be adding the New Testament soon. http://imaginativehomeschool.blogspot.com/2017/06/story-of-world-bible-integration-old.html I used the StoryBook Bible with it, but also, for stories they didn't include, and sometimes just to give historical context, used the Children's Illustrated Bible by Selina Hastings (which is better for older children, and has illustrations and sidebars that go into the historical context). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 Memoria Press is fantastic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMD Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 Another vote for Long Story Short. We just read the section together, discuss and the kids copy a verse. First thing every morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birchbark Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 CLP My Memory Notebook ( in fact we had the lost success with Bible memory and catechism the years we used this; I wish I had never gotten rid of it) 😢😢 (Christian liberty press sells it) Is this the one? http://www.shopchristianliberty.com/memory-work-notebook/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 Yes that’s it! It’s far more of a gem than you can realize, at first. It keeps you on track memorizing the Word and talking about the catechism (my kids didn’t have to memorize catechism word for word but own the truths and give their own correct answer which would sound a lot like the catechism but not word for word) We Got busy with Awana and I gave mine away and then when we moved and had no Awana I was so sad I didn’t have it anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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