Curriculum Publisher's Guide

For many new and experienced homeschoolers, choosing the curriculum that truly meets the family's needs can be a challenge. This is not intended to discourage anyone at this time, but, as parents, we must keep in mind that God has created our children with unique gifts and talents, not little computer chips that can all be programmed to be the exact same little robots. Our challenge as parents is to match our children and the home schedule with the books and materials that will best meet their needs and our ability and schedule.

One way of looking at curriculum would be by the publisher type. In other words, who was it intended for?  Was it designed for a group of students in an age segregated classroom, or to correct the lack of phonics taught in most schools? This approach will give us an idea of how we might be able to adapt a particular curriculum or resource to meet your schooling need.

Several publisher types are listed below. Another approach would be to examine textbooks by Philosophical or Worldview or Approach. This would include the Classical Approach, a strong Bibilical or Creation Worldview to name a few. These are important parts of the review and will be included as much as possble in the reviews.

For quick reference, a simple alphabetical listing with links to details about that publisher is also a good starting point when you want to find out more about the publisher that Mrs. Jones at the Homeschool Support Group uses.

Curriculum Publisher Listings

Classroom-Based Publishers: Designed for a traditional classroom, where the teacher directs the learning enviroment, with students grouped by age, or ability level.
Student-Paced Publishers: Designed for multi-graded Learning Centers, where each student is assigned the appropriate level curriculum. As the student works through the material independently, the "Supervisor" (think parent here) is close at hand to provide one-on-one or small group instruction as needed.
Non-traditional Publishers: These can be used in both the classroom or home, but they were created to meet a specific education need or goal. There are at least four sub-groupings of "Non-Traditional" materials. We list them as: One Subject Publishers, Multiple Learning Environments, The Classical Approach, and Unit Studies.
On-line or Virtual Curriculum: This is a new category, but a growing one. It can be hard to distinguish a full curriculum that is in line with national standards from a site that is more of a supplement for students that need some extra practice on a specific topic.
Supplements: This can be a great book or workbook that is used to fill gaps, but it's not the same as a full year course in English.
Alphabetical List of Publishers: If you know the name of the publisher or curriculum you want to investigate, we have assembled a list.