The plethora of curricula available to homeschoolers today is dizzying. As I was studying about different educational philosophies, Seth and I found ourselves most in agreement with the classical model, with Charlotte Mason ideas in second place. I had heard of a history curriculum called Tapestry of Grace that was structured around the classical model of education which could be used to teach history and literature to all of your children grades K-12 on their own individual levels. I was almost sure that was what we would use, based on what I had seen and heard.
Then I heard of other curriculum choices that were also based on the classical or Charlotte Mason models more or less, many of them able to teach several ages of children at once. There are so many amazingly similar choices that it can almost be stressful trying to decide (especially if you have to buy several years in advance to ship it all overseas at once!)
Eventually I made charts of my top three to four choices for history, math, grammar, writing, and spelling to try to narrow them down. I thought I’d share my research with you. I hope it helps save someone else time. Most of these curricula that I’m reviewing I have not seen in person or used. The thoughts shared here are my own personal thoughts based on what I’ve read. I noted price, description, and what I perceived to be the weaknesses and strengths of a curriculum based on our philosophy of education, users’ reviews, and practical aspects of our family.
If you are researching curricula, Cathy Duffy’s site is helpful to succinctly describe how a specific curriculum works. For actual user’s reviews, look on The Well-Trained Mind forums or Homeschool Reviews.
Ita Vita 