By Rebbecca Devitt via HowDoIHomeschool
Looking for the best Christian homeschooling curriculum? Sorting through a plethora of curriculum reviews can feel like an impossible task for a new home educating parent. For this reason, I’ve begun my research early and narrowed the field down to 10 Christian homeschooling curriculum programs I’d like to look in further.
To be clear, I haven’t road-tested these curricula myself, but I’ve heard they are good from many sources and read reviews on each one which is why each one has been selected for inclusion in this article of the best Christian curricula. I highly recommend you look at a few options closely yourself instead of making your mind up on one review (like this one) only.
Please also note that the curricula presented in this article are written using many different homeschooling methods, not just the Charlotte Mason or Classical models which I prefer. In fact, most would be modelled after the traditional educational model – the same model they use in schools.
If you’re looking for a complete homeschooling curriculum package, Abeka won’t let you down. They’re extremely thorough with the content they cover and material reviews they set so children don’t forget the lessons they’ve just learned.
Compared to other programs, Abeka seems to be modelled after the school-at-home approach. This means you’ll be able to sit your children down with textbooks and ask them to do their set work for the day like a schoolteacher might. Usually, there’s minimal teaching required from parents and video tutorials are available.
The curriculum was originally made for Christian schools many years ago, so the material can seem repetitive for students who learned the lesson the first time. But, for those who benefit from repetition, this curriculum is a great choice.
Abeka Reviews
If you’d like to read opinions from parents who’ve used this curriculum before, check out this link: homeschool reviews forum for Abeka. I tried to track down other review forums for Abeka but found some were incredibly outdated (homeschoolreviews.com has the last post in 2006 for a lot of the curricula).
Sonlight is another great Christian homeschool program that many of my friends use. It values reading and is a very literature-based curriculum. Many of the books are story-based living books that engage children thoroughly. Like Abeka, Sonlight is also a paper-based curriculum so it doesn’t offer a lot of opportunities for hands-on play or work. However, these elements can be incorporated after formal lessons are finished.
If you’re seriously considering Sonlight, you can try it for free by ‘requesting an invitation’ here.
Sonlight Reviews
If you’d like to read opinions from parents who’ve used this curriculum before, check out this link: homeschool reviews forum for Sonlight. There is also a Catholic Forums review here that you might benefit from reading.
The Bob Jones University was started by Bob Jones Sr, a godly American evangelist and preacher. Soon after, the Bob Jones University Christian homeschool curriculum was made (although not created by Bob Jones himself).
Like Abeka, the BJU curriculum has been around for many years. It is also modelled after the traditional educational model and parents only have to sit their children down with workbooks and offer them minimal assistance. They also offer online video lessons, depending on what package has been purchased.
After reading the forum reviews, it seemed like many new home educators were torn about whether they should purchase Abeka or BJU. It seems that these two programs are quite similar.
BJU Review Forum If you’d like to read opinions from parents who’ve used this curriculum before, check out this link: homeschool reviews forum for BJU
Switched-on Schoolhouse is an offline (USB-delivered) Christian home education curriculum that is produced by Alpha Omega Publications. It is one of the best (if not the best) computer-based Christian homeschooling curriculum packages on the market today.
SOS seems to be modelled after the traditional educational model, similar to that used in most modern schools. It is different from Abeka and BJU in that almost everything is done online. Tests are saved online and everything is recorded making for easy record keeping and good student-accountability logs.
However, if you are technologically challenged, you may have the occasional struggle with this program. Because everything is computer-based, you may find it a little difficult to set up if you struggle with technology. Thankfully, there is good technical support on hand to help.
Because the program is online, homeschoolers can leave notes for their parents and vice versa if they have questions about the material or want to leave a note to explain the work. If children get something wrong, they can go back over it, correct it, and rework their grade on the topic.
(As an important aside, some people think Alpha Omega is a Christian homeschooling curriculum, but they’re actually the publishers of various Christian curricula – some of which are used in Christian schools, and some of which are used in homeschools. Their publications for homeschools include SOS, Monarch, Horizons, and Lifepac, which appear to be similar versions of the same curriculum in different formats)
Homeschool Review Forums for SOS
If you’d like to read opinions from parents who’ve used this curriculum before, check out this link: homeschool reviews forum for SOS. You can also read an extended review of this program here.
Monarch is the online version of SOS that’s produced by Alpha Omega publications. You buy it with a subscription and access content when connected to the internet. Like SOS, this Christian program offers the Bible subject as one of five core subjects in their standard program. However, you can also pick and choose the subjects your child would most benefit from.
Both curricula are based on Lifepac which was the textbook (hard copy) version from Alpha Omega Publishing. Because everything is online, you don’t need a computer with a large amount of memory. However, if you have an unreliable internet connection or frequently go to places without the internet, you might think about using SOS instead of Monarch.
Monarch offers monthly payments so it’s less of an upfront cost. However, you can’t use the curriculum over and over again with subsequent children as you can with SOS. Each child has to have their own subscription which can be quite expensive if you have more than a few children.
Homeschool Review Forum for Monarch If you’d like to read opinions from parents who’ve used this curriculum before, check out this link: homeschool reviews forum for Monarch.
Accelerated Christian Education (ACE or ACE paces) is another Christian homeschooling curriculum that’s been around for a long time. Students can study at their own ‘pace’ using this program, and this is what differentiates ACE from other programs. ACE Ministries said this about their program:
Students who are more skilled may progress at a faster rate or may accelerate in the areas of their academic strengths. Slower students are encouraged to do their best but are able to work at their levels of proficiency and proceed as they are capable.
As such, the word ‘accelerated’ does not mean the work is harder than any other homeschooling curriculum or you have to have gifted children to do it.
As far as home education styles go, ACE seems to be modeled after the traditional education model.
NOTE: Lighthouse Christian Academy (LCA) is the long-distance provider for Accelerated Christian Education (ACE).
ACE Reviews Forum
If you’d like to read opinions from parents who’ve used this curriculum before, check out this link: homeschool reviews forum for Accelerated Christian Education.
If you’re looking for an affordable Christian homeschooling curriculum, look no further. Easy Peasy All-in-One is a free online program for Grades K-12.
With huge Facebook groups in every country, Easy Peasy is probably the most loved free Christian home education program available today. Despite the fact that it’s free, it’s considered to be very good and is listed as one of Cathy Duffy’s 102 Picks.
According to Duffy, the curriculum is modelled after a Charlotte Mason and traditional education models.
Even though Easy Peasy is free, the author has done a lot of work to make the homeschooling curriculum high quality. For instance, Easy Peasy has PDF sheets which you can print if you want to work offline. The course is all linked to online resources, so you shouldn’t need additional materials.
On the downside, because it’s a free platform you don’t get deluxe help from email experts as you might with SOS, Abeka or BJU. But, you can use its FAQ page or Facebook group which is very active. Also, because you’re printing things out, instead of having them sent to you, this curriculum can cost a little bit in ink and paper. But otherwise, it’s completely free!
If you’re interested in looking at other free options, check out this link which outlines 10 of the best free home education curricula available today.
EP Reviews Forum
If you’d like to read opinions from parents who’ve used this curriculum before, check out this link: homeschool reviews forum for Accelerated Christian Education. My apologies as this link is quite old but all I could find as far as reviews are concerned. If you find a better one, please link it in the comments below.
Classical Conversations is a Christian curriculum modelled after the Classical education style. Like Veritas Press, this program is available to children of all ages. However, it is most often done in homeschool co-ops. While CC material can be sent to parents in any location, some parents who’d bought this course said some of the activities requiring group work get harder to do in isolation as children get older and need physical groups to do the material properly.
Can you get Classical Conversations if you live Internationally?
I was afraid you couldn’t get Classical Conversations if you lived outside of the US. But, I asked this question in their forum and got this reply:
You can definitely order curriculum off of our website! Also, we have several international communities. You can learn more about those by filling out the form here: [Link]
One parent in the forums also said parents don’t need a community/co-op in the early years anyway.
CC Reviews
Here is a Christian homeschool reviews forum from The Homeschool Mom for Classical Conversations. If you’re interested in this program, the promotional video from Youtube is below.
If you love classical education, but don’t feel CC is the right fit for your family, why not check out other classical homeschooling curricula at this link.
If you want a Classical homeschooling curriculum, but don’t want to attend a co-op to get the benefits, you should consider Veritas Press. This program is a mailable curriculum modeled after the classical homeschooling method. It has great Christian content which children get, in large part, from the plethora of classical books they’ll read.
Veritas Press also produces the Phonics Museum, an online learn-to-read program that engages children to help them read using their attractive graphics. This is also a Christian program. You can read a review forum for Veritas Press here.
Simply Charlotte Mason (SCM) is a homeschooling curriculum styled after the Charlotte Mason method of education. The program is different from many other curricula in that it has very short lessons (a hallmark of CM education) and incorporates a lot of nature study and habit training. Because lessons are short, parents find this curriculum is great if they want a flexible homeschool lifestyle.
Living books (books that come alive to the reader as they use engaging narrative to teach concepts) are also used so children get exposure to reading plenty of books while their love of learning is fostered simultaneously. If you like the CM method, Simply Charlotte Mason is a good option to consider.
Like a lot of the curricula above, this program has large, active forums where parents can ask questions. You can read more review comments about this curriculum here.
Because so many home educators like the CM method, there are plenty of homeschooling curriculum packages that are modeled after this method which you can check out by following this link.
Other Christian Homeschooling Curriculum Programs and Packages
Although we’ve looked at 10 Christian homeschooling curriculum packages and programs, there are so many others you can check out if you want.
These include:
Jubilee Christian College
Living Books Curriculum – Charlotte Mason homeschool curriculum
Apologia Science
An Old Fashioned Education – Free
Ambleside Online Christian homeschool curriculum (Charlotte Mason) – Free
Heart of Dakota
My Father’s World
Wayfarers by Ragamuffins
Simply Homeschool
Konos Christian Homeschool Curriculum
Answers in Genesis Science Curriculum
The following were earmarked by different people on forums as especially good curricula for teaching Bible study:
The Weaver – Alpha Omega Publishing
Christian Light Education
Awana Homeschool
Berean Homeschool Co-op
Christian Liberty Press
What Makes the Best Christian Homeschool Curriculum?
It’s important to remind ourselves that the best curriculum you’ll find is one that bathes our children in the scripture from an early age. Consider this passage from 2 Timothy 3:15-17: …and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
It’s useful to keep this biblical criterion in mind when examining different curricula.
Conclusion
Finding a Christian homeschooling curriculum can make you feel overwhelmed. But, if you research one curriculum every day, you’ll find you’ll be familiar with many of them before very long. Ask God to guide you on these big issues because the curriculum you choose has a significant impact on your children. Make sure you check out the homeschool reviews forum links for each program above. They’re a great way to read the curriculum reviews from parents who’ve already road-tested these programs. All the best!
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