Cassie writes, “What do you think of curriculums like Calvert or Oak Meadows? I know you kind of have a hodge podge of stuff, but I’m wondering if a one-stop shop would be easier.”
The short answer is that boxed curricula are definitely not for us, because my children’s needs don’t fix all that neatly into a box.
The long answer begins with what boxed curricula can offer:
- A complete curricula in a box can make lesson planning much easier, as the scope, sequence, and individual lesson plans are already there for your use. You don’t have to choose texts and then develop lesson plans for them.
- Packaged curricula typically includes assessments, which can be especially valuable if you’re uncertain about how well your child is processing and retaining information or if you live in an area that requires more meticulous record-keeping.
- Literature, history, and geography are all nicely synced up for content.
- It can lower costs, since putting together your own curriculum for a subject can sometimes get pretty expensive, especially when you start buying multiple supplemental books.
- Some boxed curricula do place a greater emphasis on the important role of technology (Calvert’s 5th grade package includes a technology overview, typing skills, a primer in how to use the Internet for research, and even an introduction to using HTML), which is too-often (in my opinion) underplayed in classical education.
- You can expect a reasonable degree of consistency in format, methodology, and philosophy across a company’s prepackaged curricula line, so if you find something that works well for your child(ren) and your personal beliefs, you won’t have to expect sudden changes at the next level.
Here are some areas where a prepackaged curricula doesn’t meet our needs:
- Lack of flexibility of scheduling. When everything is so carefully synced to a pre-established timeline, your entire schedule can be thrown out of whack if your child needs additional time with a certain material. One of the reasons we chose to homeschool was to have more flexibility with our schedule, not less. I like to be able to tailor our day to meet our needs and tailor the workload to fit our day.
- Difficult to integrate off-grade-level work. Boxed curricula works on the assumption that a child is working at the same “grade level” in each subject. However, if your child is working at different levels in different subjects, the boxed-grade approach is likely going to present a problem. Though Captain Science is technically in “fifth grade,” he’s working quire far ahead of what both Calvert and Oak Meadow offer in grammar/language arts and mathematics. We’d have to do some serious restructuring in order to make any boxed curricula work for us and at that point, we’d have lost the benefits of prepackaging.
- Not progressive/Has obvious historical bias. For example, Oak Meadow’s 5th grade curriculum seems very Columbus-centric. Overall, the history programs in these two boxed curricula appear very Euro-centric and in line with a more traditional, less progressive, understanding of history. We’re trying to teach history more objectively and without presenting Europe/US as the center of the world. This is why we spent additional time on ancient history, to allow adequate focus on Eastern and New World history.
- Under-emphasizing and under-teaching science. Boxed curricula don’t meet my standards for adequately teaching science. The teaching of science tends to be basic and shallow, as though science were either not incredibly important or too touchy a subject to delve into in depth. It’s much better to get a science curriculum from a publisher that specializes in science, IMO.
- That’s not where we’re at in history. Pretty simple explanation right there. We aren’t doing US history in 5th grade. We finished ancient history and are now working on the middle ages. We’d have to jump into history at a completely different point.
- Condescending language and low expectations. I expect a lot more from my fifth grader than putting his vocabulary words in alphabetical order. One reason we’ve enjoyed Michael Clay Thompson’s language arts curriculum is that he doesn’t speak down to the student, but rather, models the kind of writing excellence I expect from my child.
That’s what the [Smrt] Homeschooler prefers to mix and match curricula, rather than rely on a prepackaged set. In homeschooling, as in life, your mileage may very. Obviously, many families feel their children receive a rigorous and thorough education from these boxed curricula. Others don’t find it difficult or bothersome to tweak the curricula to meet their needs. For us, however, the the benefits of prepackaged curricula are outweighed by the things it doesn’t offer us.
Do you have a question for the [Smrt] Homeschooler? Email them to
smrtmama@smrtlernins.com
