Finding a Home School Curriculum Catalog:
What Do You Need To Know?
You can search for hours all over the Internet for a home school curriculum catalog or vendor and find more information than you know what to do with. I know. I'm a homeschooling mother of four, and I've spent more hours than I care to admit searching for the best home school products that will help make my home schooling life easier. Below are some of the most popular home school curriculum catalogs and vendors I've found from my research.
However, I want to share with you more than just a list of website links. Why? Because I know that being armed with just information about what is out there isn't enough to help you make really wise choices for your home school. It is only just a start.
I want to give you help in knowing what to do with this information. So, go ahead and look at the links below, but then go to the bottom of this page to read about what you should know before you read all about the latest "must have" products in these home school curriculum catalog descriptions.
Also, be sure to browse around the rest of this site for more information on how to choose which of these home school curriculum catalogs is most likely to offer you materials that will help you home school well. I would highly recommend signing up for our free eCourse
to give you more in-depth, practical help.
You can also read more about the differences between textbook and literature-based home schooling at
Choosing Textbook or Literature-Based Home School Curriculum
Popular Literature-based Home School Curriculum Catalog Sites
Each of the following emphasizes in their home school curriculum catalog lots of quality literature. Though they might use textbooks, they tend to use real books to bring history and other subjects alive for your child (and you might find for you, too!). Most of these sites offer online shopping, though you can often download a catalog or request one be sent to you. This is by no means a comprehensive list; these are just catlogs I am familiar with. If you have a recommendation for a favorite home school curriculum catalog, please Contact Us.
- Beautiful Feet Books offers mostly history books, especially collections of fine children's authors' books which they have republished.
- Greenleaf Press is a Christian curriculum with a strong focus on teaching history chronologically and on the people who made history happen. Also offered are literature and art materials with a Christian, biblical worldview.
- Lamplighter Publishing is a ministry that publishes inspiring, character-building literature, mostly written before the 20th century. Their focus is on offering examples of godly roles models that will motivate people to change inwardly so they would want to live outwardly a life of excellence.
- Sonlight Home School Curriculum
is a Christian curriculum with a world-wide focus. They offer a full-service, complete home school curriculum package, or individual items. Pre-planned lessons and helpful Instructor's Guides are included in their packages, with science, math, and extra-curricular subjects available also. Lots of great books and resources (such as forums) to help your family enjoy homeschooling while learning about the world from a Christian point of view.
- Tapestry of Grace is a Christian classics-based unit-study that incorporates literature, history, writing and several other subjects. History is taught in a 4-year cycle so that you can teach all your children the same basic subject but at a deeper level as they get older. Tapestry of Grace offers lots of resources to make learning fun for your kids and easier for you to teach (especially if you have a large family). They also stress developing a strong Christian worldview.
- Veritas Press Classical Home School Curriculum is a Christian curriculum with a classical approach. They offer mostly history, literature, and language products.
Popular Textbook-based Home School Curriculum Catalog Sites
The following home school catalogs are from those companies that offer more textbook-based curriculum. There are many more than these, but this is a start. I have not used many textbook-based home schooling materials, so I can't vouch for what exactly is in the catalogs. Most of these links have places where you can download a catalog or shop online. If you think I have left out an important catalog, or erred in placing a home school curriculum catalog in the wrong catagory, please Contact Us.
Before You Read Those Fancy Home School Curriculum Catalog Write-ups
All of the home school curriculum catalog sites I listed above have helped many people home school their children, whether they are textbook based or literature-based. I do not mean to downplay their value. However, it is good to remember when you read the descriptions in their catalogs, that even though they want to help you, they also want to sell you something. So ask yourself:
- Will that new product really save me time, or will it take up more of my time by my having to learn an entirely new system of teaching whatever it is?
- Is that book one that will be read over and over? (If not, you might want to just borrow a copy from the library.)
- Does this product use methods that are compatible with how I want to evaluate my child's learning?
- Does this product give me the structure or freedom that I want now?
These are a few suggestions of what to ask yourself as you read all those wonderful-sounding descriptions in the home school catalog before you. Remember to think about your goals and ways you want to evaluate your child's learning. Then, when the home school curriculum catalog offers products that match your needs, you can buy with confidence.
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