What Kind of Books Do You Want Your Child To Study?
A Home School Literature Curriculum?
Or a Textbook-Based Approach?
Thinking of using a home school literature curriculum? Or maybe home schooling with textbooks? Which will work best for you, and how do you decide without shelling out a lot of money and perhaps wasting a year of precious learning time?
If you think of your home school curriculum as a meal, with books forming the main course, you naturally end up wondering...what's for dinner?
What kind of books do you want to base your home school curriculum on? Will you offer a vegetarian platter? Or a meat-and-potatoes diet?
Actually, this kind of dichotomy in the area of home school curriculum between either textbooks or literature-based curriculums is unfortunate and I think largely unnecessary. I think there is a role for each kind of home school material. Variety is the spice of life, and a varied diet is often a healthier one.
This being true, however, the fact is, you still need to figure out what will be in your shopping cart and on your home schooling dinner plate. Most of us can't buy the entire supermarket! So, let's look at what benefits a home school literature curriculum or textbook-based curriculum offers before we launch into meal planning.
A home school literature curriculum usually uses what Charlotte Mason called “living books,” books that are written by authors with a love for their subject, often firsthand sources, and which are read as a whole rather than simply as excerpts. These books are “classics,” certainly, and children who are exposed to books with such emotion and interest are the richer, intellectually and emotionally, for it.
Home school textbooks often have a reputation for being dry and uninteresting, but a well-written textbook can help a student gain an overview of a lot of material, and it often relates the subject to a Biblical worldview, for those textbooks from a Biblical publisher. For those who want to cover a lot of ground in some subject quickly, or who want to provide a good undergirding of Biblical thought as it relates to science or history, a textbook such as those by
A Beka Home School Curriculum
can be a tremendous help.
So, what about you? Which is right for you, a home school literature curriculum, or textbook curriculum?
Figuring this out is certainly a foundational part of choosing your home school curriculum. As with the other areas that form the foundation to how to choose the best home school curriculum for you,
I suggest you answer a few questions to help figure this out. I’ll be posting more questions later on this, but for now, here are at least a few questions to get you started:
- I would like an ordered, step-by-step approach to this subject (science, math, history, etc.) so that I know the basics are being covered. Having a scope and sequence gives me peace of mind, and the stair-step model will help my child learn over time.
- I prefer to think of giving my children a web of connections that comes from allowing my children to learn from many different sources. This web will help them be comfortable with new information they learn, even if it doesn’t fit neatly into a set order.
- I’m looking for clarity and solid truth as I help my child know how to fit the pieces of the puzzle (of science, math, history, etc.) together. At this point in life, my child needs some grounding in what is true, and needs input based on truth on which to build his life.
- I don’t mind a bit of ambiguity and differences of opinions in the materials I give to my child to read and learn from. We can overcome differences of opinions as we talk enough about them.
- I would like some guidance for my child from a worldview I agree with since, realistically, I don’t have time to interact with each of my children in every subject. Textbooks can help guide my children for when I can’t be there.
- I think the best kind of long-lasting, transformational learning happens when I can interact with my child one on one. At this point in my child’s life, I would rather discuss and process a few things in depth with my child than have him cover more without my guidance.
For a home school literature curriculum, both “living books” and textbooks have a place in learning. You just need to know what is right for your child, and right at this season of his life. Also, many of the home school literature curriculums do use textbooks as part of their home school curriculum. They just use them more as supplements, or “spine” books rather than as the main course. So, it isn't necessarily an either/or decision.
But let's say you like the idea of a home school literature curriculum, but you may find yourself asking some more questions, such as…
- How do I know what books to choose?
- How do I know what questions to ask about the books my child is reading?
- How do I know when my child should read them, and how many books to expect my child to read?
These are all good questions, but not ones that should keep you from using a literature approach if that’s what you are leaning towards using.
For instance,
Sonlight Home School Curriculum
has excellent Instructor Guides and Core programs that help you answer these very questions. Other programs such as
Tapestry of Grace and
Veritas Press Classical Home School Curriculum
also have helps for the teacher to answer these questions.
Once you have a handle on whether you feel more comfortable at this point with a home school literature curriculum or a textbook curriculum, you are ready to go on to the next step, figuring out
what kind of literature, or what kind of textbook will work best for you and your child. I'll be posting more soon in more detail about different home school textbook curriculum choices and home school literature curriculum options.
If you still find yourself debating about which approach would work for you, I would encourage you to sign up for our free free eCourse
where I will walk you though these questions and more, and give you lots of practical options to consider. If you believe in prayer, I would encourage you to pray for guidance and peace as you make these decisions. Finally, you might find it helpful to try
Choose It
, some free computer software that can help you make decisions on any number of decisions, from what kind of home school curriculum to use, to what kind of home business to get into, to whether to make a cross-country move.
If you've gotten this far, go ahead and give yourself a pat on the back for taking the time to develop a great foundation for a successful home schooling experience. As you gather information to make wise choices, I think you'll come to enjoy both the process and the results more in your home school journey. If this series of articles has been a help to you, let me know via our
Contact Us
page. I'd love to hear from you.
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How To Choose The Best Home School Curriculum
