All home schooling materials fall into two main categories: Textbook curricula and non-textbook curricula. Textbook curricula have graded textbooks in each subject and follow a scope and sequence that covers each subject in daily increments for a 12 year, 180 days a year academic program. Teacher's manuals, tests, and record keeping materials that correspond to each of the texts, are usually available. Textbook curricula assume you will run your home school like an institutional school.

Work text programs present textbooks in consumable workbook format. The student learns his lesson, is given assignments, and is tested all in the workbook. The work texts include tests or checkpoints to ensure that the material in each section is mastered before the student moves on to the next. Work texts also allow more independent study than textbooks, and require minimal teacher preparation time and supervision.

Pros:

• Everything is laid out for ease of use
• Follows a standardized scope and sequence, often the same as the public schools
• Gives the feeling of really "doing" school
• Has definite milestones of accomplishment
• Testing and assigning grades is easy to do

Cons:

• Is geared to the 'generic' child. Does not take into account the student's learning styles, strengths and weaknesses, or interests
• Assumes that there is a body of information that comprises an education and that this information can be broken down into daily increments
• Treats children's minds like containers to be filled with information
• Focuses on transmitting information through artificial learning experiences, rather than on applied knowledge
• Is teacher directed and chalkboard oriented (textbook)
• Different aged students study different materials
• Expensive when teaching multiple children
• Discourages original, independent thinking
• Has a high 'burn out' rate

Used with permission from Elijah Company

Related Links:

• www.calvertschool.org/engine/content.do?BT_CODE=CES1512
• www.abeka.com