Are all homeschool companies religious?

Question

I'm looking for curriculum to homeschool my son next year. Are there any companies out there that are secular?

Answer 1

THere are ones out there that are not religous and there is always the option to build your own. Be sure to check with your school system to see what you have to have in your curriculum and see which ones, if any, they suggest.

I too wanted a non-religous based curriculum. I ended up choosing Calvert. Calvert is not totally Christian free...they discuss creationism in their history text, but cover both evolution and creationism in their science. There is no religous education component and plenty of information on other cultures and beliefs. I chose the curriculum for three reasons....1) it is the only state recognized curriculum for MD, so reveiws and such are much easier and 2) the math and science portions of the curriculum are the same as the public schools used and finally 3) I found them to meet my daughter's strong points and myt eaching style the best. An added bonus for many folks is that Calvert is a complete curriculum, complete with a detailed teacher's guide, planned science activities, a fine arts component and the ability to have your child's work assesed by a liscensed teacher if you wish (that service does cost extra). The only part of the curriculum I did not like ...and not because of content but because it is poorly presented (boring as all get out actually) is the history book. I use it as a guide and developed my own lesson plans around it.

Answer 2

Most homeschool curriculums are Christian but not all. You will just have to do a search and sift through until you find the one that works for you. Since you aren't starting until next year, it would be a good idea to go to homeschool conventions and book fairs where you can look at the curriculums. Conventions and book fairs usually start in the spring.

Answer 3

There are many that are not religious. The trick will be to find a curriculum to match you and your son.

I just flipped through a book called 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum that is supposed to help you find a curr. that will match your child. First it has you look at how your child learns best, then it outlines different curriculums and explains about them.

I would also recommend becoming familiar with the Core Knowledge Series of books (what your second grader, etc should know.) and the Core Knowledge Foundation http://coreknowledge.org/CK/

Your state dept. of education will probably have links to curriculums on their website as well. You might want to bookmark your state dept. of ed. site and become familiar with your state standards as you will have be able to demonstrate that your home school program meets them.

If you're into a "classical" approach, check out WWW.k12.com It is an online school with home school option. One of the key people creating this program is William Bennett, former Secretary of Education.

Ask the school districts and neighboring districts about homeschoolers in your area and see what they are using.Plus, you'll be able to connect for activities and field trips.

I don't know why you're leaning toward home school, but if it is because of educational quality in your local school you may also want to check into charter schools in your area.

Good luck. I'm looking at home schooling too and the amount of info out there is mind-boggling.

Answer 4

There are secular materials out there, but it is a bit harder to track them down.
Check out www.k12.com for a thorough secular curriculum.
For math and science, you might look into www.singaporemath.com
Great math books - www.fun_books.com
Another nice early elementary math program is Right Start Math - www.alabacus.com
World History - http://killeenroos.com/wh/syllabus.htm
younger world history - Story of the World, by Bauer
US History - A History of US, by Joy Hakim
For language arts you might check out books from - www.rfwp.com
You can also find lots of resources from sites by national geographic, discovery, and pbs such as: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/matrix.html
http://school.discovery.com/

It takes a little more digging, but the resources are out there. If you want something already put together for you go with http://www.k12.com/

Answer 5

Not at all. Check with your local school board to get recommendations for homeschooling. That sounds contradictory, but it isn't. The homeschools have to meet standards, just as the local schools do, and in some cases, homeschooled students are allowed to attend schools on a part time basis to take courses such as shops or lab courses that can't be managed at home. So check with your school board or a local school for references to secular homeschools.

Answer 6

No not all educational material is religious in nature.
The material we use is not "religious" in and of itself. It is academic and morally sound and of high quality. The curriculum was produced by a christian family with the intent of being christian-friendly. It does not dictate how to teach biblical principals. Instead it gives the student the opportunity to think for themself and excel in all pursuits.

Answer 7

This one here sells both...

http://homeschoolsupercenter.com

Here is a link for a secular home school group for seculars: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/homeschool_atheists/ it is for not just atheists but secular humanists, agnostics, etc. The people on it are wonderful, I signed up just last week. You'll find people using all different kinds of methods to educate their children. Many, like me, have tweaked Christian curriculums to suit our secular ways.

We do a literature based program provided by a Christian group but we remove the overly Christian books, i.e., "Parables of Nature". I'm not reading moral parables that refer to we unbelievers as evil or having something wrong with us...that isn't brainwashing one to secular atheism. We read some of it and it was good to experience another point of view...we just don't need to read an entire book to "get the point".

Good luck.

Answer 8

I'm sure there are. But why not consider the religious ones if they are rumored to be the best? Then he will have that experience and a better understanding of another way to think. You are still the main teacher. If you don't like the Bible verse at the end of the math quiz, tell your kid you don't like it. If it's a good truth (like something from the Proverbs about honesty, or being able to take criticism), point it out as a good thing. I think the problem with parents is that they only expose their kids to their own way of thought. Brainwashing a kid to secular atheism is just as much brainwashing as what they do to some in the middle east.

So I guess my bottom line is go for the one that is clearly the best at educating the child in a fun, creative way.

Answer 9

No, not all are. Try looking at the Oak Meadow curriculum.

Answer 10

No, they're not all religious. Keep looking, you'll find more!