I have homeschooled since my oldest daughter was in Kindergarten. She is now in seventh grade. I remember back when she started Kindergarten I spent hours finding just the right curriculum with sweat under my brow nervous I’d pick the wrong thing. As she enters a new transition into middle school I feel the same pressure to find the perfect curriculum under the fear of ruining her life with one poor choice. Ahh, those transition years or first steps are so hard for a parent to make. The only advantage I had this time was years of homeschooling experience with curriculum. Yet, there was an untapped source. That source was Christian Liberty Press. Until this year I had not used their curriculum. After looking into their curriculum and gaining some experience I am happy I have another Kindergartener who can look forward to years of Christian Liberty Press curriculum. My Kindergartener recently made this comment while working on her Christian Liberty Press math book,”Whoever made this book really knew what they were doing.” I thought that was precious. Now the question remains if my seventh grader would feel the same with her first two introductions to this fine curriculum.
After expressing much dissatisfaction with her current grammar book, I handed her Basics for Communicating Effectively, Applications of Grammar Book 1. Considering how discerning and unaffected by daily life this preteen of mine is, I could not predict her response. After a few days I asked her how it was going and she replied, “I don’t know.” That was profound.
So here’s the skinny on the book:
Basics of English grammar
Diagramming
Parts of speech
Forming paragraphs
Pronoun usage
Sentence structure
The book contains solid lessons which are clearly written. The book is easy on the eyes and flows nicely. A student working through this book will end with a command of proper English language.
So back to Miss “I don’t know”. After a week or so I asked her once again about the book and she expressed to me that while she still did not understand why grammar was so important the book helped her understand the concepts. She showed an increased knowledge and confidence in all areas of this subject. Now I realize grammar is grammar but the method used to teach is clear and effective.
The next subject we tackled with Christian Liberty Press is Bible. The seventh grade book is Studying God’s Word Book H. This book covers the book of Acts. The book contains self-tests, review questions and of course the lessons. Upon showing this book to my daughter she said, “What happened to the books before H?” I explained to her that the series was a chronological study and Book H was assigned in 7th grade. She told me that she would like to have them all. She is nothing if not ambitious.
The lessons presented are of sound doctrine which is the most important aspect of any bible curriculum. I felt comfortable and confident with the content. This is the highest marks I can give to a bible curriculum.
My daughter continued to express dissatisfaction with having to start in Book H as she wants to go back and begin at the starting point. This is the highest marks she can give to any curriculum.
Christian Liberty Press has been a good fit for my family. While I do not stress textbooks and workbooks, I always have plenty on hand for practice, resource material, and for my more traditionally minded students. So I challenge you to give Christian Liberty Press a chance to fit your family regardless of your teaching style. They seem to have something to fit everyone.