101 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum

I am reviewing this from the position of a mom who is just starting to homeschool, so I'm evaluating it on its own, not in comparison to its predecessor.The first section is, in my opinion, probably the most important part of the book. Multiple worksheets help you set your educational goals, discover your educational philosophy and determine your teaching style and your child's learning style. I have spent most of my life studying or working in Christian education, but I still found this section very helpful. I made copies so my husband and I could fill the sheets out on our own and compare notes. This was great to help us make sure we were on the same page. Since he won't be able to do alot of the day-to-day schooling process, having him feel confident and involved in the curriculum process was very important to us.The section on learning/teaching styles is awesome. I had been very familiar with certain curriculums. I quickly discovered that those curriculums would not be the best choices for my son's learning styles.The 101 picks chart rates all 101 picks by learning style, educational philosophy, religious (or secular) leaning, amt of writing, teacher prep, whether it can used for multiple grades,etc. which is extremely helpful with in-depth reviews following. She reviews, secular, Protestant, and Catholic curriculum although Protestant resources get the most attention.Again my husband, marked things he was interested in, and then we compared notes. I also accessed her website for additional reviews. I can already tell, I will probably be using this resource every year (my oldest is just starting K/1st grade) as my boys' needs change. Even if you choose an all-in-one program and stick with it, this is still a great guide for supplemental resources.I was confident about homeschooling before I got this book, but I feel more confident that armed with the information from it, I will be able choose what will work best specifically for my kids and our family (and after all, isn't that the essence of what homeschooling is versus the one-size-fits all education system?).So would I recommend it? Absolutely! Would I buy it again? Yes!If you want additional reviews of your favorite curriculums from families who have actually used them you can search for reviews on the internet.To summarize, this is a really awesome tool which, in my opinion, no homeschool toolbox should be without.

I found this book very useful. Like many I have become caught up in the curriculum cycle on the quest to give my children the best education. This book has helped me narrow down what I need to use for each child & for myself. All the questions she has you answer really help you put things into perspective & narrow things down. She points out what alot of us might not think about, your personality, lifestyle ect are just as important as what types of learners ect your children are. I am actually looking forward to next school year, where lately I have been dreading school, which is not good when you are the teacher.I gave it 4 stars because I would have liked a few more options for each learning style. I realize she can't list everything but the ones that are listed seem to be expensive or are just not sensible. I mean sure if I had a couple of grand to drop on each child but unfortunately I (and many others) don't. You can of course go to her site and search options there. From what I see you can't search by learning styles on the site so you will need to know what you are looking for. There might be a way but I don't see it.So for the first part 5 stars all the way. For the second half not so much.

With three years of homeschooling under my belt, having only used a boxed curriculum, I was ready to branch out "on my own" and hand-pick next year's curriculum. I started researching and the more I researched the more confused, overwhelmed and frazzled I felt. I wanted to make just the right choices, but there are so many options to choose from. And then I got this book...Wonderful!! Cathy takes you through various checklists to discover what type of teacher you are and what type of learner your child is. Then she takes those two types and gives you a long list of curriculum that meets your needs.This helped me narrow down my options. I then went to a homeschool convention, with this book in hand, and was able to look at those various options in person and make my choices. This book was invaluable to me and I'd highly recommend it!

My wife and I were new to the homeschool subject and didn't know where to begin with what kind of curriculum we wanted to use for our kids or even have a plan drawn out for what our educational goals were for our kids. Cathy Duffy did a good job with this book explain the pros and cons of lots of different styles of homeschool curriculum. Her website is also an informative place to go for those looking for info about the homeschool process. I would definitely recommend this book if you are new to homeschooling and haven't decided on what kind of approach you want to take with it. This book isn't your curriculum, just a listing and review of many popular brands and offerings for homeschool curriculum/lesson plans that are out on the market today. You will be a much more well informed parent about setting up homeschooling for your kids after reading this. Lots of good advice.

This book helped me so much on my homeschooling journey. Much more important that the curriculum reviews (for me anyway) are the opening chapters that get you to think about why you are homeschooling, the different systems out there and which ones appeal to you and your children, the way your children learn, and the way you prefer to teach. Once you have that information the reviews are much more meaningful. Not just the ones in the book but any curriculum reviews you read, because you will filter them through what is right and will work best for your family.

This book is like having a seasoned homeschooler sit beside you and walk you through the multitude of choices in homeschooling, but better because it gives you the groundwork you need to understand your own learning style and your childs. Then it charts and describes each curriculum option reviewed by those needs as well as teacher prep time, etc. It is amazing. I own two copies of the earlier edition and loan them out to people considering homeschooling until they decide, which is when they end up buying their own copy. It's that good. Join her webpage too if you haven't already. Cathy Duffy's reviews are clear, concise, and will save you years of grief replacing them with relief and happy learning!

This book has been my lifesaver! I am new to homeschooling and with all the different curriculum options out there it is extremently overwhelming! Once I had this book, it helped me narrow down my choices because of the descriptive detail of each product broken down by subject, it gave me such a clear picture of what that specific curriculum will be like, cost estimate, pros/cons, learning styles, etc. One of the best features was the test at the beginning of the book that shows me what type of teaching style(s) I lean toward (ie. Charlotte Mason, Classical, etc).All in all, this book is excellent both for new homeschoolers and veteran! I highly recommend this book to be on every homeschooling family's bookshelf!