Question posted by: Jean on May 29, 2002

I will have a 5th and an 8th grader next fall. I have never homeschooled! I am looking at Covenant Home but want input. How about a program like KONOS? What works? What is most important consider when selecting the program to use? I am overwhelmed right now.
 

Answer:  Yes, I understand that overwhelmed feeling. I still get it every now and then.

I went and looked at Covenant Home Curriculum. I was thinking it was Carden (I'm not even sure Carden is still around). It would probably be a fine program to use--especially if it appeals to you. Sometimes we forget that the program needs to appeal to us (the teachers), too, if we're going to teach it. :-)

It appears that Covenant Home draws a fair bit of its curricular items from other suppliers and puts them all together in a package for you with schedules.

If you're wanting to get a closer look at some of the curricular items you can view the science products at the Bob Jones homeschooling site.

Vocabulary from Classical Roots (8th grade Covenant Home) comes from Educators Publishing Service--a reliable source. We use their Wordly Wise (vocab) and Analogies workbooks.

Exploring Creation with Physical Science (8th grade Covenant Home) is part of the Apologia series.

Saxon Math is also an option with Covenant Home, and you can see sample pages at cbd.com.

Famous Men of Rome (5th grade Covenant Home) is a Greenleaf Guide which you can view at the Greenleaf site. Greenleaf has guides for the Old Testament, Rome, Greece, and Egypt if I'm remembering correctly.

Sometimes homeschoolers like to start out with a package deal (as with Covenant Home) because it gives them a framework within which to work. They know the bases are covered, and a sense of security is there--especially with the schedules and tests. The work is pretty much done for you.

But one downside is that you are bound by their parameters. What if your student would rather study more than just Rome in 5th grade? Why Rome? Why not some other historical period? You asked, "What works?" For history, many things can work. Many, many. Some folks like to go through it chronologically using various sources. Some folks take a "real books" path by reading biographies, good literature, and other interesting non-fiction and fiction books for history. Some take a unit study approach (as in KONOS) with a few more projects added in. And there are plenty of folks that take the textbook path. There really are a lot of choices. The same can be said of the literature choices that are made for you by Covenant Home Curriculum. What if there are other great books that you'd like to see your children read before they leave home? Why not weave them into the curriculum? Possibly Robinson Crusoe doesn't appeal to your 5th grader? There are plenty of other great books and guides to go with them available to homeschoolers. The same can be said of the choice of Huckleberry Finn for the 8th grader. Many homeschoolers are eclectic and pick and choose--using a vocabulary program from one publisher and a math program from another and a science program from another.

Granted, sometimes it is much, much easier to just go with what a package deal provides. Both Huck Finn and Crusoe are excellent pieces of literature. Going with what's provided may be just the way to go for the first year. You can then use this first year to put your feelers out to think about other options. Plus, you'll get a feel for how Covenant Home Curriculum works for you and your children.

As for KONOS, we used it years ago. It was fun. I found it helpful. But I wouldn't want to go back to it because it was too activity-driven for me. Having to do too many projects wears me out. It works for lots of people, though. I think it might be difficult with an 8th grader who is preparing for high school. It is, however, quite handy to have both students studying the same period in history. And your reading and literature can be based on the history period you're covering. You don't need KONOS, though, to do that.

You asked, "What is most important [to] consider when selecting the program to use?"

Off the top of my head:
1. Does it appeal to the students and teacher?
2. Does it look like it will be easy to implement?
3. Does it cover the basics: math, language arts, history, science? What about Phys. Ed., Music, Health, Foreign Languages, others? Is it academically sound?
4. Is there a less expensive way to obtain the same results? Is there a more interesting way to obtain the same results?
5. At the end of the year, will we be able to take the next steps on our educational trip? (example: Will this math program prepare my 8th grader for Algebra next year?)
6. Can't forget: Does it fulfill any legal obligations we may need to fulfill?

Other issues: Know that you'll make mistakes in your selection of curricular items. Know that you can either return them or sell them as partially used on eBay and receive about 1/2 of what you paid for them. Making mistakes in choosing materials is just part of homeschooling, imo. It's something I've come of accept (I think), though I try to avoid it by reading reviews and trying to *see* the items before I purchase them if possible.

Make sure you order early enough so that you have time to familiarize yourself with them before school starts. Also, be aware that your students might see them and want to start right away with some of the stuff. Some curriculum providers get very backed up. Watch for companies that want to backorder your items. Sometimes they won't arrive in time. You can sometimes go directly to the publisher to get the item instead.

Well, I don't know if that's really much help, but I gave it the old college try. :-)

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