Generations Curriculum REVIEW: Homeschool 2024 [TOP PICK]

I use the Generations homeschool curriculum with my own children. I love this program because it is gospel-centered and focuses on missions. It also encourages children to always look to the Bible as their main textbook. I’ve never seen another program like this. Additionally, Generations is very affordable, offering free shipping for orders over $200. There’s a big focus on family discipleship and parents getting involved in being a godly example. But there’s a lot more to it, too, so take a look at the details below with me.

I hope you enjoy reading this blog post. If you want to do my course on how to homeschool, click here.

Affiliate links used in this Generations curriculum review.

If you’d like to see my copy of Generations (third grade), watch the video above. In it, I go through every book and workbook in the program.

In this post we’ll also do an in-depth review of this program before examining other Generations homeschool curriculum reviews on YouTube and the web.

Let’s take a look.

What is the Generations Homeschool Curriculum?

The Generations homeschool curriculum is one of the most affordable, boxed, all-in-one Christian homeschooling programs. (I got my curriculum for under $200 for the whole year, excluding math).

It offers all grades and almost all subjects (it’s still designing some of its math year offerings).

The main goal of this program is to prepare children to follow Christ in an anti-Christian world.

As the name suggests, the curriculum’s goal is to lead children into the next generation with a strong faith in Jesus.

The curriculum rejects the idea that education is worldview-neutral. (In fact, the curriculum we’ve studied hits many of these issues head-on and works through this misconception!)

Instead, the program wants parents to invest in discipling their children.

Four Key Pillars

The four key pillars in the Generations curriculum emphasize:

Family Discipleship,
Biblical Worldview,
Best Teachers & Best Books, and
Worship and Life Application.

These pillars help guide parents in teaching their children holistically and applying God’s truth to every aspect of their lives.

Core Subjects

This program has a number of core subjects. These are:

Bible and Family Discipleship,
History,
Literature,
Worldview & Science, and
Christian Character.

This encourages children to live out their faith in their daily lives.

The Generations homeschool curriculum fosters family involvement in the learning process.

Does the Generations Curriculum Cover All Grades?

Generations cover all grades except Preschool and Kindergarten.

You can look at specific grades below:

Check out their website above for more information.

Does the Generations Homeschool Curriculum Cover All Subjects?

The Generations with Vision program is quite new, so while it covers all grades in an open-and-go homeschool curriculum, material for all subjects has yet to be created.

The subjects they currently offer are:

These subjects are not available for all grades but are being developed as this is a fairly new curriculum.

Generations History Curriculum

Generations History is a subject that presents history from a Christ-centered perspective.

None of the Generations books I own discuss general subjects—they all directly or vaguely refer to the Bible or Christianity in some way.

Children will see God’s hand in shaping world events and spreading Christ’s Kingdom throughout ‘secular’ and Christian history.

By joining secular and ecclesiastical history, children start to understand God’s hand working in our world over time.

It then becomes easier for children to see their own role in God’s world and timeline.

Generations Science

The Generations homeschool curriculum presents science differently from many other homeschool curriculum programs.

Their science component is integral to the Generations curriculum everywhere – not just in the science subject!

The curriculum presents a radically God-centered approach.

It’s a creationist curriculum, and so it rejects the secular, materialistic worldview.

It shows how faith and reason can work together wonderfully.

I also love how it incorporates scripture into all the lessons.

Generations Science shows how relevant God’s word is to understanding our natural world.

It encourages students to see science as an opportunity to study God’s wonders and worship and praise him.

There’s also a big focus on practical life application of scientific concepts.

This makes learning exciting and relevant to daily life.

Pros and Cons of the Generations Homeschool Curriculum

Using Generations curriculum reviews from across the web, I’ve compiled a list of the pros and cons of this course.

Pros of the Generations with Vision Curriculum

Affordable – you get way more than what you pay for
Bright colors and fun and engaging graphics
Simplicity
Theologically accurate and rich course!
Short but rich lessons
Hands-on program

Cons of the Generations with Vision Curriculum

Very biblical and theologically focused, which won’t suit all families (also a pro, depending on how you look at it)
Quite rigorous, which won’t suit all children (also a pro )
Very literature heavy (also a pro)
Hard to figure out the Generations educational method…maybe it is its own ‘thing’

What Denomination is Generations Closest To?

Two Generations curriculum reviews said this program is probably one of the best Calvinist homeschool curriculum programs they’ve seen.

This is consistent with Kevin Swanson’s perspective (he’s the pastor of ‘Reformation Church’ in Colorado.

It is a very reformed Christian denominational perspective.

Although I’m pretty sure, Kevin Swanson would just say this is a biblical homeschool curriculum.

Generations Kevin Swanson

Generations is a ministry program by Kevin Swanson to pass on the Christian faith of parents to their children through discipling kids.

It started with his radio program podcast. Since then, it has expanded to include the Generations Kevin Swanson curriculum, which includes some of Swanson’s books.

Kevin Swanson’s Three Books

Kevin has also written three popular books about disciplining your children:

I’ve personally read Kevin’s books, and they’re very engaging.

How Much Does Generations Homeschool Curriculum Cost?

Generations Homeschool Curriculum offers a mailable homeschool program at an impressively affordable price range.

They start from $150 and go up to $250 for the most expensive option.

I got my third-grade one (excluding math) for around $150. That makes it the most affordable boxed program I’ve ever purchased.

As of 26th April, 2024 prices are:

Full Grade 1 Package – $572
- Basic Grade 1 Package (without Math) – $510
Grade 5 Progran (no Math currently) – $355
12th Grade (no Math currently) – $381

This program always gets really amazing reviews and has taken the homeschool world by storm!

Five star reviews of their Grade 5 program — Generations curriculum gets glowing homeschool reviews wherever I see it mentioned!

Affordability of Generations

Considering that the curriculum is delivered by mail, this cost is exceptionally low, especially compared to other homeschooling options.

Despite its affordability, Generations maintains excellent quality, making it a remarkable choice for homeschooling families.

The price tag is incredibly budget-friendly, and for a mailable program, it is undeniably a fantastic bargain.

How Much Parental Involvement Is Needed?

If you think you’ll have to sit by your kids for hours every day with this program, you’d be wrong.

Your involvement as a parent can be flexible.

Sure, younger children may need more time and help from parents.

However, the curriculum is made for multi-grade teaching, reducing the overall time commitment of parents.

As they grow older, children can take on more of the curriculum independently (without you reading it to them).

This saves parents time and helps develop their children’s independent learning skills.

Kids can check their own work with the provided answer keys.

That said…

Parent involvement is strongly encouraged.

This is for a number of reasons:

to guide children in how to think critically,
ask relevant questions,
seek wisdom from God, and
discern ideas based on Scripture.

Having parents involved goes along with what God teaches us is important in Deuteronomy 6:7.

Can I Use Generations Homeschool Curriculum for Multiple Ages?

Yes, you can easily use Generations homeschool curriculum for multiple ages.

If you have a child in Grade 2, you can teach them with a curriculum for a few years older or younger (depending on the child[ren]).

This approach particularly benefits families with multiple children because they can teach them simultaneously.

Parents can also customize the learning experience for each student based on each child’s needs and abilities.

While some subjects might be taught together, others can be tailored to meet the specific requirements of each age group.

What Course Do I Choose if Teaching Multiple Grades?

Choose a course that is advanced enough to keep your oldest children engaged.

If you read aloud, younger children can still benefit from the material.

The curriculum store offers PDF samples of each course, allowing you to determine the difficulty level and find the best fit for your multi-age homeschooling needs.

Does the Generations Curriculum Come with Exams or Testing?

No, Generations Homeschool Curriculum does not include traditional exams or testing.

But, they have a good reason for it.

The curriculum focuses on mastery-based learning and real-world application. It only uses:

assignments,
projects, and
hands-on activities for assessment.

The curriculum creators encourage parents to review their child’s work and provide feedback to gauge progress and understanding.

This does a better job of fostering critical thinking skills rather than relying on standardized testing.

When I teach my children, I like to do a lot of testing through narration. I get the children to tell me what they’ve learned in their own words. This could be a good option for you if you’re using this program too.

Updates and Revisions to the Generations Curriculum

Generations homeschool curriculum likes to make lots of updates.

This is especially important because they’re a new curriculum receiving feedback as they go.

For their Literature curriculum, they typically make yearly updates as needed.

These updates are incremental improvements, which may include adding new assignments or addressing minor issues like typos.

Other Curriculum Programs vs Generations

Generations is sometimes compared with other homeschool programs.

Here are a few programs they tend to be compared to often.

Masterbooks vs Generations

Both curricula are very solid in a reformed biblical worldview.

Both have a very strong focus on teaching character.

Masterbooks seems to be eclectic, with more of a focus on an easy Charlotte Mason homeschool approach.

Generations don’t claim to follow any education method but rather a Biblical method.

But Generations seems to be a very literature-based homeschool curriculum.

Masterbooks is also very much based on literature and will have a lot of overlap with Generations.

However, Masterbooks sounds less rigorous, while Generations is more rigorous.

They both have short lessons.

Check out a Masterbooks review here.

BJU Press vs Generations

BJU Press and Generations are both solid conservative homeschool curriculum programs.

BJU Press tends to be more traditional, while Generations seems a little more eclectic, focusing on teaching through literature, especially biblical texts and the Bible.

Generations has no video lessons. BJU Press offers it for every subject.

Generations is more affordable; BJU Press is very affordable for video lessons and pretty close in price for some of the courses.

With Generations, you can teach all your kids simultaneously, while BJU Press is only for individual grades.

BJU Press has accredited and unaccredited options (essentially, it will be an online school).

The Generations program is unaccredited (as is all homeschool curriculum).

Generations strongly emphasize character training, which is quite heavily based on the Bible.

BJU Press also has a strong biblical worldview but less of a focus on character training specifically.

Check out a BJU Press curriculum review here.

Schoolhouse Teachers vs Generations

Generations offer a mailable curriculum with a biblical worldview, incorporating hands-on activities and real-world application.

It allows for multi-grade teaching and can be adapted for independent learning as children age.

Parental involvement is encouraged, emphasizing teaching children how to think and seek wisdom.

In contrast, Schoolhouse Teachers provides an online platform with a wide range of courses taught by experienced educators, covering various subjects and grade levels.

Everything you use from Schoolhouse needs to be printed or done online.

The online format offers self-paced learning and interactive content.

Generations focus on faith-based learning and active engagement, while Schoolhouse Teachers provide diversity in subject choices written by over 200 curriculum writers.

The choice between the two depends on individual preferences and the family’s learning style.

Both are affordable homeschool programs, although Schoolhouse is cheaper, especially if you need a curriculum for your whole family.

Schoolhouse Teachers also have much more content and many more (a HUGE range) electives.

Check out a review of the Schoolhouse Teachers curriculum review here.

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Conclusion on the Generations Curriculum

Over the last year, I’ve used Generations with my children. I love their focus on mission and incorporating the Bible into every facet of life! No other curriculum I’ve seen does this so thoroughly. Some parents might find this overwhelming. But, many of the solid Christian friends I have found this is exactly what they want and are looking for in a biblical homeschool curriculum. If you want something that’s gospel-centered, reformed, and something that encourages family discipleship, this is your program! God bless.