BEST Christian Homeschool Curriculum Packages Reviewed (2020)
Are you looking for the best homeschooling curriculum for Christians on the market today? Sorting through a mountain of curriculum reviews can feel like an impossible task for a new home educating parent. For this reason, I’ve begun compiling a list of the best Christian homeschooling curriculum programs available today. They include big names like Bob Jones University, Switched-on-Schoolhouse, and Schoolhouse Teachers. However, the list also contains some fantastic programs like KONOS, Easy-Peasy, and Classical Conversations which I believe are also worthy competitors.
As you go along, I’ll show you:
- the cost of each curriculum
- what homeschooling method the curriculum seems to use
- other similar curriculum packages
Bob Jones University (BJU)
Homeschooling Method: Traditional
The BJU curriculum has been around for many years and provides a homeschooling program that is extremely high quality. Christians love this program as it focuses on filling all its textbooks with a biblical worldview.
The curriculum gives parents two teaching options. They can teach the subject:
- themselves using a teacher’s manual or
- purchase a package where children are taught by BJU teachers online.
BJU is modelled after the traditional educational approach. This means parents purchase textbooks and children do their work at home (as they would in a school) with their parents (or BJU teachers) as their teachers.
After reading the forum reviews, it seemed like many new home educators were torn about whether they should purchase Abeka or BJU. It seems that these two programs are quite similar. The major difference I’ve seen is the cost and quality. BJU is more expensive but seems to be better quality.
Memoria Press (Classical Christian Homeschooling Curriculum)
Homeschooling Method: Classical
This curriculum is a great option for Christian parents who want to give their children a high standard of education.
Memoria Press^ is a classical program that can be mailed all over the world (as such, it’s also a great option for gifted children). A classical curriculum like Memoria Press allows homeschoolers to exercise their minds rigorously and challenges them using classical Christian methods.
What is a classical education? In a nutshell, students learn the trivium in the grammar, logic and rhetoric phases of classical education. This means homeschoolers will learn Latin, debating, logic, argumentation and a host of other things students learned 100 (or 2000) years ago.
Other classical curriculum packages that are similar to Memoria Press^ include Classical Conversations, Veritas Press, and Classical Academic Press.
Cost: 1st Grade is $335; 10th Grade 995; 12th Grade electives vary
Programs like this one: Veritas Press, Classical Conversations
Schoolhouse Teachers
Method: Traditional
Schoolhouse Teachers is one of the best Christian homeschooling curriculum providers for large families or children with varying interests. This curriculum offers ALL of its material for a single fee (either paid monthly, quarterly or annually).
This means if you have a large homeschooling family and you need to find curriculum for all of them, you can get this for ALL your children for $179 a year (on sale right now).
Apart from offering an incredible price, Schoolhouse Teachers also has an insanely huge collection of courses. This means that no matter your child’s interests, Schoolhouse Teachers will probably have a Christian version of the course.
Cost: $179-$224 per year for the whole family. ON SALE NOW
If you’re looking for a complete homeschooling curriculum package, Abeka is a good option. They’re extremely thorough with the content they cover and material reviews they set so children don’t forget the lessons they’ve just learned.
Compared to other programs, Abeka seems to be modelled after the traditional approach. This means you’ll be able to sit your children down with textbooks and ask them to do their set work for the day like a schoolteacher might. Usually, there’s minimal teaching required from parents and video tutorials are available.
The curriculum was originally made for Christian schools many years ago, so the material can seem repetitive for students who learned the lesson the first time. But, for those who benefit from repetition, this curriculum is a great choice.
You can read more about Abeka on their website here.
If you’d like to read opinions from parents who’ve used this curriculum before, check out this link: homeschool reviews forum for Abeka. I tried to track down other review forums for Abeka but found some were incredibly outdated (homeschoolreviews.com has the last post in 2006 for a lot of the curricula).
Programs like this one: BJU and Alpha Omega Publications like SOS
Cost: $959 for Grades 1-6; $1,219 for Grades 7-12.
Sonlight
Method: Hard to specify. Possibly Traditional/Charlotte Mason/Classical
Sonlight is another great Christian homeschool program that many of my friends use. It values reading and is a very literature-based curriculum. Many of the books are story-based living books that engage children thoroughly. Like Abeka, Sonlight is also a paper-based curriculum so it doesn’t offer a lot of opportunities for hands-on play or work. However, these elements can be incorporated after formal lessons are finished.
If you’re seriously considering Sonlight, you can try it for free by ‘requesting an invitation’ here.
If you’d like to read opinions from parents who’ve used this curriculum before, check out this link: homeschool reviews forum for Sonlight. There is also a Catholic Forums review here that you might find useful.
Cost: $718 for Grade 1; $1062 for Grade 12
Switched-On Schoolhouse (Alpha Omega Publishing)
Homeschooling Method: Traditional (online)
Switched-on Schoolhouse is an offline (USB-delivered) Christian home education curriculum that is produced by Alpha Omega Publications. It is one of the best (if not the best) computer-based Christian homeschooling curriculum packages on the market today.
SOS seems to be modelled after the traditional educational model, similar to that used in most modern schools. It is different from Abeka and BJU in that almost everything is done online. Tests are saved online and everything is recorded making for easy record keeping and good student-accountability logs.
However, if you are technologically challenged, you may have the occasional struggle with this program. Because everything is computer-based, you may find it a little difficult to set up if you struggle with technology. Thankfully, there is good technical support on hand to help.
Because the program is online, homeschoolers can leave notes for their parents and vice versa if they have questions about the material or want to leave a note to explain the work. If children get something wrong, they can go back over it, correct it, and rework their grade on the topic.
(As an important aside, some people think Alpha Omega is a Christian homeschooling curriculum, but they’re actually the publishers of various Christian curricula – some of which are used in Christian schools, and some of which are used in homeschools. Their publications for homeschools include SOS, Monarch, Horizons, and Lifepac, which appear to be similar versions of the same curriculum in different formats)
Monarch, Lifepac, and, Horizons are other Christian homeschooling curriculum programs that Alpha Omega Publications have produced. They are subscription-based, self-paced, and textbook options of the same basic curriculum.
If you’d like to read opinions from parents who’ve used this curriculum before, check out this link: homeschool reviews forum for SOS. You can also read an extended review of this program here.
Programs like this one: BJU and Abeka
Cost: $400-450 per Year (USB)
Accelerated Christian Education (ACE)
Method: Traditional but self-paced
Accelerated Christian Education (ACE or ACE paces) is another Christian homeschooling curriculum that’s been around for a long time. Students can study at their own ‘pace’ using this program, and this is what differentiates ACE from other programs. ACE Ministries said this about their program:
Students who are more skilled may progress at a faster rate or may accelerate in the areas of their academic strengths. Slower students are encouraged to do their best but are able to work at their levels of proficiency and proceed as they are capable.
This means children don’t study according to their grade level or age, but according to their understanding. As such, the word ‘accelerated’ does not mean the work is harder than any other homeschooling curriculum or you have to have gifted children to do it.
As far as home education styles go, ACE seems to be modelled after the traditional education model.
NOTE: Lighthouse Christian Academy (LCA) is the long-distance provider for Accelerated Christian Education (ACE).
If you’d like to read opinions from parents who’ve used this curriculum before, check out this link: homeschool reviews forum for Accelerated Christian Education.
Programs like this one: LifePac (by Alpha Omega Publishing)
Cost $400-770 for the whole family depending on the location.
Easy Peasy All-in-One (Free Christian Homeschooling Curriclum)
Method: Traditional
If you’re looking for an affordable Christian homeschooling curriculum, look no further. Easy Peasy All-in-One is a free online program for Grades K-12.
With huge Facebook groups in every country, Easy Peasy is probably the most loved free Christian home education program available today. Despite the fact that it’s free, it’s considered to be very good and is listed as one of Cathy Duffy’s 102 Picks.
According to Duffy, the curriculum is modelled after a Charlotte Mason and traditional education models.
Even though Easy Peasy is free, the author has done a lot of work to make the homeschooling curriculum high quality. For instance, Easy Peasy has PDF sheets which you can print if you want to work offline. The course is all linked to online resources, so you shouldn’t need additional materials.
On the downside, because it’s a free platform you don’t get deluxe help from email experts as you might with SOS, Abeka or BJU. But, you can use its FAQ page or Facebook group which is very active. Also, because you’re printing things out, instead of having them sent to you, this curriculum can cost a little bit in ink and paper. But otherwise, it’s completely free!
If you’re interested in looking at other free options, check out this link which outlines 10 of the best free home education curricula available today.
If you’d like to read opinions from parents who’ve used this curriculum before, check out this link: homeschool reviews forum for Accelerated Christian Education. My apologies as this link is quite old but all I could find as far as reviews are concerned. If you find a better one, please link it in the comments below.
Programs like this one: Ambleside Online. Check out these 10 Free curriculum options here.
Cost: Free
Classical Conversations
Method: Classical
Classical Conversations is a Christian curriculum modelled after the Classical education style. Like Veritas Press, this program is available to children of all ages. However, it is most often done in homeschool co-ops. While CC material can be sent to parents in any location, some parents who’d bought this course said some of the activities requiring group work get harder to do in isolation as children get older and need physical groups to do the material properly.
But, can you get CC if you live internationally? I was afraid you couldn’t get Classical Conversations if you lived outside of the US. But, I asked this question in their forum and got this reply:
You can definitely order curriculum off of our website! Also, we have several international communities. You can learn more about those by filling out the form here: [Link]
One parent in the forums also said parents don’t need a community/co-op in the early years anyway.
Here is a Christian homeschool reviews forum from The Homeschool Mom for Classical Conversations.
If you love classical education, but don’t feel CC is the right fit for your family, why not check out other classical homeschooling curricula at this link.
Programs like this one: Memoria Press and Veritas Press.
Cost: Roughly Foundations $450; Essentials – $420; Challenge Program $1,570.
Veritas Press
Method: Classical
If you want a Classical homeschooling curriculum, but don’t want to attend a co-op to get the benefits, you should consider Veritas Press. This program is a mailable curriculum modelled after the classical homeschooling method. It has great Christian content which children get, in large part, from the plethora of classical books they’ll read.
Veritas Press also produces the Phonics Museum, an online learn-to-read program that engages children to help them read using their attractive graphics. This is also a Christian program. You can read a review forum for Veritas Press here.
Programs like this one: Memoria Press and Classical Conversations.
Cost: 1st Grade $399-999; 12th Grade $1,349-1,649.
Simply Charlotte Mason
Method: Charlotte Mason
Simply Charlotte Mason (SCM) is a homeschooling curriculum styled after the Charlotte Mason method of education. The program is different from many other curricula in that it has very short lessons (a hallmark of CM education) and incorporates a lot of nature study and habit training. Because lessons are short, parents find this curriculum is great if they want a flexible homeschool lifestyle.
Living books (books that come alive to the reader as they use engaging narrative to teach concepts) are also used so children get exposure to reading plenty of books while their love of learning is fostered simultaneously. If you like the CM method, Simply Charlotte Mason is a good option to consider.
Like a lot of the curricula above, this program has large, active forums where parents can ask questions. You can read more review comments about this curriculum here.
Because so many home educators like the CM method, there are plenty of homeschooling curriculum packages that are modelled after this method which you can check out by following this link.
Programs like this one: Ambleside Online (free), Charlotte Mason in a Box
Cost: $100-600. Largely dependant on what is purchased or borrowed AND the number of children using the program.
Apologia Science
Method: Traditional? but written in a conversational style
When parents are looking for Christian homeschooling curriculum, often their highest concern is to get a program that promotes a biblical worldview in its science program.
Apologia Science specializes in doing this.
The program is created so Christian parents can confidently teach their children a creationist view of science. It has a strong emphasis on equipping students to answers questions about their faith and biblical beliefs around science.
For this reason, Apologia Science is one of the best Christian homeschooling curriculum programs you can find today.
Apologia offers textbooks for K-12 and online learning options through self-paced and live courses for Year 7 to 12.
Programs like this one: Answers in Genesis Science Curriculum
Cost: Varies $14+
My Father’s World
Method: Classical, Charlotte Mason, and Unit Studies
One of the best Christian homeschooling programs if you’re interested in a program that combines Classical and Charlotte Mason homeschooling methods. It also makes things fun by including Unit Studies, so children aren’t just sitting in their chairs all day.
Cost: 1st Grade $350-400 depending on packages; older grades vary depending on electives chosen.
KONOS (Unit Studies Christian Homeschooling Curriculum)
Method: Unit Studies
If you’ve got kids who love to move, KONOS might be a good fit for your family! It is a Christian curriculum that uses Unit Studies as it’s primary homeschooling method. This means it is a hands-on curriculum which engages children by teaching them through physical activities and tactile experiences. Because parents can teach all children in the family at the same time it’s a great homeschooling curriculum for large families.
Every month or two, children study a character trait (e.g. orderliness, obedience, honour, attentiveness, trust, honesty, wisdom, resourcefulness) in a unit. Simultaneously, students learn basic subjects like Math, English and the Bible.
The physical Unit folder is really a teacher’s manual with activities from Kinder to 8th Grade. This means that if you have multiple children in K-8th Grade, you can teach them all at once. This makes it an inexpensive curriculum option for families struggling on a single income.
Cost: $170 to $260.
Ambleside Online (Free Charlotte Mason Christian Homeschooling Curriculum)
Ambleside Online is a free curriculum that uses the Charlotte Mason homeschooling style. It is one of the best free Christian homeschooling curriculum packages on the market today.
The curriculum is a large collection of Charlotte Mason resources with links to PDF living books, many of which are free. The website also has access to Charlotte Mason books (such as Home Education^) that are free. These books are essential and guide educators in the CM homeschooling method.
Other Similar Programs: Mater Amabilis (Catholic free CM curriculum)
Other Christian Homeschooling Curriculum Programs and Packages
Although we’ve looked at 10 Christian homeschooling curriculum packages and programs, there are so many others you can check out if you want.
These include:
- Jubilee Christian College
- Living Books Curriculum – Charlotte Mason homeschool curriculum
- An Old Fashioned Education – Free
- Heart of Dakota
- Wayfarers by Ragamuffins
- Simply Homeschool
- Rod and Staff
- Lifepac, Horizons, and Monarch (Alpha Omega Publications)
- A Gentle Feast
- Queens Homeschool (Charlotte Mason in a Box)
- Living Books Curriculum
- My Homeschool
- Higher Up and Further In
- Puritans Christian Homeschool Curriculum
The following were earmarked by different people on forums as especially good curricula for teaching Bible study:
- The Weaver – Alpha Omega Publishing
- Christian Light Education
- Awana Homeschool
- Berean Homeschool Co-op
- Christian Liberty Press
What Makes the Best Christian Homeschool Curriculum?
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