# Multi age, non-Christian curriculum?



## Lindafisk (Nov 17, 2004)

Is there a curriculum for all age groups that isn't Christian based? Something similar to Weaver? I had one of the books once and it seemed to cover everything.
I have three kids 14,12 and 6 and it is so hard to keep up with everything I want to do! I feel like I spend a lot of time assigning and then checking answers and figuring out what to do next. We have been using a mixed curriculum, so that kinda makes it harder. Any suggestions? Thanks!


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## Cara (May 9, 2002)

I don't know of any unit study types that aren't, but do you get the Rainbow Resource catalog? It's Christian based, but they have almost everything...in fact it may have every curriculum out there. Hope you find what you need!


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## cindy-e (Feb 14, 2008)

I don't know of a non-Christian one. However, Tapestry of Grace could be used without Christian overtones if you wanted. You would just omit certain parts of it. It is a "Christian" curriculum, but a lot of the books that they use are NOT Christian, and you can pick them up from the library. You would probably omit some of the worksheets, as well as church history, and you would probably have to augment the philosophy selections in the older grades with some other points of view. You would have to pick out a secular history book to use as your spine, although for US history, one of the selections is "a history of US" and it is secular, and not at all from a conservative point of view. So there would be some planning work involved, but it could be done. 

Cindyc.


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## Lindafisk (Nov 17, 2004)

Sorry, didn't mean to drop this- got sick and have felt awful. Then last night I remembered! I do have the Rainbow Resource catalog and went thru it last night....I saw a couple of possible ones, I haven't heard of Tapestry of Grace but I will look it up...thanks!


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## ChasingDreams (Apr 8, 2006)

Winter Promise is a great company! It is a Christian company, but the Christian aspect is taught as bible - and could easily be left out.

winterpromise.com


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

As a certified teacher, I feel quite competent to create my own curriculum from basic scope & sequence charts (at the beginning of most texts they tell the skills/units the Xth grader will learn this year) and state standards. 
The curriculum is then designed to fit those parameters. 

I've run several multi-age classrooms in this manner with a good degree of success.


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## Cheryl in SD (Apr 22, 2005)

We use BiblioPlan for families with five K-7th grade. You can leave out the christian content easily (or add more in).


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## HorseGal (Aug 1, 2003)

Have you looked into Oak Meadow?


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## seedspreader (Oct 18, 2004)

k12 curriculum.

This one is specifically in the Fort Worth area, but you'll get an idea. http://www.k12.com/txva/

It's a virtual academy. We use it and love it. It's very structured (which we actually like, but some don't) and very much teaches by building basic principles.

You know, crazy things like teaching kids to actually add in their head, on paper, using flash cards, etc.

I believe it's available sans $$$ since you are a citizen of texas (we have school choice here in Ohio and they give us the curriculum, a computer, supplies, and they take the tax money associated with educating children in a public school vs. the public school taking it).

I don't know if you are looking for anything like that but there it is.


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## akhomesteader (Jan 5, 2006)

Have you looked into the Charlotte Mason method at all? When I first looked into it, I thought it was overwhelming. But after researching it a little, I think it's perfect for us. We've decided to go with *Ambleside Online* next year for our almost 6 year old. Ambleside is a literature based curriculum, but heavy on the history and nature study/science. One of my reasons for choosing it is that I think it will be very easy to use as my two younger boys get old enough to do "formal education". I didn't want to have everything separate for each of my three children. Plus, many (most, I think) of the books are free to download --- public domain. You can print them if you like, or purchase them. And the Ambleside curriculum is free. The site is loaded with great advice for using the program, and for homeschooling, in general. 

Your two older children are old enough to do most of the reading on their own. You'll probably have to do some read alouds for your 6 yo, but that's not very time consuming. Most parents read aloud a little even for the older ones. I think most parents only spend a couple of hours a day, total on homeschooling, even with multiple children. I've worked out a tentative schedule for us for next year, and I certainly can't see spending any more time than that, although it is a very rich, academic program. There are several Ambleside yahoo groups that are very helpful. The Ambleside website tends to make it look a bit confusing and time consuming, but once you really break it down, you'll see that it's very simple, especially for multiple children. 

Some of the books that are suggested are from a Christian perspective, but it's easy to find alternatives. There's a secular Charlotte Mason Yahoo group, and another yahoo group for Jewish families using Ambleside, Sonlight and other literature based programs. If you want links to any of the yahoo groups, I'll be glad to post some, or you can find a group by either going to the main website or by going to yahoo and looking for a group. 

Ambleside leaves it up to you to decide which phonics and math programs to use. I just learned about *Living Math*, which sounds perfect for my boys. It's not a "curriculum" so to speak, although you can purchase lesson plans for $20, which is cheap for what you get. Lots of families find it VERY easy to use with multiple children, which I think is one of the best things about it. The program teaches math through living books, activities, daily life, and games, which can be used for all ages. Some families don't use any other curriculum with it. Others do. Some use their other curriculum as just a supplement to Living Math, though. Someone gave me Math-U-See (the entire program except for the student workbooks), so I may get the workbook for next year, just as a security blanket for me, though. Oh, there's a wonderful Yahoo group for Living Math, too. Reading about it from parents who are using it is what really sold me on Living Math.

If you want to learn more from people who are using these programs, join the yahoo groups and ask questions or read replies to other parents who have joined and thinking about using the programs. Everyone has a different style. My boys are young and not reading on their own yet, but they LOVE being read to, and I thoroughly enjoy it. We also enjoy making up activities to go along with whatever we're doing. So, Ambleside Online looked perfect for us. We're using the Charlotte Mason approach now for Kindergarten, and loving it. 

Also, there's an Ambleside yahoo list that has weekly schedules for each year. When it was broken down like that, it made me realize that the program wasn't going to be near as time consuming and confusing as I had originally thought.

Oh, another Charlotte Mason site is *Simply Charlotte Mason* Her site is filled with wonderful information for implementing the Charlotte Mason approach. She also has schedule suggestions, and book recommendations. All can be used with multiple children very easily, just like the other programs. 

Best wishes,

Jenny
*Frontier Freedom*


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## AbbeyLehman (Jan 2, 2006)

http://www.oldfashionededucation.com

This is another one that is Christian-based, but that part can VERY easily be left out. I use the Christian parts mostly as character-building parts. Most of the books she suggests are also public domain, therefore free-to-use and -print, and many people have formatted them and reposted them for easy printing (myself included). It is a very heavily literature based program and is actually enjoyable for me, as well, especially with the homesteading bent I've already got  Plus, another big bonus is that it's FREE. I've only really used the K-1-2 stuff so far and cannot comment on possible supplements for later "grades."

We've been using CIMT MEP for math, but some people have expressed concern over the time involved with it when teaching at multiple levels, as it it very parent (teacher) intensive. There's links on the OFE site for it. 

OFE is laid out very well and gives week-by-week plans, but they can very easily be changed if you work faster or slower or want to change books.

Just more info for you 

AbbeyLehman


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

KONOS - again very simple to drop the Christian part. It focuses on different character traits which are not "religious" although they tie into religon very well. Things like honor, atentiveness, obedience, etc. KONOS focuses on activities and doing.


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