Ideal Curriculum

I was sent an e-product of Ideal Curriculum Level 1, Month 1 to review. Included were teacher’s manuals for literary lessons, math lessons, calendar lessons, and science lessons. Also included were print files, music files, and reading files.

LITERARY AND MATH LESSONS

The literary and math/calendar lessons are set up the same. The directions are straight-forward.

Each activity includes:

• Why This Lesson is Important
• Preparation
• Direct Teaching Lesson
• Practice Throughout the Day
• Student Workbook (when applicable)
• Weekly Assessment

SCIENCE

The science lessons are listed by day instead of by activity. Each day includes Preparation, Dialogical Reading, and an Activity. Each day also has a special emphasis such as the following. The non-obvious activities are explained in the teacher’s manual.

• Experimentation
• Shared Writing
• Art Activity
• Dramatic Play
• Story Sequencing
• Matching

OUR HOUSE

Already having a strong math and language arts program in place, those portions of the Ideal Curriculum did not appeal to me. This was especially true because it presents a different teaching philosophy than I have found is best for our family.

I see Ideal Curriculum being a good fit for someone who wants something simple that is all laid out for them. Unlike many boxed programs, the Ideal Curriculum covers a reasonable amount of material allowing the teacher and student not to be overwhelmed by everything that has to accomplish. It could be a good starting place for beginning homeschoolers. However, the price is quite high for material at this level, especially if you purchase the print option.

Monthly kit price: Download $30, Print $55. As you will see each month has its own theme.

One year (9 months) price: Download $240, Print $440

You can read other Crew families’ experiences here.

Disclosure:This product was provided to our family for free as members of the 2009-2010 Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew. No further compensation was received. Reviews and opinions expressed in this blog are my own.