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Home School Video Curriculum

 Our family has used a home school video curriculum since we began homeschooling. I like to call our choice “A Beka Plus.” We use A Beka on DVD as our basic package. Then I add educational goodies to upgrade the educational experience to a “premium” level of study.

Here is a description of how our home school video curriculum typically works for us:

(As a side note, The 2005-06 school year was somewhat different from the past five years. My eleventh grader did not use the A Beka DVD curriculum entirely. I've discussed this fully in the Teachers' Lounge -- My home school blog. Check it out sometime.)

  • The video curriculum frees up some mom time. The video teacher covers the basics. I add the fun by using lots and lots of supplemental games, kits, labs, units, field trips, educational videos, etc. to enrich the experience (many of which are described on the pages of Christian-Parenting-Source).

  • There is a five-year gap between Sean (the oldest) and Sarah (the youngest). In addition Sean, Scott, and Sarah have different learning styles and interests. Therefore units aren’t practical as our primary curriculum. However, I use them a ton to supplement the videos. When we want to study a different aspect of science A Beka doesn’t cover, I’ll hunt for just the right unit. Or, I’ll create my own--complete with library books, educational videos, field trips, and experiments.

  • The video curriculum allows me to utilize experts in various fields where I'm not an expert (such as foreign language). See the Home School Spanish page for more discussion on this point.

  • The home school video curriculum provides flexibility. We take a lot of road trips because two of the children are involved in competitive sports. If we’re gone longer than a weekend, we pack books, DVDs, and laptops to keep on track with school.

Would you like to see an A beka DVD demo? Go to www.abekaacademy.org

There has been an explosion of video curriculum opportunities since we started down the home school trail. Here are our top picks:

Bob Jones Home Sat **Now on DVD**

A few years ago I came very close to switching to this program. I loved how the home school video curriculum classes were presented. BJ has specifically designed their program for the visual medium. This is not just a camera in a static classroom. It’s very creative. I just couldn’t handle the time involved in taping classes from a satellite feed. Now, however, BJ’s curriculum is available on DVD making this video program an extremely appealing prospect. For more information on his home school video curriculum, go to www.homesat.com.

Standard Deviants (Cerebellum)

These excellent resources can be purchased from amazon.com.

www.homevideomusiclessons.com

 This site offers 2-hr videos (VHS) that teach the fundamentals of music for beginners.

The Homeschool Lending Library

 For mere pennies a day, you can join this library and borrow a whole range of materials including many great videos. There are videos on Geography, Science (Incredible Creatures that defy Evolution), and Bible Heroes (Nest Videos) for example. They also offer games, audio books, felts, and other resource materials for your home school video curriculum needs.

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Dish Family

 Dish network offers a family-friendly programming package now. They've eliminated the crude music channels as well as other offensive channels. And, this program is available for a very reasonable price. Great news isn't it?!

Or, if you choose to go with the full dish package (because you want those extra sports channels for example) TVGuardian can clean up the shows offered on TV.

TV Guardian

TV Guardian For more information or to buy TVGuardian go to Family Christian Stores.com

Chalk Dust Company

Math videos are provided by this company. There are elementary programs as well as advanced math (for junior high and high school) videos available. One advantage offered by Chalk Dust is technical support directly from the video teacher if you need it. The SAT Review video package is on our wish list for this year's home school video curriculum. Go to www.chalkdust.com click on the home school video curriculum product of choice, and click View Demo to sneak a peak before you buy.

Portable DVD Players, TV’s with built-in DVD Players, and Laptops

With any home school video curriculum, you're going to need dvd players and other media. Purchasing laptops may sound expensive. Let’s put it into perspective. We bought our three laptops for less than what it would cost one child to attend a Christian school for one year (about $7,000 - $10,000 per year for tuition at the local private schools in our area). You could spend even less if you acquired DVD players (or TV’s with built in DVD players) instead of computers to use with your home school curriculum.

Here are some great home school video curriculum viewing choices: 24
24" FST PURE Flat-Tube TV/VCR/DVD Player Combo - Silver - MW24FP1

20
20" Flat-Tube TV/DVD/VCR Combo with Front A/V Jacks/MP3 Playback - Silver - 6720FDE

SpongeBob SquarePants 13
Emerson SpongeBob SquarePants 13" TV/DVD Combo - SB350

Best Buy Categories:

For Polaroid 7”, 8”, or 10” portable DVD players, and the Durabrand Car DVD player with two 6.2” screens, car kit and bag (from Walmart), click here: Portable DVD Players

Gateway Laptops:

Find links on all our pages of more great home school video curriculum recommendations!

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