How to Choose a Christian Homeschool Curriculum

Updated

A Christian homeschool curriculum is a planned set of teaching materials that presents every subject through a biblical worldview, not just an added Bible class. Choose one by first naming your family's beliefs and preferred teaching style, then matching a format — parent-led textbooks, video lessons, or digital — to your child's grade and your budget. Abeka, for example, has published Christian school and homeschool materials since 1972 and organizes its homeschool line around parent-led materials, video lessons, and digital options.

Start with your beliefs and teaching style

Before comparing brands, write down two things:

  • What you believe about the Bible and how it applies to learning. This decides whether a curriculum's worldview fits before you ever look at a sample page.
  • Who will do the teaching. Parent-led means you teach from teacher materials; video-based means a recorded teacher carries most of the instruction; traditional textbook means the child works through printed books with your oversight.

Abeka's homeschool section splits along these lines: a Parent Led overview, Student Materials, Parent Materials, Kits, and Video Lessons. That structure is a useful checklist even if you choose another publisher — any curriculum you consider should tell you clearly who teaches and what you receive.

Compare the main formats

Format What you get Best when
Full-grade kit All subjects for one grade in one purchase You want one decision per year and consistent pacing
Subject kit Materials for a single subject Your child is ahead or behind in one area only
Video lessons Recorded instruction, with sample lessons and teacher bios available You want an outside teacher but still homeschool
Digital Online materials instead of or alongside print You want less shelf space or easier reuse
Standardized testing Testing separate from daily materials You want an outside measure of progress

Abeka sells by grade (18–24 months through 12th grade) and by subject (arithmetic/math, Bible, electives, history/geography, language arts, science/health). If you are unsure, a subject kit for one weak area is a lower-risk first purchase than a full-grade kit.

Check whether it is truly Bible-based

A curriculum can include a Bible course and still treat history, science, and literature as neutral. Look for two things:

  1. Faith integrated across subjects, not confined to one Bible period.
  2. A stated approach you can read before buying. Abeka publishes its approach, subject distinctives, and what-we-believe pages, plus a Spiral Learning explanation of how it revisits and builds on topics.

Read the scope and sequence for your child's grade. It shows what is covered and in what order, which is how you catch gaps or a pace that is too fast or slow.

Match grade level and pacing

Use the scope and sequence as your placement tool. Compare it against what your child already knows rather than against their age alone. If the grade-level scope assumes skills your child has not mastered, step back a level in that subject; if it repeats what they know, move up in that subject only.

Abeka also offers standardized testing as a separate resource, which gives you an outside reference point for whether the pacing is working.

Work out the real cost

Add up everything a year requires, not just the main kit:

  • Full-grade kit or individual subject kits
  • Video lessons, if you use them — Abeka lists flexible video pricing, so the amount depends on which video option you pick
  • Digital materials
  • Standardized testing
  • Consumables you will need again for a second child

Before committing, use sample video lessons and teacher bios to judge whether the teaching style suits your child, and request a catalog or order forms to see current prices. Prices and login requirements are not stated in the source material, so confirm them on the site rather than assuming anything is free.

Get started without overbuying

  1. Pick one grade and one format.
  2. Order a sample or a single subject kit first if you are undecided.
  3. Download the scope and sequence and progress report forms so you can track coverage from week one.
  4. Set a weekly schedule that matches the curriculum's pacing.
  5. Review progress reports at the end of each term and adjust placement for the next term.

Abeka's getting-started-with-homeschooling resources and downloadable progress reports support steps 3 and 5. The most common mistake is buying a full-grade kit before confirming the teaching style fits — a sample lesson or one subject kit costs far less to get wrong.