I wanted to share with you some information about Calvert. I used Calvert when I first started, I used it for 5 years (1st grade - 5th grade), and we all enjoyed it. It was recommended to me by another mom who had been using it for many years, and actually she still uses it and her oldest is in college now ma sha Allah. I only stopped using it because I moved to CA and I suddenly had so many options, and I felt I had gained some experience and confidence, so I wanted to try some other things out there. (Did you know in many states K12 is not free, and there are no homeschooling charters either - so there's not much options for those outside of CA.)
Calvert Homeschooling Curriculum is a complete package of books, materials, and Lesson Manuals. It is in my opinion a very good option especially for beginner homeschoolers. There's a lot of curriculum out there and it can be confusing to know which to use but the main obstacle is organizing all the subjects and planning the lessons. Calvert has a lesson manual that is organized by day, with a check list at the top that even tells what books and what page numbers, and then it tells the standards that will be covered that day, and then it tells you what to say and do with the child, and how to make the lesson fun with interactive activities, and it has suggestions for supplements. So if you don't have experience teaching, this is a big help. It has some Montessori inspiration in the lessons there too for younger kids. There is a separate testing booklet that has unit tests in Math and LA (upper elementary has science and history as well), which the kids can take at the end of the month (each unit is supposed to take one month). This will help you see how the child is doing.
Here is CA, there are several ways to purchase Calvert:
1) Best Option: Direct: You can purchase their curriculum directly from their website (homeschool.calverteducation.
There is an option to purchase an Advisory Teaching Service - this is a teacher that will help you, and you will mail the unit tests to her and she will grade the tests and offer detailed feedback letter and advice and a letter to the child as well, and at the end of the year child will get a report card- it costs $600 more for the year, however monthly payment plans are available that would keep the total cost for curriculum and teaching service around $160 a month. If you are homeschooling independently and you are a new homeschooler, this would be a great option for you. I used to have it when I was in Boston, it is very helpful.
If you can afford this option, I recommend this option with the Teaching service, and file with CA as independent homeschooler.
2) Through a Charter School. If for some reason you cannot afford to buy it on your own, you can purchase their curriculum through your homeschooling charter - Ocean Grove or Connecting Waters or others. In that case you would not purchase the advisory service. Because with the charter school, you will have a teacher coming to your house (or wherever you want) around once a month to see the work and give feedback to you and your child. Also, you could ask your ES to check the resource center for Calvert program, I do know someone that found the entire First grade package there.
3) Ebay: It is rare to find a Full Calvert curriculum un-used on eBay, but once in a while there is a listing. It is usually at least half the cost. Sometimes you will find a used one but the workbooks are written on, in that case you could buy new workbooks from amazon or eBay, but not sure how much you would save. Also, keep in mind you can't get the Advisory teaching service through this way or the Calvert online resources. But If you are with a charter school, with this option you could use all your funds for tutoring, sports, art classes or science classes, and kits/supplies instead of spending most of it on curriculum.
It is true that the Calvert Math books are not as strong as some other programs. That is why they have changed their Math options. You can choose between their old Math or Math In Focus. Math In Focus is an improved version of Singapore Math (Like the original Singapore Primary Math series, Math in Focus is especially strong in developing conceptual understanding. It differs from the original Singapore series in that it is also aligned with the NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) standards) Or you can now choose to buy the curriculum without the Math. Then you can choose any Math out there that you want. (note: I have not tried Math in Focus, you can read Cathy Duffy review or homeschoolreviews.com or others, I used Calvert Math and for lower elementary it was enjoyable for the kids but for upper elementary it lacks enough review so there isn't enough mastery of each topic.)
If you choose to purchase through option 1 or 2, you will have access to Calvert Online Resources. The online resources are just supplements IF you need or want them. With this, each student is provided a My Calvert account. This personal, online resource center contains tools to enhance and reinforce your child’s education, such as Online Lesson Manuals, supplemental game-based activities, tutorials, and computer skills and applications lessons. In addition, your child will have access to the following resources:
Calvert’s i-Library - Grades preK-8 (dictionaries, encyclopedia, multimedia library, thesaurus, world atlas, astronomy portal)
Computer Skills and Applications - Grades K-8 (online class for computer skills)
Game-Based Math Practice - Grades K-5
Curriculum Checkpoints - Grades K-8 (optional lesson assessments, similar to K12)
Calvert Mastery Series: Online Spelling Program - Grades 3-7 (Spelling chapters begin with a pretest designed to gauge what words the student already knows. Based on the results of the pretest, the program provides variable instruction, customized to each student’s needs.)
e-Textbooks - Grades 1-8 (online versions of some of the textbooks, that includes online activities or support material or quizzes for each chapter. Students in Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Grade are able to access their e-textbook from anywhere, provided they have an Internet connection.)
Calvert Online Tutorials - Grades 6-8 (Calvert Online Tutorials are brief, topical videos embedded in the online version of the Calvert Lesson Manual. The tutorials are taught by a Calvert Instructor and feature dynamic presentations to explain concepts and help students with the retention of information.)
Here is an online overview of Calvert http://issuu.com/
If you would like to see the books and manuals, go to http://www.
Um Ibrahim
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