LOST
07-19-2007, 07:57 PM
Name of curriculum: Living Books Curriculum™
Common abbreviation: LBC
Optimal age of students: Foundation Year (Kindergarten) - Grade Six (grades 7-8 coming soon ~May)
Type: Complete Curriculum
Educational Philosophy: Charlotte Mason (abbreviated CM)
Worldview: Judeo-Christian
Website: http://www.livingbookscurriculum.com (http://www.livingbookscurriculum.com/)
Review:
Living Books Curriculum provides the books and materials for each grade level for an academic year. The curriculum uses a literature-based, learn-by-doing approach based on the work of Charlotte Mason, with strong emphasis on the use of oral skills to enhance learning and literacy. LBC has a 36-week schoolyear, divided into four terms of nine weeks each. The first eight weeks of each term are for instruction; the ninth week provides flextime for finishing work and assesses learning through end-of-term narration questions.
This core curriculum has eleven areas of study: Bible, mathematics (scheduled only in Foundation Year), language arts (phonics/grammar & penmanship), science, nature study, art, picture study, music, American history, world history and geography. In addition they include the study of Latin from Grade Four onward and recommend second language instruction begin as soon as possible.
The approaches used for learning are reading classic literature, storytelling, active involvement, time spent in the out-of-doors, using local materials and local knowledge, and creating a supportive atmosphere.
(Note that math is not included beyond the Foundation year.)
A quote from the website:
Living Books Curriculum offers homeschooling parents curriculum packages and materials based on the educational philosophy of Charlotte Mason. Using high-quality literature and real-life experiences, LBC emphasizes oral expression to promote literacy and learning.
Have you used this curriculum? no
Strengths:
one of the very few Charlotte Mason-type curricula-in-a-box
taking into account many of Charlotte Mason's methods and ideas: short lessons, living books, narration, classic literature, nature study, handicrafts, fine arts, music, etc.
wonderful booklists for living books, not textbooks
weekly planner inside a very thorough and expansive teaching guide
teaching guides and all books can be purchased individually or in a complete package
60 day, 100% refund policy on all books and materials (less shipping)
Living Books Curriculum profits go to support Worldwide Educational Resources www.educationinabox.com (http://www.educationinabox.com/), which ensures educating children in developing nations, using the Living Books idea.
online catalog with author's name for books used are listed along with the option to purchase (helpful for those who use library books)
online payment options include PAYPAL, VISA, AMEX, Mastercard, Discover or partial payment plan. Otherwise they accept check or money order by mail.
they have added forums to their website
Weaknesses:
currently they only have teaching guides available for foundation year through grade six. Grades 7 - 8 are scheduled to be completed this year/
not as well known, so not as much discussion among users (they have just added forums so this may change)
not displayed at any curriculum fairs outside of Michigan (their homebase). They are considering displays at the Texas and California conferences for next year.
more expensive than most other "complete" curricula. But most other curricula usually don't include music, art, penmanship, or science in their base packages.
Comments:
A very helpful and unusual resource for Michigan homeschoolers is LBC's curriculum specific for Michigan History from prehistory to present. They have a wonderful selection of literature to aid in the study of Michigan's past along with a LBC exclusive teaching guide.
LBC also offers a teaching guide to the Middle Ages designed for multi-age (9 and up) and multi-grade. And most recently LBC offers a teaching guide for astronomy (multi-grade; 3rd and up) with additional books available for use with the teaching guide.
Also they have a very nice monthly e-newsletter, Parent's Journal, which can be emailed directly to you or also be accessed through the main website along with past issues.
Future publishing schedule (from website)
Grade Seven - 2009 (mid-May)
Grade Eight - 2009 (mid-May)
In conclusion, I haven't personally used or known anyone who has used this curriculum. I did attend a seminar last year at a Michigan homeschool conference presented by the developer of this curriculum, Shelia Carroll. The room was packed and she did an excellent job in giving an overview of the Charlotte Mason approach to learning. After the seminar we were allowed to get hands-on with every item LBC currently carried. The teaching manuals were easily 200 pages each with week-by-week schedules, recommended reading lists for further studies, end-of-term narration questions, supplies list and articles. I would encourage anyone interested in this type of curriculum to visit the LBC website and explore. The website in itself is a great resource.
FTC Disclosure: PLEASE NOTE: This is a “For Profit” site. The Library makes commissions on products sold through affiliate and advertiser links. The products reviewed here may or may not have an affiliate link (most don’t), but we want you to be aware that it is a possibility. Whether this affiliation affects the objectivity of the reviews here is debatable. We don’t think it does, but that’s up to you to decide. If you want to know about a specific product, please feel free to ask. For a full list of current affiliates, check out the Affiliate Forum.
Common abbreviation: LBC
Optimal age of students: Foundation Year (Kindergarten) - Grade Six (grades 7-8 coming soon ~May)
Type: Complete Curriculum
Educational Philosophy: Charlotte Mason (abbreviated CM)
Worldview: Judeo-Christian
Website: http://www.livingbookscurriculum.com (http://www.livingbookscurriculum.com/)
Review:
Living Books Curriculum provides the books and materials for each grade level for an academic year. The curriculum uses a literature-based, learn-by-doing approach based on the work of Charlotte Mason, with strong emphasis on the use of oral skills to enhance learning and literacy. LBC has a 36-week schoolyear, divided into four terms of nine weeks each. The first eight weeks of each term are for instruction; the ninth week provides flextime for finishing work and assesses learning through end-of-term narration questions.
This core curriculum has eleven areas of study: Bible, mathematics (scheduled only in Foundation Year), language arts (phonics/grammar & penmanship), science, nature study, art, picture study, music, American history, world history and geography. In addition they include the study of Latin from Grade Four onward and recommend second language instruction begin as soon as possible.
The approaches used for learning are reading classic literature, storytelling, active involvement, time spent in the out-of-doors, using local materials and local knowledge, and creating a supportive atmosphere.
(Note that math is not included beyond the Foundation year.)
A quote from the website:
Living Books Curriculum offers homeschooling parents curriculum packages and materials based on the educational philosophy of Charlotte Mason. Using high-quality literature and real-life experiences, LBC emphasizes oral expression to promote literacy and learning.
Have you used this curriculum? no
Strengths:
one of the very few Charlotte Mason-type curricula-in-a-box
taking into account many of Charlotte Mason's methods and ideas: short lessons, living books, narration, classic literature, nature study, handicrafts, fine arts, music, etc.
wonderful booklists for living books, not textbooks
weekly planner inside a very thorough and expansive teaching guide
teaching guides and all books can be purchased individually or in a complete package
60 day, 100% refund policy on all books and materials (less shipping)
Living Books Curriculum profits go to support Worldwide Educational Resources www.educationinabox.com (http://www.educationinabox.com/), which ensures educating children in developing nations, using the Living Books idea.
online catalog with author's name for books used are listed along with the option to purchase (helpful for those who use library books)
online payment options include PAYPAL, VISA, AMEX, Mastercard, Discover or partial payment plan. Otherwise they accept check or money order by mail.
they have added forums to their website
Weaknesses:
currently they only have teaching guides available for foundation year through grade six. Grades 7 - 8 are scheduled to be completed this year/
not as well known, so not as much discussion among users (they have just added forums so this may change)
not displayed at any curriculum fairs outside of Michigan (their homebase). They are considering displays at the Texas and California conferences for next year.
more expensive than most other "complete" curricula. But most other curricula usually don't include music, art, penmanship, or science in their base packages.
Comments:
A very helpful and unusual resource for Michigan homeschoolers is LBC's curriculum specific for Michigan History from prehistory to present. They have a wonderful selection of literature to aid in the study of Michigan's past along with a LBC exclusive teaching guide.
LBC also offers a teaching guide to the Middle Ages designed for multi-age (9 and up) and multi-grade. And most recently LBC offers a teaching guide for astronomy (multi-grade; 3rd and up) with additional books available for use with the teaching guide.
Also they have a very nice monthly e-newsletter, Parent's Journal, which can be emailed directly to you or also be accessed through the main website along with past issues.
Future publishing schedule (from website)
Grade Seven - 2009 (mid-May)
Grade Eight - 2009 (mid-May)
In conclusion, I haven't personally used or known anyone who has used this curriculum. I did attend a seminar last year at a Michigan homeschool conference presented by the developer of this curriculum, Shelia Carroll. The room was packed and she did an excellent job in giving an overview of the Charlotte Mason approach to learning. After the seminar we were allowed to get hands-on with every item LBC currently carried. The teaching manuals were easily 200 pages each with week-by-week schedules, recommended reading lists for further studies, end-of-term narration questions, supplies list and articles. I would encourage anyone interested in this type of curriculum to visit the LBC website and explore. The website in itself is a great resource.
FTC Disclosure: PLEASE NOTE: This is a “For Profit” site. The Library makes commissions on products sold through affiliate and advertiser links. The products reviewed here may or may not have an affiliate link (most don’t), but we want you to be aware that it is a possibility. Whether this affiliation affects the objectivity of the reviews here is debatable. We don’t think it does, but that’s up to you to decide. If you want to know about a specific product, please feel free to ask. For a full list of current affiliates, check out the Affiliate Forum.