Train up a Child Publishing

Looking for a Bible based Charlotte Mason style curriculum for homeschool? Then Train up a Child Publishing may be just what you are looking for!

Editor’s Note: This curriculum was reviewed under its original name of Epi Kardia but this updated post has the current company name, links, and images.

To me, this curriculum gets right to the heart of what we want homeschooling to be in our family – a Christ-centered relationship and discipleship between parents and their children.

My Family’s Story

I’m continuously searching for the “best” curriculum for our needs, which are ever-changing.  Unfortunately, my small town leaves a lot desired when it comes to curriculum availability.  And, because I’m an incredibly visual and hands-on person, it’s hard for me to commit to buying things that I can’t thumb through.

I was recently given the chance to take a sneak peak at the First Grade Daily Lesson Plans by Train up a Child Publishing.  It, along with a few others, had been bookmarked in my “check out later” file – so when the chance came along, I was giddy.  No lie.

Train up a Child Publishing

Train up a Child Publishing is a literature based Charlotte Mason approach to homeschooling. 

What does that mean? 

It means Train up a Child Publishing uses the Bible (and excellent children’s literature) to take your student through history.  But, wait.  If you think your student is just going to be memorizing passages, you are so wrong.  The folks at Train up a Child Publishing have broken down a structured learning plan for each grade, including history, science, language arts, and fine arts. You will start with Creation and end the year studying the Modern period.

With each topic, the Bible along with a variety of other Christian and non-Christian (but approved by the authors) books are used to help teach your child more about the subject he or she is supposed to be learning.  Because of it’s Charlotte Mason approach, Train up a Child Publishing also includes a lot of copy-work and handwriting exercises.  It’s so impressive to see how they’ve really brought a myriad of important subjects (Bible, History/Reading, Science, Language Arts, and Fine Arts) together in a wonderful education plan.

At Train up a Child Publishing, we believe that the foundation of homeschooling is Christ-centered mentoring and discipleship between parents and their children. With that foundation, our vision is to help you bring your children’s homeschooling education to life, while still balancing your daily responsibilities. 

Train up a Child Publishing provides a Charlotte Mason-inspired homeschool curriculum, written from a Biblical worldview. We use excellent children’s literature instead of dry textbooks to teach history, science, language arts, and fine arts. 

And why do we use “real books” instead of textbooks, you ask?

Let me ask you: What do you remember from your school days? Snippets from your textbooks? Or the stories you read? Stories about heroic men, women, and children who believed in something bigger than themselves. Who sacrificed for others. Who stood for something.

Those kinds of stories are the ones that make learning stick. And those are the kinds of stories you’ll find in our curricula.

~ from the Train up a Child Publishing website

Quick Breakdown of Train up a Child Publishing

The Pros-

• Teaches Bible, History/Reading, Science, Language Arts, and Fine Arts (some programs similar to this one do not include science).
• Included is a book list, complete with ISBN numbers, Reading divided up per day with narration prompts and discussion questions.
• Also included are lessons on poetry, grammar, and geography.
• The plans leave plenty of time for projects and assignments, which are included in the program, along with a weekly supply list.
• Costs about the same as its competitors’ programs ($250 for printed, $200 for digital download)
• Requires little planning as it’s all done for you!

The Cons-

• It’s a Charlotte Mason approach, so if your child doesn’t learn well with this method, it may not be right for them.  (Although, if you’ve never tried it, I’d recommend it!)
• It didn’t have quite as many projects as I’d like – I’m VERY hands on and project-oriented, as is my oldest.  But, this is easily remedied, and an extra project or two can be added to our schedule.  However, for those of you who aren’t insane about crafting and projects the way I am, they have the perfect amount.  Enough to teach a point without being overbearing for your schedule.
• You’re actually going to have to go to the library or amazon.com to get the books.  Not everything you need is included in these plans (meaning, you’ll have to buy or borrow books from their book-lists).

Would I use it?

Yes, yes I would.

Purchasing Train up a Child Publishing Curriculum

To learn more about their first grade daily lesson plans, you can visit the Train up a Child Publishing website.

Also check out a Sample Week Here.

More from Train up a Child Publishing

Looking for more? Check out these other Train up a Child Publishing Reviews here at The Curriculum Choice:

• Train up a Child Publishing Daily Lesson Plans Curriculum by Diana
• An Overview of Train up a Child Publishing by Heidi Ciravola

Originally posted July 2011 and written by Ashley.