Book Packs Explained
What are Book Packs?
Book Packs are homeschooling curriculums that come as a set of books and papers that enable a student to learn all of the necessary material in a particular subject for a full year or semester for a particular grade. For the purpose of this website, Book Packs do not contain either DVD or online elements.
A parent orders a Book Pack curriculum from a homeschool distributor. When it arrives, it will likely include: student reading books, student workbooks, quizzes, tests, teacher’s manuals, and sometimes other supplimental materials. Book Packs also generally come with instructions for the parent as to how to teach the material. And, they sometimes come with a grade book or grade sheet.
With Book Packs, parents are expected to do all of the teaching of the child. Although student reading books may have passages for the student to read, it is still expected that the parent will be teaching the material, with the reading being supplemental.
Book Packs were the first official homeschool curriculums in existance, and have been around for many years. There are a host of different kinds of Book Pack curriculums on the market, which gives parents a wide selection to match a child’s learning skills with the style of learning, in addition to matching the content with the needs of the homeschooling family.
Parents do much of the teaching
With Book Packs the parents are solely responsible for grading assignments, issuing report cards, and making transcripts. It is also important that parents keep all student work so that there is a record of the child’s school experience.
Some families may mix-n-match Book Packs from a number of different companies for different subjects or different students. This allows parents to tailor the student’s curriculum for the best education possible.
In a typical Book Pack homeschool, one parent acts as a full time teacher, or both parents may share the task. The teacher writes lesson plans for each day, which includes the work in the Book Packs outlined for the day, plus the teacher may also add in extra things such as hands-on projects, field trips, or online videos to enchance the class. Book Packs generally come with an instruction manual for the teacher that tells him/her what to teach and how to teach it. The teaching parent reads these instructions in advance and takes them into account when making the lesson plans. Parents grade papers, give the child feedback, and record grades. Parents who use Book Packs generally keep a log of the days a child is present in class and a class diary that gives a summary of what was done in each class each day. Parents issue report cards to their students, and they make and keep transcripts. This step is very important because those transcripts will be needed for college, jobs, and possibly other things.
Some Book Pack companies offer a specialist to answer basic parent questions about how to teach the material. Others don’t. Regardless, it is up to the teaching parent to know the material and teach it in the best way possible for the child.
Parents don't have to be trained teachers
All this might sound overwhelming. But, although it is quite time-consuming and requires a high level of motivation and self-discipline on the part of the parent, it is also extremely rewarding. And, what’s more, it isn’t as hard as it sounds.
Remember that Instruction Manual we mentioned? Many of today’s best Book Packs take into consideration the fact that parents may not know all of the material they are attempting to teach their child. Therefore, these Instruction Manuals can be very “user friendly”, allowing parents to teach some of the toughest subjects, even if they have not learned the material in school previously themselves. It is not at all uncommon for a teaching parent to be learning something about a subject while they are teaching it to their child. But, if the parent is not an expert, does that mean the student isn’t getting as good of an education? Book Pack publishers have whittled homeschool down to a science. They know parents may not have all the answers. So, they provide them. Therefore, if a parent is motivated to homeschool their child this way, and they follow the curriculum, it is completely possible for a child to obtain a first-class education that is more academically rigorous than public school.
I remember my first day trying to teach my kindergartener how to read from a Book Pack. Terrified, I had no idea how this was going to work. But, we followed the manual, day after day. Pretty soon, she was not only reading but doing all sorts of things I had no idea how to do, that is, until we learned it together.
Although it is completely possible and acceptable to homeschool high schoolers fully with Book Packs, some families choose to supplement Book Packs with classes in academies or with online teaching, such as Abeka, for the harder subjects. This option takes some of the anxiety out of teaching classes that may be more advanced.
Book Packs can cost less than other options
Some of the more well-known Book Packs include: Abeka (which comes in DVD/Online Video and Academy versions also), LIFEPAC, Sonlight, Switched-On Schoolhouse, Rod & Staff, Horizons, and Saxon
Not surprisingly, Book Packs are the most economical means to homeschool, with many costing only a few hundred dollars per child per year.
Book Packs are extremely flexible. Parents are free to select start and stop dates, as long as they fill the legal requirements for homeschool. They can also select subjects and the content in those subjects, again, as long as they fill legal requirements. Parents can find a multiplicity of electives with Book Packs, particular if they mix-n-match publishers. Students can study anything from auto mechanics to home canning to computer programming to candle making, and almost everything in between.
Both parents and students who homeschool with Book Packs often cite the experience as being quite positive. The one-on-one instruction that comes from using Book Packs may help students excel beyond where they would have been if part of a large class instead. Additionally, this type of school experience often creates a strong bond for families. What’s more, schooling with Book Packs allows homeschooling families extreme flexibility in customizing the education directly to the child. But it isn’t for everyone. Parents have to have the time, motivation, and self-discipline to homeschool with Book Packs. Parents who do not feel comfortable with everything involved in homeschooling with Book Packs should look at DVD/Online Video or Academy homeschool.
Where to purchase book packs
Book Packs can be purchased from either the publisher of the materials or a distributor. We recommend that you check with both sources to find out where you can get the best deal.
You will find links to each of the Book Pack publishers in the photos on this page. Distributors are listed to the right.
Make sure you follow the links to our reviews of various Book Packs below.
Distributors
We highly recommend Christian Book Distributors. They can be found at www.christianbook.com
Follow the links for full reviews
Abeka
Lifepac
Rod & Staff
Saxton
Life of Fred
Horizon