There are a lot of brand new homeschoolers out there. Some of them are only in this because schools are closed and they’re locked up in their home with the kids. We’ll call those people quarantine schoolers. Another group has discovered the awesomeness that is homeschooling, and suddenly they need curriculum. I’ve tried lots of curriculum and Pathways2.0 language arts is great for a new homeschooler looking for a step by step.
(I received a free copy of Pathways2.0 from Kendall Hunt Publishing in exchange for my review, all opinions are still 100% my own)
What is Pathways2.0 Reading and Language Arts?
It’s an all-inclusive language arts curriculum for all of the different branches. It has writing, reading, spelling, grammar, and vocabulary.
It is designed with a bit of a unit study approach bringing in some history and some Bible study. There are several units per year, and I chose the Noah Webster unit. I’ve always been intrigued by the guy credited with creating the dictionary. Not to mention there are several amusing tall tales about his life.
But, that is a digression.
Here are the other 8th grade units:
- I Am Malala
- Phineas Gage
- Walking with God (Adventist Pioneers)
- Eric Liddell
- Case of the Monkeys that Fell from the Tree
- Personal Feelings Unit
- The Forbidden School House
- The Book of Luke
Some of these units anyone can easily use, and you can choose to take or leave the faith component. So if you’re somewhat agnostic on the whole religious thing, you can ignore that portion, but it is integrated through the curriculum.
Now, if you don’t want any religion in your homeschool curriculum, this is clearly not for you, stop reading here.
Also as a note, Walking with God unit covers early people in the Seventh Day Adventist denomination, so for some Christians that could be a sticking point. My college roommate was a Seventh Day Adventist, so I’m familiar with their beliefs and where we disagree and where we agree. I’d have no problems with that unit and actually think it could be really interesting to work through from a church history standpoint.
Still here? Good, let me tell you the cool parts about Pathways2.0
My favorite part of this was the vocabulary. It reminded me of a curriculum we used earlier that covered Latin and Greek roots, only it’s incorporated into the rest of your reading curriculum, instead of separate material.
This part reminded me of one of my favorite units my freshman year of high school, we went through vocabulary based off of Greek mythology.
Next thing? It has some great graphic organizers. I love me a good graphic organizer because I’m such a visual learner. This picture isn’t so much the graphic organizer, but a great writing exercise to reword a paragraph. I loved this as a writing assignment.
Who should use this language arts curriculum?
This is perfect for a new homeschooler who wants lots of support. You’re given a step by step, how much time to allow, and this is going to feel a lot like what they are used to at school. It will also let you know specifically each day what skills they are learning for the day.
If you’re worried about gaps in your homeschooling or your kids falling behind that information can give you peace of mind, and reassure you.
On that, this is also for someone who wants their homeschool to be similar to school at home. That’s my big thought when I looked through this, I mentally was going through my friends at co-op who would love this curriculum.
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