In Greek, it means “at the heart.”
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 Epi Kardia curriculum by the company. 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.
Epi Kardia is a literature based Charlotte Mason approach to homeschooling. What does that mean? Well, Epi Kardia uses the Bible 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 Epi Kardia have broken down a structured learning plan for each grade. For example, if you choose the first set in the 1st Grade plan, you’re child will be learning about: The Ancients, Middle Ages, Renaissance & Reformation.
With each topic, the Bible along with a variety of other christian and non-christian (but approved by Epi Kardia) 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, Epi Kardia 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, English/Phonics, Arts) together in a wonderful education plan.
Quick Breakdown
The Pros-
- Teaches Bible, History/Reading, Science, English/Phonics, Arts (some programs similar to this one do not teach science)
- Included is a book list, complete with ISBN numbers
- The plans leave plenty of time for “projects”
- Costs about the same as its competitors’ programs ($250 for printed, $200 for CD)
- 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. Everything you need is not included in these plans (meaning, you’ll have to buy or borrow books from their book-lists).
- The website can be a little confusing (navigation and figuring out which package entails what).
Would I use it?
Yes, yes I would.
Learn More:
To learn more, you can visit their website, check out their scope and sequence, or view a sample.
Written by Ashley. Find more of Ashley’s writings and reflections on motherhood, marriage and life on her blog.
I am looking at this curriculum and am wondering if I need both the “daily lesson plans” and “complete curriculum”? I am loving what I see!!!
dawn
[email protected]
Great first post, Ashley!
Cindy – Thanks!
Dawn – I will try to explain this as well as I can… see if this helps!
The complete program can be used for three years, but do not include the daily lesson plans in history, science, language arts, etc. However, they provide the skills checklists and teach you how to create your own daily plans in those subjects. The Daily Lesson Plans actually provide daily plans in all subjects, including all discussion questions, for history, science, fine arts, and language arts [grammar, spelling, vocabulary, poetry, reading, etc. They also include detailed project directions and list up front all supplies needed.
So, I guess it would depend on how much time each homeschool classroom wanted to put into the planning. Both are really nice (and great time savers!) to have on hand!
Does that help?
—Ashley
Thanks for the great review, Ashley, and for the comment and question, Dawn! I will add my two cents as well. 🙂 You do not have to buy both products. They are really designed for two different types of homeschool families. The Complete Programs were our first product (without the daily plans already made up) and they are best for moms who want to structure their day themselves, don’t want to be tied to someone else’s plans, prefer moving at their own pace, or want to select their own books based on our lists. In contrast, the Daily Lesson Plans take all the guess work and planning out of the hands of a mom who likes to follow a set schedule, wants to concentrate more on teaching than planning, or perhaps feels that she is not going to cover enough without a specific plan to follow. In the Daily Plans we include history and science discussion questions, narration prompts, activities, projects, grammar lessons (and teacher’s keys), spelling words, vocabulary, etc. Additionally, we provide weekly themes and objectives for the subjects our curricula covers: history, science, language arts and fine arts. Feel free to contact us with more questions! [email protected]. Thanks again!