• Clear and simple layout
• Very accessible reading level
• Can be easily completed independently
• Good for quick credit recovery

• Lower rigor, lacking challenge or depth
• Extra project required to earn "A" 
• Easy for students to copy answers

• Clearly scripted for teacher
• Free online resource materials and readers - newsletter, Facebook, and blog - to support the teacher. 
• Orton Gillingham methodology (intense phonics)

• Not a nationally recognized publishing company. 
• Readers are not always colorful.

• Orton Gillingham methodology (intense phonics)
• Colorful cards and tiles to use
• Touches on several learning styles: visual, auditory, & kinesthetic
• Clear layout and easy for teacher/parent to follow

• There are a lot of loose materials to keep track of
• Requires high parent input

• Students can enroll anytime
• Instructors provide great feedback and regular check-ins with students
• Advisors can login and see the grades and progress of the students
• College classes/credits available in the same format as MS/HS 
• Can be worked through fairly quickly 
• English curriculum is portfolio-style

• Final usually taken on site
• Easy to fall behind
• Classes are not currently NCAA approved
• Cost varies depending on what style of course is taken

• Works well for individuals with dyslexia. 
• Definitely helps students learn to read and build confidence
• Affordable through our curriculum resource center
• Orton-Gillingham curriculum, multi-sensory, direct, explicit, structured, and sequential 
• Same curriculum used at Read Write Alaska

• Needs to be taught consistently and in order. 
• Need to be used as a stand alone curriculum since supplements may be too confusing for students.
• Mastery of level before advancement (some may consider a disadvantage)

• Theme-based, so the literature you are reading for LA is what you are learning in Social Studies. 
• Uses a rich variety of literature rather than one textbook.
• Instructors provide great feedback and regular check-ins with students
• Uses levels based on age range instead of a grade, so siblings within three years of age may be able to use one program. 
• Math and Language Arts can be customized based on ability level. 

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• Very hands-on for the parent educator. 
• Takes some initial time and effort for the parent educator to learn about the implementation of the program and organize the materials. 

• Scoped and sequenced across grades 3 through 6
• Additional workbook for MS to HS
• Reproducibles
• Affordable  

• Can be overly repetitive
• Grammar is taken out of context, so the rules don't always transfer to writing

• Video lectures given by licensed educator
• Nicely organized with daily assignments
• Slows learners down by removing the option for skipping ahead
• Good internal options available for note-taking, closed captions, etc.

• Takes some initial effort to learn how to navigate
• Student can't skip ahead through videos or course sections

• Progresses in increments that are manageable for children to handle, walking them through the steps of the writing process and modeling the type of writing that is expected. 
• Builds writing skills in a logical way.     
• Topics are provided and students are led through all the steps of creating an essay.

• While most of the teaching is done for you via the videos, some parent interaction will be necessary, especially for younger children. 
• If parent is not providing regular grading and feedback, a student can get very far doing incorrect work.
• Presentation is on CD-rom. 

• Gives students a hands-on experience
• All materials needed are included in the box, so no need to track down anything else
• Organized across multiple grades so siblings can share if desired

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• Experiments seem quite basic at times
• The timeline for completion isn't very clear

• Colorful, visually appealing to children
• Common core standards align to state testing
• Progression of 'I do, we do, you do'
• Extension problems and reading/writing emphasis good for high-level readers

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• Lack of spiral review
• Unconventional teaching methods, which can be confusing for parents
• Often spends too much time on quickly mastered content
• Can be tough for struggling readers/writers
• Lacks the online component usually available
• Certain skills may need to be supplemented with additional learning activities.

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• Does not require high levels of home educator supervision.
• Offers multiple opportunities for practice and repetition. 
• Numerous multi-sensory resources to support the program: music, hands-on materials, online support, and exceptional teacher's guide. 

• There is no instructional component 
• Up through first grade, students learn to print on double-line pages. This approach differs from the traditional triple-line format normally used. 

• A traditional Math Curriculum (not common core) that comes with lots of hands-on materials
• All instruction is provided through one-on-one teacher instruction, demonstrations, and hands-on activities
• Applies the philosophies of repetition and review until mastery
• Designed specifically for home educators

• Students can become overly reliant on workbook assistance.
• Parents may need to use discretion to "skip" some practice and review if a student already knows it 

• Comprehensive and engaging video instruction provided by a highly-qualified writing teacher.  
• Lessons incrementally build language skills so that students will have learned to write compositions of many different styles and lengths by the end of the 24 week course.
• Lesson plans are easy to follow and implement.
• Multiple ages can share one program (i.e. 3rd-5th grade, 6th-8th grade, 9th-12th grade).

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• While most of the teaching is done for you via the videos, some parent interaction will be necessary, especially for younger children.

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• Highly structured and well organized with lesson plans and matching syllabus.
• Comes with a daily assignment and clear expectations, that make it easy to follow for students and parents. 
• Encompasses traditional types of reading/writing similar to what you would find in a traditional classroom setting.  
• Students answer open-ended questions, so there is no guessing when it comes to daily work.  

• Can be a large amount of work
• Typically requires more parent oversight
• Instruction in various forms of writing is lacking.

• Clear and explicit instructions for both student and parent educator. There is a well-organized 36 week pacing guide. 
• Great literary selections carefully chosen to provide exposure to a number of genres
• The curriculum author did a good job of building composition skills using literature as a springboard
• Some choice in novels and writing assignments, so students have a greater feeling of creativity and control. 

• There are writing assignments with some instruction, but it does not provide the highest level of explicit instruction in the writing process if a student requires this guidance. 
• This might not be the right choice for someone who feels intimidated by reading. 

• Focuses on one math concept at a time
• Easy for parents to use
• Hands on, manipulatives-based curriculum

• Expensive
• A student almost needs to use this from K-8 in order to be successful as it is tough to jump into part way. 

• Highly structured
• Gives regular progress updates and specific feedback
• Follows semester schedule of 18 weeks but students can begin anytime
• College prep rigor

• Requires password and proctoring for exams 
• Expensive
• Student must be motivated to complete in the available time period. 
• May be too rigorous for some students

• Literature (reading) focused approach to English
• Engaging and culturally classic book titles. 
• Student/Parent choice of book.      
• Study guide is easy to follow and covers the main concepts of literature.            
• Some creative projects within the guide.

• Requires further components to meet English requirements since the focus is literature (reading) 
• There are some "discussion" questions that can be difficult if the parent is not familiar with the novel.

• Clearly organized
• Can bridge MAP scores to personalized coursework
• Can be worked through independently for a motivated student
• Middle School parents have grading autonomy

• Reading heavy
• Projects can be overbearing at times

• Used to catch students up at an accelerated pace who are behind in reading.  
• Level A sets a strong foundation for Kindergarten readers and Level B for 1st grade, but after that it should be used in conjunction with another curriculum. 

• Made for classrooms instead of Homeschooling, so the initial cost can be higher

• Short video lectures by different teachers
• Parents can easily monitor student progress
• Students must earn 70% to proceed - remedial videos are offered if student does not earn passing score

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• Not many questions to answer at the end of each section, so it is possible for students to guess and still get a passing score
• Not enough review, so students may forget concepts

• Well organized into weekly, easy to follow lessons. 
• Visual and engaging for the learner, and the reading content appears less intimidating for struggling readers.
• Fairly comprehensive in skills for both reading and writing. 
• Many opportunities for practice and spiral review. 

• The amount of paper packets and worksheets can be overwhelming 
• Lacking solid phonics and phonemic awareness practice. 
• Missing a kindergarten component. 

• Designed for deep understanding of concepts
• Lesson plan and pacing guide is well designed and easy to follow
• Each lesson builds on previous taught skills and strategies
• Lessons provide learning tasks that put math "into action"
• Think-Share-Compare routine
• Digital Toolbox offers Interactive Learning Tutorials and videos, tests, quizzes, and extension lessons for remediation and/ or enrichment

• Think-Share-Compare structure is heavily focused on math conversations (typically found within larger classroom environment)
• The digital Teacher Toolbox (i-Ready) is a separate and necessary online subscription
• Tests and quizzes need to be printed from the Teacher Toolbox

• Tried-and-true familiar approach to math for many parents, often making it easier for parental guidance.
• Incorporates exact discussion for each new concept and scaffolds lessons. 
• Includes hands-on materials (math manipulatives) than can be used from kindergarten to third grade. 
• Worksheets for each lesson have both a side A and B for immediate remediation, with assessments every 5 lessons.
• Students practice skills daily, and concepts are revisited routinely with incremental complexity added each time.
• Adequate examples and explanations provided. 

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• Not as engaging or colorful as some other options 

• Easy to use.
• The sequence is exceptionally well crafted, based on Orton-Gillingham.
• Mastery checks before moving on.
• Systematically teaches both reading and spelling.

• Leveled readers are extra, little guidance is given for choosing books on your own.
• Profoundly dyslexic or dysgraphic children might be better served by Barton or Lindamood-Bell.

• A Math curriculum that will not feel foreign to parents 
• Lessons are presented with audio and visual input. 
• The curriculum and expectations are easy to follow. 
• Automatic grading
• Parents can reset lessons and quizzes for students. 
• Easy-to-understand instructional videos are included. 
• Affordable.
• Fully online options available

• The titled grade level can lag behind the actual grade (i.e. Math 7 is more accurately at a 5/6th grade level) 
• Easy for students to cheat
• Algebra and higher covers concepts similar to a typical math class, but it is a bit light on the topics and rigor. 
• There are no scheduled due dates, and overall grade is not calculated by the program.  

• Engaging video presentations, term definitions, and whiteboards to to show what the speaker is talking about 
• Easy to follow for parents and students with automatic grading
• Includes additional resources such as printable practice worksheets and notes. 
• Students can redo lessons and practice quizzes as many times as needed without the need for an advisor or teacher to reset.  
• Practice activities are not overwhelming; most lessons have 12-15 questions.

• All online; no teacher to ask to clarification
• The program is a little clunky to navigate; students must go to different areas for lessons, tests, and grades.  
• There are no scheduled due dates, but there is a printable lesson guide to help parents assign due dates.  
• Overall grade is not calculated by the program and must be calculated by parent or advisor.

• A lesson plan can be created with due dates for assignments.
• There is a small bank of questions for quizzes/tests, so new questions are used on second attempt.
• Easy for a parent to follow

• Not very rigorous 
• It uses Compass Learning/Odyssey, so a student can receive the same course without cost from MSCS (if he is using it for intervention).
• It might not be possible to return to lessons if "sequential" is selected.
• Can't bridge in MAP results.

• Students have a writing coach that provides personalized feedback and guidance on writing.  
• The writing assignments are high-interest and allow for student choice.  
• Feedback from coaches is positive, constructive, and encouraging.   

• Not a stand-alone curriculum for English unless students use the Writing & Lit. combo course.  The writing courses need to be paired with a literature source. 
• It is responsive to student needs rather than proactive about what they should learn.
• It is expensive.  

Our philosphy is relaxed, with lots of nature. Our children have always followed their own interests in learning about the world. Sometimes our days are lazy, snuggled up reading books; sometimes our days are busy, filled with lots of lessons, heading to museums, hiking in local parks, or exploring our city.

Unlikely sufficient as a stand-alone course. You will likely want to buy or DIY specific materials to go along with this course, as Montessori is a hands-on approach to learning. Most homeschoolers also use a variety of resources, most of which can be found online or at your local library. If you prefer a little more explicit direction, consider joining us in Constellation for monthly themes, where we provide full lesson plans and printable materials.

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• 1 year access to videos and solution bank
• Videos are 15-20 min long.  The teacher is a little goofy in a good way, and very good at explaining (and re-explaining) slowly.
• Every practice and test problem is worked out on video so students can see process
• comes with 
  • consumable textbook that has notes page and assignment page
  • solutions manual with problems worked out step by step
  • Parent guide with pacing guide, grading suggestions and grade recording pages
• Chapter tests have form A and B 

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• Extremely rigorous

• Extremely rigorous 

• Very well organized and clear, with proven results 
• Certain courses (e.g. Civics) could potentially work as a complete high school credit with advisor-approval. 

• Created intentionally as a supplement to core classes and not a replacement.