I've have been looking at some new curriculum over the last couple of weeks and the more I look the more I like it!  It is British and links to the National Curriculum.  It is also Christian.  Janice Ross,  who has developed this curriculum has many years of experience in teaching and has a desire to write Christian curriculum for those involved in homeshooling or for Christian schools.

She started writing the topic packs after contact with some homeschooling families who wished to work together.  Their children were aged 5-8 and with these packs it was possible for each child to learn something at their own level whilst studying a topic altogether.  Each idea in each topic has 3 to 5 activities suggested so that, depending on the child's age and interest, a parent can choose appropriate activities and how many they wish to do. She comments, ' I find that a topic approach is brilliant for skill development as it works across subject areas and gives loads of opportunities for investigative study. '

At the moment there are 5 topics packs available.  Family, Fearfully and Wonderfully Made and All things bright and beautiful were written for 5-6 year olds.  Changes and Houses and Homes are aimed at 7-8 year olds.  It is expected that each topic would be covered in 6-10 weeks.

In each topic pack she gives a Christian rationale for the work, which clearly underpins each lesson.  She also lays out the specific aims and gives links to the Scottish 5-14 and the National Curriculum.  The topics cover a wide variety of subject areas including history, geography, science, technology and health.  There are also opportunities to develop maths skills, look at art, listen to music and develop P.E. skills according to which pack you choose.

They are intended to be a pick-up, ready to use plan of main teaching and learning activities and I would say they match up to that.  You are not told word-for-word what to say, but there is enough information to enable you to help your child learn.  There are additional resources required which are a necessity but a quick check on my local library website tells me that the majority of those books are available there.  There is an assumption that some Christian songs will be known and be used to reinforce ideas, however, they are not an essential part of any lesson.

There are many opportunities for 'going off on a tangent' too, for those of us who are more used to a less structured approach.  For instance, in Fearfully and Wonderfully Made  there is a small section about nursery rhymes, which could easily be developed into its own little topic, with discussing a wider variety of rhymes, learning how rhymes work, changing last lines to make new rhymes, illustrating rhymes etc. (Something which when my son was in school they managed to make last a full half-term!)  There is also a section about sheep, which just begs its own lap-book!

The author is Janice Ross and you can contact her  at schooloftheword@googlemail.com

The packs cost £25 for the teacher's book and £9 for the student's workbook, which can be photocopied if you are using the topic for more than one child within your family. 

If you are just starting out and concerned about what you should be teaching you will find these packs excellent.  If you want to keep in touch with National Curriculum guidelines they are also a very good resource and for the price, a good deal cheaper than other curriculum available.

These packs have been endorsed by Julia Morgan of the King's School Oxford who has highly recommended them, as has an Assistant Director of Education in Highland Region.  

Janice has also just finished a book of ten short stories for 5-7 year olds. Each story includes a range of activities to do across three days including designing and making, talking and listening, recording and comprehension. Friday is a Fun Day, Monday a Meaning Day and Thursday a Thinking Day.  I haven't seen this yet, but judging by the quality of the packs I have seen it will be well worth a look.

Sarah