Calvert School Review
by Marjie
(Pennsylvania)
Calvert School = Affordable Private Education
Daily guidance, comprehensive lessons and advisors on hand; Calvert home school curriculum provides relief for concerned parents who want to ensure educational success.
I've used the Calvert School curriculum for my two youngest sons from Kindergarten through 7th grade (we have not yet reached 8th grade). I started with my youngest, who was highly intelligent, but two months too young to be permitted to attend school, and then added his next older brother, who was then in third grade. I've used Calvert School for five school years, and find it to be a comprehensive course.
There are people who decry the "school in a box", however, I am relieved to know that with the Calvert course, I teach my boys everything they need to know. Obviously, I can choose to add more content, or expand what Calvert offers, as time permits.
Calvert provides a complete lesson manual, including a time schedule, broken down on a day by day basis. They also include suggested enrichment activities when appropriate, including, but not limited to: web sites to visit for more information, suggestions for small research projects and related art projects and related age appropriate reading material. As an example, my 7th grade son was reading about Peru in his Geography course yesterday, and the
art enrichment suggestion was to design a travel brochure for Peru, after looking at travel brochures which the parents might have around.
There are a lot of people who consider Calvert's curriculum quite expensive. However, I feel that under $1000 for all of the subject material, including lesson plans, is a very good value. I also spend the extra $300 per year per child for their Advisory Teaching Service. This enables me to send tests and specific papers to Calvert once a month for grading and feedback. Calvert also has education counselors available to help the parents, should we have any questions. I don't believe education is a place where any skimping on cost should occur - spend less money on frills like soda instead - because this is the basis for the rest of my child's life's successes.
I would urge anyone interested in a well designed, comprehensive curriculum to further investigate Calvert School's homeschool options.
Well said, Marjie. I agree, the first cost-cutting we should do is on other frivolous pleasures and unnecessary things, to allow sufficient funds for our child/ren's education.
Also, $1000-$1300 – a very cheap private education, if you compare it to the thousands that some parents pay to send their kids to a private school! Blessings, Heather :)