This is the space where you will find real life, hands-on reviews (the good, bad, and the ugly) from a lady who has a passionate love of curriculum- my best friend, Hayley! We hope that as this collection grows, she will be your go-to for all of your curriculum questions.

Hayley and her husband Heath live in Fort Wayne, IN (recently transplanted from Alabama) with their four children: Micah, Mia, Madalyn, and Matthew. Heath is the lead pastor at Level 13 Church in Fort Wayne. Hayley has been homeschooling for 7 years and uses an eclectic mix of philosophies, predominantly Classical and Charlotte Mason. She is one of the best homeschool planners I know and a vital source of information about Classical Education to everyone who has the gift of calling her friend. She is exceptionally gifted at helping others make discerning choices about curriculum that would benefit their family. She's my go-to for every curriculum question, so I can promise you that her reviews are 100% trustworthy. I know that as you follow Hayley's Curriculum Corner, you'll come to love her sense of humor, warmth, and candor as much as I do! 

Meet Heath and Hayley with their 4 children, left to right: Mia, Madalyn, Matthew, Micah

Meet Heath and Hayley with their 4 children, left to right: Mia, Madalyn, Matthew, Micah

 
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All About Reading: Level 4 Color Edition Review
All About Reading: Level 4 Color Edition Review

I was so excited when Erin told me that All About Learning Press was releasing a NEW COLOR EDITION of their All About Reading program! I have used AAR with three of my children, and it has been such a blessing to our family. This program has helped me gain confidence and skills in teaching my children to read. I’ve written before about how we use AAR in our home. Today I want to share a little more about the new color editions, and why I have changed my mind about Level 4.

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All About Reading: How it Works for Our Family {a detailed review}
All About Reading: How it Works for Our Family {a detailed review}

When I first began homeschooling, the responsibility that intimidated me more than any other was teaching my own children to read. I have always been an avid reader, and I desperately wanted to instill a love of reading in my kids. I realized very quickly, however, that my love of reading did not automatically qualify me to teach someone else HOW to read. Because I had no background in teaching reading, I knew I needed to find a program that could walk ME through the process as well as my child. We tried several different programs in the beginning, but they either bored my child to tears or proceeding so quickly that she felt overwhelmed, and I felt lost without a map. 

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The Beauty of Tapestry of Grace in the Rhetoric Years (a very detailed review)
The Beauty of Tapestry of Grace in the Rhetoric Years (a very detailed review)

Homeschooling high school was always something that I looked ahead to with both excitement and fear. When my children were in elementary grades, I felt confident teaching according to a classical model, but as they grew into the middle and high school years, I felt intimidated by the challenging literature and history and by my own lack of knowledge in these areas.

I was excited to learn alongside my kids, but also afraid that I would not be qualified to teach upper level courses. I knew I would need a curriculum that could guide me as I redeemed my own education.

A dear friend had been telling me for a few years how much her family loved Tapestry of Grace, and I could see the results in her son. He was able to carry on deep discussions about topics in history, literature, philosophy, and government with such thoughtfulness and a depth of understanding that I wanted for my children and myself. I had looked at so many other classical courses for high school, but I kept feeling called back to Tapestry of Grace.

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A Review of Claritas Publishing Memory Work
A Review of Claritas Publishing Memory Work

Over the past eight years of homeschooling, we have used a variety of resources for memory work. We spent five years as part a of classical, memory work focused co-op- first as participants in Classical Conversations, then in a classical co-op, which Erin founded. During those years, my oldest two children memorized amazing amounts of information about history, science, Latin, math, geography, English grammar, and world history. Now that they are in middle school and high school, I can see how all the seeds that were planted during the grammar years are producing much fruit.

As my children got older and my younger two joined us at the homeschool table, I felt that being involved in a co-op was not the best use of our time. Dedicating a full day to a co-op made it hard to complete all their other school work in the remaining four days. Despite making the difficult decision to leave our co-op, I didn’t want to leave memory work out of our curriculum. I wanted to ensure that my two younger children would have the same foundation in memory work their older siblings received.

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Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Math-U-See {Even through High School!}
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Math-U-See {Even through High School!}

I’m so excited to share this review with you! This is the ONE curriculum that I have never once been tempted to stop using! I tend to get my head turned by shiny, new homeschool curriculum. It’s so much fun to try new things, and there are always new products coming out that I can’t wait to check out. But not when it comes to math.

When I first started homeschooling, one of my mentors gave me some great advice. I was sharing with her how I worried that I wouldn’t be able to give my kids a strong math education because I had struggled so much with math in school. Her advice was to find a program that had a good reputation, that suited my teaching style, and that my kids didn’t hate, and then stick with it all the way through. Her reasoning was that the best way to avoid gaps in math knowledge is to use one program from beginning to end...

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