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I have a long history with the homeschool reading curriculum from Christian Light Education. My youngest began to read using their Learning to Read program and both of my kids have used several levels of Reading throughout the years. This was even a curriculum I used back when I was a homeschool student. A strong reading foundation should be the highest priority in homeschooling, that is why I appreciate the strength of the Christian Light Reading curriculum.
Christian Light Reading covers all the bases that you want in a reading program, plus more. They simply cover many more topics and skills than most homeschool reading curriculum. I haven’t actually come across any programs that are as thorough as Christian Light Reading.
Complete Homeschool Curriculum Options
Christian Light Education is an established homeschool publisher that was even providing homeschool curriculum when I began my homeschool education in grade three. They offer complete, open and go curriculum options for all ages, or you can take an ala carte approach and choose certain subjects.
Each subject is broken down into smaller workbooks, called LightUnits. While most subjects have ten LightUnits to work through for the year, Christian Light Reading, once past grade three, offers five.
I find the LightUnit format extremely motivating for kids who are not necessarily motivated by academics. The feeling of accomplishment and sense of completion they get when completing a LightUnit motivates them to keep moving forward. The format makes it very easy for them to see progess as they finish each unit.
Seventh Grade Reading Curriculum for Homeschool
For this post I reviewed the seventh grade reading program, and it was like welcoming back an old friend that I haven’t seen in a while. Even my kids grabbed the Light Units and the Reader and started flipping through the pages right away.
This seventh grade homeschool reading curriculum consists of three components: The LightUnits, The Road Less Traveled companion reader, and the Teacher’s Guide. I will go through each one of these components to give you an idea of how it all works together.
The LightUnits
The five LightUnts in Reading 7 are very much written directly to the student to encourage independent work. Lessons are broken up into smaller sections and direct the student to complete tasks, from pre-reading exercises like vocabulary, to comprehension and literary analysis. LightUnits are the foundation of this program and where you will find the strength of this reading curriculum.
The Companion Reader
Each Christian Light Reading course includes its own companion reader. In Reading 7, the Road Less Traveled is a collection of engaging short stories and poems from authors like Leo Tolstoy, Patricia St. John, Robert Frost and The Bible. The stories promote high-moral character and there’s usually some type of applicable life lesson found in the pages.
While my readers know that I like to incorporate living books in my homeschool, I appreciate the richness and variety of The Road Less Traveled Reader. Because these are shorter stories, there is exposure to many different styles of writing and my kids can get a taste of the work of several different authors. We find the length of the stories to be just about right to not be overwhelming.
The Teacher’s Guide
The Christian Light Teacher’s Guides are probably my favorite of all the teacher’s guides I’ve ever used. While I mentioned earlier that the LightUnits accommodate independent learning, the Teacher’s Guide makes it so they don’t HAVE to work independently. I could probably write an entire post about this, but I will summarize the best parts here.
- Scripted lessons. You will never be left trying to figure out how to explain or teach a concept.
- Easy to follow. The layout is clean and often uses bullet points so it is easy to follow.
- Full student lessons with answers. There is no trying to find the correct lesson number and hoping you aren’t looking at the wrong answer buried in a list of other answers. You get an exact copy of the student pages, with answers completed.
The Teacher’s Guide is so easy to use and makes this a no-prep, truly open and go curriculum for the parent.
Traditional Homeschool Reading Curriculum
Christian Light Reading is traditional homeschool style, and will feel familiar and probably remind you of the education you receive in a traditional classroom. By this I mean, you read a text, then complete a worksheet and answer questions based on a text.
As someone who is an eclectic homeschooler, I like the thoroughness of traditional methods when teaching a skill subject like reading. With Christian Light Reading 7, it is easy to balance between the traditional method of the program, and adding in rich classical literature. Since there are only five LightUnits in Reading 7, there is room to schedule in other approaches to literature. You get the benefits of strong academic teaching, balanced with the beauty of living books. It is the best of both worlds.
Things to Consider for Christian Light Reading 7
Christian Light Reading 7 is what I would consider an academically rigorous or advanced curriculum. It is age appropriate, but seems to cover more concepts than most. I always say if in doubt, take a placement test.
Christian Light doesn’t have a diagnostic test specific to reading, but they do have one for Language Arts. With my own kids, I used the Language Arts diagnostic and placed them in the same reading level. This worked well for me. There are also generous samples you can view online that should give you an idea of what level seems best for your own kids.
Christian Homeschool Reading Curriculum
Christian Light Education is obviously a Christian publisher from the mennonite tradition. This is evident in some of the illustrations you find throughout the curriculum. While parts of the publisher’s worldview is evident throughout Reading 7, I don’t find it preachy or pushing a certain doctrine. It is definitely a curriculum that can be used by Christians of all denominations.
My View on Christian Light Reading 7
Christian Light Reading 7 is a wonderful, rigorous and thorough homeschool reading curriculum. Everything is thoughtfully planned and will help you meet the demands of a homeschool education with ease. The lessons in the LightUnits lay an excellent foundation and the stories in the companion reader are engaging.
In my own homeschool, using Christian Light Reading during the early years set my kids up for great success. Ten years after we began with Christian Light, I can see the fruit of the work we did back then. Christian Light Reading is an excellent choice for those that want the academic rigor and direct approach of a traditional homeschool curriculum. It is also one of the most affordable programs available to homeschoolers. This makes Christian Light Reading a great addition to any homeschool.