I have been purchasing Rod and Staff materials for nearly ten years. The quality is always superior…read moreand the prices are very reasonable. The books, both textbooks and other books, are all very durable and made to last through much use.
The English program is incredibly solid and the best that I have encountered while searching for a grammar program for our home school. The lessons are short, to the point, meaningful, and very applicable to everyday life. I love how they present grammar in such a way that it is not simple a school subject that is completely disjointed from real life. The programs are advanced for the grade level and challenging and the results for our family, so far, have been very pleasing. I am constantly amazed at how much my children retain from the lessons well after they have done them. I am humbled, more frequently than I would like to admit, at how much I have been learning about grammar from the elementary school level books that I honestly did not know or learn in my own schooling years. Not being Christian we occasionally need to edit a lesson with white out and a pen or give an alternate assignment but that has never been something bothersome to do.
The math programs are nicely done. The only con is that after second grade the materials are no longer consumable and that was a problem for us. It is a very solid program and any child completing this will have the basic math problems memorized to the point of instant recall without a doubt. It is a very basic and old fashioned program as opposed to the very weird common core type stuff. The teacher's guides make this easy for anyone to use regardless of previous teaching experience. Unlike Christian Light this program is easier to use with younger children if you are starting before five or six years old.
The reading program for grades 5 through 9 is lovely. There is Christian content and points of view of characters but I have found those stories to be great discussion starters. For instance the first story in grade six is about a young boy in North Korea who really wants a new Bible of his own and finds a way to get one by making ropes by hand to trade for one. Rather than skipping it we took time to discuss that while we treasure own own books of scriptures that others also treasure their own and that this is how this boy feels about his own. It is a way to teach tolerance and understanding for different viewpoints without compromising our own. It's all in how a person chooses to read and use the materials that can make all the difference. I enjoy the stories that I have read so much and find them wholesome and refreshing. A lot of them teach about morals and character traits that are important. A lot of secular programs do not. Of the sixty selections in the grade 6 book we only decided to skip seven of them. The teacher's guide is excellent with lots of discussion points and facts. The program covers vocabulary, comprehension, some composition, and critical thinking. The workbooks are optional but lovely. The price is very reasonable. About 30 dollars for a reusable set which includes the teacher's guide, the workbook and answer key, and the reading book.
My family has enjoyed reading many of the science and social studies books and I have only felt the need for an occasional edit. We do not use them as complete programs but just as reading material placed in the science or history sections of our home library.
I bought a large number of children's storybooks from this publisher to use as character building family-time read aloud stories. They are very pleasant and all of us have enjoyed them. Again, I felt the need to edit here or there or sometimes skip a story but it has never been an issue at all.
I bought the cookbook they sell that is for parent and child to do together. It is a wonderful gem that made many fun memories. My children absolutely love the peanut butter balls rolled in wheat germ. I know we did others but that remains their favorite.
I would recommend this publisher to anyone, regardless of religious persuasion, looking for a delightful and wholesome curriculum or storybooks for children. I have never been disappointed at all and doubt I ever will.
