In the article, My Thoughts on the Science Standards, I mention that when I began preparing science curriculum, it was for a public Charlotte Mason style charter school, and in the article, Must We Read Only Christian Authors for Science, I mentioned that for that school I remove any Bible verses I include in the regular copies. I have every hope and expectation that the children there will be exposed to God’s power and beauty without my spelling it out in so many words — Kind of like the whole book of Esther, which doesn’t speak of God once but has his hand all over it.

“For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:19-20)

Many people across the country use Charter Schools to pay for their homeschool curriculum and of course, after making those comments, I have been asked several times for copies of the guides without any scripture references included.

Not all of my guides contain scripture references. In the early years, (Form 2,) I do not believe it is my place to include any religious material. Charlotte Mason was clear in her book Home Education that parents should be the ones to introduce religious ideas to their children. For that same reason, I skip chapters that explain the world’s creation altogether.

In the upper years, (Form 3-6,) both young earth and old earth ideas are introduced, primarily in the earth sciences. One of the biggest markers of a Charlotte Mason education is that students are not told what to think. They are even told how to challenge their own opinions in her book Ourselves, which is written to teens. This is not intended to shake them, but to help them learn to form opinions, and become strong in them. Charlotte Mason explains that any opinion that is gathered from someone else can as quickly be dropped for some other by-the-way opinion, therefore it’s the duty of each of us to form our own opinions. (And, in this way, she notes that they are more likely to take on their parents’ opinions, rather than substituting the opinions of a professor or some such later on.)

For this reason, in the upper years, I allow books that present an old-earth creation narrative and then follow it up with research on a young earth creation narrative. If you choose to use a guide that has the Christian content removed, then your child will only be presented with one side of the story and you should consider supplementing that information with discussion or research on your own.

For example, in HS Anatomy, part 2 the author explains how we became upright walkers. In the lesson, I included a quote from a different book that quickly outlines the four interpretations (comprising 6 models) on the origin of humans. I think it is helpful for all students to recognize that there are not just two schools of thought — a seven-day material interpretation of Genesis 1 or a Darwinistic evolution after a big bang, but rather four additional models that both religious and nonreligious people ascribe to. That is the kind of thing I take out in the secular version, but it worth a conversation at home.

To order a secular version of any of the curriculum, just select “Secular Version” at the bottom of the page. If there is no option for a secular version, it is because no religious content was included in the first place. Finally, if there is a choice between a secular version and a regular version, the regular version will be the only one available in paperback on Amazon.

Please let me know if you have any questions by emailing me at nicole@sabbathmoodhomeschool.com.