Disclosure: I received this product free through the Homeschool Review Crew
I have been called for jury duty several times at the most inconvenient times – isn’t it always? Unfortunately, I was never able to serve as the cases were always cancelled. I thought it would be interesting for me as well as my teens to see what Homeschool Court is all about, so I was excited to be able to review this curriculum. We have been learning a great deal about our judicial system this year, and Homeschool Court would give us an even more in depth look at that part of our government.
What is Homeschool Court?
Students as young as 4th grade all the way through high school can learn about how our judicial system works. The curriculum covers everything from basic legal vocabulary, to the biblical foundations, types of cases, as well as the opportunity to participate in a mock trial. I received a digital copy of the Homeschool Court Student Worktext, Teacher Manual, High School Supplement, and three Case Summaries.
The author provides an extensive look at the many facets of our judicial system: where it came from, who’s who, types of cases and courts, and much more. Also included is information as to how to schedule the course, any supplies or resources needed, tips, discussion ideas, answer keys, and adaptations. An abundance of activities and ideas give your students a unique experience in Homeschool Court.
The Student Worktext is the foundation of course, and contains approximately 100 pages. Written in conversational tone, it covers everything in the contents above. There are some fill-in-the blank worksheets as well as enrichment activities if you want to dig a little deeper. The accompanying teacher manual contains the same text, but student material is highlighted in gray. The rest of the manual contains notes for the teacher. The high school supplement corresponds with the student manual and has additional information. Suggested assignments in this supplement include research, writing, and presentation. For more tactile learners, there is even a project to reproduce the Supreme Court! How fun is that?
Also available are three student case summaries. One involves a civil trial for a dog bite at a dog show. Another case summary involves a trial that argues the authenticity of a will. The last summary is an appeals case that argues whether a school prayer is constitutional. All three contain instructions for planning a strategy, writing persuasive arguments, and presenting the case before a jury in a mock trial.
How we used Homeschool Court
I must admit, I was overwhelmed at the amount of information provided for us in Homeschool Court. I wasn’t really sure what parts to hit for a “review”, so we just started at the best place – the beginning! We learned the lingo, the history, looked at some case studies, and had plenty of interesting discussions. We did not get to go through motions of the individual case summaries, although we did take a look and the one concerning the dog bite peaked our interest for use in the near future.
I found Homeschool Court to be an appealing curriculum for families. When used in a co-op or multi-family setting it would be even better! I like the organization and flexibility of it, and that it has a biblical worldview. Several other families from the Review Crew also reviewed Homeschool Court. See what they thought by clicking the banner below!
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Great review! I was very curious what this product was like. It sounds like a lot of great information.
Thank you. It was a fun product to try out – I feel like I know so much more!