Covenant Home Curriculum

Covenant Home Curriculum is a confessionally Reformed Christian homeschool program established in suburban Milwaukee in the mid-1980s. Its editorial stake is narrow but well-defined: it is one of the few complete K-12 curricula built explicitly around the Westminster Standards and a classical approach, priced for families who want Reformed catechesis integrated into every subject rather than added as an elective.

Last updated: 2026-04-24 · Every Homeschool Editorial Team

At a glance

Method	Traditional / eclectic-classical / textbook-based with literature integration
Worldview	Christian-Reformed (Presbyterian / Westminster confessional; Presbyterian Church in America lineage)
Grades	PreK-12
Formats	Print textbooks with annual daily planners
Cost tier	Standard
Parent intensity	3 (parent teaches; optional counselor grade-audit service)
ESA-common	No (smaller program; religious classification limits some state programs)
Accredited	Yes (through optional grade audit counselor service)
Established	1984 by Rev. Dale K. Dykema and Jane Dykema
Website	covenanthome.com

Our scoreboard (1-5)

Criterion	Score	One-line reason
Academic rigor	4	Classical literary focus, Latin from elementary, Westminster catechesis integrated; mid-tier math and science
Ease of teaching	3	Daily planners structure the year; parent still teaches
Content quality	4	Curated from multiple publishers into a coherent Reformed framework
Flexibility	3	Full packages designed to be used whole; individual modules available
Value for money	4	Full-year grade packages at $130-$745; below most enrollment-based accredited programs
Worldview scope	1	Narrowly Reformed; Westminster Shorter Catechism integrated into Bible instruction
Visual/design	3	Functional; assembles materials from multiple publishers with a Covenant planner as binding
Support resources	4	Optional counselor with quarterly check-ins; transcripts for high school audit track

Who the publisher is

Covenant Home Curriculum was founded in 1984 by Rev. Dale K. Dykema, a Presbyterian Church in America minister, and his wife Jane Dykema, initially as an outgrowth of the Christian school they operated in suburban Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Rev. Dykema's Wisconsin PCA biographical listing confirms his role as founder and long-time administrator of the curriculum. The program grew out of the Dykemas' work in classical Christian education and their conviction that existing homeschool curricula in the mid-1980s did not adequately reflect confessional Reformed theology integrated across subject matter. Covenant Home is a small organization relative to the large Christian publishers (Abeka, BJU Press, Sonlight) and has remained family-led across four decades.

The organizational model is straightforward: Covenant Home sells complete curriculum packages by grade, individual subject modules, and an optional grade-audit and counselor service. The family purchases the curriculum outright (unlike some enrollment programs where materials are rented), owning the books for reuse with subsequent children. The grade-audit service — optional at lower grades, required for high school transcript and diploma services — provides quarterly academic advisor contact, report cards, and transcript maintenance.

Theologically, Covenant Home is unapologetically Reformed in the Westminster confessional tradition. The Bible curriculum integrates the Westminster Shorter Catechism from the early grades forward; history and literature choices reflect a Reformed reading of Western civilization; science is taught from a creationist perspective. The program is most at home with families in the PCA (Presbyterian Church in America), OPC (Orthodox Presbyterian Church), URCNA (United Reformed Churches in North America), and broader Dutch Reformed and Westminster-confessional traditions. Baptist and non-denominational Christian families also use the program but occasionally find the sacramental theology and covenant-baptism framing in catechetical materials reflects commitments they do not share; the publisher is upfront about this.

The core pedagogy

Covenant Home describes its approach as "eclectic classical" — a phrase that accurately captures both the strengths and the trade-offs. The curriculum is classical in its emphasis on phonics mastery, Latin instruction from the elementary grades, primary-source literature over modern textbook summaries, and explicit Bible and catechism integration. It is eclectic in that Covenant Home does not write most of its own textbooks; instead, the program curates materials from multiple publishers (Saxon Math in most grades, Alpha Omega for some subjects, Veritas Press for certain literature selections, Christian Light for certain elementary texts, and Covenant Home's own authored works for literature guides and Bible study) into a grade-specific package and binds them together with a daily lesson planner.

Scope and sequence is linear and prescribed within each grade package. A family purchasing a full eighth-grade package receives the textbooks Covenant Home has selected for Bible, English, history, science, Latin, literature, and mathematics at that grade level, plus a 36-week daily planner that specifies each day's assignments across subjects. The grade package is designed to be used whole; partial purchase of specific modules is supported but not encouraged.

Signature mechanics: (1) Daily lesson planners. Each grade package includes a 36-week day-by-day assignment chart covering every subject, which removes the lesson-planning burden from the parent. (2) Westminster Shorter Catechism. The Bible curriculum integrates the WSC from early elementary forward, with memorization schedules and explanatory materials in the Bible portion of the planner. (3) Literature-rich reading. Covenant Home's own authored reader's guides to classic novels (Captains Courageous, Call of the Wild, and similar literature) anchor the English and literature track across grades. (4) Optional grade audit. For families wanting external grading and transcripts, the grade-audit service provides an academic advisor with quarterly contact, report cards at 9-week intervals, and high school transcript and diploma services. Grade audit is optional at elementary and middle school levels and required for accredited high school transcripts.

Grade-level differences matter. Elementary grades (K-5) emphasize phonics-first reading (heavily), handwriting, Saxon Math at a standard elementary sequence, basic Latin and vocabulary, and story-based history with Bible and WSC integration. Middle school (6-8) introduces more rigorous grammar and composition, continued Latin, pre-algebra into algebra, earth and life science, and wider-ranging classical literature. High school (9-12) offers a traditional college-preparatory track with algebra through pre-calculus, biology / chemistry / physics, four years of history and literature, and three to four years of Latin alongside optional Greek. High school transcripts from the grade-audit track are accepted by most colleges.

A day in the life

A sixth-grader using the full Covenant Home grade package starts the morning at 8:30 with Bible (~20 minutes — Scripture reading from the daily planner, a Westminster Shorter Catechism question, short devotional reading). Then Math (Saxon Math 7/6 or similar, ~60 minutes — lesson, practice problems, parent-checked work against answer key). Language Arts (grammar, writing, vocabulary, ~40 minutes following the planner's daily tasks). Latin (~30 minutes — vocabulary drill, translation exercises, grammar review). After a break: History (~40 minutes — reading from the assigned history text with writing prompts from the planner), Literature (~30 minutes — reading from the assigned novel with questions from the Covenant Home reader's guide), and Science (~40 minutes on alternating days). Total instructional time: three to four hours. Parent time: about two hours of teaching, checking, and discussion.

A tenth-grader on the grade-audit high school track runs a more independent rhythm. Algebra II, Chemistry, Latin III, American Literature, US History, and Bible (with continued catechesis) follow the daily planner's assignments. The student submits tests at quarterly intervals to their assigned Covenant Home counselor, who grades and issues report cards. Parent involvement shifts toward oversight and tutoring on specific sections; the counselor provides external accountability. Total daily instructional time: four to five hours with substantial evening reading for literature and history.

What they do exceptionally well

Westminster catechesis integrated across the curriculum. Covenant Home is one of the few K-12 programs in which the Westminster Shorter Catechism is not a supplement but a daily presence woven into Bible, history, and literature. For families whose church tradition centers confessional instruction — PCA, OPC, URCNA, and broader Dutch Reformed and Westminster-confessional congregations — this integration is the primary reason to choose Covenant Home over Sonlight or Abeka. Catechetical instruction is not something to work around; it is structurally present.

Daily lesson planners. The planner is one of the program's most valuable artifacts. For the typical homeschool family, Sunday-evening planning is a persistent burden. Covenant Home's 36-week daily planner removes it; the parent opens the book each morning and follows the day's assignments across subjects. Several other publishers offer similar planners (Sonlight's IG schedule, Kolbe's quarterly assignment sheets), but Covenant Home's integration of an eclectic textbook set into a single day-by-day planner is notably well done.

Family reusability and ownership. The publisher's FAQ emphasizes that curriculum materials become the family's property and can be reused across multiple children. For families with three or more students moving through the grades, this economic structure is materially better than rental-based programs (which charge per child per year) or consumable-heavy workbook programs (which require a new kit per child).

What they do poorly

Smaller scale means thinner support ecosystem. Covenant Home is a small, family-run organization relative to the large Christian homeschool publishers. This shows in the customer-support response density, the absence of a video-instruction option, and the relative lack of online community around specific grade packages. Families expecting the rich peer-support networks around Sonlight, Classical Conversations, or Abeka may find Covenant Home quieter.

Upper-level STEM is not a specialty. High school math, chemistry, and physics use curated textbooks from other publishers but do not include dedicated video instruction or lab kits. Families with STEM-track students generally supplement with outside lab courses, Mr. D Math, or dual-enrollment science. The humanities-anchored classical design is the program's identity, and STEM is not where it competes strongest.

Worldview narrowness is structural, not incidental. The Reformed posture is not an overlay on otherwise-neutral materials; it is the organizing principle. Families who are Christian but non-Reformed (Baptist, non-denominational, charismatic, Lutheran, Wesleyan-Arminian) can use Covenant Home, but the WSC catechesis, covenant theology framing, and sacramental assumptions in Bible and Bible-adjacent materials will require editorial awareness. Families outside Christianity will find the program a poor fit regardless of the academic strengths.

Who it fits / who it doesn't

• Pick Covenant Home if: you are in a PCA, OPC, URCNA, or broader Reformed/Presbyterian church and want Westminster catechesis woven into daily study; you value classical literature, Latin, and primary-source reading; you want daily planners that reduce parent planning time; your household reuses curriculum across multiple children; you want a smaller, family-run publisher rather than a large corporate catalog.

• Skip Covenant Home if: you are Catholic, Orthodox, Jewish, secular, or from a Christian tradition that does not share Westminster-confessional commitments; your student is STEM-focused and needs integrated laboratory science and advanced mathematics with video instruction; you want a visually modern curriculum with heavy multimedia; you want a large support network and active online peer community around the curriculum itself.

Cost honest assessment

Covenant Home grade packages range from $129 for the Pre-School Full Curriculum to approximately $745 for tenth grade per the publisher's product pages as of April 2026. Representative mid-range figures: Eighth Grade Full Curriculum at $645, Ninth Grade at $690, Twelfth Grade at $600. Individual subject modules are available at lower per-module prices. Optional grade-audit counselor service (required for high school transcript and diploma issuance) adds fees that are not publicly listed on the product pages and require contact with Covenant Home directly.

Compared to Sonlight ($800-$1,200 per core package), Abeka ($700-$850 for parent kit plus $900-$1,100 for video), Memoria Press classical packages ($400-$700 per grade), and Tapestry of Grace (~$300-$500 per year unit plus book list costs), Covenant Home sits in the mid-range of complete K-12 Christian curricula. The eclectic model means families save on not buying a Saxon Math book separately (it's in the grade package) while paying for Covenant Home's integration and planner work.

A realistic all-in annual budget for one student in grades 4-8: approximately $500-$650 per grade package plus $100-$200 in consumables and supplementary purchases. For two students in consecutive middle-school grades: approximately $1,100-$1,400 with some reuse of non-consumables.

ESA eligibility notes

Covenant Home Curriculum's presence on state ESA marketplaces is limited compared to the larger Christian publishers. Materials are typically purchasable through Covenant Home directly or through Christian homeschool retailers that are ESA-approved vendors in specific states. Some states (Arizona's ClassWallet, Florida's Step Up For Students pathways) have permitted Covenant Home materials as individual-product purchases even when the publisher is not a named ESA vendor, through the general book-and-curriculum approval category. The grade-audit counselor service is less commonly covered by ESA programs, as most states treat external grading and transcript services differently from textbook purchases. ESA-funded families should verify eligibility with their specific state program and may need to submit purchases through an ESA-approved retailer rather than directly to Covenant Home.

Alternatives

• Sonlight Curriculum — a family would pick Sonlight over Covenant Home for a literature-based Christian curriculum with broader evangelical appeal and a much larger user community, in exchange for losing explicit Westminster catechesis.
• Veritas Press Scholars Academy — a family would pick Veritas over Covenant Home for Reformed-leaning classical education delivered through synchronous online classes, in exchange for higher tuition and reduced parent oversight.
• Memoria Press — a family would pick Memoria Press over Covenant Home for a classical curriculum with heavier Latin and Greek emphasis and a broader (non-confessional) Christian posture, at similar or lower cost per grade package.

How we verified this

Our editorial team reviewed Covenant Home Curriculum's main product and FAQ pages, the Curricula FAQ, and grade-specific product listings in April 2026. We cross-referenced founder information against the Wisconsin PCA ministerial directory's listing for Rev. Dale K. Dykema and the Homeschool.com resource directory entry for Covenant Home. Prices and program details verified April 2026.