Notgrass

Notgrass?

What is that? I homeschooled my girls for 18 years; I don’t remember hearing about this wonderful curriculum until I was through homeschooling and working at CHSRC.

The first time I was asked about Notgrass I wondered…What does it mean? Not green? Not vegetarian? Not what?

Turns out, Notgrass has been around since 1999 and its name has nothing to do with pastures or livestock. This wonderful curriculum was created by fellow homeschool parents Ray and Charlene Notgrass.

Aiming to learn more about Notgrass, I interviewed my friend Dennisse Moreno. The Moreno family has two boys; one in 5th grade and one in 7th grade. This year they are using America the Beautiful (6th-8th grade curriculum.)

America the Beautiful covers from before 1492 into the 21st century. It includes a two part textbook, answer key, timeline and geography book. The extra books pair up nicely with the lessons the kids are learning about. For example, in the geography book, the kids can see America as it was during the time period they are studying. Notgrass has Dennisse and her husband excited to learn about history themselves!

The Morenos love that their kids can work independently. The boys are excited to study Native American history this year! Dennisse proudly mentioned that the curriculum doesn’t water down events but teaches them at age appropriate levels. “It is a perfect balance of information.” Dennisse LOVES that Notgrass does not include long word banks and large amounts of extra information that made curriculum, they had previously used, feel overwhelming and unfriendly. Notgrass is very adaptable, “you can make it your own, it isn’t fussy,” she tells me.

Notgrass curriculum fits in the rigorous schedule of the Moreno family as it is well organized and easy to follow. She tells me the subjects are covered well; the font is a nice size with a lot of beautiful photography in each page. I agree, these are gorgeous books!

This family purchased the optional Lesson Review and Student Workbooks. They also use the family activity section which is located in the back of the text book. It makes learning more fun for them and reinforces what the kids are learning.

Notgrass incorporates Old and New Testaments relevant Bible verses. Dennisse feels it is very well balanced: “It ties it in, it makes sense. It puts God at the center.”

One might think that looking at blank maps can be boring...but NOT, with Notgrass! Dennisse was getting goose bumps, and giving them to me, as she excitedly shared that she feels her boys are learning naturally, not forced. For example, the kids are mesmerized learning where and how people groups lived, the animals they had, the terrain, the type of food, etc. “It ties the history together, making it really alive!”

Notgrass is a great value because it includes lessons on History, Geography, and Literature, all from a Biblical World View perspective. This curriculum allows the Moreno family the flexibility to pick and choose when to incorporate the extra subjects.

This past summer, CHSRC eagerly became a distributor of Notgrass and it has been a wonderful addition to the large selection of new homeschooling curriculum offered. If you are interested in Notgrass come visit us and see first-hand how interesting and beautiful this curriculum is!

Thank you Dennisse for sharing about your experience with Notgrass!