Rod and Staff
Rod and Staff curriculum is produced by Rod and Staff Publishers in Kentucky, USA. Rod and Staff are a Mennonite publishing house and are thus committed to their particular doctrinal stance which includes a strong emphasis on the family.
They have a strong commitment to sound, biblical educational practice and their materials have a delightful spirit of godliness throughout. Most books are hard covered and will last for many years, representing excellent value for money. Their teacher manuals are very helpful and are fairly priced. The emphasis on diligence and learning results in materials not necessarily attractive to many children. As an example their reading materials do not feature lots of coloured pictures as they prefer children to develop their own imaginations.
Their materials are particularly useful for children who have been struggling at school, who need material which is written in a logical manner and is not visually overwhelming. The Building Christian English grammar series is excellent and Grades 5–8 of the series are particularly good for preparing students for tertiary level essay writing.
The aim for the curriculum has been to lay a very sound foundation in the basics by the end of Grade 10. The academic standard is high and there are plenty of exercises provided for the student.
Products
 | Pre-school These materials have been produced for children from 3–7 years and many parents will find them helpful as an introduction to formal instruction. |
 | Colouring Books A variety of colouring books suitable for pre-school age and up. |
 | Readers The Bible Nurture and Reader Series is developed to teach children to read and to think about their reading. Few pictures are used since comprehension is improved when pupils are allowed to form their own mental images. Bible stories are used in the readers. |
 | Bible Rod and Staff’s Bible series, called The Story of God’s Chosen Family, is designed to cover the Bible chronologically from Grades 5–8. Students are encouraged to follow the example of faithful Bible characters, and the workbooks are completed by looking up verses and reading passages in the Bible. The Student Workbooks contain 30 lessons divided into 6 chapters, a review for each chapter, and a final review. The books are bound with stiff paper covers. A tear-out test booklet is available, which contains tests for each chapter and a final test. The Teacher Manuals contain reduced facsimiles of the student text with answers filled in, plus oral reviews, main points and teacher notes. |
 | Penmanship/Handwriting Penmanship for Christian Writing is a series to enhance handwriting skills using a step-by-step approach to handwriting. There are variations with different styles of handwriting. These books present an American style of penmanship. |
 | Grammar Rod and Staff’s Building Christian English Series has been written to teach the proper use of our language, beginning with the foundational principles of grammar. A good understanding of language is an aid in searching the Scriptures and in communicating clearly with others. |
 | Remedial English These English worksheets, which accompany the Building Christian English Series, are suitable as supplementary or remedial work. The student texts contain write-in exercises and the teacher manuals are answer keys. |
 | Spelling/Vocabulary/Poetry Spelling by Sound and Structure is Rod and Staff’s spelling curriculum. In the younger grades, spelling by sound (the phonetic approach) is emphasised. As pupils advance to the upper grades, more emphasis is placed on the structure of words. This spelling series seeks to honour God and His Word. Bible words, stories and characters are incorporated into the text. |
 | Mathematics The Mathematics for Christian Living Series from Rod and Staff has five goals: - Emphasize Biblical values
- Teach number facts and skills
- Give balanced emphasis on concepts, computation and application
- Enable student to read instructions
- Reading and reasoning problems related to Biblical principle.
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 | Science A God-honouring, biblically-based science series. |
 | Health Curriculum for primary grades covering health of the body and the mind. |
 | Social Studies Primary grade curriculum covering geography, community and culture. |
 | History/Geography Covers physical and cultural aspects of all areas of the world, and focuses on history in the later grades. |
 | Music Musical appreciation, reading and writing music and singing are all covered in Rod and Staff’s music series from Grades 1–7. |
 | Art Various art resources are available for all levels of age and skill. |
