Recommended Curriculum and Schools
Information on homeschooling can be found at Resources for Texas Homeschoolers.

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A good history curriculum for homeschoolers or for parents wanting to add to their child's public or private education is Scott Powell's HistoryAtOurHouse
program. Mr. Powell says:

    This program, the first of its kind anywhere, is the only history curriculum in the world that provides a fully-integrated presentation of the past, in a
    logically-ordered sequence progressing from 2nd to 12th grade.  Students will move from the “Romance of History” to a basic understanding of its
    outlines, to an abstract, periodized understanding of its totality, culminating in a penetrating perspective of the ideas that have moved history.

An adult client of Mr Powell's supports this claim:

    I consider myself fairly well-versed in history. I had books by Thucydides, Daniel Boorstin, Charles van Doren, John Herman Randall Jr., Alexis de
    Tocqueville, David Halberstam, Gerhard Weinberg, John Keegan and Victor Davis Hanson on my bookshelf years before I ever heard of Scott Powell
    and his First History for Adults.
    ...

    Although my grasp of American history was pretty good going in, it’s even better coming out. Scott’s periodization techniques let me take a bunch of
    historical facts and integrate them together into a multi-layered narrative flow. This not only makes it easier to retain the facts themselves, it provides a
    context for judging their significance. Which events are critical turning points, and which are simply the playing out of decisions already made? (The
    answers may surprise you; they did me.) The final periodization, in which the overall course of American history is boiled down into an essentialized flow-
    chart that fits on a single sheet of paper, is ingenious on so many levels that words fail me.

    Before taking the course, I knew the facts of history. Now I know how to watch those facts live and breathe, and breed new facts as the story of history
    progresses.

You can find out more about Mr. Powell's history program at HistoryAtOurHouse.

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A school with a rational curriculum is the VanDamme Academy in California.  The VanDamme Academy describes its philosophy as follows:

    Education, in our view, is the systematic training of the minds of children. This requires the right presentation of the right material over a period of many
    years. A proper curriculum supplies each student with the essential content of knowledge, and teaches him to be a logical thinker. The result is a mature
    adult who knows what he thinks and can think on his own.

    To achieve this result, the curriculum must be presented in a specific way. At our school, each subject is taught in a careful, step-by-step manner that
    ensures the child will advance with full understanding.

    Students are taught to make connections within and between subjects--and also between school and life. Our teachers motivate the students, by showing
    them the importance of the knowledge they are working to acquire. Every child is challenged to achieve, and is allowed to progress at his own pace. The
    proper content taught by the right method engenders real enthusiasm for learning.

There is a nice interview with Lisa VanDamme, the founder and director of the school, on their Website, too.

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For younger students, Montessori schools (and methods) are effective. However, you must do your research to be sure it is an authentic Montessori school --
such as Smaller Scholars, located in West Houston. Some schools use the Montessori name, without following true Montessori methods. The Association
Montessori Internationale is the biggest Montessori organization in the world, founded by Dr. Montessori herself. A good, concise description of Montessori
methods is on the North American Montessori Teachers' Association site:

    Montessori (pronounced MON-tuh-SORE-ee) is a comprehensive educational approach from birth to adulthood based on the observation of children's
    needs in a variety of cultures all around the world.

    Beginning her work almost a century ago, Dr. Maria Montessori developed this educational approach based on her understanding of children's natural
    learning tendencies as they unfold in "prepared environments" for multi-age groups (0-3, 3-6, 6-9, 9-12, and 12-14).

    The Montessori environment contains specially designed, manipulative "materials for development" that invite children to engage in learning activities of
    their own individual choice. Under the guidance of a trained teacher, children in a Montessori classroom learn by making discoveries with the materials,
    cultivating concentration, motivation, self-discipline, and a love of learning.

The NAMTA site has lots of good information about Montessori methods and materials, as well as a recommended reading list.

Dr. Cornelia Lockitch, located in California, offers professional advice on using Montessori methods in your home through her Guide Your Child business. You
can sign up for her newsletter on her site. Dr. Lockitch is AMI certified, has years of experience teaching Montessori in schools, and has children of her own.
"A Young Girl Reading"
by Jean-Honore Fragonard
©  2007 Michael Gold