History of A-Beka

Over four decades ago, Dr. Arlin Horton and his wife, Beka, started A Beka Book with the goal of providing high-quality traditional educational materials that would give students at their Christian school in Pensacola, Florida, a solid foundation for excellence in academics and success in life. At Pensacola Christian Academy—one of the largest Christian schools in America—teachers and parents have seen for several decades the excellent results of learning with A Beka.

What started with phonics-based readers and traditional arithmetic textbooks grew to comprise over 1,000 educational products from two-year-old preschool through twelfth grade for both Christian schools and homeschooling families. People with real experience teaching write all the A Beka Book textbooks, curriculum/lesson plans, and materials, helping students in homeschooling families around the world and in Christian schools of all sizes reach their learning potential.

Dr. and Mrs. Arlin Horton, founder of Pensacola Christian College, Pensacola Christian Academy, and A Beka Book, has been an outstanding leader in the Christian school movement since 1954. Thousands of administrators across America have been inspired and helped by his willingness to share his practical wisdom. His quiet leadership and desire to help others have combined to make A Beka Book America’s leading producer of textbooks for Christian schools.

Mrs. Beka Horton, co-founder, has played the leading role in the development of the A Beka Book academic program. Through the years, she has faithfully invested her multiple talents to give balance and excellence to all areas of the school curriculum and has personally edited many of the materials published by A Beka Book.

Purpose

You want methods and materials that work. That’s what you’ll find with A Beka Book—comprehensive, quality curriculum and materials written from a Christian perspective. Now more than ever, each child needs a strong foundation in both academics and character; we’re here to help homeschooling families and Christian schools of all sizes give their students the knowledge and skills they need.

For over forty years, schools and homeschooling families have trusted A Beka Book to provide materials using the traditional approach proven successful throughout education’s history. Professionally illustrated textbooks and teaching aids, hands-on activities, challenging exercises, purposeful repetition, and the reinforcement of concepts from subject to subject give you all the tools you need to make learning interesting and memorable.

You can choose A Beka Book with confidence; each subject’s content comes from the work of skilled, dedicated scholars who have conducted primary research. See your students achieve the academic excellence and moral character that leave them equipped for life, just like over one million children developing into lifelong learners with A Beka every year.

Distinctives

Bible- The foundation for all learning

The Abeka Bible program presents the Bible in the narrative style in which it is written. Stories of the Old and New Testaments in the lower grades lead up to the profound truths of the Gospels, Epistles, and other portions of Scripture for older students. The curriculum is designed to be specifically and systematically taught so that students in the Bible program will become thoroughly acquainted with the basic portions of Scriptures.

Reading- The means by which each person may learn for himself

Because children often emulate what they read, they need reading skills and character-building reading materials from an early age. Abeka employs phonics as the most logical, orderly way to introduce reading to children. Abeka readers are beautifully illustrated and imaginatively written.

Selections are carefully chosen for interest, readability, theme, and values, with literary concepts and questions throughout to guide students in comprehension of reading material and in development of critical thinking skills, including application of valuable principles to their lives.

History --A realistic view of time, government, geography, and economics based on eternal truths

Abeka's history courses present an inspiring portrayal of peoples, lands, religions, ideals, heroes, triumphs, and setbacks in light of the biblical principles that govern the natural course of history. Students benefit from this traditional, conservative approach to the study of what man has done with the time God has given to him.

Along with the story of history, students see the purpose of government as ordained by God for the maintenance of law and order, not as a cure-all for humanity's problems. The benefits of free-enterprise economics are presented in contrast with the dangers of Communism, socialism, and liberalism. Geography studies are woven in to provide a well-rounded perspective of locations in conjunction with events.

This approach results in edifying history texts that give students a historical perspective and instills within them a gratitude for God's hand in history and a desire to impact the future by fulfilling the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20).

 Mathematics- The study of logic and order to apply to science and daily life

Abeka teaches that the laws of mathematics are a creation of God and thus absolute. Man's task is to search out and make use of the laws of the universe, both scientific and mathematical. This is in significant contrast to the modern math theories that are based on mathematics as a creation of man and thus arbitrary and relative.

Students enjoy Abeka's variety in covering multiple branches of mathematics-arithmetic, geometry, algebra, etc.-each year on an age-appropriate level. At the same time, they benefit from the spiral approach of revisiting and building upon the learning throughout each year and from one year to the next. The learning is both relevant for today and foundational for the future, with each course purposefully preparing students for the next.

This solid foundation of mathematical concepts and problem-solving skills, enhanced with a biblical worldview, intentionally and naturally results in lifelong application.

Science and Health Science/Health- The investigation of variety, order, and reasonableness revealed in creation

The Abeka science and health program presents the universe as the direct, orderly, law-abiding creation of God and refutes the man-made idea of evolution. Students are presented with plants, animals, rocks, elements, forces, the human body-and much more-according to an understanding of the design and laws of nature.

Learning is delivered through age-appropriate content in a variety of scientific fields, including life science, chemistry, and physics. This content is supported by full-color illustrations to enhance learning, oral and written activities to reinforce learning, and hands-on demonstrations to personalize learning.

Students are equipped to explore science from a biblical worldview while developing practical use of the scientific method and application of critical thinking skills.

English - The study of language and communication in a structured, reasonable, and well-articulated manner

Because thought and language form the foundation of learning and communication, teaching grammar, spelling, vocabulary, composition, and literature is vitally important. Abeka presents language in a structure in which students develop orderliness, reasoning, and logic.

Students will benefit from Abeka's commitment to an emphasis on reliable grammatical and literary structure that prepares them for analysis and practice. The desirable result is mastery with the development of critical thinking. Because of this emphasis, students see the importance of correct spelling and the continual expansion of one's vocabulary.

Students are provided with examples of the very best literature of the ages, opportunities for the continual improvement of speaking and writing ability based on a strong grammatical foundation, and the development of individual discernment based on a biblical worldview.

Here at Immanuel Christian School, we teach ABeka curriculum from K2 through 2nd.

In 3rd-9th grades we teach both ABeka and a variety of other sources.