Cathy Duffy is a curriculum specialist and author. She’s written three curriculum reference books specifically for homeschoolers:
- 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum – 2005
- 101 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum – 2012
- 102 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum – 2015
In addition to these she wrote Government Nannies: The Cradle-to-Grave Agenda of Goals 2000 and Outcome-Based Education to address her concerns about government education.
She homeschooled her three sons beginning in 1982. Wow! I didn’t even know homeschooling was alive in 1982.
The Reviews
When Miss Lucy and I were at the Great Homeschool Convention in Ontario, California this year, Duffy stopped by to take a look at Kristin’s books. We chatted for a bit, I gave her a few free books and we parted ways.
Duffy reviewed the geography series and the American Art History series. Here are some highlights.
From Duffy’s American Art History Review
“American Art History, Volume I is much more creative than the title indicates. For each of the sixteen topics, Draeger creates fictionalized news reports, interviews, cartoons, advertisements, and other material that is often humorous.”
“All of the books are printed in full color and are heavily illustrated—very visually appealing.”
“The subtitle of this series is ‘Art History Disguised as Fun,’ and this course certainly lives up to that.”
“American Art History” by Cathy Duffy
Duffy’s Map Series Review
One of Duffy’s criticisms of the geography books is that they don’t have more detail (this is a common one). Kristin’s goal in the draw map series is singular in purpose: “introduce children to geography by giving them a primer in the borders and locations of states, provinces and countries.” There are many other fine books out there that will give you capitals, rivers, mountain ranges and cities. ARTK12 geography books intentionally have a narrow focus: learn how to draw the world! See Kristin’s blog for more details on her approach:
In Defense of Cartoon Geography »
From Duffy’s Map Series review:
“Her style of writing is casual and non-technical. For example, in Draw the World, when students are completing their drawing of Africa, Draeger says, ‘This last bit of Africa has a horn-like thingy that sticks out to the east. It is a peninsula called, appropriately, the Horn of Africa’ (p.35).”
“Because they don’t require a lot of detail, the Draw Map books are a good starting place for students in grades three through eight to learn geography. Draeger makes the process very easy to follow.”
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