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My Favorite Curriculum
Choosing The Right Program
Not all homeschool families have the same ideas about how to educate their children. We all have different reasons for wanting to homeschool, and those reasons motivate the curriculum that we choose. This is a list of our favorite (and not-so-favorite) programs, but you will have to search for yourself to see if these programs fit into your homeschooling style. It has taken several years of searching for me to find the methods and programs that fit the way my children learn, and the way that I want to teach. It's difficult to make the curriculum commitment, because it costs money! You have to start somewhere, and ultimately you have to accept that you will not always be thrilled with the programs you invest in. Once you find something that thrills you- stick with it. If you find a program you love, look into other materials by the same company. Ask fellow homeschool families for recommendations, but take their advice with caution (i.e. consider their recommendations, but don't run right out and buy everything they suggest). I have jumped in too quickly and purchased programs that were recommended to me, only to realize afterwards that they didn't fit our family. Keep your eyes open and read through homeschool catalogs over and over. Eventually you will find the programs that fit your family (or you can write your own!). Sometimes the headaches that come with homeschooling start with wrong choices in the curriculum department, so if you are struggling, see if your curriculum could be the source of the problem. What We Use (and a couple we don't recommend) Charlotte Mason *Update: I still recommend and enjoy Ambleside Online, but have found that I often need to adapt and tailor their outline to meet the needs of my family. The Four Year Plan We recently discovered this gold mine for LDS homeschoolers! If you are not familiar with The Four Year Plan, be sure to take a look at it before you spend money on a more costly curriculum. www.kindredlearning.com . We have decided to adopt this program for many reasons: First, it is such a complete outline that provides the kind of flexible structure that our family enjoys. Second, this is a hands-on, activity-rich program that keeps the educational experience interesting. Third, the Ebert's (creators of The Four Year Plan) have incorporated secular learning with gospel learning, and the subjects are taught as units. Parents can follow their plan exclusively or add their own ideas, but there is more than enough in this program to keep you busy. The Four Year Plan has been designed to be taught to many ages at once, so it's an excellent choice if you have a wide variety of ages in your home. The resources that they recommend are often available at the library, which helps cut down on costs. The program starts over after the end of the four years (much the same way that public schools repeat the same information in high school and college), so you are able to re-use many of the same resources but your children will be older and thus able to understand the concepts at a deeper level. Their website lists the resources that their program recommends and they offer some of them for sale. I've had great success finding many of the books needed for this program at a very reasonable price on Ebay. Gospel Gospel Principles manual, published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The School of Abraham www.schoolofabraham.com , a website full of LDS resources for teaching your children by using the gospel. Math Developmental Math by L. George Saad, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus Long Island University. We used Developmental Math because it was affordable and easy to implement. This is a great blessing to the homeschooling family! This is a self-teaching program that requires very little assistance from the parents (there is a little help needed initially for them to understand the program and how it works). This program is available through www.ldfr.com and www.timberdoodle.com . Both companies will send you free catalogs if you request them. Key-To Math Series By Steven Rasmussen. This series can be purchased online at Latter-Day Family Resources www.ldfr.com This series covers everything from fractions to Algebra. Great, simple, and affordable! Excellent for older children who need a thorough understanding of the subject matter. Singapore Math. I wish I had found this math program sooner! You can find it online in a variety of places. Do a Google search to find the best price. I'm fairly certain that www.ldfr.com has it, as well. Family Math Series. They have one for elementary ages, and one for the middle school years. We really enjoy these books because they offer a hands-on approach and give ideas for real-world application. Both of these books are available at Barnes & Noble, and www.ldfr.com Math Art: Projects & Activities by Carolyn Ford Brunetto (published by Scholastic). I found this book at Barnes & Noble. We've really enjoyed it! It's for grades 3-5. Measurement Mania by Lynette Long. This book is full of fun and easy activities that teach your elementary-aged children all about measurement. We found this book at the library and it's really a treasure for bringing a little 'life' into your measurement lessons. History Timelines of American History by Laurence Urdange, editor. This book provides a detailed timeline of American history, with additional details about other events taking place in the world. It is a very helpful resource if you plan on writing your own history units, like we do. You can find this book at www.amazon.com . DK The History of the World by Plantagenet Somerset Fry. An expensive book, but this is a reference that your family will use for years and years. Provides you with the helpful timeline of what happened when and even sparks ideas for activities that can go along with the lessons. This book is recommended in The Four Year Plan. Colonial Kids, More Than Moccasins, and others by Laurie Carlson. These books are excellent resources to use with your American history units. They combine a wide variety of time-period projects, recipes, as well as historical information about each. If you are looking for something to enhance your history studies and make them more fun and meaningful, these books will do the trick! You can even put some of these projects in your lap books! These books can be found at www.amazon.com or www.ldfr.com . I recommend checking these books out at the library rather than buying them. We felt like they were great resources, but really only needed to be used for one year. By the time we get around to studying American history again, my boys will be too old for the activities. Also, many of the projects in the books could be found free online, but if you don't want to take the time to search- get the books! Let The Authors Speak by Carolyn Hatcher. This book is full of good literature to enhance your history units. These books are organized by time period and reading level. If you are using a Charlotte Mason approach, or just want to include good historical literature, this book will be very helpful. You can purchase this book through www.ldfr.com . The American Revolution for Kids by Janis Herbert. There are other books in this series, and I love them all! I found this book at Barnes & Noble. A Young People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn. Great series! I'm very fond of these books. I use them as read-aloud history for all ages. We supplement this book with others like the one mentioned directly above (American Revolution for Kids). Also found at Barnes & Noble. Other materials for history- the library and the internet. These are invaluable tools, especially if you write your own history units. If you do not want to write your own history units, there are many programs available. One excellent resource to help you is a magazine called 'Learning Through History' which you can learn more about at www.homeschoolingcompanion.com . Issues of this magazine are like complete unit studies that offer reading lists, articles, projects and more. The price is worth it because their magazines are well-researched and will save you lots of time! The Story of the World, by Susan Wise Bauer. This is a good history resource for elementary age children. We actually didn't use this program, but had friends who did and loved it. It's based on a classical education approach. Science The Story of Science by Joy Hakim. Wild Goose Science Experiment Books (www.timberdoodle.com) DK Science Encyclopedia. A great reference book for teaching science! You can often find this book on Ebay, so look for it there before you pay full price. This book is used in The Four Year Plan. Usborne Books (www.scholastic.com ) Great Science Adventures by Dinah Zike & Susan Simpson. Really fun series with hands-on activities! You can find these through www.amazon.com and possibly at other online stores. I'm not sure which homeschool suppliers carry it. Janice Van Cleeve's science books. There are handfuls of books written by Janice Van Cleeve that provide hundreds of easy experiments that your family can use to teach science principles. These projects use materials that you probably already have at home (that's a plus!). You can find these books at www.ldfr.com . This year we are using 'Chemistry for Every Kid' by Janice Van Cleeve. It's a keeper! Other science resources... the library and the internet. Using lap books to organize your science studies will make the process more fun and meaningful, and easier to keep track of. For more information, see my Lap Books page on this site. Be sure to order a free catalog from Tobin's Lab for a huge variety of science resources that will make science an adventure for your family. www.tobinslab.com Language Arts Learning Language Arts Through Literature by Common Sense Press. We invested a lot in this program, but I must admit that I am not sure we felt it was worth the money. It's not that it wasn't a good program, but it did not necessarily fit the learning style of my children. Instead of this one, I would recommend ... Wordsmith Apprentice. This program is for grades 4-6 and provides an interesting approach to language arts. My son loved it! www.timberdoodle.com Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, by Siegfried Engelmann, Phyllis Haddox, and Elaine Bruner. If you have a child that needs to learn to read, this is an inexpensive, comprehensive program. It has been very successful for us. www.timberdoodle.com . Phonics Pathways. If you need a logical next step after 'Teach Your Child to Read..." this is a great choice. Not only will it help boost phonics skills, but will also improve spelling! www.timberdoodle.com Easy Grammar by Wanda Phillips. This program is easy to find (both Timberdoodle and Latter-Day Family Resources carry it). It's a no-nonsense, straight-forward approach to teaching grammar. You can often find it on Ebay, as well. This book is also used in The Four Year Plan. Writer's Express. This little textbook was available at our library (recommended by The Four Year Plan). It's a handy reference, easy to use, and provides mom with the structure to teach her children the basics of language arts. Wordly Wise by Kenneth Hodkinson & Joseph G. Ornato. Most homeschool book suppliers carry this book. We love it! Red Hot Root Words. An excellent idea for teaching your kids basic Latin. You can find this at www.ldfr.com Vocabulary Cartoons, published by New Monic Books. We've really enjoyed using one of these cartoons a day to boost vocabulary. They are proven to increase SAT testing scores. Other Homeschool Resources The Big Book of Books & Activities by Dinah Zike will introduce you to the world of lap book ideas. If you need ideas to spice up your children's daily work, this book will have them! Lap Books: These are such a fun resource! Google them online to see hundreds of Lapbook sites and ideas. You can also purchase the original Lap Book resources from Tobin's Lab (dvd's and books). These are so much fun! If your kids like workbooks, Evan-Moor Publishing company has hundreds of fantastic workbooks and idea books. Their graphics are some of the best I've seen, and I've been very pleased with everything I've used from their company. Our first copy of an Evan-Moor book came from Barnes & Noble, but you can find them online at www.evan-moor.com . If your kids like workbooks, but you are sick of wasting money on workbooks that are time-wasters, these books will appeal to you.
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