Did someone say Curriculum?
(Information provided by Carie Valentine)
Curriculum: This is such a personal decision. It will depend entirely on what you want to teach.
Complete Curriculum based on grade:
There are complete curriculum sources out there that have it all packaged and ready to go for the parent feeling like they need more support. These programs are usually several hundred dollars per student each year. It is easy to find them online, just google complete home school curriculum and it will get you started. This works for many families but I found the limitations to this are that there are always areas you would do things differently. You will supplement this more and more as you become more confident in your ability to teach your children.
Partial Curriculum based on grade and topic:
This type of curriculum is grade and topic specific. That means you will have a resource like Alecs math that caters to a specific grade level but they specialize in math education. There are curriculum companies like this for each subject area. Reading reviews on each selection is helpful and there is a great website that was created to help parents determine whether the curriculum has been aligned with Common Core. http://www.hsroadmap.org/common-core-project/
The curriculum you choose based on subject area is comprehensive but you may find just with the complete prepackaged curriculum that these subject based prepackaged curriculum leave you filling in gaps. They are great place to start.
Create your own curriculum:
This is accomplished by searching out resources on your own and designing the lessons yourself. This sounds like a lot of work but it is the way I have chosen to do most of my lessons. I started at the DI and found textbooks I liked. Then, I went online and found supplementary resources using the ISBN #'s in the front of the books and have rounded out some of my subjects. I have also found independent books and created my own lessons from them. This approach has given me a wealth of resources and it fulfills my sense of control and creativity too.
Curriculum: This is such a personal decision. It will depend entirely on what you want to teach.
Complete Curriculum based on grade:
There are complete curriculum sources out there that have it all packaged and ready to go for the parent feeling like they need more support. These programs are usually several hundred dollars per student each year. It is easy to find them online, just google complete home school curriculum and it will get you started. This works for many families but I found the limitations to this are that there are always areas you would do things differently. You will supplement this more and more as you become more confident in your ability to teach your children.
Partial Curriculum based on grade and topic:
This type of curriculum is grade and topic specific. That means you will have a resource like Alecs math that caters to a specific grade level but they specialize in math education. There are curriculum companies like this for each subject area. Reading reviews on each selection is helpful and there is a great website that was created to help parents determine whether the curriculum has been aligned with Common Core. http://www.hsroadmap.org/common-core-project/
The curriculum you choose based on subject area is comprehensive but you may find just with the complete prepackaged curriculum that these subject based prepackaged curriculum leave you filling in gaps. They are great place to start.
Create your own curriculum:
This is accomplished by searching out resources on your own and designing the lessons yourself. This sounds like a lot of work but it is the way I have chosen to do most of my lessons. I started at the DI and found textbooks I liked. Then, I went online and found supplementary resources using the ISBN #'s in the front of the books and have rounded out some of my subjects. I have also found independent books and created my own lessons from them. This approach has given me a wealth of resources and it fulfills my sense of control and creativity too.
Some Curriculum Favorites
Complete Curriculum Packages
Math
Timez Attack for multiplication
Math U See
Saxon
Teaching Textbooks
Singapore
Alec
Math Mammoth
Alpha
http://www.khanacademy.org
Literature
Grammar Punk
Growing with Grammar
Moving Beyond the Page
ReadingEggs.com
Moving Beyond the Page
Winning with Writing
All about Reading
Abeka
Heart of Dakota
Sonlight
Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons
Learning LA through literature
Growing with Grammar
Moving Beyond the Page
ReadingEggs.com
Moving Beyond the Page
Winning with Writing
All about Reading
Abeka
Heart of Dakota
Sonlight
Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons
Learning LA through literature
Science
History
Spelling
Soaring with Spelling
All About Spelling
Rod and Staff Spelling
Wordly Wise
Words on the Vine
All About Spelling
Rod and Staff Spelling
Wordly Wise
Words on the Vine
Places to Purchase Curriculum
http://homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/
https://www.rainbowresource.com/
iew.com
http://thegoodgoatmomma.com/
https://www.rainbowresource.com/
iew.com
http://thegoodgoatmomma.com/