What is a good homeschool curriculum?

Question

or a website that has a list of good ones. I have a 2nd grader and two preschoolers that I want to begin homeschooling.

Answer 1

I use mostly Christian Liberty curriculum.    http://ebiz.netopia.com/clpress/    They have a great  K and 1st grade Phonics.  My children could read by the end of K.  My youngest was 5 and reading great.  

I also shop ebay, amazon, and http://www.christianbook.com/.

You'll want to look up your state's laws for homeschooling. You can find that at http://www.hslda.org/laws/default.asp.

Answer 2

Unschooling is the best way to go which doesn't require a packaged curriculum.  I've been an homeschool mom for 15+ years and have seen many other homeschooled and unschooled children grow up.  Any doubts I had when my children were young have vanished and I see that unschooling has tremendous benefits.

That said, if you are looking for a good academic packaged curriculum, try Calvert.  They have the best reputation for education in the school at home field.  

If you want Christian, A Beka is common, Bob Jones has a slightly better rep, and there is also Sonlight.  

Oak Meadow, Clonlara, and NARS (North Atlantic Regional School)  have more flexible curricula.

Answer 3

I'd say there are many good curricula, but they may not suit your family at all. Before you begin to research curricula, you need to figure out what STYLE (approach) of homeschooling is suited to your family.

For example if you choose Sonlight, a  good curricula, but your family needs a traditional workbook type of schooling, for each subject, you will be dissapointed.Sonlight has a lot of reading and less "seat work".  A lot of precious homeschool money can be wasted if you determine what style/approach the curricula you are researching fits into.

To find out more about homeschool styles read read read, and keep asking questions, until you know what style would suit your family's needs.

Here is some starter info about styles:

An article about starting hs , see Approaches section: http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/arti...

and

http://www.geocities.com/homeschooling_s...

Then, if you can actually visit fellow homeschool families and observe or at least discuss the different approaches,  you may avoid bad choices.

Lastly, do try to actually get your hands on a copy of the curricula you intend to purchase before the money is spent. Curriculum fairs are great for this.

All the best.

Answer 4

This website reviews different curriculum and supplements a book of the same name:

http://www.cathyduffyreviews.com/index.h...

Good luck!!

Answer 5

sonlight.com and schooloftomorrow.com Sonlight is a literature and history based with a ton of reading but its a great program and Ace (schooloftomorrow) is a bible based workbook program my daughter is doing better on this b/c she learns better by writing

Answer 6

It really depends on what you are looking for.

Personally I never really bought a complete curriculum, other than a Sonlight World History, but we really only used the books as we saw fit.

There are some complete curriculum work books that are pretty good for pre-school until grade level 6, by American Publishing; they are available at Barnes & Noble, or Sam's Club stores.

We use Christian Liberty Press as our basic foundation, they are very good, you can either buy what you prefer, or complete curriculum's; we have found them to be very good, and affordable.

http://ebiz.netopia.com/clpress/

We are very relaxed, and use an unschooling approach to all but math, reading, and writing.

http://www.unschooling.com/

Here are some web sites that can give you idea's, and free worksheets, and fun learning games to supplement any curriculum you may decide to purchase.

This site does require a $20.00 yearly fee to have full use of all their printable materials, but it is well worth it.

You can check them out for free, but it is a lot of curriculum in one place.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/

Free computer software; just pay a nominal fee for shipping.

http://www.planetcdrom.com/free-homescho...

Educational games.

http://www.educationallearninggames.com/...

Weather/Meteorology (the weather dude).

http://www.wxdude.com

Astronomy

http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/star...

http://www.kidsastronomy.com/

Mr. Donn's history site - unit studies.

http://members.aol.com/donnandlee/

Free Audio Books.

http://www.free-books.org/

Health and Science.

http://kidshealth.org/kid/

Free weekly tips, worksheets,lesson plans, resources , and curriculum.

http://www.homeschoolfreestuff...

http://www.free-ed.net/free-ed/FreeEdMai...

http://about.com/education/

http://www.freeworksheets.com/

http://teacher.scholastic.com/

http://www.davis.k12.ut.us/ets/Wwwsites....

http://www.lethsd.ab.ca/mmh/games/top100...

http://www.ala.org/gwstemplate.cfm?secti...

http://www.starfall.com/

http://www.homeschoolblessings.com/

http://www.oldfashionededucation.com/

Math:

http://www.tlsbooks.com/mathworksheets.h...

http://www.mathsisfun.com/worksheets/ind...

http://www.coolmath4kids.com/

http://www.rainforestmaths.com/

http://www.totallyfreemath.com/toc.html

Geography

http://www.dltk-kids.com/world

http://www.dltk-kids.com

http://www.dltk-kids.com/color.........

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/Geograph...

http://members.aol.com/bowermanb/games.h...

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/kids/g...

http://www.weeklyreader.com/kids/games/g...

http://www.lizardpoint.com/fun/geoquiz/u...

http://www.lizardpoint.com/fun/geoquiz/

Typing-keyboarding

http://www.auntlee.com/easytyp.........

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/

Grade Level Core Knowledge site.

http://www.coreknowledge.org/CK/resrcs/l...



Other:

http://www.funbrain.com/

http://www.brainpopjr.com/

http://www.iknowthat.com/

http://www.kidzone.ws/

http://kidsites.com/

http://www.spellingtime.com/

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/...

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/month...

http://www.extremescience.com/

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngkids...

http://www.studentsoftheworld.info/menu_...

http://parenting.leehansen.com/kids/kids...

http://www.exploratorium.edu/explore/ind...

http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/

http://www.epa.gov/safewater/kids/index....

http://www.lethsd.ab.ca/mmh/games/top100...

http://www.nsa.gov/kids/

http://www.surfnetkids.com/

Answer 7

try SOS for your second grader. For the preschooler, there are some fun workbooks in timberdoodle. (It's THE BEST catalog out there, go to www.timberdoodle.com now.) Hope this helps and have a great day! -question001

Answer 8

abeka, definitely!  My daughter has performed far above grade level using their curriculum.

Answer 9

My son started homeschooling in the first grade, he is now in the 7th grade. We have used 3 different on line schools. The one we are using now is by far the best. You can work at your own pace and move ahead if you like.

http://www2.k12.com/getk12/index.html

The curriculum is structured and easy to follow. They provide you with the computer, printer, and all the books and supplies. The teachers there are great !

I had tried home schooling my oldest 2 children on my own years and years ago and I used Alpha Omega and Calvert. They were NOT near as good as what my youngest son is using now with the k12

Answer 10

I use A Beka. My daughter is in 3rd grade. That is the only curriculum, I've ever used. You can find it at abeka.com. It is a great curriculum if your child is advanced.

Answer 11

I love Son Light. It is however christian based. We started with Oak Meadow and enjoyed that as well. The Oak Meadow Kindergarten program would be great for the preschoolers. I love the way they introduce the alphabet and numbers and math.

Oak Meadow is very Waldorf style. Son light is very classical education.  

Here are a few sites I think you would enjoy.

http://www.homeschoolreviews.com/

http://www.starfall.com/n/level-a/learn-...

The starfall one is an early reading program for free on line.

http://www.time4learning.com/

This one could cover all of the children if you want an online program. It could also serve as a supplement.

Happy Teaching!