Curriculum

Indya - posted on 10/21/2011

Well, I am new to homeschool so it would be helpful for me to know what others think. I am using Apologia for Science, Abeka for History, Literature and English, I am using Math U See for Algebra BUT my daughter does not like it. I would like to know what people think about Teaching Textbooks.

Jill - posted on 01/03/2011

K12. Take a look at their web site, www.k12.com. They provide everything you need, including a teacher to guide you, computer, materials, curriculum to your states standards, oportunities for socializing. because it is a public virtual school it is also tuition free. We've been working with this for the past three years of Middle School and i wish I had done it from the start of my childs schooling, it really works for her.

Deanna - posted on 08/17/2010

I use Rod and Staff for English and Math. I love the price and I love the ease in which it can be used. The math portion I like because it repeats a lot and if we need the extra work I have it, if we don't need to do all the work I can skip through. At grade 3 they also become "textbooks" like what we have in school. I love that since I have 2 smaller ones I plan to save the textbooks for them. English is english but it is in textbook form which I like. I don't like spiral notebooks, and "workbooks" because the papers tend to get tore easily. I do have the Rod and Staff handwriting, and spelling books but those are not in the textbook form. They are more workbooks and the kids enjoy writing in those.
Science I use Standards-Based Science Investigations grade 3
I prefer that just because it is science. Not sure how else to explain it. I don't care for most curriculum based science books because it is very very very religion based. That is not to say we aren't religious, we are christians and we teach about god and all. However, for science I wanted a more science based curriculum because what happens if one of my girls wants to become a scientist or doctor? They would need all the knowledge they can come across. :) Besides I love questions from my kids.
History it done my way. I have made my own curriculum for it and it works amazingly well. We are working on Geography and world history at the same time for 3rd grade and next year I will have their curriculum for American history set up and ready to go. We will actually spend a whole year just on American History.
We will be going through America from about 1500 to as close to today as we can get. I fully expect to cover most of the worlds countries this year. We do a basic over view of each one. We visit each country, take a tour of it, site see, learn a few customs, and then make a dish or two from that country. We break it up into a whole week and some weeks we even have more countries if they girls really want to do a lot of it each day. (they have to have the rest of their work done first)
Let's see....that leaves the extras......
PE -- we have karate each week, we swim, workout, hike, and play at playgrounds.
Art-- is usually mixed up in history and/or science
music -- this year we are going through different genres and classical artists (my own making)

I hope this helps. good luck finding the right curriculum for you and your kids.

Brandy - posted on 08/16/2010

I use unit studies. They are themed lessons based on a story and you incorporate all the subjects into the lesson. It last any wheres from a week to a couple months just Google unit study. I also use a math and grammar book.

Deanna - posted on 07/30/2010

I use Rod and Staff. It is a combination between Saxon and Abeka and it is priced right for us. I love knowing that my children are actually learning something and not going to grow up illiterate or ignorant. (sorry if that offends)

I think that finding a curriculum for you is going to be the most stressful of the whole process. I wish you good luck and know that I am always here if you have further questions.

Tama - posted on 04/04/2010

We are unschoolers -- so our kids learn from everyday life activities. We do not do curriculum and we do not separate "learning time" from "other/play time". We follow their lead and help guide them when they have questions and offer lots of fun and varied activities for them/the family to do together. We hike, cook, garden, go to Zoo/Botanical Gardens/Museums. We run errands together and grocery shop. The kids have lemonade stands and save their money for different things they want. We talk and read and watch television. We play computer games. We draw, paint, build things. We take things apart. We do puzzles. We learn magic tricks. The list goes on and on! :)



My daughter is 7.5 and my son is 5. My daughter can read beautifully and we've never done one reading lesson, worksheet, or workbook. My son is reading beginner books and he never has either. They are amazing at figuring math for their own use and have never done "written" math. They can measure and understand fractions for cooking. They know lots about animals/insects and different aspects of science (how to use a microscope and magnifying glass, how magnets work, gravity, centrifugal force - which I named for them but they discovered by swinging their Easter baskets around w/out losing any shredded paper from it!) My daughter even learned the concept of multiplication just to be able to play a computer game -- and she figured out how to do it on an abacus and the calculator too.



That was a bit long -- I just wanted to say that it's amazing what kids learn when there is no interference! I have enjoyed this Unschooler website quite a bit: http://joyfullyrejoycing.com/unschooling...

Misti - posted on 03/20/2010

We use Abeka. My daughter loves it. We have used School of tomarrow, Spectrum,Konos, Alpha Omega. As far as purchasing find what you want for curriculum and buy it off ebay or homeschool swap sites. Save yourself some money. That way you can see if you truly like it too.

Jennifer - posted on 03/09/2010

Hi! This is my first year also and finding a curriculum is so overwhelming! I ended up using the Time 4 Learning curriculum. It is an online curriculum and only costs $19.99 a month. If you have a visual learner who loves computers it is great. We used it up until about a month ago because my son started getting bored with the Language Arts and Math because he had already learned it in preschool. But if your child did not go to preschool then they will probably love it! Cute lessons and interactive too! You can take a tour of it at www.time4learning.com This coming school year we are trying to decide between Sonlight and a Timberdoodle curriculum. But there are others I'm looking at too! So many to choose from! I hope you have the best of luck with whatever you decide!!

Misty - posted on 03/08/2010

Hello Jaimee!



Curriculum is going to be the hardest choice. A great website for reviews is www.homeschoolreviews.com . It is a great website and has tons of reviews on it for just about every curriculum possible.



This is my first year homeschooling. I have two girls 5 and 3. This year for my kindergartner I bought the whole Christian Liberty Press curriculum and highly regretted it. Out of the whole thing I only used the science and math. For my daughter it was to advanced, and really boring. However, I have heard others say the love CLP.



I ended up buying Hooked on Phonics for reading, and the workbooks to go along with it. We love it! My daughter is reading very well, and we just started spelling.



Next year for 1st I bought the whole Alpha Omega Lifepacs 5 subject kit. I looked over it and think I am going to really like it. For PK I am going to use the Hooked on Phonics workbooks.



Hope this helps, and don't take one persons opinion on anything. What works for one family will not work for everybody!



Misty