Early Homeschool Curriculum Ideas

The list author says:
	"This is the book I read when I was deciding whether homeschooling was for us or not.  Bell gives a terrific overview of the different philosophies of homeschooling, and she reviews specific curriculum, too.  I used this to get started, and then i went back to it for more ideas when my kids got to high school level."

The list author says:
	"We loved this whole series of books for learning to read.  Simple, but not dull.  They use simple phonics-based teaching -- and they're actually funny!"

The list author says:
	"I love the idea -- and the practice -- of using "real books" for school, rather than text books.  If you've taught your kids to love picture books, then continue to use picture books as the basis for school.  Scholastic has many, many idea books for using favorite picture books to teach math, science, writing -- you name it."

The list author says:
	"Another example of great ideas for teaching using real books."

The list author says:
	"Science doesn't have to come from a textbook!  Introduce your kids to science principles in a general way by using picture books."

The list author says:
	"Another example of the way you can use great picture books to get real curriculum for your early elementary students.  Why suffer through workbooks and stilted text books when you can use quality picture books with these helpful guides?"

The list author says:
	"This is one of the few workbooks we used in the early years.  It has a nice series of friendly worksheets that reinforce the phonics method of teaching reading.  See www.learningthings.com and search for "mcp plaid" to see inside this book."

The list author says:
	"This guide does a lot of the work of sifting through homeschool curriculum for you.  This book could save you from a lot of costly curriculum mistakes.  I particularly like her introduction, which explains why a "one size fits all" curriculum (e.g. Abeka, Bob Jones) isn't much better than sending your child off the a "one size fits all" school."

The list author says:
	"We loved and regularly used this book before we ever started to homeschool.  It offers great advice for integrating reading into your everyday life, and also offers wonderful booklists which give age and grade-level suggestions for books your kids will love."

The list author says:
	"We used this series of 6 workbooks (see others that follow the Orange Book) as match for grades 1 through 3.  I chose them because they are more "hands-on" than many other texts, and they also introduce topics in a more logical sequence.  After your child has finished with these workbooks, he/she will be ready for Saxon Math 5/4."

The list author says:
	"These are the rods you'll want to go with Miquon Math.  They illustrate math principles so well!"

The list author says:
	"We utilized many Progeny Press Study Guides from grades 1 through 8, as a way to flesh out a Language Arts curriculum based on "real books."  These guides take the student through a novel section by section, with comprehension questions, vocabulary words, suggested activities, writing assignments, etc. I'd recommend checking out the entire list at www.progenypress.com."

The list author says:
	"I used this to help our third child with reading.  (The other two picked it up pretty easily just by sounding things out with mom.)  This was an easy-to-use guide to help me make sure I was teaching all the basics. About 3/4 of the way through, Molly had picked up reading just fine.  Now she's as avid a reader as her older siblings!"

The list author says:
	"We have used this handbook, and others in the series, as a guide for specific writing topics.  It is colorful and written in an engaging way that makes kids want to write.  See www.greatsource.com for more details."

The list author says:
	"If you like a workbook for your child to practice sentence structure basics, this is a great choice.  We didn't use these every year, but to start out with and then again as test score or observation of student's writing showed it to be necessary."

The list author says:
	"The Henry and Mudge books filled a gap between "learning to read" books and "ready to read on my own" books.  Look for all the Henry and Mudge titles in your library, and others written by Cynthia Rylant, too!"

The list author says:
	"You won't need this right away, but be sure to check out this and other "extras" for your curriculum.  I used the CD software versions of many of Critical Thinking's materials as rewards for my kids when they had finished their other school work.  Even though it is educational, they loved "playing" on the computer.  See www.criticalthinking.com for more."

The list author says:
	"This is the First Grade workbook for phonics.  If your child is a good reader, you may very well be ready to use it sooner. See www.learningthings.com for more info, as Amazon doesn't always have this."

The list author says:
	"I didn't use this with my own kids, but I wish that I had.  So I bought it for a friend!  Again, I love the idea of using the quality picture books you already have (or want to own!) and expanding them to create "school" activities."