Curriculum
Learning Styles, Course of Study, Milestones
Everyone has a learning style. Our style of learning, if accommodated, can result in improved attitudes toward learning and an increase in productivity, academic achievement, and creativity, says the website ERIC Education Resources Information Center.
From kindergarten to sixth grade, Core Knowledge’s ‘What Your __th Grader Needs to Know‘ series helps to provide fundamentals that you can expand on.
Ontario Canada Curriculum outline.
What students need to learn in grades 10-12.
Michigan Department of Education’s Curriculum Unit: K-12 Curriculum and Standards. These standards and benchmarks are contained in the Michigan Curriculum Framework.
State Of Maine Learning Goals.
A 20-question research-based screening tool for your child. The score will show if your child’s pre-reading skills are weak, strong, or somewhere in between. And you’ll receive activities and resources to improve those skills.
World Book Shows a typical course of study that reflects general curriculum requirements across North America. The information is categorized by grade level and general skill type or discipline.
Books
General Curriculum
Christian Curriculum
Homeschool Curriculum Search at Christianbook
A Beka Books 877-223-5226
Mott Media Classic Christian Curriculum  McGuffey’s Readers, Ray’s Arithmetics, Harvey’s Grammars, Spencerian Penmanship and other materials.
Sonlight Preschool / Pre-K / Kindergarten Homeschool Families.
Earth-based Religion Curriculum
Goddess Moon Circles Academy Pagan-based curriculum. No statement of faith is required. Also can serve as an umbrella/cover school.
Pagan Homeschooling by Kristin Madden is the first book to address the needs of Pagan and other metaphysical families that are actively homeschooling, considering this option, or simply desiring to integrate a greater degree of spirituality into their children’s educations.
Secular Curriculum
Blossom and Root Creative, Nature-Based, Secular Homeschooling
Calvert offers placement tests, sample lessons, and detailed explanations of each grade’s contents, as well as a number of enrichment courses.
Key Curriculum Press publisher of high school mathematics textbooks, mathematics software, supplementary materials and workbooks, videos, and manipulative materials.
Oak Meadow publishes homeschool curriculum materials that respect the spirit of children while helping them achieve academic excellence. Even offers samples to download. Waldorf method. Their curriculum is designed to be used by people from any religion or belief system. Oak Meadow offers a well-rounded, secular curriculum that accommodates a variety of spiritual beliefs. They do not impose or denigrate any spiritual belief system in the Oak Meadow curriculum. Most parents who use the curriculum find it helpful to read ahead for the week’s lesson they are presenting, If during the course of this reading, you find material that you care to embellish upon with additional explanation, by all means, they invite you to do so. The material is flexible, open to interpretation and conducive to discussion. They encourage their students to learn how to think for themselves, raise questions and search for answers within whatever spiritual context they are guided by. Special thanks to Kristy Demaree of Oak Meadow for her description.
Singapore Math Thorough, non-repetitive curriculum. Mathematics, science and English books.
Mixed Curriculum
Amanda Bennett‘s Unit Study Series.
Hewitt Homeschooling Resources
Teacher Created Resources Be sure to sign up for their newsletter and check their website for free lessons!
Timberdoodle Company offers unique and innovative homeschooling items that are fun for kids and parents. Emphasis is engineering, hands-on, and thinking-skills products that kids love. Doodle Dollars Rewards Save up to 5% on every online order from Timberdoodle. Earn a 5% credit with every eligible product you purchase.
Software
Homeschool Tracker has a Basic Edition which is free to download. It is a good program with many useful features. I recently upgraded to the Plus Edition. The Plus Edition is offered at a very reasonable price, which includes free updates and free technical support. This has got to be one of my favorite homeschooling tools.
Microsoft Kids: The Magic School Bus Bring Back the Beluga game.
Open Office Desktop publishing software 100% free!!
Owl & Mouse Education Software Help your child learn with games, software (most of it free) and educational activities.
Edmark Company Makers of Millie & Bailey Preschool.
Worksheet Factories Worksheet makers.
Used Curriculum
You can find printed material, audio/visual media, manipulatives, props, miscellaneous ‘classroom’ tools (globe, map, whiteboards, etc.) at: antique shops, church rummage sales, curriculum fairs (if they have a used area) – also check a particular vendor – sometimes they’ll have closeout items, college bookstores or other places college students return their books, dollar stores, flea markets, garage/yard sales, library book sales, thrift shops (Salvation Army, Goodwill, etc.), consignment stores, used book stores (a neat one in the Metro Detroit area is John K. King), used music stores (I have found some of our best foreign language tools at a local used music store) (If you’re in Michigan, it’s called Solo Records and Tapes on Woodward in Royal Oak)
One word of caution here when buying educational cds: be sure to read the computer requirements. Look to see that they match your system. Many used cds I’ve run across are too old and will not work on my computer. There are some companies that have a ‘patch’ (for example, DK Learning cds patch can be found at DK CD-ROMs Technical Information http://www.totallearning.ws/CD_Roms/cd_techinfo.php on their website that you can easily download. If you do decide to purchase used cds from a thrift shop, be sure to ask for their return policy first. Salvation Army for instance, does not allow returns of any kind. Be sure to open the case and check the cd for visible damage.
Ask the used stores for their return policy on used videos. When looking at the video, there is a button that will open the tape lip and you can look for damage there. Move the spools on the bottom of the tape to make sure the tape is not broken.
Homeschool Buy, Sell, Swap – Australia For Australian Homeschoolers to swap or sell curriculum.