Vintage Homeschool Moms

Special Replay: Homeschool Curriculum Buying Guide

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Homeschool Curriculum Buying Guide – What to Buy & Where

Thanks to our sponsor Media Angels Membership site – where you can find K-12 Science Curriculum, novels, and resources for history and writing.

First of all, there is no one perfect curriculum and believe me I’ve made mistakes. When my son was five I purchased a math curriculum and he was struggling so much, I decided to buy another one mid-year at someone’s recommendation. That too turned into a disaster.

The best way to buy homeschool curriculum is to know what you are looking for. But before you do this, please listen to the past podcasts on the topic of curriculum. There I give you specific questions to think about as well as where to go to get great reviews.

All curriculum will not work for all kids. One child may love a math program while another will struggle to get through a lesson. Look at your kids, take note of what they can do or not do and then go from there. We work to remediate weaknesses and build on their strengths. Parents, if your kids are struggling all day the retention of knowledge is not going to be great. If your child is struggling academically get help. One of the podcasts on this network is – Brain Coach Tips Podcast  visit the podcast page and listen to past podcasts that can help you plan accordingly.

We need to encourage our kids, set up their day in small chunks of learning if they are younger and work on a plan ahead of time to alleviate as much frustration as we can. The next podcast in this series is on using forms in your homeschool—and if you are on the mailing list you are receiving these in the monthly planning packs you can print out to use with your family.

If you are not on the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network email list – please join it today. Each month there is a freebie that will help you in your homeschool journey.

How will you teach history? Ancient, World, American? Are you interested in incorporating faith, relationship, family and worldview values?

These are the types of questions you need to ask before you buy.

First, we will discuss what you are looking for, then where to research and finally where to purchase!

Little Kids

  1. Structure begins slowly
  2. Hands-on is a must to build strength in their hands, fine and gross motor skills
  3. Character development and gentle correction toward honesty
  4. Phonics skills
  5. Math concepts – big picture with manipulatives
  6. Art and projects
  7. Music and lessons
  8. Dress up and play
  9. Time for exploration

    10. Elementary

    1. Books, books, books
    2. Active listening and answering simple questions that become progressively harder
    3. Retelling a story/recall information (preface with listening carefully)
    4. Phonics – Phonics – Phonics and reading skills
    5. Writing skills can begin with open-ended stories, drawing pictures with short sentences.
    6. Copy work
    7. Math concepts with manipulatives
    8. Memorization of facts (including math, science, history, geography)
    9. Art and projects
    10. Music and lessons
    11. Time to explore

      12. Upper Elementary

      1. Concepts are key – are they getting it? If not regroup
      2. Math basics now become the bedrock for higher concepts and application
      3. Reading harder and longer books. (Or remediation if needed)
      4. Grammar Skills. Advanced writing working on reports (book), or smaller one page reports on history and science topics. This can advance into longer papers. Teach writing skills. WriteShop.com is incremental and highly recommended.
      5. Health and Anatomy – I find this lacking in children’s education.
      6. Art and projects
      7. Music and lessons
      8. Experimentation – science experiments
      9. Nature studies and exploration
      10. History events – timelines, biographies

        11. Middle School

        1. How is your child doing? Remediation or advancement?
        2. Pre-Algebra or Algebra
        3. Grammar Skills. Writing skills are important. Reports and longer papers.
        4. Science: Botany, Astronomy, Physical Science, Earth Science, Biology, Anatomy, General Science
        5. Literature, or reading books that pertain to subjects studied. Biographies, or events.
        6. Art and projects
        7. Music and lessons
        8. Experimentation – science experiments
        9. History and an understanding of chronology, events etc.

          10.  

          High School

          1. Algebra, Geometry, Algebra 2/Trigonometry, Pre-Calculus, Calculus. D Math https://ultimateradioshow.com/mr-d-math/
          2. Reports and longer papers typically tied into subjects or Literature courses.
          3. Science: Biology, Chemistry (requires more math) Physics, Oceanography, Anatomy, or see topics above.
          4. History: World History, American History, Government
          5. Economics – Macro and Micro
          6. Drivers Education – online to take the test. (Get driver’s handbook)
          7. Books that pertain to subjects studied. Biographies, or events in history.
          8. Sports, Art, Music, Lessons

            9.  

            Okay – now what you have been waiting for … where to buy your curriculum.

            Literature and History – real books. Biographies, original sources.

            Math, Science, Electives:

            1. From the Individual Publisher (get on their mailing lists for discounts). Saxon, Chalkdust, Apologia Science
            2. Homeschool Conferences – you can talk to the publisher! Added bonus. Please bless them by buying from them instead of cheaper online.
            3. Christian Book Distributors
            4. Rainbow Resources, Timberdoodle
            5. Christian Book stores – homeschool section.
            6. Used Curriculum Sales; Amazon/ eBay – but you won’t have the new book (rarely) or support from the publisher.
            7. Amazon Storefront – Media Angels has a storefront –but often other sale options are suggested.
            8. Abe Books – where we bought many of our novels and literature
            9. Great Courses – secular but many of the classes are wonderful.
            10. Facebook groups – Book swap or sales

              11. In the upcoming series, I podcast on great educational websites. We used several websites to supplement our homeschool studies. However, do not ignore books! The information you can get from books is still superior in many cases to a snippet you read online.

              I hope this has helped you to decide what you need as well as where you can purchase the books in person and online.

              The post Special Replay: Homeschool Curriculum Buying Guide appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

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