Homeschool Curriculum-What We Used Last Year

So I'm not sure who'd actually care to read about what curriculum we're using, but I thought if some of you are still trying to decide or are just nosy curious it might be worth sharing. If you're not, you might want to skip this post. It's long and full of homeschool books. :)

I had someone ask me some questions about homeschooling and how to muddle through all of the choices out there, so I'm hoping this helps! Obviously, what works for us might not work for you. Take my recommendations with a grain of salt. :) There really is no "right" way to homeschool. You do what is right for you and your family! That's the beauty of homeschooling!

First I'm going to share what we used last year and what we liked and what we didn't.

We used Alpha Phonics (based on my dear friend's recommendation) to teach reading. I bought it off of Amazon through their used book sellers but you can also find it other places like Christian Book. It is an amazing book! You really don't need very much to teach your child to read. This book and the Bob book series I got for cheap at Costco (I purchased the larger collection sets for like $10 there! So much cheaper than regular bookstores!) did wonders, and we added the Explode the Code series for more phonics, reading, writing, and spelling practice. Jonah really enjoyed Explode the Code and I heartily recommend it. There are several levels. He went through a few books last year, (books 1, 1-1/2, 2, 2-1/2; the half books were for more practice. I wasn't sure he'd need them but I bought them all at the same time so since we already had them, I wanted him to use them!) and he will be doing books 3-6 this year (no half books this year). And of course, just taking time to read out-loud and enjoy books with the boys was essential too in building his reading skills.

To be honest though, I think the biggest part about teaching reading, no matter how scary and intimidating it is, is that your child has to be ready. I liken it to potty training-they do eventually learn, no matter how you go about teaching it. Some kids learn early with no trouble, and others are older and have a more difficult time. Sure, you can force it. But some kids balk and it sets up all sorts of challenges and struggles as you battle it out. Forcing potty training can lead to kids fearing the potty, or refusing to go, even when they are physically capable of doing so. It is the same with reading, if you force it and they hate it, they might despise reading books because of the memories and struggles attached to it. And like potty training, it doesn't mean your kid is "smarter than the average bear" just because they learned early on. If you're beating yourself up about it, and comparing your kid to your friends' kids, just remember, employers don't ever ask you at what age you were potty trained or started reading. They just want you to know how! ;) Eventually every kid is potty trained and every kid can read. By the time a kid reaches kindergarten, diapers are a thing of the past and no one really remembers or cares when they were potty trained. The same thing goes with reading, some kids might start school reading well and others won't know their ABC's, but by the time 2nd or 3rd grade comes around, they're all pretty much on the same level and it doesn't matter who was reading at 3 and who was reading at 7. Yes, of course some kids still read far ahead of their peers but for the most part, they are on a somewhat level field.

I've heard a lot of good things about Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons and The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading as well. You can spend $15 on a simple book, or $200+ on a fancy program with DVDs and activities. I believe every program can be successful in teaching your child to read, but I think it really boils down to a kid being ready to learn and for the parent to remember that he/she can flourish with just about any method at that point. I was able to find these books in my library's inter-loan system so I was able to borrow them and look through them to get a feel for each program. If you're looking for a way to teach reading, check out your library and see if it has any of these books! If you find something you love, use it! And if it's not working for you, try something else.

For math we used Horizons. Jonah really did well with it so we're going to keep using it for first grade. Some people hate Horizons because it jumps around on different topics instead of constantly reinforcing a concept before moving on like Saxon or Math U See does. For now, Jonah really enjoys math and understands it easily, so he'd be bored with doing the same sort of lesson over and over again before moving on. If he ever struggles though, we might need something different. Other programs that I've heard are good, but have never used are Singapore Math, Right Start Math and Miquon Math. Some programs are pricey but use manipulatives or DVDs to explain concepts. See how hard it is to choose homeschool curriculum?! There are literally hundreds of choices and it's so difficult to decide what will work best for your child!

Last year we tried Horizons' Health program but I was really dissatisfied with it. It is designed for a classroom and so many of the activities and lessons needed several students. I ended up scrapping it.

A lot of homeschoolers love curriculum designed for Christian schools, like Abeka or Bob Jones. I personally used some of those textbooks when I was a homeschooled middle schooler but I didn't really like it. Again, so much of it was designed for a classroom setting and we had to skip some stuff because of it.

For Jonah's kindergarten year, I didn't worry too much about science and social studies. Kindy was all about math, reading, and handwriting (the 3 R's). We did a few things here and there to cover science and social studies but nothing that I love and feel is worth sharing about. We went to the $1 section at Target before the school year began and bought several different workbooks to use for those subjects. We also got Brain Quest Workbooks and question and answer card sets to supplement. I used some of the public school curriculum as well but didn't love it.

For handwriting Jonah went through several inexpensive workbooks. You can find those just about anywhere.

If you're considering homeschooling, I recommend just requesting catalogs from as many curriculum publishers and bookstores you think look interesting. Rainbow Resource sent me a free catalog. Oh my word, I was shocked when I got it in the mail! This is no catalog! It was literally the size and weight of a phone book! I'll have to show you a picture sometime.

I really don't think kids younger than 5 or 6 need much official schoolwork. If you want to do pre-school, then just follow your child's lead. I wouldn't push it. Do what you can to encourage a real love for learning! "School" can very quickly become a dirty word if your child feels like he's being forced to do something he doesn't want to do. If your kids are young, just read, read, read! Go to the library often. Borrow books from friends. There are some great book lists online, Ambleside has some good titles listed (although some are fairly advanced for some kids) and Sonlight is another good place to find good books to read. Count Cheerios or M&Ms for math, take him grocery shopping, talk to your child and explain things to her! Live your life and include your kids, and I promise they will learn. You absolutely cannot ruin your children. And most importantly, talk about Jesus, and exemplify a Christian walk with the Lord.

I posted a link to a news article and video a few months ago on schools in Finland. I really think here in America we focus too much on starting kids as early as we can when it really may not be the best thing. If you haven't seen it yet, watch it and tell me what you think! http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/world_news_america/8601207.stm

My next post will be about what we're going to use for first grade. I can't wait to share it with you! :)