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Every teacher has different qualities that they look for in a curriculum. It should be educationally sound and work for both student and teacher. However, a resource doesn't need to be perfect... sometimes it just needs to be "good enough". When I asked my daughter how she liked her math book, she pondered and then admitted its real draw back was that it was, in fact, a math book! And, lets face it, you just can't get around that!
Resources:
- Accountable Kids: We love this! It's kind of a chore chart, kind of an incentive system... This isn't so much about the heart of discipline, but rather a system that reinforces increasing independence, responsiblity, and accountability. "The Accountable Kids program is based on the principle of the law of the harvest; you reap what you sow. The program allows your child to experience this principle on a continuing basis through choices and consequences."
- Community Bible Study: Their resources are amazing. If you want to study the Bible in an in-depth group setting this is an amazing organization. Locally there is a day class, with a full children's program, and a teen class that meets on Tuesday evenings. Studying the Bible with your children is the best investment you will ever make in their education.
- Mountain Ocarinas: I absolutely adore Mountain Ocarinas! Their ocarinas are beautiful, affordable, and come with a lifetime breakage guarantee... plus their self-teaching curriculum is wonderfully put together so that the budding musician can be successful right away. The tone is gorgeous and the fingering intuitive. Check them out on You Tube for more examples.
Curricula:
- Sonlight Curriculum: We've used Sonlight since K4 and loved every minute of it! The articles in the catalog are great tools for the examination of your homeschool priorities and the choices we all need to make.
- Bob Jones: We used Bob Jones English (just the student workbook) for fourth and fifth grades. It's a great combination of grammer, mechanics, and writing. The writing instruction is methodical and thorough for the younger grades. We also used their math curriculum for K4 and K5, but found it much too "classroom-ish".
- Five in a Row: If you're "unit study" saavy, this is a great program, especially for the early grades. The various activities and lessons gently introduce a young child to the educational process. This never worked for me because my brain just can't successfully implement a Unit Study curriculum.
- A Beka: This is a very traditional curriculum, written for the Christian school environment. We've used and enjoyed their early Art Projects (K4-2) and their Health (1st-5th) books. The art projects alleviated that "I should be more crafty with my Kindergartener" guilt while the health books and companion tests practiced some much needed study skills.
Books:
These are ten of the books that have most influenced my thinking and changed my life:
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