Homeschooling resources (curriculum, craft supplies, etc)


This page will also be a continuous work in progress as I add more resources. I've only started the list so it will take a while for everything to be put in. (last update Oct. 30, 2014) Also check the Fun/cool/educational website page as there are a lot of free curriculum/courses there as well!

If your just starting out or curious about homeschooling and not sure of your state laws check here..
HSLDA 
Also as a note check out Homeschool buyers Co-op They often have discounts and special bulk buys for homeschoolers. What to know what others think about the homeschooling curriculum? Look Here.

Don't forget to check out your local bookstores (Barnes & Noble usually has a great selection if you have one near you) and Amazon.com for educational books, reference books, and books about homeschooling (different philosophies, how to get started, etc.), different teaching/learning methods, and textbooks/worksheets, educational games etc. The "What your (insert grade here) needs to know" series is pretty nice as well and you can probably pick up a used one on amazon easily. They are available on kindle I believe for those who want an electronic version, I myself love having the physical book to make notes in, highlight, etc. which I find easier in a non-digital format.

For some interesting reading on the public school systems....

http://www.rd.com/advice/parenting/american-school-system-damaging-kids/

Some interesting reading on different homeschooling methods....

http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/unshackled-and-unschooled-free-range-learning-movement-grows/
http://zenhabits.net/unschool/


Interesting Video for those interested in what unschooling means...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T4mC53vuPs

Interesting list of current leaders in Math/Science and Technology that were homeschooled:
http://www.examiner.com/article/25-modern-science-math-and-technology-leaders-who-were-homeschooled

frequently used program is Classical Conversations (Christian based) You can check them out here...

http://www.classicalconversations.com/

Also Charlotte Mason (Bible based)  - While this is bible based, it is not required. Easy enough to remove or adapt to your purposes using books of your choosing. One nice thing about the website is the list of the 5 homeschool types with a brief discription.(we use a hybrid system of unschooling/unit studies)

http://simplycharlottemason.com/five-homeschooling-styles/

Some different philosophies/approaches to homeschooling

Montessori
http://amshq.org/montessori-education/introduction-to-montessori
http://www.montessori.edu/homeschooling.html

Waldorf
http://www.christopherushomeschool.org/learning-more/articles-on-aspects-of-waldorf-education/articles-by-donna-simmons/introduction.html 
http://www.waldorfhomeschoolers.com/ 

Unschooling
http://www.naturalchild.org/guest/earl_stevens.html 
http://www.johnholtgws.com/frequently-asked-questions-abo/ 

Unit studies
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/designing-homeschool-unit-studies.html 
 http://www.thehomeschoolmom.com/homeschool-lesson-plans/unit-studies/

Traditional
http://homeschooling911.com/how-to-home-school-traditional-methods/ 

Classical Education Method
http://www.welltrainedmind.com/classical-education/ 

Charlotte Mason
https://simplycharlottemason.com/ 




One of the other things people often ask about is planners. I haven't seen any that I really like to purchase but I have used some from here: http://donnayoung.org/forms/planners/index.htm
One of the reasons I like these is that I can print which ever form I need and If I mess up on something it's easy enough to remove them from a 3 ring binder and replace. There are several different ones from unit studies to grammar to science specific ones. Plus it's free, which is nice as well.

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While there are a lot of good religious based Curriculum, many of us have a harder time finding a more secular based curriculum (whether it's because we aren't religious, or we choose to teach our religious beliefs on our own). I try and mark the religious based items/curriculum etc. as such (so if I missed one, please let me know!) but please note I do not use them other than having looked them over a little and I do not know which may be young earth vs. old earth Views. If I don't use them why do I list them? There are many new homeschoolers that look for information and resources, I try and list as many of them as I run across them so that if someone chooses to use religious based learning they have an idea of some places to look. 
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Placement/ Assessments are often discussed...There are a few places that you can find them online..
https://eprcontent.k12.com/placement/placement/placement_langarts_2.html


Curriculum - Build your own

When building your own don't forget to look up things on youtube and netflix or Amazon (if you have an account with either of them). Lots of great documentaries, kids educational programing etc. 

Rainbow Resource has a huge catalog they mail out and tons of information. I love this catalog, It's over 2 inches thick and PACKED with great stuff (and probably everything listed here)
Singapore Math (math, science, English and Chinese)
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt - Includes Saxon Math, language arts, science, social studies, French and Spanish) 
Digital frog - Science options 
R.E.A.L. science - Science and history books/texts download or hardcopy available
Five in a Row (FIAR)
Explode the code - phonics, reading
Math Mammoth - free math assessment and some free sample worksheets are available on their site as well if your not sure where to start
Reading in 100 easy lessons - Some love it, some hate it. I have had a few people say they don't think it's comprehensive enough and that they add to it, others think it's just fine.
Growing with grammar - spelling, grammar,writing
GuestHollow - FREE (Christian based) history, science and math curriculum and tons of printables
Time Travelers history -  Religious based
teach with movies   Lists movies/lesson plans for several different subjects. You still have to get a hold of the movies though. 
http://lifeoffredmath.com/  While some really like the program, I've had others say they supplement still with it using either mobymax (free version) or Khan academy.



Here are two links the top ones for the girls while the bottom ones directed at the boys. Offer both a Christian version and a Jewish version. Price depends on which length of membership you go with. I haven't heard a lot about these programs at this point. Both sites do have a free trial that you can use to check them out before purchasing.
http://always-icecream.com/login 
http://clever-dragons.com/login


Curriculum - Boxed sets


Abeka - Christian based learning
Oak Meadow - Boxed set for schooling at home, but also has an online school option, Secular
Sonlight - Christian based learning either a full boxed set or a core package are available however you can also purchase by subject if desired
Horizons You can purchase either a boxed set for your grade level or just those classes that interest you. - Christian based learning
Heart of Dakota - Christian based learning
Moving beyond the page - secular, complete curriculum

Online schooling - SOME ARE FREE :)
Public online schools are free in many area's but depends on your state. Private online schools usually have a fee base learning (tuition)
Calvert - Tuition based program. 
Connections Academy - Public or Private online options available
Easy Peasy - Free online Christian based schooling
k12 - Also has a paid Homeschool curriculum not just the online public school 
Time for learning - Monthly fee per child 
Ambleside - Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling. Website is free, many free online books or most you can get at the library. Religious based.
MobyMax  - online K-8 FREE math, reading, language. They even have a pretest to make sure they start you out at the right place. 
Khan Academy   - FREE 3-8 grade math, science, economics, and humanities. 
Learning page - FREE Grades pre-K to 3rd has language arts, Math and science included in their themed units (Dinosaurs, reptiles, insects/spiders, ocean, zoo animals, and space) fun murals to print out and color then put up on the walls, cut outs, worksheets, etc.  
Lesson Pathways - FREE online for K-5 full curriculum (science, history, language arts, reading and phonics, Math, etc)
Simple Schooling Classroom - FREE
CK-12 - FREE - k-12 curriculum for math, science
McGraw-hill Treasures - FREE k-6 language arts/reading program 
Scott Foresman Reading - FREE Online reading and grammer 1- 6th grade 
Childrens' University of Manchester 
Kids know it
http://biomanbio.com/
http://www.biologycorner.com/
http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mepres/primary/default.htm
http://www.typingweb.com/teacherportal/
http://www.heyitsfree.net/free-state-maps/
http://discoveryk12.com/dk12/ Free k-12 online program
http://www.k12reader.com/- reading specific 
http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/NaturalSciences/- science for k-8th

http://www.goorulearning.org/?gclid=CMmD-4DTgsUCFQEGvAodyREAqg#home
http://discoveryk12.com/dk12/


Foreign Language/Sign Language
http://www.memrise.com/home/ 
http://www.duolingo.com/
http://www.lifeprint.com/
http://www.french-games.net/
http://gale.powerspeak.com/ - may be available through your library
http://www.mangolanguages.com/ - also may be available through your library - large selection of languages
http://www.early-advantage.com/trialoptin/ - available for a fee online, or possibly free through library
French specific - http://www.learnfrenchwithalexa.com/ - has a free trial to try before you buy. The girls really enjoyed it. Probably worth the $99 per year cost.
http://www.spanishtown.ca/  - Spanish specific - FREE online

Highschool level Math - 
http://www.mathplanet.com/
http://www.mathportal.org/
http://www.mathportal.org/


Science Equipment

http://www.hometrainingtools.com/ 
http://www.sciencelabsupplies.com/ 



Arts and crafts

http://www.artyfactory.com/   online free art lessons

http://www.openculture.com/2014/01/download-over-250-free-art-books-from-the-getty-museum.html 

Oriental trading has lots of inexpensive crafting and party supplies. Fun site and great for making "gift bags".

Nature Craft Projects & Kits - Activity Kits, crafts, educational materials, books! Lots of NEAT stuff!

Books, Kits, etc.

Silver Dolphin Books  This is a new find for us. We picked up their Animal Adventures Ocean fun kit (book, stickers, cards, 3d figures, diorama etc.) at Costco and came home and loved it so much we checked out the website for them. Looks like lots of fun interactive stuff! Check them out.  

Scholastic - Has a huge selection of books, teaching materials, kits, etc. If you are a homeschooler you can sign up for a "teacher" account. I have heard from a few people that you need to have at least a 1st grader to really get a good response from them. They'll take a little while to process your order if you've not ordered from them before. They email for more information for your "School". 

Amazon - Carries tons of science equipment, Smithsonian science Kits, etc. not just your favorite books so make sure you check there as well. They often have great deals on microscopes, telescopes, etc.


Discount School Supply - Arts and Craft supplies, school room and other furniture, games, etc. While I've not bought anything from them yet, arts and crafts seem reasonable, but plan on buying bulk for some stuff :) Great for your club purchases as well etc. 

Usborne The kids and I really enjoy the Usborne books we have especially the internet-linked  Encyclopedias. 
** Please note, I did recently become a consultant for Usborne due to our love of their books. While I did mainly decide to do so for our own use the link provided does go to MY usborne link website**

Did you know? 
We picked this book up at Barnes and Noble (if your a homeschooler, make sure you pick up an educator card, they are free and can save a lot on your purchases, and sign up for your local stores e-mail list for teacher appreciation days/sales, etc). and really enjoy it. Lots of fun facts on a lot of different subjects!

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