Given our current climate with the uncertainty of schools reopening, due to COVID-19, I know that there is already a serious uptick in those who are considering homeschooling this fall. So, I figured now is as good a time as any to list my all-time favorite homeschooling curriculums. Having homeschooled 2 of my kids all the way through high school, I had plenty of opportunities to check out what worked for us and what didn’t. There are so many good resources out there, these days, for homeschoolers. I am only going by what has proven tried and true for our family.

I have always favored an eclectic style of homeschooling, and have been willing to try many different types of curriculum. My favorite is a really hands-on learning style, but my children each had different personalities and sometimes I had to tailor the same curriculum to different learning styles. At times I even created my own tests (upper years – I don’t personally favor much in the way of tests and grades through middle school – don’t worry, my kids have excelled, academically, in college). Everyone’s experience will be different, but here are my top fave picks:

 

The Bible: For all age groups. Need I say more?

 

PRE-K AND KINDERGARTEN: 

Anything but boring workbooks! Lots of fun field trips, lots of fun nature walks and related nature activities, lots of crafts, Bob books, manuscript tablet for learning to print, lots of math manipulatives, and tons of “twaddle-free” picture books. Read-aloud, read-aloud, read-aloud!

 

ELEMENTARY: 

–Teach cursive! I put this first because I still think it is important. Too many schools are not teaching cursive anymore, and I believe cursive is an important part of developing the brain. I also have a box full of old letters and postcards that my parents and grandparents (and I) wrote. How will anyone be able to read them in the future? Cursive is still a much faster way to write, too, and writing by hand improves hand-eye coordination. Additionally, it requires that our brains, not the computers, still do the spellchecking. Any cursive guide will be helpful, including stencils. By the way, I taught my kids to type on a keyboard early, as well, using fun typing videos. The emphasis was on correct finger placement. (No cell phones till their late teens.)

–Copywork is what I favor in the early to mid-elementary years, for writing. I love to use a combination of Bible verses and good quality children’s literature. The idea is to copy the verses, poems, or paragraphs several times during the week, which builds hand-eye coordination, memory skills, technical skills, and an ability to see how good sentences and story lines are structured. Around 4th or 5th grade, I had my children begin to keep a journal of their thoughts and experiences. I also started using blank books (either soft or hard cover) to create their own fictional stories or put together collections of photographs and captions (such as a zoo book or a backyard field guide to plants), or their own “magazines”. One of my kids worked on a magazine entitled “God’s Incredible Creatures” for 2 years. It consisted of her own original “true or false” question section, an originally-designed (small) crossword puzzle, interesting facts about different animals, and downloaded pictures and diagrams from the Internet. (In hindsight, this was probably at more of the middle school level.)

—Living books! A “living book”, simply put, is a book that “comes alive” when you read it. It doesn’t read like a textbook. It engages and draws in the reader. Living books can encompass many different genres, but they should be of a higher caliber than a lot of the “twaddle” (a phrase coined by Charlotte Mason in the 19th century) out there. You can look up various lists of living books by googling them.

–Five in a Row is an outstanding and fun curriculum I used during the earlier years of elementary school. It uses living books as its foundation, and builds language, math, art, science, and other lessons around the picture books. The public library is a great resource for most of the core picture books used, and is truly a homeschooler’s best friend. I became the “Queen of the Inter-Library Transfers”!

-I couldn’t get away from workbooks for spelling and grammar in the early years. They’re mostly the same, to me. I was extremely diligent about teaching spelling, though. When one of my children cried about her spelling book, in the first grade, I used Dr. Seuss books instead.

–Math-U-See is a wonderful curriculum for the elementary years. It uses a lot of manipulatives, which makes the lessons ideal for a visual or hands-on learner. My own kids seemed to do better with workbooks; however, I used a lot of hands-on lessons to supplement them (i.e., playing store and, in later years, figuring out sales percentages at the department store). 

–Apologia is the only science curriculum that my kids and I both enjoyed throughout their entire school experience. Several books in the series are available at the elementary level. I can’t say enough about this company. They are solidly creation-based, and contain many excellent supplemental activities that are especially fun to do with a group. I also put together my own science curriculum in some of the earlier years, such as unit studies on birds and trees. 

-My favorite, hands-down, for history/social studies would be Story of the World, with the exception of Volume I. I did not like the fact that the author was unwilling to present a biblical view of a literal 6-day creation, so I used Linda Hobar’s Mystery of History instead. It was extremely Bible-centered and had a really fun timeline you could do, using a special trifold board and pasting different materials to it to represent a specific time period. Recently, the Notgrass company has come out with a couple of different books geared to this age group. I wish they had been available when my kids were younger.

–Encouraging music and art appreciation are an integral part of a well-rounded elementary education, as well as supplying lots of opportunities for physical activities and group interaction. My kids learned to play instruments, learned to draw and do basic crafts, and participated in local homeschool co-ops and YMCA activities, in addition to lessons in ballet, gymnastics, etc. And continue to do lots of fun field trips! They are an invaluable educational experience and, as a homeschooler, you have a lot more flexibility to do a lot more of them!

 

MIDDLE SCHOOL: (when the intensity heats up a bit)

–Living books! (Good literature should never stop!) Again, there are many quality books out there that you can google.

–IEW (Institute for Excellence in Writing) has a great program for teaching kids to write – one subject that most parents dread teaching (partly because grading it can be so subjective). Beginning programs utilize Andrew Pudewa’s (IEW’s founder) engaging style on video. IEW also has an excellent grammar curriculum, Fix It! Fix It teaches grammar skills using stories from living books and fairy tales as a foundation. Much more fun than a workbook! It also helps with spelling, though I continued to use spelling workbooks or lists. I think I may have already stated that I was a spelling “Nazi”. 

–Teaching Textbooks, for math, became a quick favorite of ours for the middle school years. The student is able to work completely independently, using CD-Roms that have a built-in “tutor”. We always used the workbooks along with the CDs. The CDs are incredibly user-friendly, with pop-up characters that tell the students how they’re doing!

–Apologia, again! Nothing beats it! You can do General Science and Physical Science. I preferred doing General Science first, but I’m not sure that it matters. There is also an Anatomy text that is lower-middle-school appropriate. Great experiments to go along with each module, using many household items you already have on hand or can obtain cheaply. 

–History can consist of more Story of the World, but I love the Notgrass curriculum, America the Beautiful, From Adam to Us, and Uncle Sam and You. These are beautifully-done books with color photographs. They have Bible, literature, and writing curriculums built-in if you desire to use those (we used the Bible lessons and the literature). America the Beautiful inspired us to visit some places (field trips!) that we did not otherwise know about. Drive Thru History (Dave Stotts) DVDs are a must-have supplement for me.

-Continue music, art, sports, field trips, and any other areas of interest to the middle schooler! 

 

HIGH SCHOOL: (Now the intensity does pick up! The good news? If properly prepared, your student is now a highly independent learner!):

-At the risk of redundancy, Living Books! Additionally, I love the Progeny Press curriculum to use as a study guide. It will take you through a Biblical perspective of secular books, and I enjoyed reading through the literature and teaching with the PP guides. It made it more interesting for my kids and held them more accountable. I also taught it to a group, as well as teaching Introduction to Poetry: Forms and Elements. What a great (and user-friendly) way to learn a subject that is daunting to many. Progeny Press guides all contain extremely helpful answer keys, since literature questions can be intimidating and somewhat subjective.

–IEW, once again, is my choice for teaching writing at the upper level (students often like to take outside or online classes for this). I also favor teaching grammar throughout high school, using Fix-It! 

-Some will disagree (as with anything else I might post on here), but my kids loved Teaching Textbooks for math at the upper levels, as well. Yes, they truly learned math this way and, yes, they were prepared for college courses this way. 

–Apologia for science! There are many books to choose from: Exploring Creation with Biology, Marine Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Anatomy, and Health and Nutrition. There are advanced books on some of these subjects, as well, for AP-type credit. (I found the non-advanced books to be advanced enough, but very clear and completely suitable for independent learning.) 

–History fave (once again – ta da!) is Notgrass. It is the only history curriculum I found to be comprehensive enough for the independent high school learner, and will take the student all the way through high school. Choices are Exploring the U.S., World History, Geography, Government, and Economics. These are beautifully-photographed books that also contain Bible, literature, and writing lessons, if you choose to use these components. Drive Thru History (Dave Stotts) DVDs are a great supplement in high school, too! 

–Field trips are going to be a bit more limited through high school, but electives that the student favors should be encouraged (as finances, etc., allow). I encourage physical fitness all throughout the high school years. Why neglect the body for the mind? I also chose to have a hands-on approach with at least a couple of subjects through these years, as well, because I loved being able to learn, or re-learn, many of the topics I am interested in. And, please, don’t forget to teach Life Skills, which can encompass so much. Kids need to know the basics of how to take care of themselves regarding anything from cooking and doing laundry to how to handle their finances. (Finance is a great high school elective.)

 

I would be happy to help anyone with any input they may need to start (or keep) homeschooling. It is one of my passions. For any additional input on curriculum choices (mine or others you may choose), I would refer you to Cathy Duffy’s site, as she puts out extensive reviews of the various and abundant selections out there. I have also posted a hyperlink to Donna Young’s site on my home page. It has many free downloadables and helpful tips you can use. 

All in all, I must have earned the equivalent of a couple of bachelor’s degrees throughout my homeschooling experience. I have thoroughly enjoyed becoming a lifelong learner, and have encouraged my children to do the same. I hope you will, too. It is a challenging, but thrilling, experience that I wouldn’t trade for anything! Bon Voyage!