Top Five Homeschooling Curriculum Choices

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There are so many awesome curriculum choices available! It is very easy to get overwhelmed with all the options available to homeschooling families. There are some companies where you can purchase an entire curriculum for the whole school year for one price. Others provide you with options to purchase individual products for specific subject areas. As we have been members of the Homeschool Review Crew for the past two years, we have used a variety of materials and have discovered quite a few favorites.

Top Five Homeschooling Curriculum Choices in Our Homeschool 

SchoolhouseTeachers.com – Every Subject. Every Grade. Every Student.

I first came across SchoolhouseTeachers.com several years ago when I saw that they had positions for lesson designers. I was so very excited to write courses for them because I LOVE writing curriculum. That was one of my favorite parts of being a teacher. A short while later, I joined the Homeschool Review Crew and then our high school student decided to join us on the homeschooling journey. We use SchoolhouseTeachers.com almost exclusively for our high schooler. There are 475 courses for PK-12 grade. If you need math for first, second, or third grade, there are options for your homeschool. If you are looking for courses in British Literature or American Literature, there are courses you can use in your homeschool. So many great options!

This year, SchoolhouseTeachers.com introduced School Boxes. No matter if you are a brand new homeschooler or a veteran homeschool mom, you can use the virtual Homeschool Curriculum Boxes to help plan your homeschool year. The new Curriculum Box provides all the content you need to provide an entire school year's worth of curriculum. You can just open and go! And if you already have a great social studies curriculum (for example), you do not need to use that curriculum guide. It is all up to you as a homeschool parent.

History Homeschool Curriculum Resources 

There are many homeschooling history resources that I found over the past several years. Because I love history, I constantly seek out historical material. WriteBonnieRose shares a great number of history-related resources that allow students of various ages to learn about history as well as to practice their copywork. I also love using materials from Notgrass History and Home School in the Woods in our homeschool.

Notgrass History 

Last year, our teen used Exploring Government for his junior year. During his studies using the textbook and accompanying materials, he explored the government of the United States from the beginning to the present day. Everything was laid out in a clear, easy-to-understand manner that made Exploring Government not only a class that was simple to include in his homeschool day but also very valuable. He learned about how government operates at the federal, state, and local levels as well as the various issues that are important to the United States today. (I also really enjoyed reading the textbook and learned a lot myself!)

This year, we will be using Our Star-Spangled Story for our second grader. When I was looking at history options for our younger son, I fell in love with the samples that Notgrass History provides for Our Star-Spangled Story (well, for all their materials to be honest). The textbooks are beautiful with full-color photographs and illustrations. I bought the bundle that combines the curriculum and literature packages so that we have all the books to read along with Our Star-Spangled Story. I love that we will be including songs, dances, and hands-on activities with reading to learn history this year.

Home School in the Woods

Another fantastic company that I love for history resources is Home School in the Woods. We have been fortunate enough to review several of their products over the years with both of our sons – including resources to learn about the election, a Lap-Pak to learn about knights, and unit studies on the Renaissance and Reformation and the American Civil War. I love that their materials are digital. So, with a family license, I can use the material for all three of our children very easily.

Schooling with Games, Foreign Languages, and More! 

Timberdoodle 

Timberdoodle is a great company that offers complete curriculum packages for purchase. They offer different levels such as elite, complete, and basic as well as religious and nonreligious kits. These options make them a good choice for families who are secular homeschoolers and for those who are religious homeschoolers, too. And if you do not need an entire curriculum package, they offer many of the items for individual sale. In the past, we have purchased science materials from them such as Apologia's Exploring Creation with Astronomy, the Curious Chef 3-Piece Nylon Knife Set, and Channie's My First Letters tracing pad.

We have also been fortunate enough to review several games from Timberdoodle including:

• Gobblet Gobblers - A fun twist on Tic-Tac-Toe 
• Tenzi Game and Tenzi Card Deck 
• Bugzzle 

I love that we can incorporate games into our homeschool day to help work on critical thinking skills, problem-solving, cooperation, and teamwork. Games provide a great brain break for the day, too. 

Memoria Press – Studying Latin 

If you are looking for a curriculum that takes a classical approach to education, then I recommend Memoria Press. And just what is classical education? According to Memoria Press, "classical education is the cultivation of wisdom and virtue through the study of the liberal arts and the Great Books."

Memoria Press also offers full curriculum packages or allows homeschoolers to purchase just the materials they need for their homeschool. We have used a number of their products, including the First Start Reading Program, their Simply Classical Writing, and Prima Latina.  I love their approach to teaching and the quality of the materials. We started reviewing Prima Latina with our younger son at the start of the summer and we will pick up the curriculum again this school year. I love that Prima Latina can be purchased with a DVD so that I don't have to worry about my own pronunciation of the Latin. Our son can learn along with the instructor in the videos. That makes it so much easier to teach a foreign language!

What are your Top Five Homeschooling Curriculum Choices? Where do you turn for great curriculum for your homeschool?

Yesterday we shared our must have resources...please see what everyone shared on their blogs!


Chareen @ Every Bed of Roses shares My Must Have Homeschool Resources.
Kristen @ A Mom's Quest to Teach shares Homeschooling Must Have Resources and Supplies in Our Home.
Annette @ A Net in Time shares Nature Study Bring Alongs.
Jessica @ My Homeschool with a View shares My Top 5 Homeschool Supplies.
Dawn @ Schoolin' Swag shares Must Have Supplies ... For Mom.
Vicki B @ Tumbleweed News shares Homeschool Must Have Resources / Supplies.
Yvonne @ The Life We Build shares her Top 5 Favorite Homeschool Supplies and Resources.
Lori @ At Home: Where Life Happens shares Homeschool Supplies... Squirrel.

Creating Magic with Djeco Artistic Patch Cosmos

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of Djeco Artistic Patch Cosmos from Timberdoodle in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page. Thank you. 

This homeschool year, our first grader is studying astronomy. So, we were very excited to add in some fun and creativity with Djeco Artistic Patch Cosmos. We had the opportunity to review this product thanks to Timberdoodle. They offer curriculum kits which contain a variety of learning materials including puzzles, games, and arts and crafts. 

If you are looking for an arts and crafts activity that does not require anything outside of the box that it arrives in, then the Djeco Artistic Patch Cosmos kit might be a good fit for your family. Everything you need is provided in the box. 

What Do You Get? 

The Djeco Artistic Patch Cosmos kit is packaged in a sturdy box (that is a little difficult to open) and contains the following:

• One instructions page

• Eight sheets with stars, planets, rocket ships, alien ships, and more to create your designs 

• Ten foil sheets (2 purple, 2 gold, 3 red stars, 3 silver stars) 

• Twelve sheets with the start of a design printed on them

• A small folder in which you can keep the images and foil

How Did We Use Djeco Artistic Patch Cosmos in Our Homeschool? 

With it being spring break week for us, the Djeco Artistic Patch Cosmos kit was a nice way to still talk about our astronomy course while having fun. After breakfast, I sat down with our six-year-old first grader to begin creating his first images using the 'magic glue' and 'magic transfer' process to create 'magic' pictures. We laid everything out on the table to see what was contained in the kit and what his options were for creating pictures. 

After a slight hiccup (I was confused a bit by the instructions), our son created two fun pictures in about 30-45 minutes. He examined the four different options as bases for his creations and then began looking through the eight sheets to pick which images he wanted to transfer onto his picture. There are a great number of options from a variety of stars, rocket ships, planets, and astronauts. 

After picking which image to transfer, I separated it from the sheet (they are perforated and quite easy to separate). He then transferred the image. Next he picked the color foil he wished to use and I pressed the foil onto his picture. 

What Did We Think? 

The materials are all well-made and very intriguing to use to create scenes set in the cosmos. I was a bit frustrated with the instructions because they contain no text. Personally, I need text to help me figure out how to do things. So, I am sad to say I messed up the first image that our son wanted to use because I did not understand that you needed to place the plastic part onto the picture.

Picking out which shapes to use.

Our six-year-old son really enjoyed the creativity that the Artistic Patch kit afforded him. He was able to pick from eight different sheets of a variety of images to create his final picture. He said that you can see the shape under the clear plastic and see how it changes as the shape becomes attached to the paper. He said he liked the actual transferring of the images. He felt that because you had to transfer the images using the 'magic glue' it was more of a craft than just putting stickers onto a page.

I also like the fact that the kit is not just stickers. The finished product looks so nice since you use the foil pages to make the image appear. My only concern is that as we use more and more of the foil, I am afraid that it will be difficult to finish out the pictures. Will we have enough foil left?

Even with my concern and initial problem, I would recommend the Djeco Artistic Patch Cosmos kit to families who are looking for a fun piece to add to their homeschool day. As the product is for ages 6 to 10, I think that elementary school-aged children will have a fun time using it. A six-year-old could do it by themselves but they might make some mistakes while older children could do it all by themselves quite easily.

The Djeco Artistic Patch Cosmos is a fun inclusion in the First Grade Timberdoodle Curriculum Kit.

A Wonderful Shopping Option for Homeschool Families

When looking for somewhere to purchase homeschool curriculum or materials for your homeschool, there are so many choices that shopping might seem a bit daunting. We were fortunate enough to discover Timberdoodle Co, a family-owned company that started in 1985 to help homeschooling families.  The special emphasis of Timberdoodle is a focus on hands-on and thinking-skills products that kids will love and learn from, too.

Note: This is a non-sponsored post.

When family asked if they could purchase a gift certificate for a homeschooling company to help us purchase needed materials for our homeschooling journey, I thought of several options but settled upon Timberdoodle. I had already made a purchase from Timberdoodle with which I was quite happy. So, I suggested their company.

As we are a family that reviews products and shares them on our blog, I knew that purchasing an entire curriculum package was not what we needed from Timberdoodle. (Although their packages look AWESOME and I would love to purchase one in the future.) I was able to get materials and items for every member of the family from our four-year-old daughter to my husband and myself.

What Did We Purchase

We purchased both curriculum items and items that might be considered just for fun even though they are educational.

• Batman Science 
• Kum 4-in-1 Pencil Sharpener
• IQ Stars
• Show Me How to Survive
• Exploring Government Curriculum Package
• Curious Chef 3 Piece Nylon Knife Set
• Channie's My First Letters
• Q-bitz Solo 

How Will We Use These Items

From our previous experience, we purchased two sets of science books from Apologia for the next two years for our middle son and later our younger daughter. We are currently using the Astronomy book and loving it!

The pencil sharpener is just what I needed! I haven't found a good electric one yet and just needed something to keep with our homeschooling materials. This one is compact and works quite well. Perfect for regular pencils and colored pencils.

Our teen is using the Exploring Government Curriculum Package for his homeschooling studies this school year. So far, we are only a few chapters into the book, but I really like how it is divided. The lessons are laid out quite clearly so that our teen knows just want is expected of him each week. I also like that there is a language arts component that is optional. With that, we could have our son read several books that tie into the Exploring Government material.

Our two younger children and myself are enjoying using the IQ Stars and Q-bitz solo activities. What a fun way to work on building logic skills and keeping the brain active!

I love how everything fits nicely into the IQ Stars container.

The cards, blocks, tray, and instruction booklet fit nicely in the metal tin.

What I am Dreaming About

As a history teacher, I really love the look of Uncle Sam and You Curriculum Package and the Exploring America Curriculum Package. I feel like I can never have enough history books and materials.

I am also keeping the next books in the Exploring Creation series from Apologia in my wishlist as our two younger children are enjoying the Astronomy textbook and notebooking journal.

We would also like to add the other Q-bitz games to our family collection of games. We can never have too many games or activities that promote critical thinking skills.

Blog Team

As a member of the Timberdoodle Blog Team, I will be sharing reviews of some products that Timberdoodle sells and includes in their curriculum packages. In the future, I will be sharing our thoughts about Bugzzle – a game that will assist children ages 3+ in working on spatial reasoning, critical thinking, and problem-solving.

A Quest for a Great Homeschool Year: The Sciences Overview for 2019-2020

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page. Thank you.

We have a plan in place for Science this year! Our younger son has eagerly begun studying Astronomy with Exploring Creation with Astronomy textbook and junior notebooking journal from Apologia and our teen will be studying Friendly Chemistry for Semester 1 and Botany for Semester 2. Our younger daughter will be studying Astronomy alongside her older brother as well as learning more about animals and plants.

Preschool

A lot of what we will be studying with our four-year-old consists of reading animal-related books and other science books that we pick up at the library. She will also be working alongside her older brother as he studies the stars and planets.

Elementary

There are so many different ways to study sciences when children are younger. From hands-on experiments to nature walks where they can learn about the world around them to visiting museums, reading books, and viewing online resources, children have so many doors available to open to learn about science. For our first grade son, the primary focus of science this year will be studying Astronomy.

We are using materials from Apologia as the core curriculum and then we will be adding in books, documentaries, and other activities as the year progresses. We started studying Exploring Creation with Astronomy a few weeks ago. Our children have been enjoying listening to me read aloud the text during lunch. Our six-year-old then works on completing the accompanying notebooking pages in his junior notebooking journal. He really enjoys the activities that allow him to create mini-books. I love the fact that the journal has copy work, pages for notes, pages to write about the activities and experiments, and coloring pages.


I also printed out some notebooking pages on Astronomy from Productive Homeschooling for our daughter so she can write and color alongside him. She loves working alongside her brother as he learns. The Astronomy Science Notebooking Pages offer coloring pages and a variety of lined pages for taking notes or practicing writing.

We will also be using several resources that we have from WriteBonnieRose for Life Science Level 1. We will complete "Familiar Plants and How They Grow" and "Fruits & Vegetables Around the World." I like the fact that our younger children can study a similar topic as their older brother (as he will be studying botany).

High School

Our teen will be taking two science courses this homeschool year. Friendly Chemistry and Botany. He will be taking both courses through SchoolhouseTeachers.com.

In Friendly Chemistry, he will begin the basics of chemistry that will serve him well if he should choose to take a more advanced chemistry course in the future. There are 12 lessons with activities, laboratory experiences, worksheets, video segments, and tests to help him learn about chemistry.

In the second semester, our junior will be studying Botany. The course is designed for students who wish to gain a foundation for a career in science as well as those homeschool students who wish to learn about the importance of plants in their lives and in the world. The course takes place over 17 weeks and includes worksheets, text-based lessons, experiments, and tests. From studying about soil and minerals to plants as medicine, the course promises to be an in-depth introduction to botany.

We will also be able to supplement all of our children's science studies with CrossWired Science which opens the avenue to study a myriad of topics at the student's discretion. You can read more about CrossWired Science in my review here.

Reviewing the e-Guide of Perelandra from Progeny Press

C.S. Lewis is one of our family's favorite authors, so we were very happy to be able to read Perelandra and use the e-Guide from Progeny Press to help our teen understand the material at a deeper level. Progeny Press offers "study guides for literature from a Christian perspective" with hundreds of e-Guides available from The Josefina Story Quilt e-Guide geared towards grades 1-3 to the Perelandra e-Guide for grades 9-12 which we reviewed.

The Mission of Progeny Press is "To teach our children to think clearly, to understand literature, and to rely on the scripture for truth and values, and enjoy themselves while they do it!"

You can watch this video from Progeny Press to learn more about the company.

Each study guide takes approximately 8-12 weeks to complete which means your child will complete about one page per day. Guides for younger children can take less time. As Perelandra proved to be a difficult text for our teen to read, we are working through the e-Guide more slowly to ensure that he understands the material that he is reading.

The Perelandra e-Guide contains the following elements:

• Synopsis of Perelandra, background information, and a Synopsis of Out of the Silent Planet (the first book in the trilogy) 
• Since our teen has not read Out of the Silent Planet yet (my husband has read it), it was great that he could review the events on Malacandra and Ransom's encounters with the Sorn and Hrossa.
• A biography of C.S. Lewis 
• I love having a brief biography of the author as it prevents the need to go to the Internet to look it up.
• Activities to complete prior to reading Perelandra 
• While we didn't complete the prereading activities, they are quite good. I really like the idea of researching the mythical origin of Mars and Venus as well as that of 1930-1950s science fiction. These are just two of the six activities suggested. 
• Vocabulary words and a variety of activities to introduce and teach the new words 
• Vocabulary activities range from sentences from the book with the new words to discussion of mood and tone to searching for antonyms. With a variety of ways to learn vocabulary, students are sure to find at least one way which suits their learning style. 

• Examination of literary techniques 
• There are questions pertaining to metaphors, similes, descriptions, and imagery to name a few. 

• Examination of moral lessons and character values 
• Through a variety of questions, we are able to discuss the difference between Weston and Ransom as we read quotes from the Bible and examine their decisions. I think this has been one of my favorite aspects of the e-Guide – we can have good conversations with our son with Perelandra as a starting point. 
• A variety of activities and writing assignments 
• There are typical essay assignments available, as well as art suggestions, and research papers to pick from for culminating activities. 
• Suggestions for further reading 
• Having a suggested list of books written by C.S. Lewis to look for and other books that relate to the series takes the guess work out what to read next. And the great thing is our son has already read some of the other books such as The Martin Chronicles and The Hobbit. 

What Our Family Likes 

My husband and I have been enjoying the fact that while we are discussing Perelandra with our son – and the answers to the vocabulary and other questions – we are also getting the opportunity to discuss real world events as well as the concepts of morality, right and wrong, and other topics in relation to the Christian view we are trying to instill in our son.

I also like that my husband is reading the book via an online application that allows him to search for key words as we discuss the various questions in the e-Guide. This way we can find the exact phrase or quote that a question brings up and find the reasons within the text for the answer suggested in the answer key. One specific instance would be that of the question pertaining to "emergent evolution" and the Force in Chapter 7. Our son had difficulty with that question, so in addition to giving him hints from the answer key we were able to re-read that portion of the text aloud to discuss whether or not Weston is presenting a paradox or a contradiction.

Going Forward 

There is also an interactive feature to the e-Guide that allows your children to type their answers directly into the e-Guide. We chose to print out the unit study so that we could all be able to look at it while discussing the questions.

As our younger two children, who are being homeschooled, move forward in their reading journey, I look forward to relying upon Progeny Press for their e-Guides. Within the next year, we could use Frog and Toad Together e-Guide for our 5-year-old son. If our teen makes the decision to homeschool in the future, we will be looking for others such as Hamlet e-Guide, Introduction to Poetry: Forms and Elements e-Guide, and The Screwtape Letters e-Guide.

In addition, if you are curious, Progeny Press does offer an e-Guide for Out of the Silent Planet, if you would rather read Book # 1 in the Space Trilogy first and complete that e-Guide with your child. There are also sample pages from the various e-Guides to help you decide if it is a fit for your family.

To learn more, please visit the following:

Facebook – Website – Twitter – Pinterest – YouTube 

The Homeschool Review Crew also reviewed the following e-Guides:

• The Josefina Story Quilt e-Guide
• The Green Book e-Guide
• The Scavengers e-Guide 

To see more reviews, please visit the Homeschool Review Crew!