Swimming Through New Waters: Are You New to Homeschooling?

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Are you new to homeschooling? Would you like to start homeschooling this coming year, but you don't know where to begin? There are so many wonderful options for families who wish to start their quest to educate their children at home. From boxed curriculum that contains everything you need to curriculum sites that allow you to pick and choose the courses that meet your family's needs, you can tailor your children's education to their needs. 

We began our homeschooling journey a few years ago with our youngest son. Since he was a preschooler, we didn't do a lot in the way of formal education. We spent a lot of the time playing, reading, and learning together. Then, his older brother decided to join us on our homeschool journey when he was in the 10th grade. He left public school, and we starting homeschooling officially.  

I was fortunate that even though we were new to homeschooling, I was part of a wonderful group that allowed me access to a wide variety of quality homeschooling resources. I became a member of the Homeschool Review Crew after writing several courses for SchoolhouseTeachers.com. So, I not only had access to a full curriculum through SchoolhouseTeachers.com, but I also had access to the different products that the Crew reviewed during the course of the year. With these homeschooling resources, we were able to easily create a curriculum for our teenage son in addition to his younger brother and sister.

 

Are You New to Homeschooling? 

If you are new to homeschooling, the waters are full of rich resources, but at times it can seem scary and overwhelming. Where do you even begin? There are several things I recommend you think about before you take the plunge into the deep waters of curriculum buying. 

What is your goal for homeschooling? Will your children return to public school? Are you homeschooling through high school? (I promise it is not as hard as you may think!) 

How do your children learn best? Do they thrive on hands-on activities? Do they love to read and write? What subjects do you need to teach them? 

Do you have a large family? Are you trying to find a homeschooling resource that will meet the needs of everyone in your family without breaking the bank?

Our Favorite Homeschooling Resources

I have been blessed to try out a wide variety of homeschooling resources in our family. From online math curriculum like CTCMath to supplemental, hands-on history resources from Home School in the Woods, we have tried a range of homeschool products from the time our homeschool was new. Some of them I would easily recommend to new homeschooling families, and others I think may be best suited for those who have been swimming in the waters of homeschooling for a while. 

One of the best ones for families who are new to homeschooling and for those who have been homeschooling for years is SchoolhouseTeachers.com. As I mentioned before, I am fortunate enough to work for The Old Schoolhouse®, and SchoolhouseTeachers.com is a division of that company. Even though I work for The Old Schoolhouse®, I would not just recommend their curriculum if I didn't use it in our homeschool. We have used it as our core curriculum for our high schooler for the past three years and have used a variety of lessons, courses, and materials for our younger children. 

What Do I Like About SchoolhouseTeachers.com? 

One of my favorite aspects of SchoolhouseTeachers.com is that, for one price, you gain access to all the content for grades PK-8th or PK-12th grade, depending upon which level you select. So, if you have a large family, you do not need to join for each child. Having access to the entire curriculum also means you can use 4th-grade math materials and 6th-grade language arts materials for one child without having to pay extra. You find exactly what courses you need to meet the needs of your child. And if you are new to homeschooling, this makes it very easy if you don't know what levels your children are at in their education.  

When using SchoolhouseTeachers.com, you can select to use entire courses or even the School Boxes that lay out curriculum guides for each subject area, or you can pick and choose what you wish to teach in your homeschool. For example, we completed our science curriculum early, so I looked through the Second Grade School Box's Science Curriculum Guide for a few lessons and activities to include in our son's summer studies. As we will be studying mammals this year, I skipped over many of the lessons to focus upon Watersheds and the Water Cycle. 

After you select a course, School Box, or lesson you want to teach, you can either use the lesson plans provided or you can use the materials in the way that works for your family. The Watersheds and the Water Cycle is part of the Science Unit Studies and can be a stand-alone unit study. I am choosing to loosely follow the suggested lesson plan from the Second Grade School Box's Science Curriculum Guide (this is found in Week 33) and read through the materials with our son. We read a few pages a day, I ask him to write the definitions, and then we discuss the diagrams that are included in the unit study. If you are a new homeschooler, a unit study like this is the perfect way to wet your feet in the homeschooling world. 

Of course, there are lots more things I really like about SchoolhouseTeachers.com. It is a curriculum grounded in a Christian worldview. I do not need to preview every single page to ensure my children will not see something I fundamentally disagree with in terms of values. There are also over 400 courses, record keeping tools, a homeschool planner, a subscription to The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, streaming videos, and access to World Book Online. All of these wonderful resources are fantastic for those who are new to homeschooling! 

New Sale Coming July 19 2022 

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