I feel like putting this information down will be such a great reference for myself as I am constantly losing scraps of paper I write on. I hope you can find some direction from these as well and remember to check out everything yourself. These are my findings and my opinions attached to them. Good luck and feel free to leave a comment that might help me too!
What we used for 1st and 5th grade
http://mosaicaeducation.com/tag/mercury-online-academy/
This charter school was a great way for us to break out into the homeschooling life. Both boys had teachers who gave them assignments. It was a traditional school in the sense that your virtual class started at a certain time and you needed to be present. Days off weren't flexible. Work had to be scanned back to the teacher for grading. The principal of this Southern California charter school was amazing. I could email her at any time and she would try to work with me on any issues I had. In the end I felt like we spent a lot of time scanning or waiting in virtual classrooms and I wanted to try something more flexible, where I could incorporate field trips to study things in our area. I was not a fan of this system when we got into 6th grade because of having so many teachers and emailing back and forth to that many people was frustrating. However, I would like to add that this school supplied us with computers, art supplies, books and the teachers were very caring. It was a great way to start our adventure. I would never have been able to take the next step of homeschooling without this school as my foundation.
Web sites we've found helpful
http://www.starfall.com/
We used this site a lot in first grade to review the calendar and other things
http://www.reflexmath.com/
This site was provided for us through Mosaica Online. My boys loved it in the beginning and one of them was not a fan at the end of the year. However, that being said, they know their math facts backwards and forwards. This has really solidified those facts without using flashcards and it's entertaining.
http://www.tickettoread.com/
My kids love this site and I think it's great for reading comprehension.
http://www.handwritingworksheets.com/
A kindergartner teacher showed me this site. I always print the alphabet off of this site to promote proper forms with letters. I come back to it often because my kids handwriting is very messy.
http://ctcmath.com/
I found out about this website through a homeschooling email. I wanted to have a backup for math in case the kids needed to see the lesson presented differently. ( Or in case I needed a refresher) The gentlemen who developed this site is a math teacher and also has four home schooled children. I don't use it everyday but it has come in handy for my 6th grader.
http://ignitiumacademy.com/enrollment
This is the online school that my 6th grader is currently schooling with. It was recommended by another mother to me. I like that it is accredited by ACSI and NCA. It is a Christian private school. So it teaches Biblical principles and it's not free. I really went back and forth with the decision to enroll our 6th grader. Again, I wasn't sure I was ready to plunge completely into the home school world, especially with high school right around the corner. I've always been concerned that my children need to be up to speed with other children if and when we decide to go back to school. The more we school, I actually think they're ahead of the game. I overall like the program . We take the core classes through them which are English, Math, Science, History and Bible. This program works well for kids that are self starters and preferably those who take notes. We had a few issues in the beginning with History and Science. My son was not a note taker and he was bombing his Science tests. One of my frustrations with online schools is that it's hard to help the kids when I don't have a book for reference and I don't really know what they're studying. So I got online and took a chance on a Science program called Life Pac by Alpha Omega Publications and we love it!
I ordered it from here :
http://www.mardel.com/homeschool/alpha-omega/lifepac-science.aspx
It turns out that this program covers the exact same units that his school does. it is also a Christian based program so it coincides with his Science class perfectly. For now, we go over the reading together in the Life Pac. This has been a really good experience for us because we have a book in front of us, that we can high lite in. It also has optional experiments and quizzes and tests, so we have been able to learn how to study together. So basically, it's Study Skills, Science and some one on one time all rolled into one. Then he goes to his Science class and totally Aces his work that we just reviewed together.
Another subject that I thought needed tweaking was History. He is learning World History but, I feel like he learned World History last year and now we're reviewing the same thing but with a Christian influence. I have nothing against that, but when I was in school 5th graders learned American History. It's something I would like to cover with them and it's so relevant that we happen to be traveling the country right now. So I purchased this:
http://www.mardel.com/America-the-Beautiful-Curriculum-Package-2459808.aspx
I really like this program. I've even had my second grader join us to listen in. It came with a timeline workbook and a maps workbook. Both are really neat visual aids and not too much busy work. It also is a Christian curriculum but it is so much more ....how do I say this....I find some Christian History Curriculum's are a bit fluffy and this one is meat and potatoes. It's a huge book and there's actually two large text books but it has beautiful pictures . It's really quite an amazing textbook, I'm really glad I stumbled upon it. We've been covering Native Americans and it was so cool when we came to "Cliff Dwellers" and my kids remembered visiting Mesa Verde from Last year. It's that "SCORE" moment when they're putting it all together.
For second grade, I didn't know where to start. I felt that my son needed more reading incorporated and more handwriting practice. I was really at a loss of what to do or where to go. Everyone says, "find out what works for you? But how do I do that without spending a fortune on stuff I don't need? I went to the office of Christian Homeschoolers of Colorado or http://www.chec.org/ When I got there they had baskets of mixed curriculum from Veteran home school moms. Basically these women compiled a starting out curriculum. I was so excited, I bought the whole thing on the spot. Now I will tell you what this included and my opinions of these books.
English
"English 2 Writing and Grammar" it is published by Bob Jones University
I really like this workbook, I feel it is exactly where he should be. I love tearing out the pages and working from the workbook. It includes things like how to write a book report, letters and a research paper. I love it, I highly recommend it.
"Adventures in Phonics" by Christian Liberty Press
I think this book is good. Again, it is worksheets and it's emphasis is on Phonics. One issue we have is , my son can't always identify what the pictures are, because it's a bit old school. For instance, he came across the word "haughty"today. He has never heard that in his life. Also, today he came across the word gnu. He didn't know what that was, but that's ok. We're building our vocab and learning the crazy rules of the English language.
"Building Spelling Skills" by Christian Liberty Press
I have found this books to be exactly what I need in a spelling book. It's age appropriate and it has exercises for his weekly words.
"Handwriting with Prayer" by Christian Liberty Press
I know this title sounds like were in a really old schoolhouse but it actually doesn't have you write out prayers. Funny title huh? I like this book, but because my son needs extra practice in handwriting I use this in addition to another handwriting book I bought , which is...
"A Reason for Handwriting" I found this in the store and it looked great apparently you can get more info for it at a reasonfor.com
This book is a thicker handwriting book. It is the old perforated workbook style. It started with print and moved onto cursive. It also has blank pages in the back which I didn't realize for a while. If you read the directions every workbook page is a Bible verse and after your child is comfortable writing those words they can write it on a blank page in the back and color the picture. It's actually been really helpful. Practice, Practice, Practice. Am I the only one who has sons with messy handwriting? Can I get an Amen? ( I think I'm hilarious, I hope you read this with a sense of humor)
Math
"Liberty Mathematics" by Christian Liberty Press
Love the book, it's right where he needs to be. He's done well with the tests, I think it's actually his favorite subject.
History
"Our Nation Under God"by Christian Liberty Press
Honest opinion, I'm not a huge fan. This book seems like a lot of fluff. I think History is an important subject. This one is very Biblical, it could even be a supplement for Bible class but I was looking for something with much more information for a budding young mind. History should be interesting and have pictures . This book didn't work for us, but maybe it will for you. I also was not a fan of the tests. I felt the tests were concentrating on the wrong information. Again, this is only my personal opinion.
Science
"God's Wonderful Works" by Christian Liberty Press
This is a beautiful book to have in your Children's library but it doesn't have enough information for me to refer it to anyone as a Science book. Again, I think it can be supplemental for Bible class. I think next year I will stick to the LifePac program by Alpha and Omega. I did look into it for this year but at second grade, it seemed to cover the senses and your body and I think I can handle that with other books.
Bible
"Studying God's Word" Book C by Christian Liberty Press
It's good. That's about all. Not great but ok.
Reading
"Christian Liberty Nature Reader" by Christian Liberty Press
I like this book. We read it together, it has covered the life of crabs, bees and wasps so far. We really enjoy it , there's things I never knew about these little critters, it totally counts as Science.
"Beautiful Stories for Children" by Christian Liberty Press
Haven't used it yet, I''' let you know if we do. We go to the library and check out Geronimo Stilton and the Magic Treehouse books. So I haven't needed to use this book yet/
"The Robinson Crusoe Reader" by Christian Liberty Press
Haven't used it yet. Honestly, I forgot I had it, but I'm excited to check it out!
So that is what we are using for second grade this year. I have other things that have been recommended to me. Some things I want to check out are
Sonlight's Curriculum
My mom found this home school magazine for me to look at. I honestly was not interested in, BUT I found the coolest must have planner for a homeschooling mom. It is called " Well Planned Day" if you want your lesson plans, grades recorded, weekly menu, monthly budget and holiday Christmas card list all in one place. You must get this planner. It has so many more features, check it out, it's pretty too! I have a general idea for our lesson plans , they're similar each day, so I use it to record what we did , after it's done so I have a record of our school year. I love it. Did I already say that?
http://hedua.com/cart/index.php/wpd/2013-2014-planners.html
3rd Grade
Saxon Math 3- I have always heard homeschoolers speak highly of Saxon Math. I was really happy with our Math book last year but apparently they don't make one beyond 2nd grade. Saxon is notorious for repeating concepts. This bothered me when I picked up the enormous book and realized that we have already gone over half of this stuff. When I looked at the next year it was a bit too advanced. So I see that each year seems to be a lot of review but this is the thing that I have come to realize. That is what school is. Each year we review the same things and build upon them. Sometimes, we review the same thing with even more detail. This is how we learn.
Science- LifePac by Alpha and Omega Last year my youngest wasn't given a lot of material to work with in his Science books and my oldest struggled with his Science online. I randomly picked up this curriculum and it turned out to be identical to what his very expensive online school taught. LifePac's come in unit studies. It comes in a box with 10 small books, that are each unit studies. Each small book has lesson reviews, experiments and Tests included. I loved this arrangement for Science, not all of their subjects. So everyone is doing LifePac's for Science.
History Heritage Studies 3- This book is by Bob Jones or BJU as the homeschoolers call it. I found this one the old fashioned way by comparing every history book in the aisle. I loved the pictures, which I think history books should have plenty of. It came with a workbook which I like for reinforcement. Also, it had a test packet. Very handy.
English 3 Writing and Grammar by BJU We used the second grade version of this book last year and I was really happy with it. This year I went a step further and bought the test packet to go with it for both boys. I didn't know they had a test packet last year. Live and learn and moving on.
Spelling Grade 3 by Purposeful Design- I'm a softy for colorful textbooks that we can write in. I chose this one by comparing it to other options and it looked like something I knew my kiddo would like or at least not fight me too much on.
Explode the Code 3 1/2 - This is a phonics book. Nothing was wrong with our last years book but the boy disliked it greatly. This one seems the same but looks different. I'm hoping to trick him into liking phonics. I did like that they had 1/2 years. Year 3 looked like ground we already covered so I opted for year 3 1/2.
Handwriting without Tears- WE....yes we worked really hard last year on handwriting. We went through multiple books and free worksheets. I was referred to Handwriting without tears from a kindergarten teacher and I'm really excited to try it out.
7th Grade:
Elementary Algebra by Harold Jacobs- I found this book in a magazine called Veritas Press. Parents raved about how simple the concepts of Algebra were presented in this book. Then I found out it was out of print and that kinda thing really sets off my inner geek. I must posses those treasured textbooks that are irreplaceable. Of course Veritas Press is apparently buying all of the copies they can get there hands on, so I ordered through them. I will let you know if it's all it's cracked up to be. I even went on half.com and read some pretty amazing reviews about it there too. I ordered the enormous textbook, the test packet and the answers to the tests ,which apparently have the work to show how the answer was reached. That sounded invaluable to me, but it hasn't come in the mail yet.
Science- LifePac by Alpha and Omega- see notes above
America the Beautiful by Charlene Notgrass I started using this book last year to supplement the boys learning because I felt they were both saturated in World History and knew nothing about American History. Eventually my enthusiasm dwindled because there was real school work that needed to be done. What drew me to this book was again the amazing pictures that I believe all history books should have. Less Words and more pictures or at least 50/50. I want to visualize it y'know? Also this book has a map workbook so the kids can locate the area they were learning about and draw things indigenous to the area . I like that to reinforce and picture which area of our country we are studying. This year I bought the lesson review book too. I also realized that this book is broken up into 30 units. Even though this is actually two enormous books we are going to get through it by doing 1 unit a week , 1 lesson a day. They really mapped it our beautifully for me.
English 7 Writing and Grammar by BJU- see notes above
Reading Detective B1 by the Critical Thinking CO.- This book was referred to me by someone who apparently has a brainiac child. It reminds me a lot of state testing. It has reading passages and questions to answer. The promise of this book is to develop independent thinkers. The answers are not word for word in the story , the child will actually have to use their mind. I will tell you how it goes.
Vocabulary from Classical Roots A by Norma Fifer and Nancy Flowers- My seventh grader is an awesome speller, so instead of a spelling book, we are learning Latin. Hear me out! He's the kind of kid that reads books way above his grade level but then he will pronounce a word he read completely wrong. So we are learning roots of words, which I am hoping will help him for the rest of his life. He will not be speaking latin but he will know where some words come from. Lesson one starts out with the word mono- meaning one : think monologue, monarch, monopoly etc.
Health from Horizons- I had every intention of teaching my son a health class last year and since I didn't , we will do it this year.
Typing: I have heard of www.typingweb.com but I haven't really looked into it yet
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