Hanson's Ridge
There are so many people planning on homeschooling because of the pandemic, and things can get a bit overwhelming. I thought I'd share about our resources in case it's helpful, and then you can ask me any questions. This is going to be a very big post. First, think about what kind of homeschooler you are. Do you have a homeschool philosophy? If you're not sure, try this quiz. You can read more about some of the styles here. In our house, we tend towards a combination of unschooling and Charlotte Mason. But I like to call us Relaxed Eclectic Homeschoolers. We do use curricula but we don't tie ourselves to lesson plans. This is important, because below is a really long list. There is no way that you could do all of these things completely. But we like to pick and choose from an a la carte menu rather than a prix fixe menu. Another important note: We are secular homeschoolers. That means we do not promote any religious beliefs as fact within our homeschool. Most of our materials are secular, but we have the occasional curricula with Christian content for various reasons. These will be clearly marked. All-In-One/Combination Curricula These curricula combine multiple subjects. All of our all-in-one options require additional literacy and math, which we like because then we can work at the proper level in those two subjects. Brainquest These are workbooks that cover the content covered in public school. DC absolutely loves them and does them voluntarily. Sometimes AW loves them, sometimes not, but they are great for my low energy days when I still want to get something done. Torchlight Level 1: Myth and Magic This is a literature-based secular humanist curricula inspired by Socratic inquiry. It includes lesson plans:
You pay for a PDF download and then purchase additional books and resources. Then add in your own phonics and mathematics curriculum. There are also recommended extensions and supplements, including games. This is our primary foundation for our weekly studies. Build Your Library Level 1: The Ancient World Build Your Library is a secular Charlotte Mason inspired curriculum. We like to use its resources to supplement Torchlight. BYL covers:
Preschool All-in-One Exploring Nature With Children ENWC is a multi-age Charlotte Mason inspired curriculum with weekly themes. Some of the weekly themes and featured poems are Christian. We used this with our nature co-op pre-pandemic and skipped the religious stuff. This could be a complete curriculum for those who are delaying academics or can be supplemented with the missing core subjects. Each week includes:
Blossom and Root: The Early Years Vol. 1 This will be our first year using Blossom and Root but we've heard good things from the secular homeschooling community. It is a nature and play-based secular curriculum. It is geared towards 2-4 year olds, but we will be doing many of the activities as a whole family. Each week includes:
A Year of Playing Skillfully This is a Christian sensory and play-based curriculum. We will probably still pull activities from this curriculum, which we used with AW and DC. Most of the Christian activities are centered around Easter and Christmas. Each month includes a Bible verse to focus on and many of the directions suggest pointing out the wonder of God's creation. I found it worth modifying at the time because it was so developmentally appropriate and the activities were absolutely fantastic. There is also a book with similar ideas by the same people called The Homegrown Preschooler. It can be used for ages 3-7, with supplementation to introduce academics for older children as appropriate.
Now for the individual subjects. Note: Literacy is the "how" of reading and Literature is the "content" of reading. Literacy Logic of English: Foundations C We have used Logic of English from the beginning. It provides an incredible phonics foundation, and I've been amazed at how much *I* have learned. I can't recommend this program enough. It works on phonics, spelling, introductory grammar, and handwriting. Reading Eggs This is an online phonics program. DC loves it. AW isn't crazy about it. Epic Epic is an online library for kids. I put it in literacy because AW loves doing read-along books which have helped support her growth as a reader. Writing Brave Writer's Jot it Down This writing program is about establishing a love of writing in children, ages 5-8. The child primarily dictates to the parent, keeping the emphasis on creativity rather than mechanics. There are ten writing projects, one per month, but you can repeat or extend them as much as desired. This will be our third year implementing these techniques and doing projects inspired by this philosophy. Poetry In addition to Torchlight and Build Your Library with their literature and poetry offerings, we love our Poetry Teatimes where we take turns choosing and reading poems while eating and drinking tasty things. This is part of the Brave Writer philosophy but not a specific curriculum. Math I don't have a whole lot to say about any of these individually other than that Beast Academy is for 2nd grade an up and is a math challenge sort of thing rather than a complete math curriculum on its own. Math Seeds is online only and is part of the Reading Eggs family. Right Start Level B Beast Academy--text and online Math Seeds Preschool Math at Home (CE only) Science Torchlight has science in the plans, but it's light on science for us so I add in additional resources. My kids want to do hands-on-science everyday...they don't always get their wish, but I like options. REAL Science Odyssey Level 1: Life This is the recommended science extension from Torchlight and it's a full science curriculum. We love it and it has actually primarily replaced the Be Naturally Curious units in Torchlight for us. We do use the human body books listed in Torchlight because it's a favorite topic. 100% secular. Herb Fairies This is a series of books that uses fantasy stories to teach about the properties of different herbs. It pairs well with a game by the same company, a game called Wildcraft. AW has an interest in foraging so these books are primarily for her. There are online supplements to round out lessons in addition to just reading the little novels. 101 Coolest Simple Science Experiments and A Little Bit of Dirt are on the list just for additional hands on activities. They are completely supplemental. History Torchlight and Build Your Library largely have history covered through their literature selections and nonfiction spines (primary texts). Torchlight is based on Curiosity Chronicles, which uses Socratic dialogue. AW prefers the audiobook to me reading aloud, but I like having the text handy to look at the illustrations when we listen. She likes the interactive notebook activities the best. There are also Minecraft challenges which we have adapted to be used with LEGO. History Unboxed Ok, obviously this is a big one for me since I've been developing content for this company for five years. But I passionately believe in our products! Each box includes 1-2 high quality hands on activities, 2-3 supplemental activities, coloring pages, and an 8 page full color magazine. We try to source materials from the originating culture and provide multiple viewpoints. Art We've got art study covered through our various other curricula. For making art, I plan on using Drawing with Children and the Usborne Book of Art Ideas. This is another area where my oldest is insatiable, so I need to have lots of plans ready to go for making art. She also needs lots of time to explore her artistic creativity independently, so we will make sure to leave time for that as well. Music Study All of these options are just listen and learn with minimal work on my part! Classical Kids CDS Classics for Kids Podcast (free!) Maestro Classics That's the whole list! Again, just as a reminder, we won't do all of this all the time. It's a menu. We can have "seconds" on things that interest us or just move on. I should mention two other resources we plan on using this year: Sitting Still Like a Frog for mindfulness and Cosmic Kids Yoga for moving our bodies.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorHi! I'm Stephanie Hanson. I live with my husband, Himself, on Hanson's Ridge in Virginia. Archives
September 2017
Categories |