Homeschooling Curriculum and Materials

Choosing the materials and books you will use feels like a big first step, so the members of FEAST have put together some suggestions for you!  This list will be expanded and added to as members make suggestions. Please feel free to explore this list and also to ask for advice from our group!

General Resources

Secular Homeschool – provides a large list of secular options

Teachers Pay Teachers – a site with thousands of resources, most for just a few dollars each, created and shared by teachers and homeschooling parents (some resources may not be secular)

Homeschool Buyers Co-op – Free to join and they have amazing deep discounts. Don’t buy anything without checking there first!

Secular, Eclectic, Academic (SEA) Homeschoolers – their main Facebook group is a fantastic place to ask about curriculum and materials reviews and recommendations.

K5learning.com – They have a lot of free worksheets for a bunch of subjects K-5.

General Online Learning

Education.com – practice online learning reading, math and typing skills; has short online lessons, in-depth lessons to print, worksheets and workbooks; a good “filler” site

Khan Academy – originally started to help with math and science, this site now includes free courses in computing, economics, arts, and humanities as well

Khan Academy Kids – the sister site to Khan Academy for younger learners, also an app

Brain Pop and Brain Pop Jr – mini movies on a variety of topics, with lessons and activities to go along with each topic

Udemy.com – offers many courses from many instructors on many subjects. Did we mention many? However, teachers/content may be hit or miss, as anyone may be a teacher. It may be useful as a resource as a starting point for niche interests or a supplement. Online, video based.

Evan Moor teacher file box – a collection of resources

MobyMax – a site made to supplement or fix gaps; the reading skills section is strong

Outschool – live online classes by independent teachers in a wide variety of subjects

Ask Griffin – Founded in 2016, Griffin Academy is focused on quality supplemental programs located in a secure login Griffin Library, and quality add-on curriculum choices that are accessible only to enrolled families. Our library is full, over 50 programs that will help your kids learn, from Prek through High School. What is important is Griffin Academy is NOT a group buy site. Griffin is a non-accredited educational institution providing supplemental educational intervention. Provides access to lots of resources for no additional cost, and also deeply discounted group buys at times.

ScootPad – mastery based, “fill the gaps” in a variety of subjects

Language Arts

Blue Cottage Tutoring – for those who are local, Blue Cottage Tutoring is an excellent program run by a former homeschooling parent who has helped many of our FEAST students learn to read or work through reading difficulties

Handwriting Without Tears – Developmentally appropriate, multisensory handwriting instruction.

Write Shop – a writing program that encourages any level writer.

All About Reading – A scripted, open and go, multisensory reading program that teaches phonics, decoding, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. It has prereading-level 4.

All About Spelling – A scripted, open and go spelling program using the Orton-Gillingham method. It has levels 1 – 7, and suggests starting at level 1 no matter what grade level (though progression may be quite quick through early levels).

BraveWriter – a ‘lifestyle’ approach to writing and literature. There is not a ton of structure with the writing part of the program (Jot-it-down and Partnership Writing are the two levels the reviewer has used), and tries to encourage a love of writing and each student finding their own voice. The literature program is based on a book a month and utilizes copywork that introduces writing elements (parts of grammar, parts of speech, literary elements, etc). The reviewer finds the newer literature units to be much better organized/structured than the old ones. Encourages poetry tea-time, art appreciation, and music appreciation as part of the ‘lifestyle’ approach.  Each chapter book has a study guide for it that uses passages from the book for copywork and as an example of a literary element, grammar and spelling.

Crash Course – Subjects include Literature, select Theater videos. Probably best suited for Middle/Highschool, select videos may be appropriate for elementary, though a parent should preview first. Videos are approximately 10-15 minutes long.

Editor In Chief – Available as an app or books. Your child corrects common grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes in passages. Ages elementary +.

Teach Your Monster to Read – A fun phonics based game that helps younger kids learn how to read. Available as a website or an app. Website is free.

Rory’s Story Cubes – A dice rolling game that encourages storytelling and sequencing. Suitable for pre-readers on up.

Vocabulary/Spelling City – There are pre-made spelling lists and other spelling/vocabulary resources. Kids can play games with their spelling words too. There’s a free version and a version you pay for.

Purdue OWL for learning various citation styles. Suitable for high school+. Website stays current as the various styles (APA, AMA, Chicago, and MLA) go through changes. Very dry, but that makes sense given the subject matter.

Reading Eggs – online program and app

Explode the Code – a workbook that has spelling activities, it uses pictures and silly sentences, available online too

eeBoo Tell Me a Story Cards – cards with pictures on them that you can put in different order and then make up a story based on the sequence you laid the pictures down in.

Board Games – Scrabble Junior, Codenames, Possum, Banana Grams, 

Apps – Letter Quest, Scribblenauts Showdown, Teach your Monster to Read, Wonster Words, Endless Reader

Math

CTC Math – Each lesson is done with a short animated video with explanation on the narration and then a group of questions to drive the point home follows. It is also organized very nicely.
We get to work through as fast or as slow as we want.

Math-U-See – includes dvds for the student or parent to watch, workbooks of practice exercises, and excellent hands-on manipulatives in the form of colored blocks; mastery method and based on the understanding and building of concepts

Beast Academy – student text is written as a comic/graphic novel; problem sets are challenging and encourage creative thinking; recently added an online option.  Currently has part of level 2 available and all of levels 3-5. It is seen as a challenging program.

Art of Problem Solving – the company behind Beast Academy (above) continues into higher grade math with extended problem solving and mathematical thinking

Learning Resources Cash Register – Practice coin identification, addition, subtraction, and place value while playing 4 fun games that increase in difficulty. Great for imaginative role play and learning basic math skills.

Miquon Math – A unique elementary math program for grades 1-3 that heavily utilizes the cuisenaire rods as manipulatives

Denison Math– A curriculum company built for homeschool families to provide quality, digital instruction in middle and high school math, particularly algebra. Provides daily video instruction. 

Crash Course – Subjects include Computer Science, Statistics, Engineering. Probably best suited for Middle/Highschool, select videos may be appropriate for elementary, though a parent should preview first. Videos are approximately 10-15 minutes long.

Bits Box – monthly projects for coding

Prodigy – A ‘gotta catch ’em all’ style math game where you wander through the world and fight/catch creatures by having battles. You must solve math equations during the battles. Grades 1-8.

Math Made Easy Series – dvd based for all grades

Games – Skiwampus, Smath, Guess Who math, Payday, Shut the Box, Prime Climb, Outnumbered, Proof!, Adsumudi, 

Apps – Tower Math, Medieval Math Battle, Math Slicer

Science

Crash Course – Subjects include Biology, Ecology, Chemistry, Anatomy and Physiology, Astronomy, Physics, History of Science, Engineering. Probably best suited for Middle/Highschool, select videos may be appropriate for elementary, though a parent should preview first. Videos are approximately 10-15 minutes long.

Kurzgesagt – A short-duration (5-10 minutes) youtube science show that briefly explores a variety of topics. May be too dry for elementary, and select videos may need parental review prior to watching for that age range. More of a fun supplement.

REAL Science Odyssey – A lab based science program focusing on one subject at a time. Level 1 is intended for elementary students, with Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Space, Earth and Environment, Astronomy, and Physics available. While there is prep for the parents in terms of getting materials and assisting with the labs, the curriculum is quite clear in how to perform the experiments and generally uses easy to find materials (although you may need to purchase a few specialized items which are specified in the beginning of the book). Level 2 is intended for middle school to early highschool and has biology and astronomy currently available. The reviewer has no experience with level 2.

Scishow kids – A cute, short duration, youtube science show that explores a variety of topics suitable for elementary.  Also available as SciShow for older students and families.

National Geographic’s Kids’  – has an interactive world map and lots of fun stuff about animals

Learning Resources Primary Science Lab Activity Set – Experiment and explore with real science tools, perfectly sized for little hands. This colorful set encourages early hands-on science investigations at the kitchen table. 12-pieces include: beaker, magnifying glass, funnel, test tubes and more, all made of durable plastic. Also includes activity guide and cards with fun, easy-to-do experiments.

Niche – A genetic survival computer game. You try to keep your species alive by controlling offspring’s genetic material. Plays around with dominant and recessive traits for genes. Does not get into complicated dominant and recessive alleles, sticks to fairly basic genetics. Available on Steam.

Dorling Kindersley First Encyclopedia of Science

Usborne Science Encyclopedia

Basher Science books (for instance with anatomy they turn organs into characters and describe them using human qualities, it helps the kids to remember their functions)

Games – Evolution, Organ Attack, Dr Dreadful Scabs and Guts game, snap circuits

Youtube – Smarter Every day, Veritasium.

Shows – Magic School Bus, Bill Nye the Science Guy

Social Studies / History

Crash Course – Subjects include World History, US History, World History 2, Big History, Film History, History of Science. Probably best suited for Middle/Highschool, select videos may be appropriate for elementary, though a parent should preview first. Videos are approximately 10-15 minutes long.

The Who Was Show: currently on Netflix, most suitable for elementary. Covers 2 notables from history in each show.

Rejected Princesses/Tough Mothers – There are two books available as well as a website (some content overlaps). A good, fun supplement of women or female myths throughout history. Select stories are suitable for elementary, some are likely only for older teens or adults. Uses a rating system to help guide you to likely age-appropriate tales.

Epic Rap Battles of History – (also at https://www.youtube.com/erb) Very, very not kid friendly. While many of the rap battles are between historical figures, there are also several who are not historical (myths, comics, movies, etc). Manages to cram in many facts in a short period of time while still being very interesting and entertaining. Depending on the family, may be useful for high school as a ‘hook’ for key historical figures, or for parents to make it more interesting for themselves as they are teaching.

National Geographic’s Kids’  – has an interactive world map and lots of fun stuff about animals

Stanford’s Reading Like A Historian – Uses primary sources to “evaluate the trustworthiness of multiple perspectives on historical issues and learn to make historical claims backed by documentary evidence.”. Encourages critical thinking and examinations of bias in historical texts/records. Does use the bible in at least one section as a source, but does so through a historical lens and examines for bias. Most likely suitable for middle school through highschool, perhaps also later elementary with parental review.

 

NYS History, Geography, Government written by Thomas Gray and Susan Owens.  Middle school level textbook. May be helpful to those who need to cover NYS history and are transplanted from another state.

The History of US by Joy Hakim

Games – Sequence States and Capitals, Jambo, World Monuments, Ticket to Ride, Legendary Inventors

Art

Crash Course – Subjects include Film History, Film Criticism, Theater. Probably best suited for Middle/Highschool, select videos may be appropriate for elementary, though a parent should preview first. Videos are approximately 10-15 minutes long.

Meet the Masters – An art program that combines studying an artist with a project done in their style. Offers multiple grade levels, and covers a total of 35 artists. Highly structured, with art history study via slideshow/narration, technical worksheets, and then the project. Can be quite expensive to purchase, and finding a sale is recommended.

Music

Hoffman Academy – You can pay or use the free version. Online piano lessons. Lesson 1 assumes you are a true beginner with no music reading ability

Physical Education

Go Noodle – Provides short videos for kids to run, dance, jump, breathe, stretch, etc to. Does make references to classroom, teacher, other students, etc, so may not be suitable for a child/family sensitive to such things. Elementary age

Cosmic Kids Yoga – A fun yoga program that brings kids on a fun ‘yoga adventure’ as they practice mindfulness, stretching, and strengthening activities. Aimed at ages 3-9, though a child of any age may enjoy some of the adventures.

Foreign Languages

Duolingo – Covers many languages. Probably not suitable for credit for high school, but a wonderful supplement. May be too dry for elementary.

Lively Latin – A Latin program for elementary incorporating grammar, vocabulary, and Roman history. You can choose which pronunciation you wish to teach your children (in the reviewer’s mind, the correct one, or the bastardized one by the church…ahem ahem). The reviewer has not yet run into any biblical passages for translation, like so many younger Latin programs use.

Electives / Misc.

Crash Course – Subjects include Psychology, US Government and Politics, Intellectual Property, Economics, Philosophy, Games, Mythology. Probably best suited for Middle/Highschool, select videos may be appropriate for elementary, though a parent should preview first. Videos are approximately 10-15 minutes long.

Plague, Inc. A computer game that uses realistic modeling of how diseases spread. You play as the pathogen (most realistic, a few non (planet of the apes, etc) with the goal of wiping out humanity. Different difficulty levels are achieved by the program modifying how often people wash their hands, etc. To quote a quote from wikipedia, :”the CDC has said that it was interested in Plague Inc. as “it uses a non-traditional route to raise public awareness on epidemiology, disease transmission, and diseases/pandemic information. The game creates a compelling world that engages the public on serious public health topics”. Fun supplement. Available on Steam.

D&D, Pathfinder, or other tabletop RPG. Can be used in a variety of ways for a variety of skill levels for any/all of the following: reinforcing history, math skills, storytelling, sequencing, teamwork, critical thinking, problem solving, cartography/geography, writing. Requires heavy parental involvement and prep at younger ages.