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Home school curriculumns??THat don't cost an arm and a leg? Can anyone recommend one?Right now we are using a mish mash of things. I didn't want a formal curriculum. We wanted to use what we liked and what we felt our son would like. So, for math we use "Math-U-See". That grows with you all the way through high school. You buy the manipulatives and the only thing you have to replace is the books as they grow. You can reuse the books for younger children as well. We hae a younger son, so we are just starting. I also bought a curriculum that is not workbook based. For example, we are learning his letters, sounds, and numbers. So we do crafts, songs, hand games, and then we do have one worksheet for handwriting to learn each letter. For this we use "Little Hands To Heaven" (you can use it for different ages and they have other curriculums for as they get older). This one has optional support material (little children's Bible, CD set, etc) but they tell you what items not from them to use if you don't want to buy those. So you could just buy that one book. We also are using "Summer Bridge Activities" book because that has some quality worksheets in it for handwriting and some great ideas for teaching. It's chock full of great items and isn't just fun summer things at all. For learning to write their letters and later, cursive, Handwriting Without Tears www.hwtears.com For math, Math-U-See, a great basic math program. For history we do read alouds from aA CHilds History of THe World, your local library probably has it, or you can buy a uses copy at www.Amazon.com For teaching reading after they can recognize their letters, Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons. You can also get this at Amazon. Hope this helps :) The "arm and a leg" thing is a bit subjective. If cost is a concern, tho, check your loca library for resources, then your local homeschool support group(s) (hopefully you have one or more), then search online (there are tones of free/low cost sites - we use Enchanted Learning, Starfall, PBS Kids, Discovery Streaming and even NetFlix for video curriculum). We use Saxxon Homeschool for math, Story of the World for history, and various texts/resources we've picked up at used book sales for the remainder. We like "Easy Grammar" for grammar/English, but its not cheap. We used Hooked on Phonics and SRA for reading combined with a variety of basal readers (some free via web download). You'll need to focus on what your state requires for homeschool (if anything) and work from there.You might also check your local Half Price Book Store. Ours has a homeschooling section. You can get used, but in very good condition (no marks, all the parts, etc), curriculum. Yahoo has a lot of groups that cater to this type of thing, selling used homeschooling goods. You might check your loca homeschool association. Ours has a used curriculum sale each year. Another great thing is to go to any local big curriculum fairs. You can touch the items, look at them, puruse them, check them out, ask questions, and see if you really think you will like it. I normally don't buy my items there, but I see what I like, then I go home and find the cheapest price. I did buy my Math-U-See there since they had a special running and I knew how much it normally cost. Other than that, I get it elsewhere. Libraries are a GREAT resource. You can get a lot of free helps there. Here are a few links that might be of interest: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/71371/where_to_find _free_homeschool_resources.html?cat=4 http://www.bloomington.in.us/~learn/online_materials.htm http://www.hsunlimited.com/freestuff/ http://4real.thenetsmith.com/forum_topics.asp?FID=1 http://handwritingworksheets.com/print-k/make-pk-all.htm (make cool, custom handwriting pages, free) http://www.preschoolexpress.com/toddler_station.shtml http://www.iknowthat.com/com?COOK= http://donnayoung.org/forms/planners/index.htm I have tons more, but didn't want to put them all up if they didn't apply or wouldn't help. Thank you all! One more question, if you are teachin an ASD kid, and I have one with auditory processing disorder and who is extremely hyperlexic, how do you handle testing? He hasn't really had a curriculumn this year, and he is behind a typical first grader, and I know you can only homeschool if he can pass the test, so how do you get around that? What if he melts down when some stranger comes and shuts down and won't do anything? he is a very bright little boy, but I must say I do worry about things like that and right now that is my biggest concern. If you're living in a state where testing is a requirement, then you'll need documentation regarding the necessary accommodations your student has to have to make testing successful. Depending on the state, waivers for required testing (if testing is required) may or may not be available; where these are not available (and testing is required) they do have to allow for accommodations. Thankfully, I'm in a state where testing is NOT a requirement. The book: A Work in Progress is ABA style and lists the hierachy of steps. It may be available to order through your library. It covers reading and writing along with social and self help skills and lots of other stuff.Linda, After you figure out what you want, you might check Ebay for a good deal. I got a $275 Kindergarten curriculum for $39. It was missing the first 2 or 3 weeks of workbook pages, but everything else was there. I also like Math-U-See. We use it at our school and it has worked well for many of our students. I also have subscriptions to the following websites, which are fairly inexpensive: http://www.readinga-z.com and http://www.enchantedlearning.com/ Here are some sites for free printable resources: http://www.PositivelyAutism.com/ and http://www.ikeepbookmarks.com/Best_Autism_Sites_for_Teachers Nicole Thank you all! One more question, if you are teachin an ASD kid, and I have one with auditory processing disorder and who is extremely hyperlexic, how do you handle testing? He hasn't really had a curriculumn this year, and he is behind a typical first grader, and I know you can only homeschool if he can pass the test, so how do you get around that? What if he melts down when some stranger comes and shuts down and won't do anything? he is a very bright little boy, but I must say I do worry about things like that and right now that is my biggest concern. [/QUOTE] We don't have this issue. We don't have to deal with state testing at all. The state is very hands-off in our area. Could you call HSLDA about it, maybe your local advocacy office. A school has to meet their needs, surely there's a way to help with testing. If he was in school and couldn't do traditional testing, they would alter it for him, same should go with this. |
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