Homeschooling: Freeper Needs Guidance on *Effective* and *Proven* Programs

quesney | quesney

[quesney]

I'm looking into effective, *proven* home schooling programs and curricula as I come across ongoing reports on the many failings of the US school system. I have an eye toward a future family w/kids, but have a limited budget to pay for private school.

Can expert Freepers out there advise me on the best home schooling programs, curricula, support groups and testing programs out there? I could also use any advice on the U.S. states most receptive to and supportive of home schooling programs.

I'd really appreciate the help, especially from homeschooling parents.

[AT7Saluki]

Sonlight is a Christian-oriented curriculum that does most of the planning for you. We've found after years we use that as our foundation and mix and match in others for specific subjects.

[Armando Guerra]

ABEKA has a good program. If Catholic, check out Kolbe Academy.

[NewCenturions]

My sister uses Seton (Catholic) and really likes their books and program (includes online tests, etc)

[r9etb]

Check into the K12 Curriculum.

Here in Colorado, it's actually offered through Adams County school district (the Colorado Virtual Academy), and they supply on-line teachers.

It worked very well for us. Don't know what state you're in, but it's worth a look.

[NewCenturions]

My sister uses Seton (Catholic) and really likes their books and program (includes online tests, etc)

[hsmomx3]

Re you looking for a Christian type curriculum?

My favs:

Math to 6th grade: Rod & Staff or Bob Jones Univ. Press
SPelling: BJUP
Literature: ABeka
Bible: Rod & Staff or BJUP
Penmanship/Creative Writing: ABeka or BJUP
Science: ABeka
History: ABeka
English: Rod and Staff to 8th grade

Did I forget anything?

[Tax-chick]

Oklahoma.

Secular program, Calvert School.
Protestant, Alpha-Omega, Christian Light, Veritas
Protestant, Kolbe or Seton School

[Stat-boy]

There are many. We use A Beka because (a) it is known to be very academically rigorous, (b) it’s used by many of the top private schools in the area [and familiar to universities], and (c) it’s what my wife used when she was in school. If you have a child that is very strong in math, you may want to consider switching to Saxon math when they start 6th grade. We also use Rosetta Stone for Spanish.

[NewCenturions]

Oops. sorry for the double post

[cgk]

Ping...

[hsmomx3]

Forgot to add:

My kids preferred BJUP early high school math as opposed to Saxon. My son, who now attends a private high school and is getting A's in math said that if he had to do it all over again, he would not use Saxon for algebra and above. Just his opinion.

[hsmomx3]

Also-for Reading my kids absolutely loved the Pathway Readers. Good, wholesome stories that kept my kids wanting to read all the time.

For phonics, we used Rod and Staff.

[expat_panama]

We've been very happy for years home schooling our kids out here in the rainforest with Texas Tech.  They give us all the control we want and it's a fully accredited program.

[rightthinkingwoman]

We use Seton. I like it a lot. Fundamentals are very good. Creative, out of the box, fun activities you must come up with on your own, though.

[dubie]

We use Virtual Charter School here in PA... its great!

[INhsmom]

Here are a few of the programs that we've enjoyed.

Five in a row
Easy Grammar / Easy Writing
WriteShop
greenleaf press - famous men series
Sonlight (excellent literature based curriculum)
Saxon math
alpha omega curriculum (lifepac, horizon, sos)
Memoria Press (Latin)
Apologia (science)

[chuckles]

ABEKA, hands down. Home schooled my daughter for 11 years. Tried a couple of others, but ABEKA is it.

[mockingbyrd]

I used Seton Home Study for all twelve years of education. Now I tutor high school students, mostly homeschooled, and from what I've seen, Seton's English program is unrivaled. There is quite a bit of online support available, along with teachers accessable by phone during the day.

K-12 is also very indeapth. I am still deciding which of these two I will use with my children. At least for starters, I will definitely be using Seton from middle school on.

[Chanticleer]

I don't think there's one perfect curriculum. The beauty of homeschooling is the ability to choose curricula which fits your child's interests, learning styles and needs. Sadly for our pocketbooks, this may differ from child to child or even year to year with the same child. Cynthia Tobias has great info on learning styles -- you might want to start with her books. You can probably find them in the library.

I'm not big on canned programs or textbooks for most subjects. I like unit studies like KONOS, Diana Waring, Greenleaf, WinterPromise, etc. For little guys, Five-in-a-Row is great. In the younger grades, the only textbook I use is for math. I've used Miquon and Saxon -- like both.

I've been homeschooling for 13 years -- my oldest is a senior this year. My youngest is in first grade.