Homeschoolers? Math Curriculums?

[House of Light]

Hey....dh and I are serioulsy considering homeschooling our kids. Problem is money....or lack thereof.:lol2 Anyway, I have great books to start history, and science.....reading is no problem. It is the math. We love the saxon math.....but right now the books are way out of the budget.

Do you have math curriculums that are not so expensive?

[adam423]

Is there a local homeschool support group in your area...like LEAH? Many times, you can borrow books from others whose children already used the books. Or my group has a library where people have donated books.

Last year, I pulled my daughter out mid-year and borrowed several books from a friend in church. I just had my daughter do all her work on lined paper instead of in the workbooks. Worked out great.

P.S. this will help with the problem with sneakers just for gym! I'll pray that you will find a way to homeschool your children.

[House of Light]

I don't know of any groups around here...but I am calling a lady tommorrow who homeschools her kids. Thanks for your prayers......they are much appreciated and needed!

[adam423]

Here's a link to homeschooling in North Dakota. There's a place to find a local support group. My local group has been a tremendous help to me. My kids have gym enrichment with them and a variety of other activites. Plus wonderful support for me! Hope this helps you get started.

http://homeschoolcentral.com/support/north_dakota_homeschool.htm

[NewWorldOrder]

Rod and Staff!! Their curriculum is very affordable. And it is very easy to find it used. I can give you links to a few places where you can buy used curriculum that will save you a bundle. Also, Alpha Omega's Lifepacs are pretty good. I'm using their math with my 8 year old this year. I bought it from Christian Book Distributors and only paid about $50. Don't buy directly from Alpha Omega, you'll pay more.

http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com/?gclid=CKW6jsivyY4CFRcbWAodomeKTA

http://www.aop.com/homeschool/index.php?utm_source=cj&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=medium_aop&utm_campaign=SAVEBIG&PID=1499915

http://www.christianbook.com/html/specialty/1016.html

If you want the links for the used sites, just say so and I'll post them. I don't want to overwhelm you with too many links.

Edit: I wanted to give this link to the Book Cover. They are a used homeschool curriculum store in my area. They sell on consignment. They carry a lot of Saxon math, used. They also have it new, but it's more expensive. If you don't mind using the older editions, they are hardcover and having your kids write their problems out, except for 3rd grade. Their online store doesn't work too great, but if you call or email them and tell them what you need, they are very good at getting back to you quickly.

http://www.the-book-cover.com/

[House of Light]

Thanks for all of the great links! Will have some of my own homework to do tomorrow!

[ChayilWoman]

Also, Alpha Omega's Lifepacs are pretty good. I'm using their math with my 8 year old this year.



I love Alpha Omega Lifepacs for math! They so gradually build new concepts on each other that it's almost like the child is never learning anything new. Yet all of a sudden your child is adding and subtracting fractions, and you never remember really explaining that to them!

Regarding any expenses, budgets must be respected, but I had to make myself realize that my children's education was very important. As an extension of their spiritual instruction, it is the most important thing I can do for them. It is not an area to skimp by on. It's an investment and worth every penny you invest in it. Also take into account how much money you save on school supplies, extra "certain" clothing, lunches, field trips, fees, etc., etc., by not sending your children to public school, and I think you'll find most HS curriculums are cheaper than "free" public schooling.

[wife]

What grade do you need? You could just find the teacher's edition and then write the problems on paper for her to do. Rod and staff is great and CHEAP!!

We use Christian Light Education. for the kids books and teachers books it can be about $50 a year.

There are also a few websites that have free worksheets that you can just print out.

[NewWorldOrder]

I put this little list together months ago on my MySpace page. I thought I would go ahead and put it here for anyone who wants it. It is by no means exhaustive, if anyone wants to add to it, please do.



Homeschool Legal Organizations


Homeschool Legal Defense Association http://www.hslda.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1

Texas Homeschool Coalition http://www.thsc.org/defaultpage.asp


Homeschool Curriculum Resources: All of these place allow online ordering.

Abeka http://www.abeka.com/

Bob Jones http://www.bjupress.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDisplay?storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=10001

Beginnings Publishing - This is a good science program. I have never used it, but have heard from others who have, and they really like it. http://www.beginningspublishing.com/

Cadron Creek - I have never used them, but they have some good resouces http://www.cadroncreek.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT

Christian Book Distributors - They have an enormous selection of homeschool materials. You have to click on homeschool at the top of the homepage. http://www.christianbook.com/html/specialty/1016.html

Common Sense Press - They have a very good language curriculum. I use the yellow book for my 3rd grader. I like them, because the lessons are short, and easy to use. http://www.cspress.com/

Apologia Science - They have an excellent science curriculum. I have used them for the past several years. http://www.highschoolscience.com/

Home Science Tools http://www.hometrainingtools.com/index.php

Progeny Press - Literature study guides. They have excellent literature guides for all age groups. http://www.progenypress.com/

Rosetta Stone - This is an excellent foreign language software. It's a bit pricey, but very worth the money. I bought mine on ebay for a bit less from an ebay dealer. http://www.rosettastone.com/index/

Teaching Textbooks - This is a math program written to the student. It is a self teaching program. My 11th grader is using their geometry this year. http://www.teachingtextbooks.com/Default.asp

Calculadder - They have very good math drill sheets. They have apparently changed their name to The Providence Project. http://www.calculadder.com/intro/default.htm

Truthquest History - They have very good history guides. Each guide has an inexhaustive list of books to read for learning history. It is designed to be very flexible for both teacher and student. I am using this with my youngest for American History. http://www.truthquesthistory.com/store/products.php

Saxon Math - This is the most popular math program among homeschoolers. I don't recommend beginning Saxon until the 4th grade, because before 4th grade, it's very expensive and time consuming. They also have a phonics program, but it is very expensive and not as good as other cheaper programs out there. http://saxonpublishers.harcourtachieve.com/en-US/saxonpublishers.htm

Winter Promise Publishing http://www.winterpromise.com/

Drive Through History http://www.dthamerica.com/home/index.cfm?flash=1

Vegsource - This is homeschool swap board. You buy or sell directly from or to individuals who need to sell what they have. http://www.vegsource.com/homeschool/


UNIT STUDIES

Diana Waring History http://www.dianawaring.com/catalog/index.html

Learning Adventures - This is an excellent unit study which covers all subjects except for math. It is recommended for 4th through 8th grades. I used this with my oldest to learn ancient history and we loved it. I shall be using it with my youngest when she is in 4th grade. http://www.learning-adventures.org/index.html

My Father's World http://www.mfwbooks.com/index.htm

Tapestry of Grace http://www.tapestryofgrace.com/tog_fast/

Five in a Row - A unit study program for preschoolers and early elementary. http://www.fiarhq.com/


HOMESCHOOL STORES IN THE D/FW AREA: Both these stores ship around the country.

The Book Cover - This store only sells used homeschool materials that are on consignment. You can sell your used materials through them, I have several items on consignment there. They also offer math tutoring and math classes. Both my children receive their math instruction here. http://www.the-book-cover.com/

Home Educators Resource - They also sell mostly used homeschool materials, also on consignment, but they also have some new. http://www.homeeducatorsresource.com/

[House of Light]

Thanks!