*this post contains affiliate links*
My list of favorite curriculum choices changes a little bit from year to year, as we find new things or as our needs change. Most of the curriculum on the current list have stood the test of time, and are things we are definitely sticking with. Because they are favorites, I've written about many of them before - and quite a few are items we reviewed for the Schoolhouse Crew and declared keepers. I've tried to come up with something that really impresses us for each subject area.
English/Language Arts - Kennady studied Literature using Lightning Lit & Comp for Grade 7 this year. We reviewed it quite awhile ago (like when she was between Grade 5 and 6) and knew that it would be a great fit. It was such a good fit, in fact, that when I first approached Kennady for ideas on what she wanted to do for next year, she told me I "had to" get Lightning Lit & Comp Grade 8 for her. I agreed. And I wouldn't be a bit surprised if in subsequent years we look at the high school level books too. This studies combine literature study with composition and grammar study - for more detail, you may read our full review.
Both kids worked through the Student Writing Intensive B from Institute for Excellence in Writing this past year. And I'm delighted to say that they both enjoyed it and learned a lot. Any writing course that Landon enjoys earns a gold star from me! We had previous reviewed this as well, so again - you can read more detail in our full review.
Math - VideoText Interactive has earned top grades from Landon (and from me!) since we reviewed it almost a year ago. Once again, any math program that Landon likes is a winner, as far as I'm concerned. This one is comprehensive, taught expertly, and even though the lessons are presented in videos online, it doesn't tie up my computer for more than 15 or 20 minutes at the most.
Kennady doesn't like math, and it's not a subject that comes easily for her, but we've had our best success with Life of Fred books.
Science - I've mentioned in a few several a bunch of posts that Science has been our most challenging subject this year. If not for Supercharged Science I really don't know what we would have done. It provided the main text and activities/experiments for Landon as he studied Biology, and it provided videos that kept Kennady motivated and interested as she studied Zoology. We found out about Supercharged Science when we first reviewed it just over a year ago (see that review here), and then we were able to review it again earlier this year. Supercharged Science offers some great deals, and it's a simple way to make science fun. This page explains the program in more detail, and if you decide to sign up, it helps me out too. After our first review of Supercharged Science, I was so impressed that I signed up as an affiliate, so I like to spread the word about this cool option for science.
History - Notgrass has been my go-to for high school history (combined with Bible and Literature) for several years now, and it tops my list of favorite publishers for History curriculum. I wrote about the textbook Exploring America in E is for Exploring America during a previous Blogging Through The Alphabet. We have also used Exploring World History and the curriculum geared for upper elementary and middle schoolers, America the Beautiful. Landon will be using Exploring World History in the upcoming school year.
Art - If you've visited my blog recently, you probably already know that we love ARTistic Pursuits and Geography Through Art. I won't go on and on about how great these resources are because my recent Blogging Through The Alphabet post, A is for Art Resources did that already, and I also wrote a post dedicated to My Favorite Geography Resource.
Art/Technology - These haven't been used in a couple years in our homeschool, but they merit a mention here because we do plan on using them again. Is it art or is it technology? We have used it in both categories! Insight Technical Education has two workbooks we've used - Practical Drafting and Practical Graphic Design. I also dedicated a previous Blogging Through the Alphabet post to these publisher: I is for Insight Technical Education.
What are your favorite curriculum choices? Leave a comment and let me know!
This post is (or will be) linked at Blogging through the Alphabet, hosted by Ben And Me.
My list of favorite curriculum choices changes a little bit from year to year, as we find new things or as our needs change. Most of the curriculum on the current list have stood the test of time, and are things we are definitely sticking with. Because they are favorites, I've written about many of them before - and quite a few are items we reviewed for the Schoolhouse Crew and declared keepers. I've tried to come up with something that really impresses us for each subject area.
English/Language Arts - Kennady studied Literature using Lightning Lit & Comp for Grade 7 this year. We reviewed it quite awhile ago (like when she was between Grade 5 and 6) and knew that it would be a great fit. It was such a good fit, in fact, that when I first approached Kennady for ideas on what she wanted to do for next year, she told me I "had to" get Lightning Lit & Comp Grade 8 for her. I agreed. And I wouldn't be a bit surprised if in subsequent years we look at the high school level books too. This studies combine literature study with composition and grammar study - for more detail, you may read our full review.
Both kids worked through the Student Writing Intensive B from Institute for Excellence in Writing this past year. And I'm delighted to say that they both enjoyed it and learned a lot. Any writing course that Landon enjoys earns a gold star from me! We had previous reviewed this as well, so again - you can read more detail in our full review.
Math - VideoText Interactive has earned top grades from Landon (and from me!) since we reviewed it almost a year ago. Once again, any math program that Landon likes is a winner, as far as I'm concerned. This one is comprehensive, taught expertly, and even though the lessons are presented in videos online, it doesn't tie up my computer for more than 15 or 20 minutes at the most.
Kennady doesn't like math, and it's not a subject that comes easily for her, but we've had our best success with Life of Fred books.
Art - If you've visited my blog recently, you probably already know that we love ARTistic Pursuits and Geography Through Art. I won't go on and on about how great these resources are because my recent Blogging Through The Alphabet post, A is for Art Resources did that already, and I also wrote a post dedicated to My Favorite Geography Resource.
Art/Technology - These haven't been used in a couple years in our homeschool, but they merit a mention here because we do plan on using them again. Is it art or is it technology? We have used it in both categories! Insight Technical Education has two workbooks we've used - Practical Drafting and Practical Graphic Design. I also dedicated a previous Blogging Through the Alphabet post to these publisher: I is for Insight Technical Education.
What are your favorite curriculum choices? Leave a comment and let me know!
This post is (or will be) linked at Blogging through the Alphabet, hosted by Ben And Me.
This post is (or will be) linked up at Circling Through This Life for the 52 Favorite Anything series.
This post will also be included in the Curriculum Choices Round-up at the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog. (this link will be live Wednesday, May 21st).
©2006-2014 Homeschool Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/
Posts
3 comments:
This is the first time I have visited your blog, and I am a new follower. I really like how you put so much detail in your reviews... you have given me a few ideas for next year.
These are great choices! Many of our favorites are on this list :)
I've featured you on my favorites for letter C. http://benandme.com/2014/05/abc-blogging-favorites-letter-c.html
Thanks for sharing and for linking up with #abcblogging!
thank you for visiting, Katie! I'm glad I could give you some ideas, and hope you'll join me for coffee break again. :-)
Thank you, Marcy! I'm honored!
Post a Comment
I love comments! It's like visiting over a virtual cup of coffee.