Yesterday we shared some tips for prepping children to go back to school during COVID. Today I wanted to share reader resources for parents that are considering (or have been thrown unexpectedly!) into homeschooling.
There are many reasons why people are considering homeschool that never considered it before:
- Social distance learning didn’t work for many families.
- Some private schools aren’t offering social distance options and families aren’t comfortable sending their children to school.
- Some families really enjoyed teaching from home in the spring and want to try real homeschooling full time.
There are a lot of homeschooling resources out there and lately so many have popped up overnight that it can be difficult (and frankly overhwhelming!) to tell what’s good and what’s not.
I am not an expert on homeschooling but my thoughts on education have been impacted by the idea that as a mother I play a big role in cultivating a love of learning in our home environment. And several of the curriculum resources below are ones my girls use in school. DoSayGive also has a lot of longtime followers who homeschool their children and they contributed to this list. I think it’s helpful to hear from moms who have been doing it for awhile. If you are a homeschooling mom, please share your tips and resources in the comments section. DoSayGive has many visitors who would love to hear your experience!
Books To Help You Think About Home Schooling
There are so many books on home schooling but two I would recommend (perhaps even if you aren’t homeschooling) would be For the Children’s Sake which summarizes the teachings of Charlotte Mason. It highly impacted the way I think about teaching my children at home and education as a whole. And The Well-Trained Mind is one I am reading right now. I know there are so many more so please share your favorites in the comment section!
Full Homeschooling Curriculums
These were all recommended by various readers and friends. Please note the supplemental materials following this list. What I’ve realized about homeschooling is that rarely do parents use just one company for materials. Usually it’s a combination of materials based on the best curriculum for their child and family.
Classical Christian or Christian Based
Classical Conversations
Veritas Press – Live Online and Self Paced Classes
Good and Beautiful – Most of curriculums seem to be sold out but you can download the PDF versions and they say restock coming in August.
Sonlight – They send you a box of all the books children will read.
My Father’s Word
Ambleside Online
Additional Supplemental Materials
Shurley Grammar (my girls use this in school)
Saxon Math (my girls use this in school)
Handwriting Without Tears (my daughers’ Occupational Therapist used this)
Abeka (my girls use this in school)
IEW for Writing and Speech
Homeschool Spanish Academy
Apologia Science
Young Explorers (Science)
There is a website called Cathey Duffey Reviews where you can put in what you are looking for in a homeschool curriculum (subject, religious/non-religious, grade) and it will recommend ones based on that.
Advice for First Time Homeschooling Moms
It can be overwhelming and stressful to figure out the best curriculum but so many friends I know who’ve had to last minute homeschool over the years have said just do the best with choosing curriculums, dive in and change what you need as you go. Nothing is set in stone! Also what works for one family (or one blogger) may not work for another (like everything else in life!). Also check for local Facebook group or other communities (or Co-ops!) for support.
Stay tuned for a post on great supplies to have at home for homeschooling and social distance learning!
What do you think?