Calling All Curriculum Addicts!

[WTMCassandra]

I am helping a friend start a homeschooling/education store in our area. I get to muck around with the books; she is handling all the business stuff. How perfect is that?!?!? What books would you consider must-haves to present a cross-section of available curricula?

 

I am trying to identify the absolutely core books she should have.

 

I'll start:

 

Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks

WTM :lol:

First Language Lessons

Phonics Pathways

Educating the Whole-Hearted Child

 

I'll log back on in the morning and add more to this list. I'm too tired to peruse my shelves tonight, but this is going to be one of my big tasks tomorrow, compiling this list.

 

:bigear:

[Jean in Newcastle]

Some of the Charlotte Mason books

- For the Children's Sake

- Karen Andreola's books

- Levinson's books

[WTMCassandra]

Yes, those definitely belong on there, especially For the Children's Sake.

 

Also, Ruth Beechicks 3 Rs is a good one, as is Early Education At Home.

 

And How about Honey for a Child's Heart?

[DaffodilDreams]

SOTW

Teach Your Child to Read . . . 100 Easy Steps (hated this myself, but so many others swear by it)

Various Peterson's Field Guides

Some of the Jim Weiss audio cds

classic lit choices

[DaffodilDreams]

Jim Trelease's Read Aloud Handbook

[JustGin]

I am helping a friend start a homeschooling/education store in our area. I get to muck around with the books; she is handling all the business stuff. How perfect is that?!?!? What books would you consider must-haves to present a cross-section of available curricula?

 

I am trying to identify the absolutely core books she should have.

 

I'll start:

 

Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks

WTM :lol:

First Language Lessons

Phonics Pathways

Educating the Whole-Hearted Child

 

I'll log back on in the morning and add more to this list. I'm too tired to peruse my shelves tonight, but this is going to be one of my big tasks tomorrow, compiling this list.

 

:bigear:

SOTW

ETC

Wordly Wise

Saxon Math

Teaching Textbooks

Singapore (if she you can, our local homeschool store carries it)

Spelling Power

Apologia

Handwriting Without Tears

[Rosy]

At least 3-4 math curricula to choose from, with sample copies of each to peruse.

 

Same with science--Apologia would probably be a big seller, but having a few others that take a different approach would be good.

 

Lots of Usborne and DK books.

 

FLL, SOTW, OPGTR, of course. :)

 

I would probably get at least a couple of the "school in a box" curricula, just because you'll get a lot of people who are overwhelmed by too many options. A Beka, Sonlight, LifePacs, etc.

 

Lots and lots of resource-type books, like Kingfishers History.

 

You might also consider a consignment section--nothing brings homeschool moms in droves like the promise of a good deal. :D

[Rosie_0801]

BFSU

[AK_Homesteaders]

I take more of a Charlotte Mason approach, so I'd say biographies and historical fiction for history, as well as books like The Light and the Glory for Children and This Country of Ours. The TruthQuest history guides are excellent. For those who want to choose their own and put together history a little differently, History All Through The Ages is excellent.

 

I'm a huge fan of Math On The Level, although I don't think it's typically sold in curriculum stores. But, having some math readers and math games would be great.

 

Lapbooking things. Maybe art supplies. Some books such as "Discoverying Great Artists" and other books by MaryAnn Kohl are great for early Art Appreciation and hands-on.

 

Someone else mentioned Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. Great for only one of my sons. Different things for different children. Some phonics and math DVD's might appeal to many.

 

My favorite science program is Noeo. It uses lots of wonderful real books, a teacher's manual with lesson plans, and Young Explorers Science kits. It's one of Cathy Duffy's Top 100 picks, and I'd certainly consult her book for suggestions.

 

Timelines/figures and Maps (both filled in and blank) from Homeschool In The Woods. They also have wonderful lapbooks and activity kits.

 

It would sure be hard to narrow it down! But, oh so much fun! :)

[WTMCassandra]

You might also consider a consignment section--nothing brings homeschool moms in droves like the promise of a good deal. :D

 

Oh yes, we are definitely doing this. In fact, the consignment section will happen first.

[Avila]

I am going to throw in LCC and Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum (by Laura Berquist) as some of my must-have resources.

[laughing lioness]

:iagree:and SOTW CD's, WWE, FLL

[Carol in Cal.]

John Taylor Gatto

John Holt

 

Other background books:

"And the Skylark Sings With Me"

"Family Matters"

 

Curricula samples such as:

Saxon

Singapore math

Rod and Staff math and English

Concordia Publishing House -- Voyages Bible curricula and s*x ed books

Memoria Press--pretty much everything they sell

Peace Hill Press--ditto

All American History

Writer's Jungle

Real Science 4 Kids

Science Explorer

Tiner science books

GEMS science books

Writing Strands

"Roots, Shoots, Buckets, and Boots"

"The Sunflower House"

Vocabulary Vine--Roots, and Science Roots

Figuratively Speaking

Reading Strands

Classical Writing

Spelling Power

 

 

 

Kits:

Those book-shaped kits about various cultures

Archeology kits

TOPS kits

Snap Circuits

Lego Mindstorms

Fraction, Decimal, and Percent blocks from Lakeshore

Flash card sets--math facts, foreign languages

 

 

Games:

Equate

Garden Game

Family Pastimes cooperative games

Up the River

Egyptians

Chess and books about it

Lakeshore science games

Edited April 29, 2010 by Carol in Cal.

[littlebug42]

Design Your Own Classical Curriculum and The Harp and Laurel Wreath by Laura Berquist.

[WTMCassandra]

These are great--keep them coming! I will be starting to pull this together this morning. And although I will recommend a cross-section of PHP titles, I'd like to broaden to a cross-section of all curricula available, so please include those titles. What have been your favorites along your homeschooling journey? What would be a blessing to a new homeschooler?

[charlotteb]

We have a great used curriculum store near us. She has plenty of read-alouds, lots of Abeka, Saxon Math, Lifepacs, real books for history/science, manipulatives, etc. She knows that some things (like the curriculum in a box types) sell better so she almost always has those. Someone like me, who uses mostly less popular methods, has a bit harder time finding what she needs. But I always come away with something good!

[3lilreds in NC]

The homeschool store in Raleigh carries the Veritas Press literature guides. I don't know if that counts as "must haves" but they seemed to be quite popular! They also carried BJU. Not sure about Abeka - I don't know if you can carry Abeka in a store, but they had quite a bit used. People seem to like the all-in-one aspect of BJU.

[LisaKinVA]

Veritas Press! Lightening Lit, etc.

 

Abeka may be difficult, unless their regional rep will work with you.

 

I might spend some time at conventions talking to various companies (on-line even) about having brochures and samples available for people to look at (Bravewriter, K12, etc.) in your store, and working as a referral service.

 

Some things about merchandising you will have to decide... organize by "theme" or "manufacturer."

 

New home schoolers may want to shop more by "theme" (meaning phonics, math, grammar, etc.), because they want to easilly compare materials -- and they probably don't "know" what they are looking for.

 

Older homeschoolers (meaning time, not age), usually come in looking for a specific product, and want to walk right over to BJU to "grab and go."

 

To get around this, you may want to have a additional copies of your "major" publisher curriculum in a theme section...

 

But for used curriculum, I would suggest a strictly "theme" approach.

 

So much goes into owning and running a store like this. WOW. Have fun!

[Jean in Newcastle]

At our homeschool store, a lot of Abeka gets brought in on consignment.

[Teachin'Mine]

What about the Core Knowledge books? I haven't seen those mentioned on the forum at all, but then again I'm not on the K-8 boards much. I don't know if they're in line with the WTM thinking or not, but I found them really helpful in the elementary grades. Yes, I have the WTM book, actually two copies, but I can't find either one and I've been looking. :tongue_smilie:

[WTMCassandra]

Books Children Love

Homeschooling the Challenging Child by Field

The Well-Adjusted Child by Rachel Gathercole

The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling by Debra Bell

Beyond Survival and Things We Wish We'd Known by Diana Waring

How to Get your Child Off the Refrigerator and On to Learning by Barnier

Evaluating Writing by Writing Strands

The High School Handbook by Schoofield

Pathway Readers

Christian Liberty Nature Readers from Christian Liberty Press

Christian Light Reading to Learn series

Professor Noggins educational card games

Renaissance Art Game by O'Reilly

Impressionists Art Game by O-Reilly

Favorite Poems Old and New

Janice Van Cleave titles

Aesop for Children

D'Aulaires books

History Lives series by Mindy and Brandon Withrow

Rats, Bulls, and Flying Machines: A History of the Renaissance and Reformation by Deborah Mazotta Prum

[TXMary2]

As the former owner of a brick and mortar homeschool book store all I can say is it is hit or miss. Try to have a wide variety so that all types of homeschooling styles are covered. Apologia, Mystery of History and Bob Jones were our biggest sellers. We did consignment also and the used Abeka and Saxon sold very well.

 

Have fun with your friend!

[WTMCassandra]

As the former owner of a brick and mortar homeschool book store all I can say is it is hit or miss. Try to have a wide variety so that all types of homeschooling styles are covered. Apologia, Mystery of History and Bob Jones were our biggest sellers. We did consignment also and the used Abeka and Saxon sold very well.

 

Have fun with your friend!

 

Thank you for this! I copied your text into an email and sent it to my friend.

[MyFourSons]

I wish I could have browsed math options a bit more, I ended up buying four different programs to find the one I liked. What a hassle. I would suggest carrying Singapore, Horizons, MCP, Saxon, Math U See, and Life of Fred. Those are the ones I hear most often recommended.

 

I also think it would be great to offere a Charlotte Mason section, as in "living books" or literature used to teach history and science. The Burgess Animal Book and other nature books are great, and the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Comstock is another book used by a lot of CMers for nature study.

 

You might also want to consider carrying some art history selections as well as music resources.

 

Good luck, I love the idea!

[VA6336]

I don't think anyone has mentioned Critical Thinking Company's various series for math and logic skills. They seem to appeal to a broad section of homeschoolers, Classical and otherwise. Having a handful of the big sellers for each subject seems like a great idea. For history, you could have SOTW, MOH, TOG and perhaps a secular title as well. As a history "resource" we love Laurie Carlson's activity guides. Don't forget Latin (I would suggest Memoria Press's Latin programs as highly popular), and modern languages. So for each subject have 4 major curricula new and then carry lots of reference books (Usborne, Kingfisher, DK, etc). I like how everyone is suggesting homeschool/parenting guides. Having a wide variety of authors (I've enjoyed Cathy Duffy, Laura Berquist, the Bluedorns, Wise and Wise-Bauer, Douglas Wilson, Maureen Wittmann, Gladys Hunt, Charlotte Mason, Maria Montessori) will ensure that there's something there to help everyone. BOB books are usually very popular and aren't common on consignment (they don't hold up to heavy use well).

 

Good luck! Don't suppose you're near me?? We don't have a homeschool/curriculum store besides Knowledge Tree. :(

[WTMCassandra]

Good luck! Don't suppose you're near me?? We don't have a homeschool/curriculum store besides Knowledge Tree. :(

 

Thanks for your suggestions! Unfortunately, we are not near you. We are in eastern Washington state.

[Brindee]

SWB's The Well-Trained Mind

 

You'll need a variety of Foreign Language materials, from young age to highschool. Also the dictionaries for Spanish/English, French/English, etc. From young to highschool (and beyond) ages.

 

She could find reading lists for different levels, print them off and have them available, and make sure to have most of those books in store. Some people just don't know what books to look for, so that would certainly be a help!

 

Maybe Notgrass books? That'd be more of a specialty item though.

 

Some Logic books--Fallacy Detective, The Thinking Toolbox, A Case of Red Herrings books, Mind Benders, etc.

 

Jr. Analytical Grammar and Analytical Grammar

 

Uncle Josh's Outline Map Book

 

Life of Fred Maths

 

Thesaurus's for younger and older kids

 

Critical Thinking books like "The Language Mechanic"

 

Maps--small placemat size and large wall maps

Atlases

Globes

 

Pencils and Pens. Our place has pencils that say Homeschool is cool. My kids liked getting those when they were younger!

 

Books on Science Fair Projects and Science Experiments

 

Vocabulary Cartoons by Sam, Max and Bryan Burchers

Vocabulary for the College-Bound Student

Vocabulary From Classical Roots books

 

Maybe SAT and other practice books

 

Soduko and Crossword Puzzle books

[WTMCassandra]

Thank you, everyone! I just compiled all of our suggestions and sent an initial lists. My friend would also like to know if you have any foreign language recommendations. Any ideas?

[Caitilin]

Memoria Press offers some foreign language in addition to Latin, doesn't it? French?

 

Also, Rosetta Stone, maybe?

 

For Latin, Memoria Press, Henle, and Wheelock. For Greek, Hey Andrew! Teach me some Greek. I know some use La Clase Divertida for Spanish...

 

 

Also, consider MCTLA!!!:D

[Dmmetler]

Math manipulatives in reasonable family quantities (IE, not the one of each for the teacher to use on the overhead, and not the class set for 20 kids, either!).

 

High quality recorders and recorder books, especially ones that are good for home study. Music study materials in general (these are often hard to find outside of music education catalogs, and many parents don't know to go there).

[Heidi7Sue]

RightStart Math, Math-U-See, Miquon, and did someone already say Saxon?

[hsmom3tn]

My friend used to own a homeschool consignment store. The biggest sellers were ABeka, Bob Jones, and Saxon. Other good sellers were Total Language Plus, Progeny Press Guides, Five in a Row and books to go with it, and Critical Thinking books. Some of the things that people were always asking for and we never had were Mystery of History, Story of the World, and Heart of Dakota books. We kept chapter books and accelerated readers on the shelves, but mostly only the Sonlight books sold. Keep lots of good classics in stock. Hardcover picture books and Christian Liberty Press were the most unpopular.

[WTMCassandra]

My friend used to own a homeschool consignment store. The biggest sellers were ABeka, Bob Jones, and Saxon. Other good sellers were Total Language Plus, Progeny Press Guides, Five in a Row and books to go with it, and Critical Thinking books. Some of the things that people were always asking for and we never had were Mystery of History, Story of the World, and Heart of Dakota books. We kept chapter books and accelerated readers on the shelves, but mostly only the Sonlight books sold. Keep lots of good classics in stock. Hardcover picture books and Christian Liberty Press were the most unpopular.

 

Thank you for this. I have forwarded this text to my friend. I had forgotten about Heart of Dakota!

[SEGway]

I didn't see that anyone had yet suggested Drawing with Children. And, maybe you could carry a few basic art supplies? (I'm not sure how ambitious this store is planning to be.)

[WTMCassandra]

Thanks. I have included Drawing with Children. I'm not sure about the art supplies, but I will ask.