Help with Math and Language Art Curriculum

[Guest Catmy2004]

Hi, I am new to homeschooling and would like some help deciding which math and language arts curriculum to use. One of the biggest deciding factors is cost. My husband is the soul provider for our family and does not really bring home any "extra" money. Right now we are using my student loans to get started so the best bang for the buck would be greatly appreciated.

 

I have looked at Math U See, Lifepac, and Horizons. I guess I could start with one and if we do not like it move to something else later but I would really rather start with something and stay with is. Also I have thought about combining curriculum to be as prepared as I can be no matter what.

 

Help please!

 

Thank you!

[Sherry in OH]

Have you looked at MEP? (http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mepres/primary/default.htm)

 

You have to print it, but there are no other costs. It is a great math program.

 

For language arts, see if you can borrow copies of OPGTR, Phonics Pathways, Alphaphonics, and other phonics programs. Many public libraries have copies. Review them and pick the program that feels best to you.

 

Also see if your library has the Leap Frog videos - Talking Letter Factory, Talking Words Factory I & II, and Storybook Factory. They will give you a start on phonics. If you have Internet access at home, Starfall.com can be fun.

 

If you are not opposed to vintage books there are many at Project Gutenburg (http://www.gutenberg.org) and Google Books.

[almondbutterandjelly]

Christian Liberty Press has some good quality, inexpensive resources. They are also having a great sale right now. You could buy an entire PreK kit for $87 or Kinder kit for $132, or you could pick and choose which books to use for much less. I know that as a newbie, it can be helpful to have a grade-level kit.

[mrs.m]

For a kindergartener I would keep it really simple!

 

OPGTR (buy it used!)

Bob Books (check your library but they are fairly cheap)

Explode the Code (Get Ready for the Code Series is great! We used it for Handwriting Practice)

or free handwriting practice at Donnayoung.org

 

For Math I use Bob Jones University. The student workbook isn't expensive. I seldomly use the teacher guide.

 

For science and history (if I only had a K'er) I would check out books from the library. Grow some caterpillars, plants some seeds, talk about the weather, etc. History would be kept simple too. Maybe study some historical heros. Read lovely picture books about famous people.

 

You should check out Ambelside Online too.

 

Once they get into first grade we move into CLE: http://www.clp.org/christian_light_education (except Science and History) It's very inexpensive. They have some K materials but I'm not thrilled with their K program.

[boscopup]

I assume you're wanting K level stuff?

 

Singapore Essential Math K is around $15 for the year (there are two books). Horizons is supposed to be pretty decent.

You'll want a phonics program - Ordinary Parent's Guide, Phonics Pathways, or you can take a look at Webster's Speller (free online - I'm using it for teaching my 4 year old reading, though we are also using OPGTR with it).

You'll need handwriting of some sort... You can either do this yourself or get a regular handwriting workbook (HWT, GDI, ZB, or any number of others).

 

Personally, I'm not big on MUS, though I haven't used it myself. I just can't even imagine spending an entire year on one math topic. I prefer a more traditional approach to math, but with the conceptual math built in. As it stands, I have 6 years of my math program for the price of 1 year of MUS, and it's a traditional scope and sequence, so if we needed to switch to something else, it wouldn't be a big deal. If you switch from MUS to something else, you might have to go back a grade or two just because of the scope and sequence differences (I'm not saying here that MUS is "bad"... it's just more difficult to switch in and out of it without having to backtrack somewhere).

 

Also, we all want to get a program and stick with it, but when you're first starting out, you're going to have programs that are flops, as you learn what you like and don't like. So I would recommend spending very little on your first year's curriculum (especially since it's K anyway - you don't need to spend much for K... put any extra money aside for later grades when you have more subjects to buy for). I started in January this year, after doing tons and tons of research. In the first month, I changed spelling programs twice (we're sticking with the 3rd program), dropped a reading program (we just read good books now, which is working better for my son), dropped a phonics program (since my spelling program covers it well), switched science... after a few months, I switched grammar. Next year I'm switching handwriting font. I also kind of switched history, though my first program used SOTW, and now I'm just doing SOTW straight.

 

After actually TEACHING these things, I can now make better choices for next year, and I don't think I'll be switching much, if anything, next year. I'm adding in a few challenging math supplements for fun, and switching handwriting programs for cursive, but otherwise we're doing what we're doing now, and I feel very happy with what we're using.

 

So don't spend $100 on a math program when you're strapped for cash and aren't sure if that's what your child will NEED. I know I looked at MUS a couple years back, but I'm glad I never purchased it for DS. He doesn't need manipulatives, so I don't need an expensive program that uses them. He does great with just pictures in the text explaining it (he's very naturally mental math minded). I got Rightstart for my second son, but I found that I think he too will do better with a basic K workbook, so we're going to use Singapore EM K. I think it will be a good fit for him. It's much, much cheaper than RS too! So that's a plus. :)

[crl]

If money is tight, you might to consider using progressivephonics.com which is a free phonics program. My kids enjoy that and starfall.com which is also a free phonics fun website.

 

My kids are both using Math-U-See and really like it. While it seems like each book only covers one skill, it does include some other things. Like this year in Beta, we are covering multiple digit addition and subtraction including regrouping. But we've also learned money, telling time down to the minute, tally marks, intro to fractions, perimeter of shapes and are now reviewing ordinal numbers using days of the week and months of the year.

[ktgrok]

Hi, I am new to homeschooling and would like some help deciding which math and language arts curriculum to use. One of the biggest deciding factors is cost. My husband is the soul provider for our family and does not really bring home any "extra" money. Right now we are using my student loans to get started so the best bang for the buck would be greatly appreciated.

 

I have looked at Math U See, Lifepac, and Horizons. I guess I could start with one and if we do not like it move to something else later but I would really rather start with something and stay with is. Also I have thought about combining curriculum to be as prepared as I can be no matter what.

 

Help please!

 

Thank you!

 

What age/grade?

 

Math Mammoth is very inexpensive and you can download half a year at a time, or a topic at a time. First Language Lessons and Writing with Ease are fairly inexpensive on Amazon, and I love them.

 

Katie

[birchbark]

I would also recommend Math Mammoth for math. And probably CLE for Language arts. Both of these programs are among the best in their subject and are also some of the most economical. They are also very user-friendly for new homeschoolers. Good luck on your homeschooling venture!

[Aurelia]

I second the recommendations for MEP and the Leapfrog videos. For phonics you could you Phonics Pathways, OPGTR or Bear Necessities.

[RobinF]

Next year we will being K with our 4th ds. This is what I am planning to use

 

Italic handwriting but you could use HWT or even sheets from Donna Young

OPG and ETC books for Phonics

MUS for math but I am looking at Math Mammoth for some extra work for my older boys

History is tag along with olders If I only had one I would get some fun library books.

Science is tag along also. With only one again I would get some fun library books.

 

There is a thread on the forums for free curriculum. I will post a link to it when the search feature is working again.

[Mommee & Baba]

Welcome to homeschooling!! :grouphug:

 

In the beginning dh and I weren't in the budget mind-set to make any room for ANYTHING schooling related..besides the basic school supplies. So when I started out homeschooling I used all the free things I could get my hands on and it was a BIG BOMB moment. I won't got back to that moment. So I wanted to chime in and suggest some really good starting programs that aren't very expensive if you can get them used :)

 

I suggest...

Leapfrog DVD's...netflix has them if you have the subscription...otherwise you can buy them on ebay for pretty cheap or walmart online for cheaper than instore. Plus free shipping if you select site to store :)

 

First Language Lessons is a solid program. All of my children LOVE it. From my totboy who is 2 and my school driven 6yr old dd and to my energetic and amazingly creative 7.5yr old dd.

 

SAM books - These are so great! My K5er and 2nd grader loved these!! They are black and white so you can print them easy enough. They are FREE!! And one of the BEST freebies I've run into in a long time as far as solid program. I ended up saving all of the books I printed so I don't have to print them again and will use them with my ds2 when he's of age. http://www.readinglessons.com/index.php

 

MEP for math. We LOVED this program and even after we made room for schooling curriculum still used it for another year and half! We did end up switching to Math Mammoth but that's ONLY because I needed something that wasn't so teacher heavy and Math Mammoth has the instructions for the teacher on the student worksheets, so no extra books. MEP is ALOT of printing and I printed 3 years of it, hole punched and filed it away for future use with ds2. Again another great FREE program! Oh and Math Mammoth starts in 1st grade at the earliest. MEP starts in Kindergarten. http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mep/default.htm

 

Science & History can easily be brought into your school by checking out library books on certain subjects and lapbooking too!

 

For writing I used all the FREE printable worksheets and because I was so unorganized I didn't like the end result of my oldest dd's handwriting...I wish I would've done more with her writing and sharpened it sooner. It's great now but that's because of writing with ease and handwriting without tears. So if you can hole punch and file printable sheets for handwriting practice go that route...but if you're like me and need it already done for you....purchase Handwriting without Tears. All you need for that is the teacher's guide and the student book. You don't need the extra's as alot of them you can pick up at Dollar Tree such as the chalkboard and such things if needed, we went without those and did just fine. Teacher manuals are usually really cheap on For Sale boards so I wouldn't bother buying that new.

[3lilreds in NC]

If you don't mind a Christian curriculum, take a look at My Father's World Kindergarten curriculum. It's a complete K program, and it's EXTREMELY inexpensive. I've used it for 2 of my 3 kids so far, and plan to use it with #3 when the time comes. We've loved it here.

 

The math is included, but is not a textbook. It's all hands-on, living math, which is perfect for K. It might seem like you're not doing enough, but trust me, you will be. :)