VBoulden Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 I'm hoping to glean some new ideas from what you all say here... A lot of times I will hang out with a group of home school moms, get to talking with them and someone will say, 'You've never heard of _??!!" And they are shocked to find out I've never even heard of it. What is that one THING that you'd be shocked to find I don't know about. (Besides The Well Trained Mind, of course. That's kind of a "given," right?) So, what is it? ...What's the thing you couldn't live without? :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poke Salad Annie Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 The book Marva Collins' Way. Awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RecumbentHeart Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 This is a little tricky because the things I'd be shocked to know you hadn't heard of are not the same things I can't live without. For instance, one of the resources that has made the biggest difference for me has been The Latin Centered Curriculum but it doesn't surprise me at all if someone hasn't heard of it the same way it surprises me if someone gives me a blank stare when I mention The Well-Trained Mind (that has happened). Likewise, Professor B Math has been revolutionary in our home but I'd be far more surprised to hear you hadn't heard of Saxon. Sorry to be difficult .. I also managed to squeeze 2 in when you asked for 1 .. I couldn't help myself. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivingHope Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 http://www.nothingnewpress.com/atta.shtml All Through the Ages by Christine Miller (a chronological literature list) I take this to the library. Janell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 Tanglewood Education www.tanglewoodeducation.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 Homeschooling tear by year by Deborah Rupp ( Something like that anyway) Charlotte Mason in some capacity. Whether you have read her actual books, or one of the summaries of her teaching methods. The "What should you *th grader know books Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 The Rainbow Resource catalog! If you are talking strictly curriculum choice, my very favorite are the KONOS materials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmhearn Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 "Top 100 Picks for Homeschool Curriculum" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 Honey for a Child's Heart This is based on the fact that we've already established WTM as our #1 resource. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquinas Academy Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 Aside from WTM, Charlotte Mason's writings have been the most formational to my homeschool philosophy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekmom Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 The Reading Teacher's Book of Lists http://www.amazon.com/Reading-Teachers-Book-Lists-Grades/dp/0787982571/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1304717495&sr=1-1 I refer to it constantly!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 (edited) The LIBRARY!!! It is our lifeblood in this house. I pick up books from the request shelf at least twice a week (usually anywhere from 20-30 books at a time). It feels like Christmas each and every time and I get a serious thrill every time I get our goodies. Since I request so many things and many of them come from other libraries, take a while to come in, I never know what I'm going to get, but it's always a mix of books (fiction, non-fiction, for me, for dd8, for ds5, for dh), movies (educational, fun, classics), music cds, audio cds, etc. Can you tell we love the library? Seriously, it is the one resource I could not live without! ETA: Of course I'm not saying you wouldn't know about it. Just that it's the one resource I couldn't live without. And that I think we use it to its fullest potential, and I know many people don't! Edited May 6, 2011 by tammyw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMom2One Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 Well it's a given that TWTM has been my primary guide to homeschooling, and I've gained more from The Hive than any other resource that's available. From this forum I've learned about curriculum, methods of teaching, and on and on and on. So understanding that first, I'd then have to say that TOG has provided me with a wonderful way to follow TWTM model. Blessings, Lucinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunD Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 I'm going to cheat and say "the entire vast number of books freely available online". Google Books, Project Gutenberg, etc ... I'll consider them all the same resource! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sahamamama Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 Seriously, this forum is what I consider my Number One Resource. It's a teacher lounge. It's a teacher training camp. It's a teacher's decompression chamber. ;) It's a curriculum fair. It's a homeschool conference. It's that, and more, and it's here every day, all day, year after year after year. Thanks, PHP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silliness7 Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 Hands down. The Library Card. And if you've not heard of your library or don't already have a card I would be totally SHOCKED!!! The library is the homeschooler's best friend. It's like being granted a magic wish and wishing for more wishes. It's a never ending smorgasbord of educational feasting. :001_smile: Every once in a while I get an itch to ditch the curriculum and just let 'em loose in the library and see what happens. Hey, that sounds like a good project for July. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silliness7 Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 The LIBRARY!!! It is our lifeblood in this house. I pick up books from the request shelf at least twice a week (usually anywhere from 20-30 books at a time). It feels like Christmas each and every time and I get a serious thrill every time I get our goodies. Since I request so many things and many of them come from other libraries, take a while to come in, I never know what I'm going to get, but it's always a mix of books (fiction, non-fiction, for me, for dd8, for ds5, for dh), movies (educational, fun, classics), music cds, audio cds, etc. Can you tell we love the library? Seriously, it is the one resource I could not live without! ETA: Of course I'm not saying you wouldn't know about it. Just that it's the one resource I couldn't live without. And that I think we use it to its fullest potential, and I know many people don't! Great minds think alike. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elise1mds Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 Handwriting Without Tears. I know, it's a narrow scope for a resource compared to everything else on this thread, but while I'm reasonably sure I could teach everything else by winging it if I *had* to... handwriting is another matter entirely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnMomof7 Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Well, this is pretty specific, but I am going to say All About Spelling. It was the missing piece in our LA studies. The further we get the more confident my daughter has become in her writing. It has been amazing. I am a natural speller and didn't really know the rules, so this has been a God-send for us. DH has also agreed (only just today) to remediate his spelling/reading with me using AAS. That, to me, is incredible. He grew up in a home where literacy was not valued (no reading aloud), and he only really learned to read as an adult (victim of the sight method). This will be so exciting and do him a world of good! I can't wait to see his confidence with the written language soar :). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristenR Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Gosh there are so many to chose from; but for right now, with my young children we totally love Starfall. The more advanced parts work great for my 4 year old and my 2 year old loves the section on her ABC's. Starfall has been so handy for me when I am trying to do more instructional learning with my 4 year old because I can pop my 2 year old on our laptop (its a touch screen which REALLY helps for her young age) and she will stay focused on it, and I can generally get through most, if not all, of my lesson with my older. It's been great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 My imac and chocolate. Everything else is negotiable. Maid and library card come next in line. Truly, the farther I go, the less curriculum I want and the more pampering and internal spunk just to get done what I dream. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 My imac and chocolate. Everything else is negotiable. Maid and library card come next in line. Truly, the farther I go, the less curriculum I want and the more pampering and internal spunk just to get done what I dream. LOL! I've gotta agree with this. I'm getting old and I'm getting tired but I have great plans that I would love to accomplish. I just need the juice to keep me going - coffee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Great minds think alike. :001_smile: Seriously though, I feel like a kid in a candy store at Christmas when it comes to the library. Even better though, because it's all FREE!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Nyssa Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 SOTW! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 BFSU for science. Of course, lots of people haven't heard of it, so I wouldn't be surprised if you hadn't either. Using BFSU has been like discovering a gold mine, especially since it only costs about $20 for 2-3 years of science. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgehogs4 Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 My imac and chocolate. Everything else is negotiable. Maid and library card come next in line. Truly, the farther I go, the less curriculum I want and the more pampering and internal spunk just to get done what I dream. Not the library card, but Amazon...I am not great at returning library books on time. Or even close to on time. My library has stopped the $20 cap on fines, so it's actually (really!) cheaper for me to buy books. :blushing: I second the imac. I have to say that my house cleaning service that I get every other week is my absolute life-saver and the one thing I really dug my heels in about when making homeschooling decisions. I need a clean environment in order to stay sane, and if I know the house will get cleaned, I can school the kids well. People might call me picky or anal or whatever...practically speaking though it's not something that some people can "just get over and deal with the fact that your house won't be clean when your homeschooling." Clean house = happy wife = dinner served at a reasonable time = I have time for the kids...and you. :blush: kwim? everyone's happier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 If you lived here and had pre-schoolers, I'd be dragging you down to our local toy library. Boy have they saved me money :D Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RecumbentHeart Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 If you lived here and had pre-schoolers, I'd be dragging you down to our local toy library. Boy have they saved me money :D Rosie A toy library is an utterly brilliant idea. Why oh why do they not have those around here?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen500 Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 A library card for every person in the house. Amazon Prime membership Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinkgumby Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 A toy library is an utterly brilliant idea. Why oh why do they not have those around here?? I agree! I want to know more! Is this put on by an individual? Or the city? How did it get started? I *love* this idea! But back to the original question - ooh, that's tough. If I could narrow things down to ONE resource, I wouldn't have so many shelves of books in my house! :D I really do love this forum, though, for the reasons someone else mentioned above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkermamaof4 Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 http://www.nothingnewpress.com/atta.shtmlAll Through the Ages by Christine Miller (a chronological literature list) I take this to the library. Janell :DI didn't know about this one! Thanks!!! I've been buying Truthquest guides to get a list like this and I can't stand the fact that they say they haven't even read all of the books they list! This looks super! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTJo1996 Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Spelling City. It has soo many free options and I find I can use it for more than just spelling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 I agree! I want to know more! Is this put on by an individual? Or the city? How did it get started? I *love* this idea! I dunno! I suppose an individual gets a local government grant, buys some toys and something to use as a catalogue and it grows from there! Type 'Frankston Toy Library' into Facebook and ask them :P :) Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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