5th and 3rd without curriculum?

[paysensmom]

I just started homeschooling and I am trying to keep away from curriculums because they seem really expensive.

Both of my children are advanced readers and my third grader was doing 4th grade math in PS last year. They were also both in the gifted program, however, I don't think they did much in that pull out class. I am looking for guidance and tips on how to do it without purchasing a curriculum. Do you have really good websites that you use?

[kristi26]

Okay, I have some links for you. They're all free, but I haven't tried them all out, just heard about them here:

 

http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mep/default.htm Free math program (MEP)

http://home.pct.edu/~evavra/KISS.htm Free grammar site (KISS)

http://www.aaaspell.com/ Free spelling lists by grade, also vocabulary (Triple A spelling)

http://www.nt.net/~torino/novels3.html Free novel study guides

http://www.eequalsmcq.com/ Free science text (only one of them is free) (Mr. Q)

http://www.lessonpathways.com/ Free curriculum for K-5

http://www.amblesideonline.org/ Free curriculum through high school, Charlotte Mason Style

http://www.homeschoolshare.com/ Free lapbooking/notebooking downloads

http://www.kinderart.com/ Free art stuff

 

Also, check out your local library for tons of great books that you can get out and study what you want for free. For example, you could study the beginning of America, World War 1 or 2, etc just by getting out books on the subject.

 

I also have a list on the right side of my blog of sites and blogs I like here: http://www.themommywriter.blogspot.com/

 

Hope that helps!

Edited September 5, 2012 by kristi26

[wapiti]

If you're looking for free curricula for cost reasons, here are some older threads:

 

Free Curriculum list

What are your best frugal homeschooling tips?

a classical education for free/cheap?

Favorite free curriculum/educational aid?

Favorite FREE/CHEAP resources?

Free Curriculum (roughly K to 6th)

 

If you're talking about making up your own curricula because you don't like what's available, that's another question entirely.

 

Personally, the one subject for which I would not go without a curriculum is math, though there are some very good free (MEP) and low-cost (MM) options.

[2_girls_mommy]

I suppose if you order an all in one curriculum from one publisher that includes all of the subjects and all of the books that they will read it can get expensive.

 

But I don't think I could teach 3rd and 5th completely without a curric of some sorts for some subjects. Grammar/English, math, and latin especially.

 

I could do without handwriting. I could easily assign copywork on my own. So if I was trying to save $ I would buy at least the math and english that I wanted, but I wouldn't order the handwriting.

 

 

Science and history for me can easily be taught using library books and a copy of the well trained mind. I would still purchase a few books as spines, the ones that I would be using year round. Sometimes as the years go on, I find that it is much preferable to purchase something a little put together, because I have less and less time to put stuff together myself (and to research what in the world I am trying to put together :) ) But I still use my library a lot whenever I can to save a little.

 

But I do not think I could put together a program for english and math, ever that was complete on my own for 5th grade. I would not even try.

 

Have you read the Well Trained Mind yet? It will give you lots of direction as to what to teach and when for a classical education at home.

[Dolphin]

I will just add KISS grammar and Khan Academy (math) to that list.

 

I also agree, read the WTM. Putting together your own program by subject is much less expensive. You can then use a combination of free and bought curriculum.

[Hunter]

Not free, but low cost

 

Strayer-Upton Math. Book 1 is grades 3-4, book 2 is grades 5-6, book 3 is grades 7-8. $13.95 each.

 

Mark Twain workbooks $1.99-$5.99

 

Glencoe Literature textbooks for grades 6-12 are dirt cheap. The vocabulary support for the short stories is excellent and the themes support these free novel supplements.

 

Getting Started with Latin Kindle version $9.99 and free audio

 

Public school science and social studies texts from 2000 are just pennies at Amazon. I look for ones with good vocabulary support and just use them as read alouds, and notebook the vocabulary and diagrams.

Edited September 5, 2012 by Hunter

[Mommy22alyns]

I suppose if you order an all in one curriculum from one publisher that includes all of the subjects and all of the books that they will read it can get expensive.

 

But I don't think I could teach 3rd and 5th completely without a curric of some sorts for some subjects. Grammar/English, math, and latin especially.

 

I could do without handwriting. I could easily assign copywork on my own. So if I was trying to save $ I would buy at least the math and english that I wanted, but I wouldn't order the handwriting.

 

 

Science and history for me can easily be taught using library books and a copy of the well trained mind. I would still purchase a few books as spines, the ones that I would be using year round. Sometimes as the years go on, I find that it is much preferable to purchase something a little put together, because I have less and less time to put stuff together myself (and to research what in the world I am trying to put together :) ) But I still use my library a lot whenever I can to save a little.

 

But I do not think I could put together a program for english and math, ever that was complete on my own for 5th grade. I would not even try.

 

Have you read the Well Trained Mind yet? It will give you lots of direction as to what to teach and when for a classical education at home.

 

:iagree:

[Soror]

I would say it depends on what you mean by curriculum, there are many, many options that vary very widely in cost for every subject under the moon. I think you need to decide your goals first and then see what you can find to fulfill those within your budget, but without goals any suggestions are (imo) shooting in the dark.

[paysensmom]

Thank you for your replies! The links are great. As far as goals go, I am really unsure. My hope is that I can get my children far enough ahead that in a few years when I go back for my masters they will be able to skip a grade. My children sat in the public school classroom and read books because they understood the concepts being taught. My son went through two and three large chapter books last year JUST by reading IN class! I am homeschooling them because I hated sending them away ALL day long only to find I had to attempt to teach them after school.

The school they were in was not bad and their class size was 12 and 15. We live in a very small town right now. They will be taking the standardized tests this year at the school because I want to keep those records for the schools since they will eventually need to go back to PS.

I want them challenged enough to have to study a little bit because they need to learn how. I hit high school and was hit by a brick wall. All the sudden I had to study and I had no clue how to do that!

I would love for someone to give me advice on what to use as far as a math and ELA curriculum. It seems to be a common theme that I should use a curriculum. I have been going by my state standards and finding things that fit those. It has been a TON of research and a huge time sucker though. With a 16 month old, I need some sort of short cut. :bigear:

[DarlaS]

Math Mammoth is challenging and inexpensive. If you do decide to give it a try, do use the placement tests:

 

http://www.mathmammoth.com/complete-curriculum.php

 

Placement:

 

http://www.mathmammoth.com/complete/placement_tests.php

[paysensmom]

If I went with MM would I need blue or light blue?

[wapiti]

If I went with MM would I need blue or light blue?

 

If you use it as your main math curriculum, you'd want the Light Blue version, which is organized by grade level. (If you use it as a supplement to some other main program, you'd want the Blue version, which is organized by topic.)

[paysensmom]

The light blue and the blue are the same except for how they are organized?

[wapiti]

The light blue and the blue are the same except for how they are organized?

 

Yes, the instruction is the same :)

 

The Light Blue also comes with chapter reviews, cumulative reviews, chapter tests, etc. I don't think the Blue has those sorts of things.

[paysensmom]

I am so nervous about purchasing a curriculum. I don't want to be disappointed and not use it. I definitely only want to purchase one set. This seems to be a good choice since I will be able to use it for both of my children. Do I get this one or is there a better choice?

[Jpoy85]

I am so nervous about purchasing a curriculum. I don't want to be disappointed and not use it. I definitely only want to purchase one set. This seems to be a good choice since I will be able to use it for both of my children. Do I get this one or is there a better choice?

 

if it doesnt work you can always re-sell it on here :) As far as what to choose, there are a TON of options and what will work for our children may not work for yours and what might work for ONE of your children might not work for BOTH. That is something to consider.

 

http://www.thebooksamaritan.com/p/contact.html

http://www.thebooksamaritan.com/p/faq.html

They will send you FREE curriculum- all you have to do is send them a request.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

If you get at least 50 posts here you can post an ISO post in the curriculum area asking for used curriculum and that can help you save money.

[wapiti]

Do I get this one or is there a better choice?

 

Only you can make this decision. The math program was probably the decision I worried about the most. MM is a great choice (my kids' school is now using it)

 

Advantages: very affordable, strong on Asian-style conceptual teaching, strong on teaching algorithms after the concept is understood, strong on word problems, very flexible regarding student placement, easy-to-use PDF - print only what you need, no teacher manual - all instruction is contained right there in the book

 

Disadvantages: it's not a good fit for every student. Some students feel that the pages are a bit cluttered and some feel that the lessons are too incremental for them (in which case it is possible to skip ahead a little here and there)

 

The important thing to remember is that the curriculum is just a tool - you are in charge and may use your own judgment for how many problems to assign, when to assign cumulative review worksheets, etc. The author of MM recommends assigning half to 2/3 of the problems at first, saving the rest in case your child needs more practice. I love MM, but I don't know your kids, so I can't say how it would work for them. Good luck!!

Edited September 6, 2012 by wapiti

[kitten18]

I would love for someone to give me advice on what to use as far as a math and ELA curriculum. It seems to be a common theme that I should use a curriculum. I have been going by my state standards and finding things that fit those. It has been a TON of research and a huge time sucker though. With a 16 month old, I need some sort of short cut. :bigear:

You should definitely look at MEP for math (it's the first link in this thread). It's free and a very well regarded conceptual math program.

[nansk]

You should definitely look at MEP for math (it's the first link in this thread). It's free and a very well regarded conceptual math program.

 

:iagree: Especially if your 5th grader is accelerated and will soon test out of Math Mammoth (which only goes up to 6th), it may be a better idea to do MEP with him instead.

[cloudswinger]

Thank you for your replies! The links are great. As far as goals go, I am really unsure. My hope is that I can get my children far enough ahead that in a few years when I go back for my masters they will be able to skip a grade. My children sat in the public school classroom and read books because they understood the concepts being taught. My son went through two and three large chapter books last year JUST by reading IN class! I am homeschooling them because I hated sending them away ALL day long only to find I had to attempt to teach them after school.

The school they were in was not bad and their class size was 12 and 15. We live in a very small town right now. They will be taking the standardized tests this year at the school because I want to keep those records for the schools since they will eventually need to go back to PS.

I want them challenged enough to have to study a little bit because they need to learn how. I hit high school and was hit by a brick wall. All the sudden I had to study and I had no clue how to do that!

I would love for someone to give me advice on what to use as far as a math and ELA curriculum. It seems to be a common theme that I should use a curriculum. I have been going by my state standards and finding things that fit those. It has been a TON of research and a huge time sucker though. With a 16 month old, I need some sort of short cut. :bigear:

 

It's easier as a new homeschooler to start with some curriculum, especially considering you have a toddler. It could be just as simple as going to Barnes and Nobles and buying some math workbooks. Then you can see what works and what doesn't. Most of the various curricula have some resale value, so you're not really losing much money. Even if you are comfortable with a particular subject like Math, it's very time consuming to organize your own lessons. And then you're probably rehashing work that other people spent a lot of time on. Curriculum IS the short cut. You're doing it the hard way, and you'd probably burn out on homeschooling and give up sooner than you would have to. Consider how much time you're spending researching vs teaching. I'm all about doing it frugally, but you have to consider the cost of your time too.

 

I started with Rightstart Math when I was new,and that was the only curriculum I considered and jumped wholeheartedly into it. It's not as cheap as some others, but not really that expensive either. Then I found MEP and started using it as a supplement, and now I'm debating continuing with RS. It's all a process of learning for both you and your kids. As you get comfortable and see how they learn, you will be better able to tell if something is working or not. For us, RS is fine, but I feel it's actually too easy for my daughter. The MEP does challenge her more, but I like the geometry in RS, and she much prefers RS(but I think that is because it's easy)

 

LA on the other hand is much more free form at our house. I have the hardback Writing with Ease and pull my own narration passages from whatever books we're reading. We have a LA 3 book from my sister-in-law that looks like one you'd buy from B&N. We did Grammarland, and I just bought a bunch of grammar related stuff from Scholastic Dollar Days. Spelling seems to come pretty easily, so we work on it pretty irregularly. Which kind of comes from not really liking the curriculum I bought. I liked it in theory, but not so much in practice, which you can only find out when you use it.

 

And lastly, state standards are so minimal, you're not going to challenge any truly gifted child teaching to the standards.

[Soror]

Personally I wouldn't jump into anything yet if you just brought them home. I would encourage them to play around with various things online and just spend lots of time with, aiming to figure out your goals, their level, your teaching style and their learning style. Do you have other hs'ers locally? Does your library have any curriculum?

 

It is hard to get where you are going if you (1) don't know where you are starting and (2) don't know where you are going. Starting off I thought my son would learn like me, I soon learned that isn't really him. I use programs that are minimal in writing but big on read aloud, mental computation, oral work, etc. I think some online assessment tests would be good as well. I wouldn't rush it but I would dive right in to lots and lots of books.

[paysensmom]

Thank you for your insights and advice! I went ahead and purchased the bundle at the co-op sale for Math Mammoth. I figured I should just get it now since it is on sale. I am going to look into that MEP as well for my son. I definitely want to hit all of the standards that will be taught in school, plus much more!

We do a lot of reading. My children are each reading their chapter book of choice and right now I am reading a book aloud to them. I aIm going to print off things from KISS Grammar because it looks really good and to top it off it's free! I am choosing spelling words for them and using them as some of our vocab as well. Do you think this is enough or should I look for something else as well?

We are doing our own science by finding things online, that seems easy enough. Social studies is not something we will spend much time with. We will focus on geography and real history from old history books. We will do lots of field trips to different battle fields and such. We will go into more depth on the things in DC and Philadelphia since that is where we vacationed this summer.

Our library is tiny and doesn't have much. There are a few homeschooling families in the area. Most of them leave science out because of religious beliefs. I am a christian, but I also see the science in evolution. Not trying to start a debate, just a bit of info on my area. Am I leaving anything out?

[cmac]

Definitely try MEP first. My 3rd grader is average in math, and I tried MM first since it was inexpensive and downloadable. It wasn't a good fit for him, too much repitition. We ended up trying the worksheets only, but that wasn't a good fit either, too much repetition in some areas for him, and not incremental enough for him in other areas. MEP was too challenging for both my son and I! We are trying out CLE math right now. It is a Christian curriculum, but it doesn't show up too much in their math.

 

I wasn't able to find a curriculum to fit us, so like you I have been going by state standards. I picked Massachusetts/New Hampshire/Virginia since they scored the highest on the national standards tests. And like you, I found elementary easy, but was unprepared for AP classes in high school. I ended up taking regular classes, which made me very unprepared for college. So I am just trying to prepare my child better than I was prepared.

 

I am still working on language arts. I have some MCT, but not their complete set. They are pricey. And for some reason, I feel like I am still missing something with MCT. I am thinking of using CLE/Galore Park to fill in what I don't cover in MCT. Both fairly inexpensive. There is religious content in CLE language arts, but my son doesn't seem to mind anymore. I also have Write on Track but haven't used it yet.

 

For 3rd grade science I am trying to meet the state standards using BFSU. I still need labs though, or figure out a way to put the info from BFSU in lab form. Of course that might take me too much time. For the fifth grader, maybe he could read BFSU himself if he's advanced? Just guessing.

 

These first three weeks I have already tried Writing Strands,Evan Moore Daily 6, Beast Academy, Tapestry of Grace(classic), and SOTW (library). Like you I am now very hesitant to buy curriculum, because it can be pricey and may not work for us. Also, things change. I would love to do more Tapestry of Grace, but math and science ended up taking too much time for us. Good luck!

 

Edit:I think both Emma Serl's FLL(First Language Lessons) and ILL are free online. And I just found this, since SS is now "too boring":) http://www.k12reader.com/spelling-curriculum-design/

Edited September 6, 2012 by cmac

[Pen]

I'd be able to get everything I absolutely need at my local library (and it is just a little one in the boonies)--but it would not always be my top choice for a particular subject, and might have the difficulty of being recalled by someone else's hold before we could get through it.

 

A large used book store in our area also has quite a good selection of used curricula.

 

History and literature you can get from reading books. You can make most other things up yourself, like math problems and grammar exercises and so on--but it is a lot of work.