Hello ladies, Is there anyway we can find out (out of curiosity)what curriculum a certain local schools use. Is there a web site we can go to. I asked my friend whose kids go to ps but they said that they kids don't bring books home, only work sheets parents get to see any idea? Randa
You might look for school district websites... We have them here and can access the curriculum outcomes, but in them it only gives suggested resources (and there are usually couple mentioned depending on the outcome). you could also be really bold and call the school asking them what they use for curriculum. Many teachers in our school buy extra/supplemental curriculum for their classroom use (which is why our business idea would have worked... but I won't go there). MHTeachers.com is one place to look, Teacher Created Materials is also popular. Is there something specific you are looking for?
Each state usually has the state recommended guidelines, or what Indiana calls "Academic Standards" for each grade and subject on a dept of education website. Now whether the local public school follows them is another question....
When my ds went to public school I found out that they didn't have textbooks...seriously. The elementary used all online resources or computer programs. Makes me spit nails when I think about me having to report what texts I use when schools don't evidentally have to.
They do a lot of photo copying around here... although they do use a text book for math, science and social studies here
Hello Ladies, Here's my delimma, I just cannot decide what kind of curriculum to get my daughter for next year if I can't see what's in the books byself. I looked through the rainbow catalog but it's just overwhelming to me I am just so confused. randa
Have you checked out www.homeschoolreviews.com? I hope I got that site right. It has all sorts of curriculum reviews by people who have used them. I got alot of information about what learning style each teaches to and I have not been disappointed by anything I took a suggestion from. Not that you should use whatever is recommended, but if you know what kind of material you are looking for you have a good chance of finding a good fit with something there.
Randa, I feel just like you. I made the mistake of ordering Calvert based on what I heard about it. It was over 400.00, and it sucked. I sent it back. What grade is this for? I like Houghton-Mifflin and MacGraw-Hill. They both have websites where you can look at their online catalog or order a real one . The H-M K math book has a short story to intro the concept, the pages of practice, and finally a test.I really like it and if we h.s. next year I'm ordering from them. They are not at all expensive. All you need is student book, wkbk in some cases, teachers guide. They have an ebook, too, which is the student text in CDROM or online form. Not only do you get the full textbook, you can get from this pages to print out, like tests, practice sheets and other extras. I think I'll go with that, because it's even the same price as the textbook.
Here's a link for Houghton Mifflin. http://www.schooldirect.com/store/P...extPage=School/html/index.html&division=S01nk I was an idiot for not ordering from them.
www.christianbook.com is also a site that you are able to view the table of contents and sample pages.
Most states have curriculum fairs or homeschool conventions where all the different homeschool suppliers can set up and show their products. Also, I have seen ads for Bob Jones and Abeka set up in motel rooms to show their curriculum. I've never been able to go to a curriculum fair since the only one is in Louisville and that's too far away for us. I think it would be awesome though to get to look at it before you buy it. I've bought loads of stuff based on reading reviews. I've found the Rainbow Resource catalog to be a great resource. Thankfully, I've been mostly pleased with my choices, but it sure hurts when you get something you don't like and see that money go down the drain. :-(
Randa... I personally like the idea of picking my own curriculum by hand and not getting one that is "in a box". I really think that works well for us especially in the younger years. I like a variety of publishers/curriculum. I use Scott Foresman a lot for my 3rd grader. I like Horizons Math, Math Plus from Harcourt, Sadlier Oxford Phonics, Hooked on Phonics, Calvert Music, McGraw Hill Science 2000, Steck Vaughn social studies, MCP Phonics and Word STudy, etc. I could go on and on. I find my curriculum all over....teacher stores, online stores and homeschool book sales. I often order from www.homeschoolsupercenter.com , www.scottforesman.com , www.learningstreams.com, www.academicbookservices.com, and www.veritaspress.com.
You know, randa can read all these reviews, but if she's like me it won't help at all. I think it is best to actually hold the materials to see them as they are. What might be praised on one of those sites might not be good for her family.
You're right Becky. I went to local school supply stores and homeschool bookstores and looked over many curriculums. I also looked online at the ones available to preview. That's how I came up with my choices. There may be some good homeschool curriculums out there that are great but I am not too interested in attending seminars about curriculum. I think they are making a mistake if they don't post samples on their websites for people to preview.
Becky, I think you know me by now Brooke, thank you for the website. My dd will be 1st grade next year. I personally like to see books myself and go from there. I'm in peace for now since she's only K. I use macgraw hill(spectrum) for reading, modern curriculum press for phonics( we might finish it by next year), basic math(addition, substaction, tell time, and money) we read a lot and I think she's loves her books and that's how she learns. I use a book called homelearning year by year by Rebecca Rupp and Also What your kindergartener needs to know. I use them as a guideline of what to cover and I check out books from the library to go with them. I don't know what to use next year for writing.and science. for math, I have heard of miquon math and I think I am interested in it thank you ladies for your help, I'll keep seaching Randa
Randa~ It is definitely best to see the curriculum- hold it in your hands, look over the pages, etc. Everyone can rant and rave about how wonderful something it, but it could very well not be a good fit for you or your child (much like Becky and the Calvert curriculum). Do you have opportunity to go to a Homeschool Convention in your state/area? I went for the first time this past spring, and I was amazed at what all is available to homeschoolers, and in so many different methods/approaches, there's truly something for every learning style and need. I went with ideas as to what I thought I would want, or at least what I wanted to look at, and that was helpful. I would highly recommend you going to one, if possible. They are usually held in the spring of the year, so that gives you plenty of time to plan for the following fall/school year. Good luck in your search. Heidi
Would it be possible for you to contact your local school and request to look at the texts that they are using? I know my district has a borrowing plan for the local homeschoolers making it possible for us to borrow the actual textbooks for the year if we would like to (I personally don't know of anyone that does this but then if the test scores tell us anything, it is that my local schools don't have the best texts around or that the kids maybe don't understand them? IDK). If you could borrow them or take a look at them you could take some notes to compare to some cirriculum that you find at a cirriculum fair. Also, my local school district has a homeschooling liason, maybe yours does too? If they do they may know of a comparable cirriculum or one that many of the local homeschoolers are using. Good luck to you!
Personally, if you pay property taxes and some of that goes directly to the schools than it would seem to be you have a right to know what texts the schools are using. If I called I probably would leave out the fact that I am homeschooling. I would call the school and say I am a city of (insert your city here) taxpayer and I would like to know what texts the students are using for this grade science, ss, math etc. Laura earthmomma
