We have been asked by several folks what curriculum we use for our kids and thought it would be nice to pass along the information to everyone! Since every family has different circumstances and learning situations, we decided to include what other parents are using!! This is not a stagnant list, and if parents are using some really neat curriculum that isn’t covered, please send us a note and we will repost the messages.
The Metzger Homeschool:
Math:
1st /2nd grade: Singapore Math 1A and 1B. I found this to be a great curriculum for my son. It is very inexpensive and covers all topics. It is a little accelerated because it is from Singapore so there is more teacher involvement. I like the teacher key. It really puts the lessons in a structured manner. You do have to buy manipulatives, but if you are creative you can improvise! Available @ www.singaporemath.com
4th / 5th grade: Singapore Math 4A/4B then 5A/5B…again same as the above.
7th and 10th grade: Saxon 6/5 and 7/6 for 10th Saxon Algebra1 and 2 (covers many geometry concepts). We are finishing up 6/5 and Algebra 1 this summer. Saxon is an excellent curriculum if your child needs lots of reinforcement. I find that it really cements in math concepts. Also, Saxon is considered ‘advanced’ by many school districts, which will be nice if you have to do mandatory testing or switch to public/private school later. Saxon is a home school standard for a reason. The only downside is the curriculum is rather expensive and with a multiple child family can get quite pricey. Because Saxon is so popular, one can get used curriculum fairly cheap!
Available @ http://saxonhomeschool.harcourtachieve.com/en-US/saxonhomeschool.htm
Grammar:
1st/2nd : First Language Lessons by Jessie Wise. This is an excellent curriculum that replaces “English for the Thoughtful Child”, but I still recommend the latter because it is really nice book that covers everything in FLL just only a year rather than two years. The lessons are scripted which is nice, but not absolutely necessary. It is expected that Grammar is to be taught every day, so it gives the lessons as daily lessons with many chances to reinforce prior learned lessons. Check out Amazon, it has the best prices on this curriculum.
4th-8th : Junior Analytical Grammar. I found this to be a great grammar book. It covers everything in a very easy to follow format and the teacher book gives you an idea on how to cover the material. The philosophy behind the curriculum is to simply study grammar for a certain set of lessons and then let the information “marinate”. Then take lessons learned and use them in writing. So the student won’t spend the entire year on Grammar, but rather do a grammar unit, then turn around and exhibit proper grammar in written and oral media. It also has the most comprehensive lessons on diagramming sentences. It takes the student through a step-by-step process. It is rather pricey, but well worth it and it will be used over a couple years, that is if the parent so chooses.
High school: Analytical Grammar. Starts more advanced grammar, but the student is only doing 11 units (there are ….) and using their notebook as a reference for the rest of the year. The rest of the lessons are to be done the next year. Over the summer the student is expected to do the reinforcement exercises (a separate book) once a week. Again and excellent book that doesn’t assume the student has done JAG. Again it is pricey, but well worth price. Available @ www.analyticalgrammar.com
Writing:
1st/2nd: First Language Lessons. There are so many writing opportunities in the lessons that I find us only working on copying and penmanship outside of the book.
4th – 9th Writing strands 4, 5, 6, and 7.
For most of the kids we use the old stand by “Writing Strands”. It does a good job at taking writing and breaking it into chunks. Some lessons seem repetitive, but it is supposed to be self-guided, so it doesn’t assume the teacher is teaching, rather the student is only being supervised. I suggest that the parent goes over the lessons with the student anyway, just to ensure understanding.
Writing strands 7 is a really fun book with many creative writing opportunities. My high schooler really enjoyed the many “play”-type lessons where she did mime, character development, etc…
10th grade: Once the student moves onto Rhetoric, it isn’t necessary to cover writing as a separate subject because that is what Rhetoric is really about. We are going to use this next year: Rulebook for Arguments, New Oxford Guide to Writing, Elements of Style and finally Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student. This final book is the most expensive, but can be obtained from Amazon at a somewhat reasonable price. Since we haven’t started using these books yet, I won’t comment on them quite yet, but I will say, a student should have a year of formal logic under his/her belt prior to jumping into it. We are starting Rhetoric in 10th for that reason.
Reading:
Besides choral reading, which we do as a formal subject every morning, we also use:
1st/2nd : Bob’s Books are used in the local private school that Sigrdrifa Education Network assists and sponsors. These are great to reinforce new concepts learned in “Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons”.
High School: Great Books as outlined in “The Well Trained Mind” by Susan Wise Bauer. This is an excellent program that really opens the mind of your high-schooler through the use of classic literature from the time periods he/she is studying in History and Science. I can’t recommend it enough!
1st—5th : Story of the World series by Susan Wise Bauer with the accompanying Activity book. I only recommend the actual history book until SEN has completed their comprehensive history book with activity/project book. The history book is quite inaccurate and errs on the side of modern political correctness and Christian mindset. This may be fine for those of a Christian persuasion, but not for those that are not. In fact, some parts are rather hostile to European pre history and choose to focus primarily on central and southern Europe ignoring completely ancient Northern European history completely. With that said, the Activity book is great and connects to other texts (mainly Usborne history and Kingfisher History of the World). On the positive side it is written so that a decent reader in the grammar stage can read it alone. It is a story book, which is nice for understanding. Available through www.welltrainedmind.com and amazon.
6th/7th: Kingfisher History of the World, March of the Titans, massive Internet resources. I find that the combination of these three resources as your “spine” for history give a nice rounded view of things. Depending on the level of reading your middle schooler is at, one might want to supervise the March of the Titans because the reading level is really at a high school level. Again, these are only recommended till the SEN history book is finished. I think history is an extremely important subject that should be strongly supervised and taught by the parent. There is so misinformation and outright lies taught that the parent teacher needs to stay on top of history lessons. Kingfisher available through amazon, and March of the Titans through www.white-history.com .
Science:
1st—5th: Usborne Internet Linked First Encyclopedia of Our World and First Encyclopedia of Space, Constellations for Every Kid, Astronomy for Every Kid, and finally Spotters Guide to the Night Sky. This last one is a practical little book to take stargazing. The Our World book and Space books are simply “spines” for scientific study. The Van Cleave books (Constellations and Astronomy) are experiment books. All highly recommended. All available through amazon.
6th –8th Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia and the Van Cleave books above. The Kingfisher book is the spine for science study. Again, very comprehensive and probably the only book you will need for middle school.
Logic:
1st/2nd : Mind Bender series. For 1st and 2nd we use the Mind Benders Warm ups. Really anything from Critical Thinking Press is excellent. This series gets the student thinking logically, yet appropriately for a grammar student.
5th—7th: Mind Benders. This series is long, but well worth it. The first lessons go very fast because they are simple logic puzzles, but as the student progresses from A1 through the B series and eventually C series…it gets increasingly difficult. We probably won’t go through all the MBs but rather go onto Critical Thinking Book 1 starting in September.
7th-9th : Critical thinking Book 1 and 2. These are really great books that walk the student through Logical thinking, watching for fallacies and analyzing arguments for validity. I really like the secular approach. We tried Introductory Logic, although I like how it is set up and how it teaches, the strong and often confusing Biblical references were very distracting and frustrating for my children who have been raised Heathen from day one. BUT I recommend the parent takes a peak at IL anyway, because it is great in creating a foundation in logic and is extremely good at explaining Logic principles. Available @ http://www.criticalthinking.com/index.jsp
Latin:
I haven’t used any home schooling for Latin. I was lucky in the fact that I had a Latin class offered through and alternative school for my kids.
7th—High School: My kids in their classes have used Wheelock’s Latin. It is rigorous and complete. There is even a workbook that goes along with it, which helps reinforce the lessons. I really am impressed with their Latin progress. Again, I haven’t taught it, but know it is a solid curriculum from the results I have seen. Available through Amazon.
Spelling:
We use the Spelling Workout series for my younger grades.
1st/2nd Spelling Workout A and B. Very good at using phonics and spelling rules to guide spelling. No “whole language” teaching. Be sure to continually correct spelling in written work though. Spelling is a lifelong skill.
5th and 7th. SW E~H
Available @ http://k12catalog.pearson.com/index.cfm?site_id=1&step=5
7th and above we used Vocabulary From Classical Roots. I really like this series, but it isn’t really thorough. If your children are already in Latin, it is a nice supporting activity that isn’t really taxing. It is also great for “Jeopardy” type questions and give the kids lots of confidence! Available @ http://www.epsbooks.com/dynamic/catalog/series.asp?seriesonly=2252M