I am a curriculum junkie. I love to look at curriculum. I browse catalogs all the time. I even dog ear the Rainbow Resource catalog that Arby hates so much.
I can't do it anymore. THe first reason, is that I just can't afford to buy it all and the second, is that sometimes, I find myself what to change curriculum mid-year. Which is bad. I've done it two times with history and science-its difficult on all of us, especially the kids. So, I don't do it anymore.
This past weekend, I went to the homeschooling conference in Western WA. It was a good conference. I did not go see any of the speakers because it was too much-they wanted $65! So I just browsed the vendors. I took only a little money and I made a list ahead of time of things that I needed to get. I needed grammer, spanish, and bible. I did get one extra thing, I'll get to that in a minute.
I scored with grammer. I've been looking for a grammer only product-no writing as I have a writing curriculum already. I found Growing with Grammer. I really like it. I'm not sure TL will be as excited, when he sees the diagramming sentences, but I'm sure he'll live. For the girls, who will be in 2nd and 3rd grade, I wanted just an intro into grammer. I found it!! Simply Grammer by Karen Andreola. Very short lessons introducing the parts of speech. If you have younger children I highly recommend it!
I picked up several workbooks (Explode the Code) and three Total Language Plus studies. My major find was All Through the Ages by Christine Miller. It is a reference book for history through literature; Ancient through Modern Times. Each catagory is broken down into Resources for all ages, books by grade level, and a helpful timeline for that time period. The real treasure is the books by grade level. She divides the grades into four groups-1st-3rd, 4th-6th, 7-9th, 10th-12th and then breaks it down even farther. Each age group has books listed in these catagories:specific events, biographies, historical fiction, literature, and culture.
This book is definitely a treasure and a steal at only $30. I know I'll be using this book alot!
Until next time, have a wonderful week!
That's it! That is what I have been dreaming about....All Through the Ages. I must get that book.
ReplyDeleteYes, I have to be careful not to get into looking at curriculum guides too much. It can make me discontent. Everything is made to sound so wonderful....the power of advertising.