100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum: Choosing the Right Curriculum and Approach for Your Child's Learning By Cathy Duffy / B & H Publishing Group Choosing the correct curriculum is essential for your child's academic success. Let homeschool expert Cathy Duffy help you determine your educational philosophy and the approach that best complements your child's learning style. Her product reviews will acquaint you with some of the best materials available for all subjects, including unit studies, electives, online classes, and all-in-one programs---all with a Christian perspective. 320 pages, softcover from B&H.

Educating the Whole Hearted Child By Clay Clarkson / Whole Heart Press A tremendous source of comfort for new and experienced homeschoolers. Guiding you with seasoned advice and lots of encouragement, the Clarksons show you how to combine discipleship and education to create a God-designed program---the home-centered, whole-book learning approach. Using this method will help shape your children's hearts and minds to live and learn for Christ. 197 pages, softcover from Whole Heart Ministries.

We started out using materials from Bob Jones University Press when my boys were really little. We enjoyed the program quite a bit - but after I became more comfortable with homeschooling, I decided to stray off the beaten path a bit and use more of a variety of materials. We started using products like the Phonics Museum by Veritas Press, Ray's Arithmetic, Drive Thru History DVDs, spelling lists we found on the internet, unit studies, reading the Chronological Bible together etc.

I've found that I really enjoy picking and choosing different subjects from different publishers as opposed to using all of the subjects from the same publisher. It also gives the boys more variety, which they really seem to enjoy as well.

Drive Thru History with Dave Stotts #1: Rome If You Want To, DVD By Tyndale Entertainment Drive Thru History is a joyride through the fast lane of times-gone-by led by the irreverent but always relevant Dave Stotts. Dave doesn't just talk about history; he lives it in fast, easy-to-digest road trips. Drive Thru History makes exploring the history of Western Civilization meaningful and totally entertaining.

Ray's Arithmetic Set By Mott Media, Llc This is the classic "Arithmetics" by Joseph Ray. First published in the 1800s, "Ray's Arithmetics" are organized in an orderly manner around the discipline of arithmetic itself. They present principles and follow up each one with examples which include difficult problems to challenge the best students. In these compact volumes is a complete arithmetic course to study in school, to help in preparation for ACT and SAT tests, and to use for reference throughout a lifetime.

Draw Write Now, Book 1: On The Farm, Kids And Critters, Storybook Characters By Marie Hablitzel / Barker Creek Explore the world with Draw &#183 Write &#183 Now &#174, a collection of drawing and handwriting lessons developed by an elementary school teacher and tested by over 800 children. Includes: Colorful easy to follow drawing lessons Text for practicing handwriting Theme related questions, answers and book lists A child friendly format And countless ideas to spark children's imagination and creativity!

The NIV Narrated Bible By F. LaGard Smith / Harvest House Publishers The Narrated Bible presents Scripture (NIV) in chronological order to provide a fascinating tapestry of God's creation, judgments, love, provision, and mercy. An insightful descriptive narrative ties events together and draws you irresistibly into the center of action and a new understanding of the glory and power of God's sovereignty.

2 - Evaluate Your Son's Learning

Another thing which is good to do this time of year is to evaluate the progress that your children have made throughout the year - and to determine where their strong points and weak points lie. Identifying strong points and areas of interest is important because that will help you to know the types of things your son may be interested in pursuing and learning more about in the coming year. Identifying weak points is important so that you can spend more time instructing them in those subjects to try to help them catch up to where they should be.

If your child is weak in a certain area, that may also be an indication that you should consider switching to a different curriculum for that subject. Sometimes just having things approached from a different angle will give your son enough stimulation for him to want to try harder in that subject.

Homeschooling parents usually have a much better idea of what their children know and what they struggle with than do other parents. As you're teaching your child, it's pretty easy to tell when they've grasped a subject and when you need to continue to work with them before moving on. Homeschool children aren't getting graded, however, so it's hard to prove to grandparents and the rest of the outside world that our children are doing well compared to their schooled peers.

Some homeschoolers turn to standardized testing in order to prove that their children are learning and are on par with other students. This isn't necessarily an approach I would recommend. For one thing, schools spend an inordinate amount of their time and resources preparing their children specifically to take these tests.

Because schools spend so much time preparing their students to take standardized tests, some of them have been forced to cut back or even eliminate other programs. Some schools have eliminated the arts, recess for young children and electives for high schoolers. Teachers find they can't have discussions about current events in the classroom because that material will not appear on the tests. Some teachers have even eliminated entire subject areas such as science if the test will only cover language arts and math.

Homeschoolers run the risk of being overly concerned with how their children score on these tests and making the same mistakes as have the schools. Instead of having your child take a standardized test, I would recommend having a list of skills and information that are taught for specific grades and using that to be sure that you are covering the information that other children their age are being taught.

Skills Evaluation for the Home School Grades 1-6 By Alpha Omega Publications How have your child's skills developed? What curriculum best meets his or her needs? This detailed checklist helps you determine your child's accomplishments year by year, from kindergarten to grade 6. With this easy-to-use guide, you'll be able to choose the appropriate curriculum and identify areas that need improvement. Includes a glossary and special sections on paragraphing and problem-solving skills. 184 pages, spiralbound softcover from Weaver.

What Your Child Needs to Know When: According to the Bible, According to the State--Expanded Edition By Robin Sampson / Heart Of Wisdom Publishing Inc God and the state are not always on the same page when it comes to your children's education. Sampson looks at their differences and explains how to teach and evaluate your kids from a biblical perspective using the "Heart of Wisdom" approach---a strategy of reading the Bible while incorporating all academic subjects. This edition of Sampson's bestseller includes new evaluation checklists. 296 pages, softcover from Heart of Wisdom.

Remember, not all schools teach the same things - and you won't cover everything exactly the same as your local school... and that's a good thing. There are things being taught in schools these days that make my husband and I very sad. Character education is all but forgotten in the public schools... and parents don't have time to teach any life skills to their kids because they're too busy helping them finish hours of homework every night.

So take heart! Remember the reasons you wanted to homeschool - it wasn't because you wanted to duplicate your local public school. Stay true to your values and your sons will grow up with integrity and with plenty of learning accomplished as well.

Thanks for taking the time to read this month's newsletter. See you next month!

Michelle Caskey

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