Cathy Duffy Names Math-U-See A Top 100 Pick in her Top 100 Picks book for homeschool curriculum.  She states that part of why Math-U-See is so popular is that it provides parents and teachers with “a new or renewed enthusiasm for math.”  Duffy also believes that the DVD presentations of math concepts help adults understand concepts that they were taught in math classes but never truly grasped.

Grades And Math Subjects That Are Covered

Most of the levels are designated by Greek letters (i.e. Primer, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, and PreCalculus), which means that grade level is not evident to the student.  Each of the levels are to be worked through in sequence depending upon what the parent feels they are ready for.  Another nice thing is that Math-U-See is a program that will take your student all the way through high school and be re-used by younger siblings too.

What Is Included With Math U See

At the heart of this curriculum are the manipulatives.  These are interlocking, colorful blocks that teach math in real, hands-on fashion.  You will need to purchase these blocks, along with a textbook and worksheets.  There is also a Teacher Manual for and a student text for each level.  The DVD is also included, mainly to “teach the teacher to teach.”  Other items are also available and useful.

A Helpful Note

While the older versions of this curriculum are good, page numbers and such may not line up and that can be frustrating.  This is why it is a good idea to purchase the full set for the level that you are working on.  You will also find that the Math-U-See blocks are not compatible with any other math blocks or rods.

Summary

This program requires discipline.  The concepts must be practiced beyond the workbook pages that are given and this can be tricky.  You also need to use this program on a daily basis.  However, if your family is struggling with math, then this may be a great program for you.  Nevertheless, you may find it difficult to change to this curriculum once you have chosen to use another one.  This is especially true if your budget is an issue.  Keep in mind that you can sell your old curriculum though if you want to make a change to something better.  With this program your child will be able to excel, which is something that is really important.  You will find that this small change can make all of the difference in the world.

When Your Student Will Be Ready For Saxon’s Curriculum

Your student will be ready to start Saxon’s language arts program whenever they have comfortably completed a phonics program and is reading with relative fluency.  Do note that this program doesn’t include any further reading or reading comprehension instruction.  It is also important that your student knows the basic parts of speech and what their function is within a sentence.

How Information Is Presented

The information in the student text is presented in the following manner:

• Vocabulary words (presented either through dictation or copywork)
• The lesson’s presentation
• Sample exercises
• Practice using what was just taught
• Review of the vocabulary words and the lessons

How Saxon Works

This textbook is easy for students to use on their own, which makes this great for parents who are homeschooling more than one child.  The student workbook includes writing lessons and writing exercises as well as extra practice lessons.  Tests are generally administered every 5 or so lessons, beginning with lesson 10.

Summary For Saxon Grammer and Writing

The great thing about this curriculum is that it provides as much or as little repetition as your student needs.  While it can be repetitive you can easily skip a lot of the review exercises if you feel like your child has mastered them already.  In total there are 112 exercises, which include weekly dictations and journaling.  It is important that these lessons be completed in the program’s order because one lesson will lay the foundation for the next.

This really is a great option for homeschooling families who want a rigorous language arts program that is also economical.  It is also very comprehensive in that it completely covers writing, grammar and word study.  You may want to add literature selections from your local library in order to complement the program though.

The Mystery Of History Volumes

The first three volumes of this curriculum are now available but the remaining two are not going to be available for another four to six years.  Throughout the series history is covered in chronological order: volume one covers Creation through the time of Christ, volume two covers the Middle Ages and volume three covers the Renaissance.  You will be able to complete each of these volumes in just one year and it can be used for any grade, even high school since the assignments are divided into three groups: younger (K-3rd), middle (4th-8th), and older (high school).

The Mystery Of History Assignments

Assignments for all grades begin with an oral pre-test, which is then followed by a short lesson, several hands-on activities (i.e. art, music, drama, cooking), map and timeline work, memorization and a final quiz.  Older children will need a historical atlas in order to complete the map work assignments.  This and other supplemental books and movies are listed for each level in the back of the book.

Benefits To Using The Mystery Of History

This is one of the most affordable history curriculums for homeschoolers because it can be used for multiple children and multiple grades.  It is also easy to teach and requires very little preparation time.  There is also a strong emphasis on teaching history as a means to understanding God and his creation better.  Children will also enjoy the many interesting activities and the short lessons that get right to the point.

Drawbacks To The Mystery Of History

Unfortunately, this curriculum lacks depth.  Therefore, you will need to supplement it for older children.  There are also times when the text is a bit boring.  At other times there is not enough direction for the assignments.  You will also find that while some of the hands on activities are fun, they don’t add to your child’s knowledge or understanding.

Summary

The Mystery of History curriculum will appeal to parents who want an affordable, simple way to teach history that has a strong Christian foundation.  It is also great for parents who have multiple children because it will save time and money by allowing them to teach all of the children together while varying the assignments according to their age.

Primary Math For Saxon Curriculum

The kindergarten through third grade curriculum covers basic math by using manipulatives and worksheets.  It also teaches time, basic geometry and patterns.  All of this is scripted for ease of teaching.

Middle Grades

In grades 4 through 8 children are transitioned from the worksheet and manipulatives to a traditional textbook program.  Herein beginning algebraic concepts and geometry are covered.  There is also a pre-algebra integrated curriculum for eighth grade students.

High School

Saxon offers algebra 1 and 2, geometry, advanced math, calculus and physics for high school students.  This curriculum is based upon college preparation standards.

The Curriculum

All of Saxon curriculum’s lessons are designed to follow an incremental approach.  They start by covering a new concept that builds upon a previous one.  This program is somewhat self-taught in the middle and upper grades wherein the student reads the lesson, learns the concept and then is given example problems that show each step.

There are also some investigations that explore mathematical topics in depth.  Each lesson has numerous practice problems for the student to complete, which includes both mental math and story problem practice.  These problems cover the new subject material and review previously learned concepts.  Frequent tests are available to act as assessments for both the student and the parent.

Homeschool Kits

Saxon math curriculum also has homeschool kits available.  These kits contain everything that you as a parent need to teach the lessons.  In the early grades, the kit includes the manipulatives, worksheets, flash cards and scripted lessons.  Then in the middle and upper grades these kits include the student textbook, a solutions manual and tests that come with an answer key.  Each part of the kit can also be purchased separately.

Therefore it is possible to reuse the textbook for other students.  Teaching CD’s are another optional item that may prove helpful for upper level math.  You can find free placement tests on the company’s website so that you will be able to choose the correct level for your child.  Another nice thing about Saxon is that they also accept emails from students that need assistance with a problem.  You will also find a detailed scope and sequence for each level on their website, as well as research that demonstrates just how effective the program really is.

How Sonlight Is Sold

Sonlight is sold as a “core” curriculum.  It contains the subjects of Bible, Read-Alouds, Readers and History plus the Instructors Guide.  There are also Science and Language Arts add-ons.  Unfortunately, there isn’t a math program but you can easily find something to use.  Whenever it comes to “curriculum in a box, you will find that this is a “Comprehensive” curriculum package with the core components all be included.  If you don’t want to use the entire curriculum you can also “mix and match” or add on other things.

Drawbacks To Sonlight Homeschool Curriculum

One of the biggest drawbacks to using this curriculum is its price.  It is exorbitant and out of reach for a lot of homeschoolers.  However, if money is no object, this curriculum can be very appealing.  On the other hand though, there aren’t a lot of consumables, so this curriculum can be passed down to younger siblings.

This curriculum is also heavily literature-based, which means that parents must be prepared to spend a lot of time reading to their child.  This is great if your child loves to be read to or loves to read themselves.  However, if your child is not an auditory learner, this will not be the curriculum for them.

Another frustration that parents will have with Sonlight is the length of the day, which will last anywhere from 3.5 to 5 hours.  This does not include math instruction or any other additional instruction. As a parent you can expect to spend around three hours directly teaching your child.  If you don’t want to spend this much time, then this is not the curriculum for you.  Of course, you can scale down the curriculum but this can be difficult.

You will also find that it is difficult to combine instruction for multiple children.  Trying to do so will leave you burnt out and your children bored.  Of course, you can scale back on the reading and keep it to only an hour or two a day but deciding what to eliminate can be difficult.

Sonlight levels also are not equivalent to a public school grade.  In fact, most children are a level or two behind their given grade because this curriculum is so challenging but this can appeal to gifted homeschoolers.

Benefits To Sonlight Curriculum

Parents who favor the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling will really enjoy Sonlight for its classical literature guidance and focus.  You will also appreciate the way in which the lessons are laid out, especially if you are a new homeschooler who has no clue how to organize a day or where to begin.  This is definitely a rock solid program in terms of content and scope and sequence.

The Bottom Line

If money isn’t a concern and you have a highly auditory learner, then this is a great curriculum for them.  However if you are on a tight budget or your child is not an auditory learner, if you have limited time or you don’t like reading to your child, then you should look for another curriculum.  This curriculum will help you get on track but you can also use it as a spine to create your own free curriculum, which may be more beneficial to your family.

The Compulsory Attendance Law For Virginia Homeschooling

The State of Virginia has a compulsory attendance law for all children who are between the ages of 6 (before September 30 of that school year) and 18-years-old.  If you decide to homeschool a child who falls between these age ranges, you must file a notice of intent to homeschool.  This is something that you will need to do each school year, along with meeting certain other qualifications.

Qualifications For Being A Homeschooling Parent

In order to be a homeschooling parent in Virginia you must meet at least one of the following guidelines:

• Parents must have a high school diploma or a college degree.  Otherwise you will need to be either a state certified teacher or use a tutor.
• Parents must agree to follow the curriculum that is pre-approved by the state of Virginia
• Parents must file an approved curriculum that shows what they intend to teach their child including both math and language arts.  Another option is to file a letter of religious exemption.

Other Guidelines For Homeschooling in Virginia

In Virginia testing must also be approved for all homeschooling families.  With this in mind, parents are required to submit results of standardized testing by August 1 of the following year.  These children have to score in at least the 23rd percentile.

An option for this is for the parent to submit a portfolio outlining the course of study that was undertaken by the student so that the state may review it.  Parents may also be subject to independent assessment by a certified teacher who will submit a letter to the state on their behalf.

Compulsory Attendance Age In Pennsylvania

Compulsory attendance laws generally apply to students between the age 8 to 17.  Once a child reaches the compulsory age of attendance, parents must file a notarized affidavit with their local school district before they start homeschooling them.  This is the parent’s official declaration of their intent to homeschool and must be turned in by August 1 of each school year.  If your child has ever attended public school, they must be registered with the district as soon as homeschooling commences, even if they are not 8-years-old. (Note that  if you live in the Philadelphia School District, the compulsory age has been lowered to 6-years-old).

Homeschool Portfolios For Homeschooling in PA

Parents who opt to homeschool their children in Pennsylvania must organize student portfolios for the district superintendent to review each year.  In these portfolios there must be details of the student’s performance throughout the year.  There also must be an evaluation report from a qualified independent party.  These portfolios are due by June 30th of each year.

Records and Documents Needed for School Districts – Homeschool Penn

There are specific documents that need to be included within your pa homeschoolers – homeschool portfolio.  These documents for homeschooling in PA include:

• Your attendance record must demonstrate that you have spent 180 days or 900 hours instructing your child.
• A list of the subjects that have been taught.  Samples of each of these subjects are also to be included.
• A list of curriculum choices and reading materials that were used.
• You will need to hire an independent evaluator (either a certified teacher or a licensed psychologist) to create a letter of approval for you after they have reviewed your child’s portfolio.
• Standardized test scores are needed for children in third, fifth and eighth grade.

Your local school district’s superintendent will then review the contents of the portfolio and decides whether or not to approve it.  Most of the time it will be approved.  Sometimes thee may request more information though.

Other Home-Based Learning Options For Students In Pennsylvania

Other options for home education in Pennsylvania are also available.  These options usually do not require the same paperwork that is necessary for traditional homeschoolers.  They include hiring a qualified private tutor or enrolling your child in a cyber charter school.  You will still need to inform your local school district of a private tutor’s credentials each year.  If you decide to enroll your child in a cyber school they will be officially classified as a public school student.

In Conclusion To Homeschool Pennsylvania Laws and requirements

While some people find Pennsylvania’s homeschool requirements to be stringent, most people ever face any problems with maintaining the portfolio.  As long as you with homeschooling laws you will be fine.  However, if you feel that your rights are being violated, you can seek legal support from organizations such as HSLDA (the Home School Legal Defense Association).

Program Materials For History Odyssey Curriculum Review

The materials that are used with this curriculum include:

• A study guide that includes scheduled reading, research, writing, crafts and map work.
• Black line maps and handouts
• A timeline that you will need to purchase to use with this curriculum
• Literature, activity and reference books that you must either purchase or borrow to use with the program.

These things can be purchased as a complete package of books to be used with each level.  However, you should know that it is expensive, approximately $100 and includes everything that you will need, except for the spine books and the timeline.

Three Levels Of History Oddysey

There are three different levels:

• Level one is for grades 1 – 4 and uses The Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of World History and The Story of the World Series as its spine.  This level focuses upon telling history as an interesting story.  It includes a lot of hands-on activities (i.e. coloring, narration, copywork).  There is an extensive list of supplemental books that you will need but most of them can be found at your local library.
• Level two is for grades 5 – 8 and uses The Story of Mankind and The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia as its spine.  This level incorporates quality literature for the time period that is being studied and it also teaches literary analysis.  Assignments include research papers, analysis, map work and outlining.
• Level three is for grades 9 – 12 and uses The New History of the World and The World’s Greatest Speeches as its spine.  Students will read and analyze great works of literature.  Formal research writing is also taught.  This is a rigorous curriculum that will prepare your student for college level work.

Pros And Cons For History Odyssey Curriculum

You will find that History Odyssey is easy to use and reasonably priced.  Your students will find the curriculum to be interesting and age appropriate.  Two or more students could easily be taught with the same curriculum level.  However, you should know that most of the level two and three work can be done independently.  It is also great to know that this is an effective program is effective that will teach your child to love history.

There are only two potential drawbacks to using this program:

• While there are numbered lessons, it is difficult to know how much you should accomplish each day.  At the same time there are too many lessons to schedule one per week, but not enough to schedule one per day.  For this reason you are left on your own to figure out scheduling.
• It is difficult to do all of the work that is assigned, unless you want to spend a lot of time on history and literature.  Fortunately, you are able to pick and choose the assignments that you think are the most valuable without sacrificing the effectiveness of the program.

Overall, this is a great program for those who want to use great literature and classical methods to teach their child history in a chronological manner.

They believe that parents play a very important role in this happening, therefore their training materials contain important homeschooling information that will help parents implement this homeschool curriculum.

How The ACE Homeschool Curriculum Works

A mastery learning approach is used whereby your child will master a concept before they move on to the next one.   To do this, work texts are used.  They are called PACEs.  These are taken from a traditional textbook then divided into smaller, much more manageable sections.  For each grade’s subject there are 12 PACEs.

At the beginning of each PACE there is a list of goals, concepts that are to be mastered, a Bible verse and a corresponding character trait.  Throughout each PACE there are several Checkups so that the student will be able to see what areas they have not mastered and thus will need to go back and review before they are able to move on.  Once the PACE is completed, the students take a Self Test that will help them and their teacher determine whether or not they are ready to take the final PACE test.

Benefits To Using ACE Curriculum

There are a lot of great reasons to use ACE, including:

• This is a very budget friendly way in which to homeschool.
• This method will help to build confidence, independence and diligence within your children.
• Whenever learning gaps may occur, it is easy to cover them.
• These homeschool packages are easily to tailor so that you will be able to meet your child’s needs.
• The Bible is interwoven throughout the curriculum so that your child will memorize Scripture and develop Godly values.

Drawbacks To Using ACE Curriculum

There are also some drawbacks to using ACE, including:

• Some students struggle with the material and thus need to start on a lower grade level than they are actually at.
• There is room for cheating whenever it comes to grading your own work.
• There is a lot of material to cover in one school year and this may take away from other things that the child could be doing.
• Some parents feel that this curriculum is too religious.
• This curriculum is not “politically correct” (i.e. encouraging girls to be housewives).

Some of the teaching techniques that it uses are the same as those that are found within traditional schools.  As such, you will find that a lot of Christian private schools do use this curriculum.  However, you will also find that this curriculum is quite popular amongst homeschoolers as well today.  Before you decide to start using it in your homeschool, it is important to note both the pros and cons of doing so.

The Pros To Using A Beka Curriculum Review

Some of the reasons why so many people like to use A Beka curriculum includes:

• This is a Biblically based curriculum, which is the reason why a lot of people choose to use it.  You will find that there are Christian beliefs weaved throughout all of the different books.
• This is a very structured curriculum so if you don’t feel comfortable teaching your own child, it will work well for you because it comes with a manual that contains a complete daily schedule for every subject.
• There is also a DVD program available.  This program will give your child the feeling of being in a real classroom.
• There is a strong phonics program available for young children.  It is what A Beka uses to teach children how to read.
• A Beka will show you little tricks that you can use in order to help your child remember their grammar, spelling, math, etc.

The Cons To Using A Beka

Just like with anything else in life, there are also some cons to using A Beka’s homeschool curriculum, including:

• There is a ton of review, drill and testing.  You will find a quiz almost daily, which can be overwhelming for some children.  Of course, you can skip these things but if you are the type of person that feels as though you need to do everything, then this is not the right curriculum for you.
• This curriculum is really expensive.  In fact, it is one of the most expensive homeschool curriculums that is available for sale today.
• This curriculum only utilizes textbooks and workbooks.  Some children don’t enjoy this type of work.  In this case, this is not going to be the right curriculum for them.
• It is really easy to get burnt out while using this curriculum because it uses an accelerated approach.  You may even find that the lesson plans are a bit overwhelming sometimes.
• It is not easy to resell or reuse this curriculum because of the way that it is packaged. In fact, the only way in which to be able to resell or reuse it is to have your child do their work on separate paper.  This may not be something that you or your child is comfortable doing.

In Conclusion

There are lots of places that sell this curriculum if you think that it will work for you.  You can purchase it from any good book store or you can find it for sale online.  One of the best places to purchase this curriculum is through eBay where you will be able to save a lot of money on your purchase.