Target Grade Level: 6th – 8th Middle School Chemistry from the American Chemical Society is my favorite homeschooling find of the year. It’s their free offering to schools and individuals, and it is science education at its best. After a rather ho-hum run through Real Science 4 Kids Chemistry I, my younger and I were looking for more chemistry to learn. Read more
Target Grade Level: Elementary (1st – 5th) and Middle School (6th – 8th) Real Science 4 Kids offers curriculum options for the following science subjects: Astronomy Biology Chemistry Geology Physics You can purchase the Focus On series that take a year-long deep dive into each one of the the scientific disciplines. The following review is based on the Focus On Read more
Early Years Curriculum Give your child a beautiful beginning with Blossom and Root Early Years. Hands-on, play-based, secular preschool and pre-k for your homeschool. Includes nature study, the arts, literature, early literacy, STEM, early math play, and more. Each volume is affordable, flexible, and contains 36 weeks of curriculum. Kindergarten Curriculum Blossom and Root Kindergarten is a playful, gentle, Read more
Each book of REAL Science Odyssey is a complete one-year science curriculum based on a strictly secular and science-backed approach. Each topic in the REAL Science Odyssey series is presented in an entertaining story-like format and is followed by hands-on activities along with background science information, parent instructions, labs, reading lists, journaling ideas, and websites. RSO Biology (Level 1 – Read more
If your student has completed a 6th grade math program and you’re looking for something more rigorous, the Art of Problem Solving Pre-Algebra and Introduction to Algebra could be a good fit. Be warned, though; AoPS unapologetically states: The text is written to challenge students at a much deeper level than a traditional middle school prealgebra course. Developed by the Read more
Back in the 1990s, a group of 3 college friends who had met during the Math Olympiad Summer Program, created a new math contest which they called the Mandelbrot. The first year of the competition didn’t go so well, so the trio decided to write their own math book to help students think deeper in math. That book is what Read more
We’re just going to say it like it is: Art of Problem Solving is a math curriculum designed for kids who LOVE math and are really, really good at it. We’re talking about the kiddos who may be starting Algebra 1 at the age of 10. That’s not to say that other students would not benefit from AoPS. But, if Read more
Target Grade Level: 6th – 8th Advanced Academic Writing, Volume 1 (AAW 1) is the first of the Michael Clay Thompson writing Middle/Secondary writing series. It’s a serious tome designed to teach a learner how to write an MLA-style academic essay or research paper. It’s designed to be used with MCT’s Magic Lens 1 (grammar) and Word Within a Word Read more
Target Grade Level: 3rd – 5th Michael Clay Thompson breathes life into language arts instruction. With six levels of materials covering grammar, vocabulary, composition, poetics, and literature, he seamlessly integrates those elements of the English language in a manner that assumes his readers are intelligent, active learners. These are not workbooks for self-study — they are texts best explored with Read more
Gym class in traditional schools isn’t always a lot of fun. First, there’s the waiting. With 20 to 30 kids and only one ball at play in most games, standing around waiting your turn makes up a big portion of time in large-group physical education classes. Then there’s the mismatch between abilities when kids are randomly selected to compete against Read more
