Even if your child struggles with reading, math, or some other specific area, there is no reason he can't study the same content areas as peers who have no learning differences. Some children with learning difficulties are actually gifted in areas of non-disability. Listed below are several providers of standard home school curriculum materials which you may find beneficial for teaching your child. Some of the providers have comprehensive home school curriculum and others are primarily "pick and choose" providers. While the top providers listed are Christian in orientation, there are non-secular publishers listed as well. The Christian ones are on top simply because we use them and I have first-hand experience with these providers.
If you'd like to start your child with fun early learning activities, K5 Starshas lots of fun learning games for elementary aged children. This program is an excellent investment. Rather than have your child play mindless video games, K5 Stars is an engaging learning environment with over 300 online games where kids can have fun and learn simultaneously. (continued below..)
For our homeschool, we have one child who LOVES the computer and wanted to do as much schoolwork on the computer as possible.
Educational Jumbo Workbooks for early learning - Modern early education theories stress the importance of providing children with activities they can enjoy and accomplish at their own pace. The 5 jumbo workbooks have been developed with this in mind. Each book provides an enriching and highly creative learning environment which lays the foundation for formal schooling without the pressure of a formal learning program.
One option we found is Time4Learning, which offers a free trial that is great for seeing whether the program is one your child will like. This is an online home school curriculum that combines education with interactive fun. It teaches language arts, math, science, and social studies, for preschool through eighth grade and gives students independence as they progress at their own pace. The Time4Learning curriculum has engaging content, which helps motivate children to learn, particularly those who are unmotivated by "traditional"
We have also
been using **Switched-On
Schoolhouse R² , which is also comprehensive curriculum, but it is provided on CD-roms
rather than online. Switched-On
Schoolhouse R²
has built in games, video presentations, comical skits, interactive
problems, and other features that make it a great tool for visual learners.
Although a lot of the content is presented through text, the new Switched-On
Schoolhouse R²
software version has a built in text reader for students who are not
proficient readers (yet ;-). The text reader requires the child to highlight
the text, then press the read aloud button. It is a great tool for struggling
readers. Please note that Switched-On
Schoolhouse R²
is published by a Christian publishing company and does have Christian
religious principles. If you want Christianity built into the teaching
materials you use, Switched-On
Schoolhouse R²
is an great program.
At the high school level, we have used several of the lecture series from The Teaching Company. Their lectures cover all of the traditional high school subjects and are great practice for students in preparation for college coursework. We used their Astronmy, Geology, Calculus, Statistics, Music, World History, and other lecture series. The lecture DVDs along with the accompanying books make from The Teaching Company courses comprehensive by most any standard.
**Christian Book Distributors is an excellent, low-cost provider of a wide variety of books and other curriculum materials. Even if you don't profess to be a Christian, don't let that stop you from visiting this great homeschool curriculum provider...Most of the products they carry are available in the general marketplace, in any homeschool store, but you will find many resources at a deep discount price. Of course, if you are a Christian, you will be elated that you can find Christianity-based products here too. It is a great place to find everything you need in
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**Learning Things provides a wide variety of curriculm at a very reasonable price. They offer products in almost every subject area. The site is easy to navigate and it's easy to locate what you need. If you happen to live in the area in or around the north side of Atlanta, it is also well worth a trip to the Learning Things warehouse. You can find some great bargains, and have an opportunity to view the curricula before you commit to buying it. For those who don't live nearby, Learning Things is a great, reliable company and I don't think you'll be disappointed.
**Scholastic Books are familiar to virtually everyone. Scholastic has a large volume of well-known books available in less expensive paperback versions. Many of the books used for classic literature are available at a very reasonable price through Scholastic. You can't beat them for bargain books!
**Sonlight
Curriculum is a terrific, literature based, comprehensive curriculum
provider which explores our world and history deeper than most providers.
The books used are engaging and some of the best literature available.
My kids chant, "Read More! Read More!", which is music to
a home schooling mom's ears. We love Sonlight.
**Farm Country General Store doesn't sound like a curriculum provider, but they are. FCGS has a variety of books on a variety of subjects, but they also have products for active learning, like seeds, art supplies, counting sets, etc. The mix of products is eclectic, fun to explore, and it's a great place to find treasures for teaching.
**Rainbow Resource - If you want it, and it has to do with home schooling, they've probably got it. The catalog is as thick as an Atlanta, Georgia Phonebook (which is THICK), and has books, learning tools, software, etc. Just about any kind of curriculum imaginable can be found through Rainbow Resource, and products are listed at a relatively low price.