Early elementary resources
Wide Open School – well-organized site with all subjects for all ages
Language arts / Literature-Based:
Torchlight – currently available for ages 5-7. Secular homeschool curriculum. Older age materials are available as well.
Explode the Code – for up to grade 4. Also available in online/tablet format
Newsela – easy to use language arts for grades 2-12
Raz-Kids – These are fantastic leveled readers, and you can print them if you’re trying to avoid screens. I used them in English and Spanish for grades 1-3, and they’re much more interesting than a lot of material that’s available. It’s also free for the rest of the school year.
Writing – I had a reluctant writer after she finished 3rd grade. It took many tries over many months, but one day when we were reading restaurant reviews she agreed to try a local restaurant review blog. That was what got her going again. The 2nd child has been working for years on a series of crazy stories, and has she has completed several “books”. Sometimes reluctant writers may prefer a more structured program like The Well Trained Mind, IEW or Bravewriter. All 3 have lots of options for grades 1-5.
Winning with Writing – grades 1-8 full ELA program
Bravewriter sells whole year programs and individual “arrows” for books. (I’m mixed on this program-some is good, some not so good)
Four Square Writing Method – great visual organization for early writers
Editor in Chief (Critical Thinking Co.)
Math
Singapore Math is a good complete program to use – we have used grades 1-6 along with other supplementary materials. This program is not difficult to implement – they’re been selling it to homeschoolers alongside schools for a long time.
Singapore Math – Grade 1
Singapore Math – Grade 2
Math for Love – from the creator of the game Prime Climb. We haven’t used this yet, but I’ve seen it recommended by lots of homeschoolers for grades K-5
Life of Fred Beginning Reader Complete Set. There’s sometimes a Life of Fred Sale at Educents.
Miquon Math – my younger daughter loved these books and 2 families we know used them. Definitely buy the guide that goes with it.
If you’re traveling, try IXL for math. You can work according to Texas standards or choose your own state here. A trial is 30 days and will probably be plenty of time on this site before you moving to something else
Prodigy Math is for grades 1-8 and is a good online travel option for homeschooling. Recommended by a teacher friend in New York. Set up help can be found on this page. (this is old – looking for an update to this program. Check around first)
Todomath.com (haven’t tried this one but recommended for K-2nd)
Dragonbox.com – great math games that are a lot of fun. Has a clever algebra introduction in game form.
More resources on this math page
Science
TOPS has been around for a long time – 2 homeschool families I know used and recommend it. They sell curriculum for grades 3-12
Other resources on the Science page
Social Studies
A Child’s History of the World
This is a huge list of homeschool social studies and history resources.
Technology / CODING:
- Scratch: My then 6 year old started this with the iPad app and quickly moved to the desktop site. She needed a little help in the beginning from older kids at Coder Dojo, but now she can work independently on her projects. I highly recommend this website for getting kids into early programming since it’s creative and fun. Also, Coding Games in Scratch was the first book they used to build games, and it helped them to understand what can be done in Scratch.
- Code Academy
Art:
Mo Willems Daily Doodle (fun for fans)
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