How to homeschool for free | 9th grade curriculum

How to homeschool for free | 9th grade curriculum

Before I launch into all the details on these incredible free 9th grade homeschool curriculum options, I want to give a brief explanation of my perspective and background. I'm a bit unusual, in that my kids all started in a college-prep private school, then we pulled them all to homeschool, and at this point, I [...]

My 10th grade World Literature course reading list

My 10th grade World Literature course reading list

I'll be teaching several English literature courses next year, and I'm very excited about the books in my 10th grade World Lit class. These aren't all heavy-hitters, but I think they're all books that will challenge or inspire the kids in some way. Our school year follows a calendar of four 8-week quarters. Here's what [...]

The Great Gatsby: A free high school literature unit for teachers

The Great Gatsby: A free high school literature unit for teachers

*This post includes a free high school literature teaching unit on The Great Gatsby. * Two lines of literature that I was required to read in high school have stuck with me until today...many years later. The first: "In the room the women come and go / talking of Michelangelo," from T. S. Eliot's classic [...]

How I taught middle school Geography at our homeschool co-op

How I taught middle school Geography at our homeschool co-op

When I was tapped to teach 5th to 8th grade Geography last year at my homeschool co-op, I was really excited but totally clueless about where to start looking for a (preferably free) middle school geography curriculum. I really wanted to teach a fun class that opened my students' eyes to the diverse beauty of [...]

A free, diverse high school literature curriculum for homeschool

A free, diverse high school literature curriculum for homeschool

Now in my fourth year of homeschooling, I've tried my fair share of literature curriculum for my kids. I've been on a search for diverse high school literature curriculum for the last two years, and if it's free it's even better. Curriculum can get expensive. We've done Memoria Press, with its classical (borderline boring) approach [...]

The self-grading Saxon math lifesaver for homeschool parents

The self-grading Saxon math lifesaver for homeschool parents

Saxon math parents, it's been an epic quest but I have found the holy grail: the online, self-grading Saxon math site that has absolutely changed my life. I'm feeling borderline evangelistic about this resource, y'all. After four years of homeschool, the one curriculum I've stuck with year-in and year-out is Saxon math. It's a solid [...]

The Good and the Beautiful science curriculum: Is it rigorous enough?

The Good and the Beautiful science curriculum: Is it rigorous enough?

This review contains my honest opinions. I wasn't compensated for this review and didn't receive free copies of the curriculum. When I first started homeschooling my kidsโ€”then in 7th, 5th, and 2nd gradesโ€”I relied heavily on my sister's library of used homeschool curriculum, which was mostly made up of Memoria Press workbooks and teacher's guides. [...]

How to read “Pride and Prejudice” along with the BBC miniseries

How to read “Pride and Prejudice” along with the BBC miniseries

This winter I'm reading through one of my favorite books of all time,ย Pride & Prejudice,ย with my thirteen-year-old daughter for her homeschool literature course. It's the perfect time of year for it, when we can pull up blankets by the fireplace and read out loud to each other...kind of like the Bennett sisters would have done. [...]