Free Curricula / Supplements
Welcome to our homeschool curriculum "launch" page! Choose a category of interest below to be taken to more detailed pages.
Current and upcoming projects (scroll down for current offerings):
- Medieval History (ending in the 1400's) - I'm currently working through a chronological, literature based schedule with Otter. When I'm finished with it, I'll share it here on my site. I have created a weekly schedule as well as a schedule that progresses via periods of time (29 A.D. - 100 A.D. and so on), which is much more flexible, easier to use as a supplement, easier to edit & customize, and my current preference. I never seem to track perfectly with weekly schedules and they can feel so limiting if you want to add in or take things out! Fellow tweak-freaks will know what I'm talking about.
This schedule uses both Mystery of History and Story of the World, but is made in such a way that you could use either or something else more suitable for your family.
- 1450's - 1850's World AND American history combined - I went back and forth over what I wanted to do for history after the Middle Ages. I couldn't decide if I would cover the Renaissance, Reformation and the time period up through about the 1800's using just a world history focus and then cover that time period again with an American history focus or what...After much thinking about it and debating it over and over in my head, I decided to combine both world and American history up until the 1850's and then afterwards, switch to an American focus using my American History Year 2 curriculum.
I just don't think you do this time period justice by focusing on one part of the world over the other. The exception, in my opinion, is when you are studying one or the other with a younger student who doesn't need to know as many of the "whys". There were so many new ideas, religious issues, inventions, scientific discoveries and politics that are interrelated and important to learn. It just makes more sense to me -to really understand what was going on - to learn it all together chronologically. So, that's what I'm working on.
I anticipate it being finished perhaps by the first semester of 2011, when I will probably start using it. When it's finished, I'll share it here! It is probably going to be a study that is LONGER than a typical 36 week study. There is a lot of information to pack into this time period. I am also going to probably schedule everything via when it happened, much like my topics schedule in American History 1. **Yes, I'm kind of obsessed with studying history as it happened and not jumping all around to cover this or that event or person out of order. After all, real life unfolds moment by moment, so I like to approach my study of history the same way.**
I will be scheduling in Mystery of History (at Otter's request) as well as Story of the World, but the format will be such that you could use it with just about anything else. The rest will be great books, movies, websites, freebies, a composer/music study that tracks time-wise and perhaps an integrated artist and inventions study as well.
- Beefing up my American History 2 with more world history items for the World Wars and more content for older learners - Otter is going to be starting this study probably when he is an 8th or 9th grader (depending on how long it takes us to get through the things listed above). I'm going to need to include more high school level content in my current schedule. I'm also going to make a chronological/topics based schedule instead of the weekly schedule I currently offer. The other type of schedule is much easier to customize, so I think it will benefit not just me, but everyone else who might be interested in using it. I may also schedule in (as an option) Story of the World 4 or MOH 4 (if it's available), but the focus will remain on the U.S..
Sneak Peek of Otter's Chemistry - Take a look at some of the books we are using to learn chemistry. This is also a super-rough behind-the-scenes page. I'll post the schedule when I'm done with it (we're about 3/4 of the way through it).
Ancient
History Curriculum
Check out our FREE ancient history! This is a year long literature based history study or homeschool supplement that uses either The Mystery of History or Story of the World as a spine. (We used both.)
American
History
Curriculum
Check out our FREE homeschool history! This is a year long literature based history study for grades
2-6, or as a homeschool supplement for grades K - middle school.
American History
Curriculum 2!
This free American history supplement / curriculum / program was originally written for the target grades of 2-8 (with a few extras for older students as well). It could possibly make an excellent supplement to any other American history curriculum (for a variety of ages) with plenty of "gravy" like worksheets, printables, links, extra reading, crafts, videos, lapbooks, activities and more.
Otter's Science Curriculum: The Human Body
Join us on a FREE 33 week literature based tour through the human body, first aid and survival using "living books"!
Little Otter's Science is for preschoolers through 1st grade. This is a gentle, literature approach to science with simple experiments and activities.
Otter's Elementary Science is designed for 2nd to 6th graders though you could easily use this program for a student up to 8th grade. I've included a variety of engaging books, websites, activities and experiments for a fun filled year of study.
Big Otter's Science is for high schoolers. It can be a supplement to Otter's Elementary Science so you can combine your younger kids with bigger kids and still study the same subjects or it can also be used as a stand alone curriculum with plenty of labs, some great optional DVD's and a unit at the end on survival and first aid.
WinterPromise Sea & Sky Extras and "Gravy"
I've got lots of extras like literature, lapbooks, crafts, websites, videos and more scheduled to help make this study more rich! Download the free schedule and check out the book section. You can also take a look at many of the crafts, activities and experiments we did while doing this Winter Promise history and science program.
World Geography and Cultures We're sorry, but this section of our site is not available because....
I've worked with Winter Promise Publishing to take some of the scheduling from World Geography and Cultures and integrate it into a new older learner's guide to go with their Children Around the World program. You can purchase the guide from WinterPromise. Besides creating the schedule, I also created notebooking pages, student sheets and a "make a menu" project to help your student chronicle all of the great cultural recipes throughout the year.
This guide is not just a help for older learners...there are also lots of great video and resource suggestions to help make your world study richer for all ages.
Here's a little preview of some of the student sheets:
More Free
Homeschool Curricula
*Coming soon
(er, kinda soon anyway... or one of these days or...
something like that)*
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August 30, 2010