Homeschool Geography Curriculum

Mapping the World by Heart – for grades 5-12  http://www.tomsnyder.com/products/product.asp?SKU=MWHMWH 

Homeschool History Curriculum

Beautiful Feet Books – “History Through Literature”  http://www.bfbooks.com/

Sonlight  http://www.sonlight.com/history-geography.html

Story of the World – 4 volumes covering history chronologically for elementary grades  http://peacehillpress.com

Veritas Press – classical Christian  http://www.veritaspress.com/

Homeschool in the Woods – beautiful timeline figures  http://homeschoolinthewoods.com/HTTA/timeline.htm

Comprehensive Curriculums including All Homeschool Subjects

Ambleside Online - free Charlotte Mason curriculum suggestions  http://amblesideonline.org/

Calvert School – complete curriculum for grades K-8 (math can be bought separately)  http://www.calvertschool.org/engine/content.do?BT_CODE=CES1512

K¹² – online distance learning; used by many public “virtual charter” schools, including COVA  http://k12.com/

Oak Meadow – Waldorf inspired curriculum  http://oakmeadow.com/

Sonlight – quality literature; Christian focus (can be adapted); pre-K—12, each level works for a span of ages  http://www.sonlight.com/coreultra-packages.html

Homeschool Curriculum for Preschool

First School – online free preschool activities & crafts  http://www.first-school.ws/

DLTK’s Growing Together – online free printable crafts for kids  http://www.dltk-kids.com/

Homeschool Catalogs

Love to Learn – a homeschooling family that sells only what they & their customers love  http://www.lovetolearn.net/

Rainbow Resource Center – 1300 pgs -  if you know what you want, they have the best prices  http://www.rainbowresource.com/

Sonlight – if Sonlight chooses a book, you can be sure it’s a good one  http://www.sonlight.com/

Timberdoodle  http://timberdoodle.com/

Tobin’s Lab – fun things for science & history  http://www.tobinslab.com/

Homeschool Magazines

Home Education Magazine http://www.homeedmag.com/ 

The Old Schoolhouse http://www.theoldschoolhousemagazine.com/ 

 Practical Homeschooling http://www.home-school.com/Articles

Homeschool Articles on the web

“Beginning Your Journey,” by Karen M. Gibson http://www.leapingfromthebox.com/art/kmg/beginningjourney.html

“That Dreaded “S” Word,” by Sarah A. McUmber-House — But what about socialization?http://www.angelfire.com/mo/sasschool/socialization.html

“10 Ways to Ease into Homeschooling,” by Carolyn Morrison http://guiltfreehomeschooling.blogspot.com/2007/08/10-ways-to-ease-into-homeschooling.html 

“Home School Burnout and How to Avoid It,” by Ellyn Davis http://www.homeschoolmarketplace.com/e-zines/ejournalmar0806.htm 

“The Six-Lesson Schoolteacher,” by John Taylor Gatto – jaded view of what the public school really teaches http://www.cantrip.org/gatto.html

“Are You Missing Something,” by Martin & Carolyn Forte – What happens if you forget to teach something?http://www.excellenceineducation.com/are_you_missing_something.php

“The Baby Is the Lesson,” by Diane Hopkins – Christian perspective on homeschooling w/young children http://www.lovetolearn.net/policies/baby.lasso 

“Tidal Homeschooling,” by Melissa Wiley – a style somewhere between Charlotte Mason & unschooling http://melissawiley.typepad.com/bonnyglen/2006/01/tidal_homeschoo.html

Homeschool Facts websitehttp://www.homeschoolfacts.com/index.php

Where do I send my Letter of Intent (LOI) or Notice of Intent (NOI)

For students in the St. Vrain Valley School District, send notification to

Homeschool Office

St. Vrain Valley School District

395 S. Pratt Parkway

Longmont, CO 80501 

For students in the Boulder Valley School District, send notification to:

Boulder Valley Schools

Dr. Mack Clark

PO Box 9011

Boulder, CO 80301

Local Homeschool Support Groups

As mentioned on the front page of this packet, Northern Inclusive Colorado Home Educators, or NICHE, is one such local group in this area.  NICHE is centered in Boulder County, with many of its active members in the Lafayette, Erie, and Longmont area.  NICHE has members as far away as Westminster, Fort Lupton, and Estes Park, though the vast majority of the activities take place in Boulder County.  NICHE welcomes all homeschooling families, whatever their homeschooling style, parenting style, or spiritual/religious beliefs may be.  Membership is free.  To join the NICHE e-mail list, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ColoradoNICHE/. 

The Boulder County Home Educators/Instructors Association, or BCHIA, is centered primarily in Boulder.  To join the BCHIA e-mail list, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bchia/. 

Blue Skies is a support group for “unschoolers”.  Their name stands for “Boulder’s Lifelong Unschooling Enthusiasts Simply Keeping Independent Education Special!”  From their website, they are “a support group for those Unschooling, beginning to Unschool, or interested in the philosophy, in Boulder and Surrounding areas. Unschooling is a child-led, self-directed process of learning, and LIFE is our classroom.  This list is not for curriculum discussion, or coerced learning. These things do not make up Unschooling, and are not a part of what we do.  This list also does NOT include talk of religion of any kind. We all are from different backgrounds, and beliefs, so please be mindful and respectful of this. Religious and political talk need to be taken off list amongst each other.  All ages welcome! Toddlers to teens, and kids at heart. Friendships are important… let’s get together and create a wonderful community of families, not only for our kids, but for ourselves as well.”  Blue Skies’ e-mail list can be found at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BLUE_SKIES2/.  Moderator approval is required for membership. 

The Longmont Christian Homeschool Cooperative (LCHC) is made up of smaller support groups overseen by a central Steering Committee. All Steering Committee members as well as the leaders of each small support group must sign a Statement of Faith.  Each small group sets its own membership requirements.  LCHC publishes a monthly newsletter, and has information on their website of interest to new homeschoolers.  http://www.longmont-chc.org/ 

Pneuma Homeschool Group is a Christian group in the Erie area.  Email kimlancaster@comcast.net for info. 

The Leaf Bombers is a social group for teenaged homeschoolers, formed by NICHE member Ann Tisue.  It is open to kids ages 12 or so, and up; all homeschoolers are welcome. Three activities are organized per month, including one park day, with locations varying.  “To make logistics reasonable for the parents, younger siblings are allowed.  If siblings are small, parents should make sure they are present so that the siblings won’t distract the older kids.”  To join their e-mail list and find out about upcoming activities, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Leafbombers/. 

Excuse me while I toss out some search terms so Yahoo can find the site. Silly Yahoo!  Longmont Homeschool secular Colorado co-op inclusive support group

Tests available for the required standardized test

Below are sources of some of the commonly used tests.  It is not an exhaustive list.  The first two tests are fill-in-the-bubble-type tests, and can be administered by the parent (though some services require the parent to have a bachelor’s degree, or meet other requirements).  You are “renting” the test materials from the testing service, not purchasing them. You return the tests, they or the publisher score the tests, and the results are returned to you.  The third test is designed for individual testing, and must be administered by a teacher with a master’s degree in Special Education. 

California Achievement Test(This comes in two forms: the complete battery (CAT/5) or the shorter survey form (CAT-E).)       Seton Home Study School (survey)      

http://www.setonhome.org/testing/default.php       Bayside School Services (complete battery)        

http://www.baysideschoolservices.com/home.html       Family Learning Organization (complete battery)        

http://www.familylearning.org/testing.html       Crosspointe Educational Services (complete battery or survey)      

 http://www.cestesting.com/       Thurber’s Educational Assessments (complete battery or survey)

 http://thurbers.net/teatests.html

 Iowa Test of Basic Skills      

BJU Press, Testing Service       http://www.bjupress.com/services/testing/iowa.html 

 Piedmont Education Services       http://www.pesdirect.com/itbs.html

 Woodcock Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery      

Christian Cottage Home School Services       http://www.christiancottage.com/TestDesignonly.html 

Excuse me while I toss out some search terms so Yahoo can find the site. Silly Yahoo!  Longmont Homeschool secular Colorado co-op inclusive support group