How much you spend on curriculum to school your children can wary wildly from less than a hundred to several thousand dollars. While Deer Chase Academy does not provide any curriculum materials or texts, we have pulled together a list of links to other websites that may help you in determining what sources you want to use.
*Note: Middle School and High School students in Florida are eligible to use the distance learning classes available through the Florida Virtual School - at no charge.
PRE-PACKAGED CURRICULUM PROVIDERS:
The following companies are just some of the available on-line sources for pre-packaged curriculum products, such as Bob Jones or Alpha Omega.
www.homeschooldiscount.com - sells a wide variety of all the major curriculum packages.
www.dhss.com - Discount Homeschool Supplies - covers the major curriculum suppliers.
www.pennywiselearning.com - large selection of curriculum choices at a discount of 20% - 30% off retail.
www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org - an organization that negotiates discounts on homeschool curriculum.
www.currclick.com - sells a variety of unit study eBooks.
www.homeschoolsupercenter.com - includes both secular and Christian curriculum packages.
Not sure which package is for you? Find out what other homeschool families think about the different suppliers and materials at www.homeschoolreviews.com.
BUILDING YOUR OWN CURRICULUM:
It might not be as easy as pulling out the credit card and purchasing a complete set of materials, but building your own curriculum allows you to tailor your choices to your child's specific needs.
The following pages provide links to almost exclusively free sources (though a few offer some fee-based services) on the internet that you can use to create a custom curriculum. Each section is broken down by subjects. There are many, many, many more sites available. (Just google the word "math" to get an idea of how many!) These links are provided to help you get started and inspire you to search further.
For an example of how to take the information provided here and turn it into a working curriculum, we've provided a mock-up lesson plan for one full week of school:
Week One - 3rd Grade Lesson Plan and Sources.
FYI: wikibooks.org has a large collection of open-source text books covering everything from mathematics to US History to art to foreign languages. It also includes a small but growing section called wikijunior, with books aimed at the late elementary - middle school age group.
Language Arts - including phonics & reading
Mathematics
History & Geography
Science
Bible
Electives
Special Mention: www.amblesideonline.org and www.oldfashionededucation.com are two sites that offer free lesson plans for grades K - 12, though note that these are both Christian-based curriculum plans.
You may also want to search www.awesomelibrary.org for further educational websites.
Most important! Don't forget the homeschooler's most valuable learning resource - the local library!
