We homeschooled Katie from grades 1-12 at very little cost, and with quite a few materials. Some stood out. You'll find that we didn't choose to use a one-brand approach, but gathered many things here and there. Now I get to go through them again with Tim. Here are those that stood out that I have discovered and remembered to the point that I could present them to you:
Bible Verse Memorization:
Wee Sing Bible Songs
Donut Man videos and tapes
Hide 'em in Your Heart tapes
Awana program (available through many churches)
Index cards with short Bible verses handwritten on them; used for writing assignments
Children's Bible Resources:
The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes (older version)
Book of Bible Travels for Kids
Children's Atlas of the Bible
What About Heaven? by Bostrom/Kucharik
Children's Guide to the Bible
You Can Change the World
Who's Who in the Bible
What the Bible is all About for Young Explorers
Remembering God's Awesome Acts
Bible-related stories
(I don't generally like reading non-Scripture Bible stories that have been re-written, or showing Bible stories on video, since all Scripture is God-breathed, and writers' paraphrases seem to usually mess it up.)
Just the Way You Are, by Max Lucado
Mary, Did You Know? by Mark Lowry
You are Special, by Max Lucado
All You Ever Need, by Max Lucado
Bible Videos I found acceptable and worthwhile:
The Miracle Maker
The Jesus film for Children
Discipleship:
Doorposts books by Pam Forster;
especially Plants Grown Up (for boys)
and Polished Cornerstones (for girls)
Discipline:
For Instruction in Righteousness, a Doorposts book
Spelling:
Spelling Power
ACSI Spelling books
Scrabble, Boggle, Word Yahtzee
Reading (see list of "Authors Not to Miss" below):
Billy & Blaze books, by Anderson
Readers Digest Treasury for Young Readers (old)
Book of Virtues (adult version)--only certain stories and poems (some are too heavy for children)
Children's Book of Virtues
Henry Reed, Inc.
Morris & Boris books by Bernard Wiseman
James Herriott's Treasury for Children
Mr. Revere and I
Poetry
Poem Stew, by Wm. Cole
Authors not to miss (This is a list I put together a long time ago. Many names I recognize now, but some I do not. I know by and large it's a great list! And the books represented by these authors' names make for an incredibly longer list!) Take this list with you to the library when looking for children's books; then when they're sorted by author you just go through in alphabetical order and pick them out:
Bonny Becker
William Bennett
V. Gilbert Beers
Carol Ryrie Brink
Margaret Wise Brown
Clyde Robert Bulla
Frances Hodgeson Burnett
Virginia Lee Burton
Butterworth
Lynn Cheney
Beverly Cleary
Alice Dalgliesh
James Daugherty
Ingri and Edgar Parin D’Aulaire
Tomie dePaola
Daniel Defoe
Mary Mapes Dodge
Ed Emberley
Eleanor Estes
Marie Hall Ets
Rachel Field
Marjorie Flack
Esther Forbes
Don Freeman
Jean Fritz
Robert Frost
Kate Greenaway
Kenneth Grahame
Donald Hall
Paul and Danielle Harris
Joel Chandler Harris
Marguerite Henry
G.A. Henty
James Herriott
Holling C. Holling
Keats
Kellogg
Rudyard Kipling
Ruth Krauss
Dorothy P. Lathrop
Robert Lawson
Munroe Leaf
Edward Lear
Lois Lenski
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Max Lucado
Edward Marshall
Jean Marzollo
Robert McCloskey
Patricia McLachlan
Cornelia Meigs
A. A. Milne
Alfred Noyes
Francis Parkman
Emmy Payne
Beatrix Potter
Marjorie Priceman
Alice and Martin Provensen
Carol Purdy
Howard Pyle
Carl Sandburg
Sir Walter Scott
Anna Sewell
Esphyr Slobodkina
Donald J. Sobol
Spier
Johanna Spyri
Robert Louis Stevenson
Kenneth Taylor
Joan Gale Thomas
Walter Wick
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Johann Wyss
Ravi Zacharias
Books on Tape:
Treasure Island
Rascal
Misty of Chincoteague
Ben and Me
Cheaper by the Dozen (though there is a small amount of swearing)
Biographies: (I found that missions organizations had a selection of missions biographies that weren't readily available elsewhere. I know there are many more I could list here...their names just don't come to mind. Be careful though that the organization keeps a right view of theology; read their statement of faith. Unfortunately, many missions biographies go off the deep end theologically, and you need to be discerning.)
Granny Han's Breakfast, by Sheila Groves, from OMF
Ian and the Gigantic Leafy Obstacle, by Sheila Miller, from OMF
Any books by Janet & Geoff Benge (these are really five-star!)
Signature Books (old; secular but they include the families' faith)
The Bookshelf for Boys & Girls: 9: Great Events and Famous People (old; secular)
Chariots of Fire, video about Erik Liddell winning a gold medal even while honoring God about running on Sunday (he later became a missionary to China)
A Candle in the Dark, video about William Carey in India
Men of Science, Men of God
Social Studies:
Weekly papers from God's World Publications (like a Christian version of Weekly Reader)
You Can Change the World
Look and Learn, Childcraft #12
History:
The Librarian Who Measured the World (Eratosthenes)
The Light and the Glory for Children
From Sea to Shining Sea for Children
Girls: American Girl books (though women's lib is inconspicuously presented)
Girls: Little House books; Prairie Primer homeschool curriculum for use with them
Boys: Farmer Boy, from Little House books
Oregon Trail software program
Junior Classics Harvest of Holidays (old)
My Bookhouse Books (old)
Stories of the Pilgrims
Phoebe the Spy (aka Phoebe and the General) by Judith Griffin
Stories About America to Read Aloud (old)
You Wouldn't Want to be (an Arctic Explorer; in Alexander the Great's Army; an Egyptian Slave, etc.) (secular)
Geography:
Atlas, globe, large maps of the United States and the World
Missions biographies
National Geographic World Magazine (though secular)
Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego? computer game
Math:
Miquon Math workbooks (also need their Lab Sheet Annotations)
Mathmania Puzzle Books
Push button memorization tools for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division
Polyhedra Dice Games for Grades K-6
Principles from Patterns, by David Quine
From Here to There with Cuisenaire Rods: Area, Perimeter and Volume
Tangrams, Cuisenaire Rods, Pattern Blocks, Dominoes, Yahtzee
Mathemagic (Childcraft, #13)
Logic, Creative Thinking, Problem Solving:
Puzzlemania Books
Set, Monopoly, Clue, Scrabble, I Doubt It, Fish, Jenga, Mancala, Sorry, Stack Tack Toe; Cranium brand games (most of them)
Oregon Trail software
The Puzzle Book (Childcraft Annual)
Science
It Couldn't Just Happen (about evolution vs. creation)
My Father's World set of books by Joanne DeJonge
1st Aid/CPR class
Wildlife shows on TV
The Berenstain Bears' Science and Nature Super Treasury (secular)
Field Trip: Marine Science Afloat (in Puget Sound, off of Seattle waterfront; secular). Great!
Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
Pacific Science Center
Into the Forest Game (about the food chain)
Kids' Science Book (secular)
175 Science Experiments to Amuse and Amaze Your Friends (old, secular) by Walpole, published by Random House
Science Daybook, by Great Source Education Group, div. of Houghton Mifflin (secular)
Men of Science, Men of God (Christian)
Science and the Bible
How Things Work (Childcraft, #7)
P.E.
Swim lessons (one-on-one rather than class setting)
Awana Games
Walking at Centennial Trail and Everett Marina
Field Trips:
MissionsFest conferences, Vancouver BC
Library
Picnics
Retirement homes, to sing, to visit
Planetarium at OMSI or Pacific Science Center
National parks
Ice skating
Roller skating
Christmas train
Marine Science Afloat
Ferry rides
Snoqualmie Falls
Spokane
Tulip fields
Family Camp
Camping
Movies
Train trip
The Farm, pumpkin time
Ballard Locks
Coloring and Drawing
Dover coloring books--realistic and educational drawings
Draw Write Now (Never had these, but I've looked at them. My son, to my chagrin, doesn't want them. They look absolutely charming!)
Spanish
Jump-Start Spanish software
The Complete Book of Spanish, a secular book of worksheets, probably from Costco
Sign Language
Idiot's Guide to Learning Sign Language
Perigee Visual Dictionary of Signing
Some Publishers I Like:
Doorposts
ACSI (for spelling at least)
School Zone (secular)
Christian Liberty
Instructional Fair (secular but they have a Christian portion)
Step-Up Books (now they have a different name)
WallBuilder
Draw Write Now
Klutz Books, mostly just for fun
American Girl, mostly just for fun
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