I cannot say enough about how this curriculum has changed our home school time. That and advice and encouragement from a few books I have read lately:
Awakening Wonder-Sally Clarkson
The Call of the Wild + Free-Ainsley Arment
You can access TGTB Language Arts curriculum, levels 1-5 for free. You can choose to print it yourself or order it for a very reasonable rate.
We chose to order the course books because printing them was too expensive and love what we received. The girls are so much happier with our school days. It feels like we are just spending time together learning which is what I’m pretty sure homeschooling was meant to feel like.
We are currently using their language arts, history, handwriting, and typing. We are also using their Multiplication Math program while we wait for their new Math curriculum to be released. From there we will decide whether to use TGTB or Teaching Textbooks for math.
For History I did print the course books myself because they are in black and white. I also purchased a ProClick to bind the course books when I do choose to print them. I bought this one because you can open the spiral and add papers to it if needed which will help cut down on extra folders with loose papers or loose papers stuck inside our course books.
For science we are using Answers In Genesis. We are studying animals this year and just plan to use this curriculum that we already had, books from our own collection, and the library. As we have gone on nature hikes we have seen certain animals or the homes, tracks, or evidence they’ve left behind. We use whatever animal we see and get as many books off our shelves or from our library to study and learn about that animal. So far we have read about moles, porcupines, and muskrats. Not to mention the study of farm animals they receive daily just from our lifestyle.
We have also ordered a few of their books from their library. So far the girls have read:
and
They also have a free book list I highly recommend. It rates not only the books in TGTB Library, but also other books as well. It rates them by moral merit, literary merit, educational value, and gives a review of the book. It is so helpful for me when I can’t keep up with one of my daughter’s incredible appetite for reading. There are so many children’s books out there that we have found inappropriate for our children that it is nice to have a little insight into a book before we even begin.
They have already finished the three books above. I do question if they were maybe a little below their reading level, but we did use TGTB reading level assessment. From here we are moving onto Lamplighter books. These are the most beautiful books not only to fill our bookshelves with, but to fill our hearts with Godly character. These will forever be a part of not only our homeschool, but our lives as we pass them on to the next generation.
All three of us love this curriculum. It has made our days so peaceful and interesting. We start our morning with devotions, Bible reading, character, and then our read aloud (currently The Green Ember). We didn’t have to spend a lot of money on curriculum. TGTB is inexpensive or in some cases free. We utilize our local libraries for books or just spend time reading the Bible together. I’m so glad we found this curriculum and am thankful for Sally Clarkson and Ainsley Arment’s books to quiet the doubt that creeps into the minds of homeschool moms….”am I doing enough?”
A Simple Prairie Life 