HIS Homeschool Center LLC

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons

I used this with all my children, and they caught on to reading quickly. It seems to be a strange program, but I can vouch that it works. Follow the script. Cover the silly pictures in advance, so the child must guess (comprehension). I followed this with regular easy books. Visit www.startreading.com  

KONOS

The ultimate in unit studies. Four different choices for levels of support. I used KONOS most of our homeschooling years. I recommend enrolling with Homeschool Mentor if you feel the need for support in starting unit studies. You'll find the link on the KONOS page, visit www.konos.com/

Math-U-See

Mr. Demme has a different way to teach math, but it works! Definitely use their special blocks! That's what makes it math you SEE! We used this for high school, simply because we hadn't discovered it for elementary. I highly recommend their Stewardship Math as a consumer math for high school! Visit www.mathusee.com

For the Children's Sake

Teaching Children

Right-Brained Children In a Left-Brained World

Another good resource to help you understand your non-traditional learner (and maybe even yourself!...) This book includes suggestions for teaching and managing areas of frustration.

Brain Gym

Exercises and explanations to help calm, center, focus...for everyone! I used this when trying to write my dissertation and fighting writer's block! Visit www.braingym.com/index.html

Tricks of the Trade & How to Teach Any Child to Spell

This is another resource I discovered too late for my children! But I love the principles and the pre-made spelling notebook, which helps you teach spelling in a prescriptive manner. Click here for their website. 

Apples: Spelling/Phonics for Secondary Students

Here is a link to an excellent review of these materials which may be helpful for older students still struggling with spelling and phonics.

Math on the Level

This program is non-traditional and fits perfectly with a unit study approach. Check out the information on their website at www.mathonthelevel.com

Life of Fred Math (& Language Arts)

This  is an interesting, almost silly, approach to math using a story-based approach of a VERY young college professor who needs to use math skills to get through his day. However, the series is quite serious about wanting your children to learn. This approach just seems to "click" with some learning styles, and is worth investigating. The materials are not expensive and are reusable for your younger children. The program goes through high shool. Life of Fred now even offers a language arts program. The materials can be found on many websites.

Earobics - Home Version

I personally have not used this, but it comes highly recommended and is on the list of recommended materials in my dissertation. There is a version for young children and another for older children. Choose the right one. Recommended for children struggling with phonics for spelling or reading. Maybe their ears need to be trained to hear the differences in the sounds. I was not able to find the home version on their website, but it is still available through Amazon - use Amazon Smile - see note below...

Story of A Bill

Story of a Bill: Legalizing Homeschooling in Pennsylvania
This resource gives good historic context to our current law in PA. Great for civics and learning the process of creating and passing a bill, plus it helps us understand how we got to where we are today.
To access it, you must create an account by entering the store on www.pahomeschoolers.com
The book is available to purchase OR you can read the whole story for FREE online by clicking on the link to each chapter there in the store's website.
I found this resource helpful when writing my doctoral dissertaition!

PHAA

Pennsylvania Homeschool Accreditation Agency grants rigorous academic diplomas recognized by the state of PA as a real diploma. Visit www.phaa.org

SVHDP

Susquehanna Valley Homeschool Diploma Program grants 4 different diplomas: General, Academic, Vo-Tech, & Business, recognized by the state of PA as a real diploma. Visit www.svhomeschool.org/

PA Dept. of Education Homeschool Page

Find lots of information on this website. Click here 

Alternate Test Resource -

California Achievement Tests is on the list of approved by the state. You can select this test in timed or untimed. Most families prefer the untimed version. http://www.academicexcellence.com/complete-online-california-achievement-test-not-timed/

Helpful Links:

Ask Pauline - a website with a little bit of everything about homeschooling. HIS Homeschool Center may not necessarily agree with everything posted, but does find this to be a helpful site: http://home.comcast.net/~askpauline/index.html

PA Homeschool Law - a website explaining the homeschool law. This is one person's perspective and not legal advice. HIS Homeschool Center may not necessarily agree with everything posted, but does find this to be a helpful site. http://pahomeschoollaw.com/

Homeschool Legal Defense Association - a website with information about each state's homeschool laws, and offering membership for legal support during your homeschooling. http://www.hslda.org

A Guide to Online Homeschooling http:www.onlineschools.org/homeschooling-guide/
General resource with starting homeschooling all the way to college scholarships