Preschoolers, elementary and middle school children plus high school students too? Maybe you have a mix of ages or some that fall into each stage. A house full? Well, we’ve gathered the best reviews and tools from our Curriculum Choice archives plus encouraging posts from the blogs of our review team authors. All to help with the challenges – and blessings – of homeschooling multiple ages! Specifically, choosing homeschool curriculum for multiple ages.
Welcome back to Five Days of Choosing Curriculum! We are helping you with curriculum choices for specific age levels. Today is all about homeschool resources for multiple ages. Don’t miss our schedule at the end of the post. We hope you’ve enjoyed this and will stop back by often.
Today’s post is sponsored by Apologia Ministries – a homeschool ministry we love! Please see our disclosure policy for full details.
Choosing Homeschool Curriculum for Multiple Ages
Here you will find an amazing list of resources from our wonderful authors – with informative reviews to help you as you choose your homeschool curriculum for multiple ages!
- Browse our Review Archives for multiple ages
- Home Art Studio – a compilation of reviews from our authors
- Homeschooling Book of Lists
- The Everyday Family Chore System
- 365 Days of Celebration and Praise
- Scripture Memory Box
- Child Training Bible
- Weekly Homeschool Planner – A time-saving solution!
- Five in a Row
- Daily Grammar
- Old Testament Days and Classical Kids Activity Review
- Tapestry of Grace Review
- Mystery of History
- My Father’s World
- Accelerated Christian Education {A.C.E} review
- Practice Test Spelling Words with the Spelling Bee App
- Rummy Roots – A Fun Way to Learn About Words
- Adventures in Our Father’s World
- James Towne: Struggle for Survival
- Manners Made Easy
- English from the Roots Up
- Learning Language Arts through Literature
- Your Backyard Birds DVD
- Your Backyard DVD: The Life and Journey of the Amazing Monarch Butterfly
- A Child’s Geography by Ann Voskamp
- NaturExplorers from Shining Dawn Books
More Encouragement from Our Authors
Most of the Curriculum Choice authors have active blogs where they share all kinds of homeschooling advice and experiences. Below, you’ll find links to some of our reviews and curriculum choices as well as encouraging, practical posts from our authors.
Cindy West from Our Journey Westward has always loved when it worked out to teach all the kiddos the same thing at once! Most of the time, this has worked best for her family through unit studies and project-based learning. She shares both of those series of posts for you below.
Tricia at Hodgepodge:
Long Haul Curriculum Choices – These are the big ones. These are the long haul homeschool curriculum choices. The homeschool resources we’ve used most every year for every child. These are tested through five children, three homeschool grads and our years of homeschooling since 2000. Successfully used with different learning styles, across multiple ages and in the midst of busy days. Highly recommend!
Tapestry of Grace – Have you found a curriculum you and your children absolutely love? One that is a perfect fit for everyone’s learning style? A nice match for the age range of your household? That, my friends, is how I feel about Tapestry of Grace.
Apologia Curriculum Review Index – If you have a love of Apologia homeschool curriculum like we do, we know you will love this index! Because many of our review team authors have shared their experiences with Apologia curriculum, we wanted to make homeschool decisions easy for you.
Compass Classroom Review Index – My family and I have shared our experiences with our favorite Compass Classroom curriculum over the years. Now, we wanted to make homeschool decisions even easier for you by placing the reviews all together in a handy list.
Unit Studies reviews at Curriculum Choice – we’ve reviewed many of Amanda Bennett’s Unit Studies resources. We even have more resources on our Unit Studies Pinterest board.
Outdoor Hour Challenges – Oh, the wonderful things I’ve learned myself. Not only about God’s creation but about simply spending this precious time with my children. This. This is what was lacking in our day-to-day. In our homeschool. I’m not sure why I originally found it difficult to add nature study in on top of what we were already doing. Maybe it was the busyness of a growing family, needs of toddlers and the fumbling of fractions.
Harmony Fine Arts Plans for Art and Music Appreciation – (we use this together as a family) Are you like me? Do you long to enrich your homeschool with studies of composers and artists? Do you wish that someone would just do it all for you? You know, invest the time in research, find the online links, point you to the resources you need? It’s done. Yes, really. It’s all done for you. Barb-Harmony Art Mom has created just what you need. She, too, was like us.
10 Days of Lasagna Learning: Teaching Multiple Ages – at Hodgepodge we teach an age range of five children from four up to 15. For a long time I’ve called it Layers and Levels of Learning. That one-room schoolhouse type of learning. But Lasagna Learning describes it much more accurately.
Homeschooling Multiple Ages: Best of Hodgepodge – Of course most all of the homeschooling posts at Hodgepodge include some how tos on homeschooling multiple ages. However, these are the top posts you chose based on your reading and pinning! (including the 10 parts of our homeschool schedule, Homeschool Science for Multiple Ages, Writing Workshop for Multiple Ages, Nature Study with Multiple Ages, Bible study and more)
Homeschool Math for Multiple Ages – we basically have two resources that have worked well for our students so far…But I am sharing how we actually get math done with all the grades plus the natural progression in our homeschool.
Loving Living Math – Cindy West’s Loving Living Math has given my family permission. Permission to learn and enjoy the real life stuff of math. See, I admit I am not a math type mom. But I do thrive on the practical. That’s why Loving Living Math speaks to me. I can see math all around us now.
Start, End and Mix Up Homeschool with Unit Studies – Guess what? We ended our school year with a trip to France! Guess what else? All homeschoolers can take a trip to France any time of year. A couple of weeks ago, we started off our themed learning with Amanda Bennett’s Passport France.
You ARE an Artist Clubhouse – now you can have a master artist teach your whole family. Just add chalk pastels and paper!
Heidi at Home Schoolroom:
All Through the Ages, A Guide to Learning History Through Literature – This is an indispensable book for homeschoolers looking to study history using living books! You can choose a period of time and find wonderful book selections appropriate for grades 1-12. The books are organized chronologically and also by topic, such as biography, historical fiction, or books covering specific events.
Barb at Harmony Fine Arts:
How to Make an Overall Plan for the Year – Often I am asked by new homeschoolers about how to make an overall plan for the school year. They are looking for the nuts and bolts of putting lots of great ideas together because they tend to get overwhelmed by whole process. I shared the following ideas with a friend and I hope they help and encourage readers here at Curriculum Choice.
Planning Art for Multiple Ages (Co-Op and Home) – There are just a few steps to go through to make a simple and effective plan for your art appreciation: Set goals, plan manageable steps, build on art appreciation, and then celebrate your successes.
Mary at Homegrown Learners:
A brand new resource for music appreciation! SQUILT (Super Quiet UnInterrupted Listening Time) Volume 1: Baroque Composers is a fully internet linked music appreciation curriculum. It makes teaching the great classics of Baroque music EASY! Ten lessons are given, with specific listening cues and notebooking pages. It takes all of the guess work out of teaching music appreciation! The only supplies needed are an internet connection and basic notebooking supplies.
Homeschooling Gifted Kids…Really? by Cindy at Our Journey Westward and Shining Dawn Books: “we’ve been able to meet each of their needs perfectly. Not just academically, but emotionally, physically, socially, spiritually…each of my children is growing and thriving.”
Daniele at Domestic Serenity:
Apologia What We Believe Series – Who Am I? (Book 2) – Apologia is well known among homeschoolers for their science curriculum elementary through high school. Our family was recently introduced to another branch of what they offer – the What We Believe series. Four books focused on worldview training for ages 6-14, these were created to equip kids to understand truth and to tackle the various messages of our culture today. Apologia’s series takes a look at core beliefs of the Christian faith, and explains each one to children with a variety of stories, lessons and questions.
Daniele also offers her curriculum choices for:
Even More Resources for Multiple Ages!
Our Curriculum Choice review team features a topic monthly. You can see all that our authors have shared on electives, math, curriculum choices and more under Review Team Features.
Our Curriculum Choice Pinterest boards! reviews of all kinds from our archives and more.
We are joining up with our iHomeschool Network friends in a summer hopscotch! I hope you’ve enjoyed our Five Days of Choosing Homeschool Curriculum. Be sure to pin each post for future reference!
Five Days of Choosing Homeschool Curriculum
- Monday – Choosing Preschool and Kindergarten Curriculum
- Tuesday – Choosing Elementary Homeschool Curriculum
- Wednesday – Choosing Middle School Curriculum
- Thursday – Choosing High School Curriculum
- Friday – Choosing Homeschool Curriculum for Multiple Ages
Apologia Ministries for All Ages
Apologia Educational Ministries publishes a K-12 Creation-based science curriculum, worldview resources for ages preschool through high school, practical and inspirational books about homeschooling, refreshing retreats for moms, and online classes from Apologia Academy. Apologia Educational Ministries, Inc., is a family-owned corporation whose mission is to help families learn, live, and defend the historic Christian faith.
The What We Believe series is an outstanding way to teach your child the essential beliefs of the Christian faith, but it’s so much more! With this student-directed, Bible-based curriculum, your child will learn to use scripture as a lens through which to view the world around them—to see everything the way God For younger students and those who learn best while their hands sees it. Featuring engaging stories, creative notebooking, and fun activities, this four-part series is presented in a conversational style that makes the study of God’s Word exciting and memorable.
*Be sure to connect with Apologia on Facebook for homeschool encouragement and more!
Did you subscribe to Curriculum Choice so you won’t miss any future reviews? You’ll also receive a free download of the Ultimate Guide to Choosing Curriculum in your first email!
~Hosted by Tricia~ Homeschooling since 2000, Tricia faces a daily dose of chaos with five children. She shares a mixture of art lessons, recipes and helpful homeschool habits at Hodgepodge. She and her husband, Steve, are owners of Curriculum Choice.
Mostly I want to make sure that its something that my oldest can do mostly independently and lately I’ve been looking for things that I can reuse with our younger kids in a few years.
It has to be easy to use & interesting for my children. :o) Thanks for the contest!
I think experience with a certain publisher or knowing the reputation of the publisher helps me in curriculum decisions. Also, curriculum must fit the style of our homeschool.
When choosing curriculum the two big things I look at are the recommended age/skill/learning style and reviews. I especially like reviews where the kids have the same learning style as mine. It has really helped me to find the best choice for our family. (And I really appreciate your reviews! I have several things on my wish list for future years based on your blog. Thank you!)
Two things when I choose curriculum: reputation of publisher and how well it works for my kids (+ability to use it with younger ones).
Thank you for the giveaway?
has to be hands on (no worksheets) and fun for the youngest. independent and challenging for the oldest.
Thank you for all these wonderful resources! I am bookmarking this page so I can come back later to read more!
1) It has to be something my boys are interested in.
2) It has to be Bible-based
1) Does it agree with the Bible?
2) Is it going to make my boys love to learn?
I also read alot of reviews before making a purchase.
When deciding on a curriculum I first look for it to be biblically sound and second for it to be engaging for my two hands on kiddos.
When choosing curriculum for my family I look to see if it is similar to something else we have used. If it is I ask myself if we were successful in using the other product. If not I move on. If so I will check other reviews and look for a sample lesson to see if it will be a good fit.
Most important is relevance in content (especially, does it Honour God?), followed by cost including shipping.
As we are in Australia, we often find curriculum is very American focused- which is fine if you are American, but a little too much if you’re not as we have to learn about our own countries culture and continents too. Also, the price can be great, but often the shipping doubles the cost, which makes the curriculum very difficult to justify, depending who you can buy through.
starting apologia this coming year with my 1st grader…pretty excited about that!
When deciding on curriculum, my first criteria is that it must be biblically based and sound. I read tons of reviews of everything that I’m looking at. Then at convention I visited down all the vendors on my narrowed down list to see if it grabs my attention and how the price is. Price is a big importance too when schooling 4 children.
Thanks for the chance to win!!!
Ease of use and price.
The most important reason I choose a book or curriculum for my children is I must be able to trust the content of the curriculum or book, second, how it relates to their learning experience. Thanks again for the opportunity!
I look for products that can be used with multiple ages (or reused later on for another child) and that is cost effective. I also love things that and easy-to-follow layout
I look for what best suits each child ( they are so very different ) and I pray,pray,pray 🙂 Thank You !! ~ amy
First, I consider whether it is written from a Biblical worldview. That is the most important thing to our family. I look at the price and value next.
I first decide if my kids will be interested in it, and then I decide whether or not it’s in our budget.
I spend a lot of time in the summer- persuing materials, checking prices, seeing if I can get things used or free : ) I taught 4 children ( 2 are in college now) through high school with a budget of 300.00 year ( or less) total. It can be done : ))
My top reasons for choosing a curriculum is 1) It does not align with the common core, 2) how likely it is to actually get done and not sit on my shelf, and 3) the price.
Thanks for the info and the giveaway!
Price and will it work for us.
This is a wonderful giveaway. We will be using Apologia for our science curriculum this year. We are so excited!
Content and price are important to us when choosing a curriculum.
I use ambleside online’s free curriculum of living books that i either buy or borrow from the library – I chose it originally because it was a free curriculum that aligned with the method of schooling I chose. But if I had to do it over again, I’d still choose it because of it’s thoroughness, quality and variety.
My deciding factors when looking and choosing a homeschool curriculum usually centers around does it have a Christian Worldview or not. That is extremely important to my husband and I.
Would love to win. It is on our list for curriculum for next year.
I know I’m going to sound very elementary, but white space and pictures are probably #1 on my list. The pages’ layout has to be formulated in a way that I don’t mind spending extended amounts of time looking at it. Second would be usability and content. I don’t know every single vocabulary word and concept that I’m supposed to teach so I need the book to adequately teach me so I can confidently teach my children.
God honoring and easy to use
Need, and I would say it’s a tie between personal recommendations, and getting my hands on the curriculum to really check it out myself.
This has been a fantastic series! It has been a great jump start to begin our planning for fall! Thanks so much!!!
Price, world view
I needs to be easy to use and needs some hands on activities.
I’m look at structure and how the content in the curriculum is organized. I want it to be easy for me as the teacher to implement it, but I also want it to make sense to my children. I also look at price, and try to determine if it is worth the money I will spend.
We have all enjoyed the apologia Who Is God series. I think it has something for EVERY age. My husband and I get just as much out of it as my kids do.
2 factors – content and price
Biblical and hands on!
I look for a well organized curriculum. One that is ready to go! Cost is another consideration.
I look to see that it fits in with my boys’ learning style and interests and, as much as I hate that it has to be this way, I heavily consider the cost before buying curriculum.
I look for curriculum that I will use an reuse for each child. I have four kiddos – so I’d like my $$ to stretch as far as it possibly can. For the oldest (8th grade), I look for curriculum she can use independently. For the middles (K & 1), I look for something that will keep them engaged and excited.
I am still trying to figure out how best to teach a 4 & 8 year old at the same time… My 4 year old wants to do school with his big sis, but when I start to work with him, she stops her works, because his “looks like it’s more fun!’ So thanks for the links and ideas! I need them! :o)
My top two ways in choosing a curriculum are based on reviews of the product and if I think it would fit well with our learning/teaching styles.
When purchasing curriculum, we look for products which will help build on the foundation of faith that we have established and will fit into our school day in a way that is practical and meaningful. The first “Who is God?” book did that perfectly and we are looking forward to continuing this series!
We are just beginning to homeschool our 5th and 8th graders, so for now
1: will it fit with the way I want to teach them
2: do I think they will enjoy learning from it.
The top two factors for whether or not I purchase a curriculum are reviews and being able to look at the book myself (good sample pages). Thanks for the giveaway!
For me, the curriculum needs to have easy to use lesson plans, and an organized lay out of the student text.
Ease of use and price.
Can use with multiple levels, and easy to teach
I don’t know yet. I’m just starting out. But I do look at reviews and see what’s there and then price is a big one.
Just finishing up the 1st book in the series. We have enjoyed it.
My top deciding factors in choosing curricula are whether they add Eternal value for our family and if they fit our budget.
My top factors are a) Does it match with the methodologies I use? I’m not going to use textbooks, if I’m a CM educator, and b) What do other homeschool moms who have used it say? What do the reviews say?
As a new homeschooling mom, I look for personal recommendations from friends that homeschool as well as thoroughly researching website recommendations.
I look for something to agree with our views and if it is going to build their academic knowledge
I choose curriculum first if it aligns with our beliefs, and second if it fits DD5s learning style.
Oganized, fun. and
I am new to homeschool as we just finished our first year, but I look for curriculum that has a biblical base and can be used with multiple ages over several years. I love to find one book resources that teach me the material and I can then pass that knowledge on to my children.
I choose a curriculum first based on whether my daughter, who is intolerant of mindless and endless repetitions in subject matter, will successfully utilize the curriculum. I can’t tell you how many workbooks have collected dust on my shelves because I wanted her to use them and she won’t. Based on that experience I don’t even consider most traditional book based homeschool curriculum. I tend to look for online curricula. (we use http://www.Time4Learning.com as our core).
I love researching curricula so I will spend many hours reading up on the curriculum I’m looking at, reading reviews, seeing what parents are saying about them on the forums etc. I tend to make my decision on 1) what fits my kid’s interests and learning styles and 2) reviews – what other parents are saying who have used it. 🙂
Price is a very important determination for curriculum in our home. Clear teacher guides is another factor. When teaching multiple age groups I need all the help I can get.
Something that has hands-on projects and uses lots of living books
One of the best thing about homeschooling is that Homeschoolers have access to the best teaching materials available. And, teaching materials can be selected based on a child’s individual needs and capabilities.
Anne