Homeschooling

If you haven’t, read my post on Diving into Homeschooling to understand more of how we settled on this decision for our family.

As we were researching out education options, I gathered all information I could. To garner real life experiences, I relied on YouTube. I watched vlogs of day in the life of homeschooling families, listened to curriculum reviews, watched videos on the different methodologies (traditional vs Charlotte Mason vs unschooling, etc). I read blog posts. I listened to podcasts. I spent a great deal of time researching the potential negatives as well. Ultimately the more I learned, the more I felt pulled in this direction.

I am very much a research and information driven person. I like to immerse myself in as much knowledge as possible and then use my gut & instinct to drive decisions from there. This approach worked great for me, allowing me to envision our routine, the flow of our days and what curriculum’s intrigued me. I also brought the girls in on the process and asked them what THEY would like to learn about which helped provide further direction.

Below I have compiled a list of what I have found to be the best/helpful resources thus far:

Regulations/Laws:
For Canada, click here
For USA, click here

YouTube reviews/vlogs:
Angela Braniff
Grace and Grit
Homeschool On (A rare Canadian channel for homeschooling content)


Facebook Groups:
I highly suggest searching for Homeschooling Facebook groups in your area. This homeschooling community is a wealth of knowledge.
My favorite local to Alberta Groups are:
Alberta Homeschooling
Friends of Willow

Supplies:
Your Local Public Library (supplemental resources, free printing & copying)
Bookoutet.ca
Costco (curriculum and other supplies)

Curriculum:
These are some of the most popular I have come across, but by all means not exhaustive.
Gather Round
The Good & The Beautiful
Wild & Free
Thinking Tree
Charlotte Mason
Bookshark
Canadian Complete
Teaching Textbooks
Brave Writer
EnglishSmart
Math U See

Apps/Websites
I have to preface this by saying historically, we are a very low tech, low screens family. But I have found a couple apps/website so far that are great.
Reading Eggs
Typing.com
Code.org