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7 Best Budget-Friendly Homeschool Language Arts Curriculum

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I have 7 best budget-friendly homeschool language arts ideas to pair with your unit studies.

Through the years, I’ve given the same long-standing advice. Spend first what money you have budgeted for curriculum on the core subjects. They are essential to a well-rounded education.

7 Best Budget-Friendly Homeschool Language Arts Curriculum

This is a sponsored post for Homeschool Buyers Co-op and I was paid for my time. However, paid for my time does not mean paid off. All opinions are my own and for sure I will always tell you what is on my mind. Read my full disclosure here.

And its reading in the younger grades and literature in the older grades. Too, grammar and writing are vital pieces of a homeschool language arts program.

And it can become expensive quickly when you’re implementing the unit study approach using an all-in-one language arts program.

So, I was excited to share some budget-friendly homeschool language arts curriculum options.

Breaking down the language arts components worked best for me because like most kids, they are ahead in one subject and may need more time on another.

Mapping Out the Components of Language Arts

Picking and choosing the individual parts of a homeschool language arts program gives you a customized curriculum.

It’s a better match for your child’s learning style and a better value when you have a limited dollar amount to get exactly what you need.

►VOCABULARY

For vocabulary, I always try to pull words from what we’re reading about in our unit studies. Reading words in that context and using them in everyday speech is the best way to master them.

But I used the printed version of Wordly Wise 3000 with Mr. Senior to be sure I exposed him to word study as a way to enhance our unit studies. Kids can master more words than we think they can, and to cripple their vocabulary with limited vocabulary instruction can be detrimental.

Lessons don’t have to be long, but they should be comprehensive. Using Wordly Wise 3000, I can expand lessons or cut back according to each son’s need.

    1. WORDLY WISE

    Although I know Wordly Wise 3000 touts that the audio feature is great for struggling readers, I think it’s great for independent learners. I don’t have to supervise my sons to see if they are correctly pronouncing a word.

    I know you’ll love it if you’re looking for an interactive vocabulary program that is not boring.

    2. LITERATURE ADVENTURES FOR KIDS

    Then, literature adventures for kids is my VERY favorite stand-alone self-paced online language arts program. Pair a great book with your unit study.

    Are you a busy, sweet, overwhelmed homeschooler craving a consistent, dependable language arts curriculum that adds a little enchantment to your homeschool? We help homeschoolers just like you reclaim their time and reduce stress with our open-and-go courses that turn every lesson into an adventure

    ►READING OR LITERATURE

    When I started making my own unit studies, I would get a gallon size ziploc bag and put the book and literature guide together in one bag.

    3. PROGENY PRESS LITERATURE GUIDES

    Then, I would mark the reading level on the bag and organize them for the year, and I started off using printed versions of Progeny Press Literature Guides.

    7 Best Budget-Friendly Homeschool Language Arts Curriculum

    Too, I would even unfasten the literature guide so I could add just the pages that my boys needed to do for that year.

    HOMESCHOOL LANGUAGE ARTS

    I printed what I needed that year with one son, and printed a different page or pages needed for another year.

    Now, the guides are interactive which means you don’t have to print; a child can type his answers directly into the document. That is a nifty time-saving tip for a high school teen with a rigorous academic load or a reluctant writer. But sometimes we like to hold our paper in hand so we print. And I still like pairing specific lessons on pages to themes in my unit studies.

    Look at a few things they offer:

    • FOUR LEVELS – Lower Elementary for Grades K-4, Upper Elementary for Grades 3-5, Middle School for Grades 5-8, and High School for Grades 9-12
    • 100+ TITLE CHOICES – We’ve put together SIX different 5-pack bundle choices for you! YOU CHOOSE your wish list from OVER 100 TITLE CHOICES! Choose from excellent reading titles such as Beowulf (*NEW*), The Eagle of the Ninth (*NEW*), Charlotte’s Web, Anne of Green Gables, The Island of the Blue Dolphins, The Secret Garden, The Hobbit, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Pride and Prejudice, The Screwtape Letters, To Kill A Mockingbird, and MANY, MANY MORE!

    ►GRAMMAR

    Grammar is a tool to best apply while writing so I’ve always kept it a separate subject. But grammar is also just the rules of any language. Teaching rules shouldn’t be complicated. Short lessons are best, which is why Analytical Grammar works.

    4. ANALYTICAL GRAMMAR

    In my beginning years, I used a grammar program which combined complex writing assignments with grammar.

    After homeschooling another 5 years, I realized that a grammar program should focus only on explaining grammar rules without time-consuming composition assignments as the only way to learn them.

    Yes, writing assignments are a great way to illustrate grammar rules, but shorter is better.

    Besides, I needed a grammar curriculum which would give me the flexibility to pull writing themes from topics that piqued my boys’ interest in our current unit study. More important, I wanted a program that helped us to use words in a way that conformed to the rules of grammar. I wished I would have used Analytical Grammar, for grades 4-12 earlier, but I’m glad I hopped on board when I did.

    ►WRITING OR COMPOSITION

    Next, identifying a writing program which was engaging for my sons and took them incrementally through the writing process was not easy. Institute for Excellence in Writing, for grades K-12 was our answer.

    Melding Homeschool Language Arts and Unit Studies

    It was a huge load of stress off after separating grammar and composition when I started using Institute for Excellence in Writing, grades K-12.

    7 Best Budget-Friendly Homeschool Language Arts Curriculum

    As you can see in the picture above, the boys were working on our FBI unit study. Dad was helping the boys make a crystal radio after they wrote about it.

    However, their essay followed the writing model learned in Institute for Excellence in Writing or (IEW). IEW makes it easy to choose your own topics to write about or they have writing topics for your children to choose.

    What I liked the most is that although grammar and writing are inextricably linked, it’s important to not overwhelm beginner writers.

    5. INSTITUTE FOR EXCELLENCE IN WRITING (IEW)

    The veteran teaching tip is to make one skill or the other the focus at different times. IEW explained grammar while keeping the focus on writing and modeling to my sons how to compose their ideas.

    7 Best Budget-Friendly Homeschool Language Arts Curriculum

    Here is how IEW works: It takes a unique approach provides the structure that students need to develop confidence in the writing process, while gradually guiding them toward greater independence and creativity.

    They will learn nine structural models (note taking, writing paragraphs, stories, simple reports, writing from pictures, research reports, creative writing, essays, and critiques) to help them organize any type of composition.

    ►READING OR LITERATURE

    Then, buying living history literature guides gives me a two for one deal.

    Not only do I use living literature in my unit studies as a topic or theme, but it counts as the reading or literature aspect of the three Rs. Buying living history literature helps me to keep homeschooling affordable.

    6. BEAUTIFUL FEET BOOKS (HISTORY & LITERATURE)

    With living history literature by Beautiful Feet Books.

    Remember, since this is living literature, the vocabulary is not simplified, and it may be harder for some kids.

    Though I school for Biblical reasons, I don’t think you have to teach about it in every book.

    I do try to choose living history books which have a good story line, are intriguing, have a challenging reading level, include details about the time period, and can be easily implemented in a unit study which builds character without feeling preachy.

    It’s a lot to ask for in a book. I’m selective, but I love starting with Beautiful Feet Books.

    ►REVIEW AND ENRICHMENT

    Then I hear about the fear of gaps when doing unit studies. Having a way to fill in gaps or shore up weaknesses is a great feature of IXL Language Arts Practice, which is for grades K-12.

    You probably heard of their math, but their language arts is equally practical.

    7. IXL LANGUAGE ARTS PRACTICE

    Look at what they offer: IXL makes the world of words come alive with fun visuals and interactive questions. Build great writers through playful skills that pique students’ curiosity about language!  

    Then this next deal, which is Discovery Education, for grades K-12 is the one I’m about to pull the trigger on because we love media with our unit studies.

    8. DISCOVERY EDUCATION

    But did you know it’s so much more? It covers every content area.

    Look at what you get:

    It’s easy to see why homeschoolers rave about Discovery Education Streaming Plus and probably the most extensive and feature-rich educational video streaming service in the world.

    But it’s not just a collection of videos that you can watch from beginning to end. This library has been organized into useable video clips, organized and categorized, close-captioned, and supplemented with lesson plans, teaching guides, interactive simulations, images, audio resources, and other resources and materials that you can incorporate into virtually every aspect of your homeschool curriculum.

    What a comprehensive way to enrich a unit study with so many features like audio books, self-paced training, images, games and the ability to customize lessons at your fingertips.

    When you’ve chosen curriculum which gives your child a solid foundation in language arts and covers the significant areas, you can spend more time planning the fun part of unit studies.

    MORE HOMESCHOOL LANGUAGE ARTS RESOURCES

    How to Buy It

    Products:

     ►Grammar: Analytical Grammar for grades 4-12.

    ► Self-Paced Language Arts for all grades: Literature Adventures for Kids

    ►Literature Guides: Progeny Press Literature Guides, pdf format, grades K-12

    ►    Vocabulary: Wordly Wise 3000

    ►Composition or Writing: Institute for Excellence in Writing, grades K-12

    ►    Review and Enrichment:

    Video Streaming: Discovery Education grades K-12

    Language Arts Review: IXL Language Arts Practice, grades K-12

    ►Reading or Literature:

    Living History Literature: Living History literature by Beautiful Feet Books

    Also, look at these other homeschool articles to help you.

    5 Best Resources to Start a Homeschool Unit Study in a Few Hours, 24 Borderline Genius Ways To Relieve Language Arts Boredom and Unfolding of a Homeschool Unit Study – An Easy Mnemonic { I-SIP}.

    Don’t forget to follow BOTH of my Pinterest accounts for AWESOME pins.

    Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.


    Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

    How to Teach Science Through A Story – Middle & High School

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    This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

    When you teach science through a story that is powerful. Using storytelling as a powerful teacher is not a new concept to homeschoolers. Also, look at my page Homeschool Middle School,  How to Homeschool High School and How to Choose the Right Homeschool High School Science pages for more fun tips.

    Not only do we love reading stories but we understand their power to captivate and convince readers.

    How to Teach Science Through A Story - Middle & High School

    I stalked the mailman waiting for these books from Beautiful Feet Books. I was given this product free, and I was compensated for my time. However, paid for my time does not mean paid off or that a company will receive a glowing review. I don’t roll that way. ALL opinions are my own and for sure I will always tell you what is on my mind. When I do accept a product it’s because I’m giddy to tell you about it. Read my full disclosure here. Now on to the fun stuff!

    However, until I started using Beautiful Feet Books I wasn’t so confident that teaching science through a story or through biographies would benefit my kids all the way through to high school.

    First, I need to back up and explain what curriculum we’ve been poring over.

    For the past couple of months, it has been a delight to use the History of Science. (update: This curriculum has now been retired but the approach is timeless.) I leave my thoughts here for you.

    I knew it was geared toward the 3rd to 7th grade level.

    But we were over the top excited to ditch the science textbook and learn the history of science through living literature.

    Besides, science biographies can be used for older kids.

    History of Science Living Literature

    In addition, I had already figured out that my worksheet approach, as academic and bookish as it sounds, didn’t work because my boys retained lessons better using a learn-by-doing approach.

    Next, early on in my homeschooling journey, I had stumbled upon Early American History with my then first kindergartner.

    After using it with him, I learned that other equally important elements which stir a child’s thinking are living literature and absorbing history through a story.

    There has not been a more enriching way to teach him or my other sons to high school than a literature-based approach.

    What I’m saying is that storytelling, learning-by-doing, and living literature are inextricably linked.

    Using those same elements while teaching science are the same ones used in teaching the History of Science and used for teaching an older child.

    7 Creative Ways to Adapt Curriculum for Older Homeschooled Kids

    Learning how to adapt a multiple age curriculum for upper grades can be challenging, but look at some ways I did this with the features of History of Science.

    They are the same tips I used with my sons all the way through middle school and into high school.

    How to Teach Science Through A Story - Middle & High School
    • With a yearlong program geared toward 3rd to 7th grade, there is a lot of room to allow exploring topics in more depth. Using a yearlong program is key.
    • Even though the biographies are geared toward a lower reading level, they are likable by an older child. Many essay points can be gleaned from each biography. For example, previous to studying this curriculum, we hadn’t researched much about George Washington Carver. Reading about this American Pioneer and his many uses of peanuts made for a fun rabbit trail or research project. Even though your younger kids can join in the project to list the many uses of peanuts, I had Tiny delve deeper into this since it piqued his interest. I required that he explain the history of the peanut. I had questions like what is the history of the peanut, why was Carver encouraging farmers during the American Civil War to break away from cultivating just cotton, and explain the growing process of the peanut. For example, he had to know that it wasn’t a peanut at all but a seed and understand that the boll weevil could devastate cotton crops.
    • Another fascinating point to glean from the History of Science is understanding and seeing science through the eyes of great scientists. We use this concept for history all the time. We want to learn history through the eyes of a character who lived in a particular time period. Learning science through biographies of Archimedes, Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Sir Isaac Newton, Marie Curie, George Washington Carver, Wright Brothers and Albert Einstein keeps kids equally inspired to learn about the wonders of science instead of dry, boring facts.
    How to Teach Science Through A Story - Middle & High School
    • In addition, with many notebook pages, vocabulary words, and hands-on ideas the study guide is just that. It’s a springboard for you to use and add your own ideas.A guide on the other hand gives me a nudge or jump to another teaching concept that my son is interested in.
    • After I abandoned my wrong and stereotypical view that hands-on learning means no learning at all, I’ve been touting for years how hands-on learning needs to be used through to high school. The best books have been culled through and selected for easy hands-on activity that can be used for a variety of ages. Not only did we start our science portfolio notebook, but we did many hands-on learning activities like this one Day 4. Ancient Greece (Hands-on Science) 3 EASY Activities, ice cutting, and writing the Greek alphabet.
    How to Teach Science Through A Story - Middle & High School
    • One more fun way to engage older kids through a story is to let them learn through a timeline. A timeline is a visual and natural way to learn. Kids can race ahead and place figures on a timeline while they read about scientific discoveries, events, and biographies. This is another key benefit to this curriculum. The timeline can stand on its own. It can be used completely separate. Instead of quickly placing the key events or scientists in order, challenge your older kids to learn about them before seeing the dates. Which significant event happened first, next and so on? Your middle school kids can memorize the events in order. It’ll give your kids foundational pegs as they fill in with more information with each time period.
    • Another tip that makes this curriculum especially useful to me is that it has scientists from different time periods. It’s organized into 3 parts that coincide with history, which are Ancient Scientists, Medieval & Renaissance Scientists, and Modern Scientists. I can easily add one section in depth this year and come back to this resource another year to focus on a different time period.
    • One last tip I do is to completely turn the teaching guide and everything over to my older kid. When you’re finished with the younger kids, let your middle or high school kid work through the lessons at their pace or at their will. For example, Tiny skipped all over the place when it came to reading and what interested him. That is such a liberating feeling for any learner and it’s the way to encourage independent learning. A lot of Beautiful Feet Books curriculum can be used that way, which is why I’ve been a user for a long time and couldn’t be more pleased.

    The last thing I know you want to know about is whether it’s Christian or secular. I guess that depends on your definition of those two concepts.

    It’s easier to tell you that it’s very friendly toward both type of views which I appreciate.

    10 Resources to Teach Science Through a Story

    Books of any level can be read and used in depth to create a science curriculum. Adding hands-on resources like a timeline and activities help too.

    While it has some parts that ask your child to write a Bible verse, you can leave it, use it, or add your own. That part shows they support a Christian view.

    However, their goal with their curriculum is to leave it up to you as the parent to add your worldview.

    Using storytelling as a powerful teacher is not a new concept to homeschoolers. Not only do we love reading stories but we understand their power to captivate and convince readers. However, until I wasn’t so confident that teaching science through stories works for all ages of my kids. Click here to read 7 creative ways to teach older kids!

    I can say it’s more easily done with this curriculum than many I use which saturate their curriculum with their Christian or secular worldview and makes it almost impossible to tweak.

    If you’re wanting to use curriculum that teaches science through storytelling with a focus on hands-on learning by using a part unit study approach and part Charlotte Mason, you’ll love this curriculum like I do.

    Read about the other curriculum I’ve used here at Early American and World History which is not available anymore, but it is now two separate levels and revamped, the Medieval History Sr. High levels and Medieval Intermediate Pack.

    How to Purchase It.

    ►Product Name: History of Science
    ►Website: Beautiful Feet Books – BFBooks
    ► Don’t Miss: The Getting Started page. It’s been such a helpful guide for me through the years.
    ►Type of product: These is a physical product but the study guide is available as a digital download too. From their site: Our newly revised and updated History of Science is a popular and exciting read-aloud approach to the study of science! Rebecca’s course uses biographies to tell the life stories of famous scientists like Archimedes, Galileo, Leonardo da Vinci, Marie Curie, George Washington Carver, Einstein, and others as well as hands-on experiments to prove the scientists’ theories and test their discoveries. An enriching way to introduce biology, chemistry, and physics. For grades 3-7, this one-year study will cover basic scientific principles and the history of scientific study beginning in ancient Greece and continuing through the 1990s. Contains 85 lessons, dozens of experiments, lab reports, and much more.

    Amazing Hands-on History Activities for 14 Ancient Empires (free notebook cover too)

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    This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

    You’ll love these hands-on history activities for ancient empires. Also, there are more Ancient Civilization hands-on ideas on my page.

    Over the years I have shared my passion for hands-on history activities.

    They breathe life into lifeless events of the past.

    Amazing Hands-on History Activities for 14 Ancient Empires (free notebook cover too)

    So when planning our year end history co-op, I decided to use the Great Empires Activity Study.

    It is an activity study by Home School in the Woods.

    Why? Because of the scope of empires that the Great Empires Activity Study covers.

    Your kids will love these hands-on history activities for 14 Ancient Empires.Great Empires Activity Study by Home School in the Woods covers fourteen empires:

    I was given this product for free. ALL opinions are my own and I will always tell you what is on my mind. When I do accept a product it’s because I’m giddy to tell you about it. Read my full disclosure here. Now on to the fun stuff!

    Hands-on History Activities Ancient Empires

    • Ancient China
    • Ancient Egypt
    • Ancient Greece
    • Ancient Rome
    • Arab-Muslims,
    • English Empire
    • French Empire
    • German Empire
    • Japanese Empire
    • Mongols
    • Russian Empire
    • Spanish Empire
    • United States and
    • Viking.

    I decided to cover a little about each of these empires through hands-on projects.

    Organizing and assigning hands-on projects for our Great Empires co-op was easy.

    The information is laid out simply. After reviewing the download, you’ll see the files organized by master, texts and projects.

    Amazing Hands-on History Activities for 14 Ancient Empires (free notebook cover too)

    The projects page for each empire, I found extremely useful in wading through all of the excellent material.

    The project page is like your weekly lesson plan at a glance page.

    And the master is your lesson plan for the day. The master pages include a helpful teacher’s key reference. It is a map marked with key areas, boundaries and other helpful features for each region covered by that empire.

    Ancient Empires Study for Kids

    Glancing at the project page, we could select all the hands-on activities that we wanted to do.

    Then find them among the 107 master pages.

    Too, background information on each empire is vital in covering the topics like we did because we wanted to savor a morsel of each empire. The text pages for each empire are 2-3 pages. However, one gem about the text pages is that they cover the empire at its height.

    Non-history loving folks are turned off by many details. A quagmire of details drains the life out of learning history.

    Unsure of which invention, event or key point to highlight, a budding history buff may come away more confused.

    Amazing Hands-on History Activities for 14 Ancient Empires (free notebook cover too)

    However, the text pages by Home School in the Woods shaves off non-essential details for the elementary age child but builds appreciation by covering key events that are significant for each civilization.

    If you are a give-me-the-facts-only type of person, you will enjoy reading about each empire in the condensed text because you won’t come away feeling overwhelmed.

    Ancient Empires Study for Kids

    Beyond covering key events for each empire or covering significant inventions, the text unifies the past to the present.

    Your child comes away with a better understanding of the impact previous civilizations made in today’s world. Keeping it simple without being boring makes the text a nifty feature.

    However, if you already have a basic framework of history knowledge and want to explore beyond that foundation, you will enjoy the additional reading suggestions in each projects page and the extensive links found in the text which directs you to a website page at Home School in the Woods.

    Easily, you could spend a week on each empire.

    Amazing Hands-on History Activities for 14 Ancient Empires (free notebook cover too)

    Because the Great Empires Activity Study is about exploring, discovering and hands-on learning, you will find plenty of activities for each empire from making scones when learning about the English empire to making an Egyptian cartouche.

    Activities vary with each empire from learning about history through cooking, painting pottery like the Greeks and printing minibooks about famous people to Japanese kiragami.

    Amazing Hands-on History Activities for 14 Ancient Empires (free notebook cover too)

    You will not find cheesy analogies of history clip art in this product.

    All of the clip art, projects and pictures have amazing detail. If you are a non-artsy person you will enjoy assembling the easy to do projects because a lot of them are printable.

    You decide if you want to color or not.Here is what I find most appealing about this product:

    Hands-on History Projects

    • The scope of empires covered. If you have been lagging behind in covering history topics or are trying to follow the 4 year cycle used by a lot of homeschoolers and it is going slower than you would like to, using Great Empires Activity Study would be a useful tool if you want a bird’s-eye view.
    • It can be a stand-alone history curriculum. You have the option with additional reading material listed in the projects pages and links provided by Home School in the Woods to extend each empire. With the abundance of reading recommendations and because we love history, I personally would take two weeks to cover each empire if I were using this as a stand-alone curriculum. Doing one hands-on activity per week would not be overly time consuming and you could easily end up with a year’s worth of history.  What a bargain for the price and you are using it for all of your children.
    • Adding in an activity to enrich your reading. Then Great Empires Activity Study would be a nice fit.
    • Great Empires Activity Study allowed a lot of room for flexibility in our co-op setting because it allowed each family to focus on the topic that interested them.
    • History clip art matters to me because pictures are important in history. The fine detail and high quality pictures can be used for a timeline, history notebook or to add to a lapbook.
    • Many of the creative activities can be printed. They do not involve a lot of teacher supervision or tons of crafty artsy items on hand to do them.
    • The constant in all the empires is the beautiful teacher’s key map. Providing a key map for each empire is like having a mini geography curriculum as a bonus.
    If you’re wanting to breathe life into homeschool history, your kids will love these hands-on learning history activities for studying 14 Great Empires! CLICK HERE to look at these fun and engaging hands-on ideas!

    I feel that persons can vary tremendously on what each one thinks is a disadvantage in a product. I prefer using the word considerations because it gives you pause for thought to see if your circumstances fit that product.

    Ancient Empire History Projects

    Considerations for this product would be:

    Amazing Hands-on History Activities for 14 Ancient Empires (free notebook cover too)
    • There is not a lesson planning guide or checklist for each day’s activities. For some homeschoolers that may feel like freedom to explore and breathe but for others having a to-do checklist each day may feel a bit more secure.
    • Some of these activities are ones that history lovers may have already done. However, the product is aimed at elementary age..

    How to Get the Free History Notebook cover

    Now, how to grab the free printable. It’s a subscriber freebie.

    When you sign up to follow me, you get access to this freebie.

    1) Sign up on my email list.
    2) Grab the printable.
    3) Last, look for my emails in your inbox as a follower. Glad to have you.

    You know I have to organize most products I get and this one was no different. I have created a printable for you to use as cover page for your binder when covering these empires.Home School in the Woods is an excellent example of showing how history does not have to involve a textbook or always acquiring random uninteresting facts.

    With background information on each past civilization and several creative activities you won’t be disappointed with Great Empires Activity Study.

    Whether you are studying about the legends of Crete or are exploring the adventures of Captain John Smith, adding in hands-on history along with a huge dose of field trips and a history co-op or two is a sure way to making learning about the past meaningful.

    If you’re wanting to breathe life into homeschool history, your kids will love these hands-on learning history activities for studying 14 Great Empires! CLICK HERE to look at these fun and engaging hands-on ideas!

    You’ll also love these other helpful posts with activities:

    Botany Homeschool Curriculum Review of Botany in 8 Lessons Grades 4-8

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    This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

    Today I’m having a guest review a botany homeschool curriculum. I have more tips on my how to homeschool middle school page.

    When looking for a science curriculum, particularly a botany homeschool curriculum for middle school I wanted something that would put most of the responsibility into the students hands.

    Botany Homeschool Curriculum Review of Botany in 8 Lessons Grades 4-8

    But I didn’t it so challenging that it was frustrating.

    Like you, I am always searching for a just right curriculum.

    Although I favor the unschooling approach, I love unschooling or relaxed schooling with some structure to our schooling days.

    We do a combo of fully child led learning and some structured that is still child interest led.

    To do this I asked my son what science topic he wanted to learn about, and he chose botany.

    Next, I went through and picked out 4 or 5 various curriculums that I thought would be a good fit.

    And let him choose from reading the sample pages and directions on those and this was the botany homeschool curriculum that he chose Botany in 8 Lessons.

    Botany Homeschool Curriculum

    We had both the hard copy of the student text as well as the pdf for the teacher and student sections.

    I highly recommend getting the pdf and downloading just the pages you need if you are opting to just do level 1.

    I have to say we have both really enjoyed the curriculum. My son is 14 and would be considered a freshman in public school.

    He struggles with dyspraxia/dysgraphia, ADHD, Aspergers, Tourette’s, OCD, and anxiety. That’s a lot for a kid to deal with.

    I really liked that this was an open and go science curriculum which didn’t require a lot from me other than encouragement and some accountability.

    The fact that he could do most of it independently really helped his confidence also.

    I think this would still be a fun and still educational botany curriculum even for highschoolers.

    In addition, there are a few ways your student can cover Botany in 8 Lessons.

    If you assign lessons twice a week you finish in about 8 weeks,

    Or you can stretch it out and do Lesson 1, level one on the first week, and level two the next week, and so on. If you include extra activities like videos, work in the garden and field trips, you can get 16 weeks out of it.

    About Botany in 8 Lessons Grades 4-8

    We chose to do science twice a week, making each lesson cover two weeks. 

    So on week 1 he read a few pages from that lesson and chose 1-2 activities at the end of the level 1 to complete.

    The next week he would read level 2 and complete 1-2 of the suggested activities. 

    I loved that there were choices for the activities at the end of each lesson.

    Instead of just assigning one activity and telling your child to do it, there is flexibility.

    It made it less of a battle if I told him to pick an activity for one of the days he worked on science.

    And I chose one for the other ( to make sure he wasn’t always opting for the easy way out) , or you could assign all of them over the course of the week.

    You can see here in the first lesson there were 6 to choose from at the end of the lesson from completing a crossword  to computer research.

    Botany Homeschool Curriculum Review of Botany in 8 Lessons Grades 4-8

    I did sit with him through most of the first couple lessons.

    I could encourage him and make sure that he understood and was able to do the work independently.

    Botany Topics

    He chose to use his computer to look up Plant Cell Micrographs for the first activity.

    Botany Homeschool Curriculum Review of Botany in 8 Lessons Grades 4-8

    You can see all the topics covered over the 8 lessons here in the table of contents:

    Botany Homeschool Curriculum Review of Botany in 8 Lessons Grades 4-8

    And each lesson has 2 levels; the 8 topics covered are:

    1. Plant Cells and Photosynthesis
    2. Plant Classifications
    3. Non-vascular Plants
    4. The Vascular System
    5. Leaves and Trees
    6. Plant Reproduction
    7. Plant Adaptation
    8. Plant Diseases

    There are consumable pages in the back that make up the additional activities like lapbook.

    And a board game to put together and play.

    The hard copy has simple and colorful illustrations for each topic and gorgeous vintage botanical prints to look at for reference.

    Botany Course

    Additionally, there are pictures of botanists like Carl Linnaeus.

    He was the first define the system that created the basic biological taxonomy, identifying, classifying, and naming organisms which we still use today.

    Botany Homeschool Curriculum Review of Botany in 8 Lessons Grades 4-8

    The variety of activities makes it a multisensory curriculum and I love that for pretty much any of the learning styles.

    Botany Homeschool Curriculum Review of Botany in 8 Lessons Grades 4-8

    The author recommends that younger students or those with a limited interest in science just complete the level 1 activities.

    Moreover, older children or those who wish to dive deeper into botany should complete both levels.

    The activities in both sections are great additions to your learning time though.

    Botany Homeschool Curriculum Review of Botany in 8 Lessons Grades 4-8

    Finally,  the bibliography gives you some books including the ISBN to check out from the library or add to your own shelves.

    Here are two of my personal favorites that we used to add to the unit.

    First, add Botanicum.

    This is an oversized book with gorgeous vintage looking prints of everything from wildflowers, to mushrooms to trees and more.

    The series is geared towards younger than middle school, but I think this series is a fantastic picture reference book for older kids as well.

    Botany Homeschool Curriculum Review of Botany in 8 Lessons Grades 4-8

    Next, there is Nature Anatomy.

    This is a favorite reference of ours that we use for any kind of nature science study.

    There are a lot of illustrations and snippets of information on trees, leaves, flowers, mushrooms and ferns.

    Botany Homeschool Curriculum Review of Botany in 8 Lessons Grades 4-8

    The only other thing I added to the study was a digital microscope to look at specimens we gather as well as some prepared plant slides.

    We also used the app inaturalist which was fantastic for photographing and helping to identify plants in our yard via flowers, bark, and leaves.

    Botany Homeschool Curriculum Review of Botany in 8 Lessons Grades 4-8

    More Botany Resources

    Lewis and Clark Free Botany 1 and 2 Minibooks

    Botany Homeschool Curriculum Review of Botany in 8 Lessons Grades 4-8

    How to Purchase Botany in 8 Lesson

    ►Product Name: Botany in 8 Lessons
    ► Two Ways to purchase 1) Amazon in paperback 2) in Digital Downlaod
    ►Website: Ellen Mchenry Basement Workshop
    ►Grade Level: 4 to 8
    Note: This could be used for a high school if you add in more activities
    ►Type of product: These is a physical product or digital product.

    Online Homeschool High School Poetry (No Teaching Involved)

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    This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

    I have an awesome online homeschool high school poetry movie or class to tell you about. Also, look at my page How to Homeschool High School for more great tips and resources!

    When my boys entered the high school years I admit feeling intimidated to teach poetry. An online homeschool high school poetry class with no teaching involved sounded pretty good.

    Online Homeschool High School Poetry (No Teaching Involved)

    Besides fighting my sons’ perception that poetry is too emotional and for girls only, I struggled with the humdrum way I was taught poetry in high school.

    I was given this product for free. All opinions are my own and for sure I will always tell you what is on my mind. When I do accept a product it’s because I’m giddy to tell you about it. Read my full disclosure here. Now on to the fun!

    High School Poetry

    When I saw that Literary Adventures for Kids had an online homeschool high school Poetry & a Movie literature course, I couldn’t wait to get started on it with my third teen.

    Movies, an online self-paced course, and a hands-off approach to teaching the Poetry & a Movie literature course piqued my interest. My son not so much.

    However, by using this course I’m so tickled that I’ve been able to ignite my son’s interest in poetry.

    This course has easily become one of my favorites and must-haves for teaching high school teens poetry.

    Online Homeschool High School Poetry (No Teaching Involved). When I saw that Literary Adventures for Kids had an online homeschool high school Poetry & a Movie literature course, I couldn't wait to get started on it with my third teen. Click here for this fun high school course!

    Overview of Poetry & a Movie

    Let me back up first and give you a bird’s-eye view of this super course:

    • it’s self-paced and online
    • there is no physical product and my high school teen loved to pick up and go at his leisure
    • the literature course has 10 units
    • it is a study of the master poets and their poetry
    • it is a study of the poetic devices or literary elements
    • videos are scattered throughout
    • it has a grammar component
    • it’s designed to give your teen the broad strokes of literary elements so there is no overwhelm
    • you can purchase the books used in the course or borrow them from your local library
    • a movie suggestion is included for a unit end celebration
    • there is flexibility to use this course as a full high school credit, one-half of a language arts course, or enrichment

    Although studying literary elements is the foundation of poetry over prose, I couldn’t take that usual approach with my son. 

    Another roadblock of high school programs is that most use a textbook method.

    My son is an auditory learner.

    Online Literature Course for Homeschooled Teens

    You know my struggle through the years with him because taking notes doesn’t work well with him.

    I need to blend different styles of teaching to fit his need to learn in a way that appeals to him and make this course a challenge. 

    Taking information in through audio works extremely well.

    The Poetry and a Movie course uses an eclectic method of teaching by combining video, text, and real books. Win!

    Besides searching for courses that match his learning style, I had to overcome his perception that poetry is not manly.

    If you have boys you know what I mean. Challenge on.

    Online Homeschool High School Poetry (No Teaching Involved)

    Instead of picking up another boring textbook about literary devices and beginning there, the course begins with a series of videos about what is poetry.

    I won’t ruin the videos for your kids, but I heard a chuckle or two from my son.

    Poetry and Living Books for Teens

    Using the living book in the course that is suggested as a spine or frame for this course is what my son loved.

    Remember, a spine is normally a living book that is the foundation on which a course is built.

    That is another win for the course because real books should still be used in high school.

    Online Homeschool High School Poetry (No Teaching Involved)

    Now that I had my son hooked on the course, the next step was to choose a master poet that would help my son let go of his negative perception of poetry.

    Before I tell you what I did, it’s important for your teen to cover the master poets in order.

    If this is your middle or high school teen’s first introduction to the beauty of poetry, don’t skip ahead like I had to do.

    I was tickled to see Edgar Allan Poe listed as one of the master poets.

    We moved right to his poems first because my son needed to understand that poetry is not just about love; poetry is about real things in the world like cruelty, war, nature, despair, and friendship.

    Because the powerful words of Poe were the first ones that inspired me, I was almost sure his words would not make my teen yawn. It worked.

    Online Homeschool High School Poetry (No Teaching Involved). When I saw that Literary Adventures for Kids had an online homeschool high school Poetry & a Movie literature course, I couldn't wait to get started on it with my third teen. Click here for this fun high school course! #homeschool #homeschoolhighschool #poetry #onlinehomeschool #highschoolteens

    Next the unit moves on to helping your teen define literary devices by using video to teach them and giving examples.

    At this point, your teen will set up his poetry notebook.

    Online Homeschool High School Poetry (No Teaching Involved)

    Poetry, Literary Elements, and Trivia are the tabbed sections in the notebook.

    Teaching Teens about Literary Elements

    Guide your teen to help him set up the tabbed sections because they give your learner a way to break down learning into meaningful and fun parts.

    After all, learning poetry should have an organized approach so as to not miss one tiny detail.

    The teacher in me needs to be sure my son comes away from high school with a foundation in literature and appreciation for figurative language and not just analytical writing.

    The trivia section in the notebook helped my teen to see that poetry is lively, upbeat, and challenging.

    I mentioned before that this course uses many different teaching styles, but it equally incorporates different homeschool approaches.

    Online Homeschool High School Poetry (No Teaching Involved)

    The study of poetry is both a classical and Charlotte Mason feature.

    Charlotte Mason touts studying one artist or composer for a while.

    Studying one master poet thoroughly is the same approach in this course.

    Instead of quickly shifting focus, poetry requires lingering on words and digging deep for the intentions of wordplay by master poets.

    After my initial fast forwarding to a point in the course to hook my kid on poetry, we benefited from staying focused on one poet for a considerable length of time.

    Mastery is also a unit study feature and that was one huge benefit for us in this course.

    Living Books and Online Poetry Study

    Online Homeschool High School Poetry (No Teaching Involved)

    Having a culminating activity like watching a movie together or having teatime with your teen keeps it fun. 

    Of course I didn’t dare mention teatime to my boy, but popping some popcorn and lighting the fireplace before a movie made it memorable.

    Although the course is designed so that your teen can learn independently, don’t miss out by not reading the poems together. Poetry is supposed to be read out loud.

    Mentoring your teen doesn’t stop in high school.

    If you want him to appreciate figurative language and rhyme, then he needs to hear your voice.

    I enjoyed reading the poems out loud with my teen, but you don’t have to.

    Another benefit of the program is that he can read it along side the narrator on each video.

    I have to admit, my voice was no substitute for the narrator reading “The Tyger” by William Blake. Your teen will love listening closely as the poem is read to him.

    Although you can use the course for writing lessons, my goal was to use the time to kindle my son’s appreciation for poetry.

     5 More Things You Should Know About Poetry & a Movie

    One/  The specifics of the course are the introduction, the master poets which are Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Blake, Edgar Allan Poe, Walt Whitman, Lord Alfred Tennyson, Langston Hughes, William Wordsworth, William Butler Yeats, Dylan Thomas, and Robert Frost.

    The last section is a Final Project writing essays.

    Two/  You will need to determine beforehand how much credit you will assign to your teen.

    Of course this depends on how extensive you want to use this online language arts course.

    Third/ Each poet has been planned for a month-long study. Because I wanted to get the flavor of the course, we initially skipped around as I explained earlier.

    Now, my son prefers to cover one master poet in-depth.

    Four/ There is unlimited access to the course and I see this as a huge savings. 

    If you don’t know by now, curriculum for older kids is more expensive.

    We’re preparing teens for adulthood and curriculum shouldn’t just impart knowledge or rote facts; it should stir a teen’s mind to be included in the bigger picture of life after high school.

    Teaching a teen how to think using poetry as an analysis cements beautiful thoughts in our kid’s mind and reciting poetry is a memory aid to use into adulthood.

    You don’t want to miss covering poetry and it’s especially fun when there is no stress planning.

    In addition, this course can be used in a few different ways to get your money’s worth.

    The master poets and literary elements can be introduced in middle school.

    In high school, use the course again, but fold in the grammar and essay components for high school credit. It’s a two-fer.

    The best part is that you can use this with all of your younger kids. What a deal for a course that is prepped and ready to go.

    Five/ Literary Adventures for Kids is owned by a homeschooling family. 

    You know how much I prefer curriculum prepared by a homeschooling family because they get it when we need curriculum easy to teach and that appeals to a variety of learners. Another win for me.

    Poetry Study for Homeschool High School

    Poetry & a Movie may be a good fit for your family:

    • if your child needs multiple approaches to learning
    • if your child prefers using real books instead of a textbook
    • if you want to foster independence with your middle or high school teen, but want your child to have a framework to follow
    • if you fear teaching poetry and want to learn alongside your teen
    • if you prefer an online self-paced course over a physical product
    • if you need a course prepped and ready to go with minimal teacher planning

    Bottom Line: I’m extremely delighted with Poetry & a Movie and any apprehensions I had that my teen son may find poetry only a girl’s subjects has been put to rest. Hearing him repeat part of the poems he learned as he goes through his day is a proud mama moment.

    I am so pleased with this course and I just can’t think of anything that needs to be changed.

    I would highly recommend it if you have a teen that needs to learn outside the box, but don’t have time to prepare a unit study.

    Poetry & a Movie is a keeper in my home and I plan on going over it again both as a standalone course and to use as a review tool. 

    I look forward to seeing my son build on the foundational skills he learned in this poetry course. This has been a rewarding experience and has helped my son enjoy learning to write and read poetry!

    Thanks to Literary Adventures for Kids for this excellent product to serve the homeschool community!

    Go on over and give it a look see. I’ll know you love it as much as I do!

    How to Purchase It.

    Product Name: Literary Adventures for Kids – Poetry and a Movie

    Website: Literary Adventure for Kids/Hide the Chocolate
    Grade Level: 7th grade and up Note: There are products for your younger kids too.
    Type of product: These is an online course. No physical product will be shipped to you.

    Online Homeschool High School Poetry (No Teaching Involved). When I saw that Literary Adventures for Kids had an online homeschool high school Poetry & a Movie literature course, I couldn't wait to get started on it with my third teen. Click here for this fun high school course!

    Also, you’ll love these other helps for high school:

    Hugs and love ya,