Some of our favorite curriculum

I recently had a friend ask what some of our favorite curriculum has been.  She is starting a folder for future ideas.  So I thought I'd share with her and you at the same time!

• Explode the Code - these books are great for teaching phonics.  They are also inexpensive!
• Apologia-  My oldest daughter has used Apologia since 7th grade and although challenging,  it is very thorough and well-planned.  We love the creation view and how evolution is also presented as a theory.
• Considering God's Creation-  I used this book over a 2 year period with Samuel and SarahAnne.  It is across between lapbooks and unit studies.  They enjoyed it.  We stretched it out to cover some topics more in depth.
• My Father's World-  Although we are still new at using this curriculum, I must say I do like it a lot already.  We are using Exploring Countries and Cultures and have already gained so much geography knowledge.  We also like having the Bible all planned out and the mission emphasis.
• Latina Christiana-  Emily has used this for a couple of years now and has really loved this.  It is below her grade level, but she had no prior Latin.  She has pretty much done this independently.  She will soon progress to the next level and wants to add Greek.  So it must have been inspiring as well.
• Wordly Wise-  Emily only used this one year, but I really liked the vocabulary building!
• Teaching Textbooks-  Again, another new one to us this year.  Emily is using the Geometry curriculum and is really liking it.  She is again pretty independent at this.
• Notgrass History- This is another new one for us this year.  We examined this at the Mid-West  Homeschool Convention and we were impressed right away.  Excellent!  This is very well researched and  written.  It also includes English and Bible credits as well as world history.
• All About Spelling-  We are using this one also for the first time.  We have a struggling speller and  I can already see some progress!  I pray this continues.  I have high hope for this based on reviews.
• Library-  We have such a big personal pile of books (Don't we all?)  that we use for school.  We also scour the public library for books, cds, dvds.  Some libraries have teacher kits that you can check out with tons of books and resources.  (We used one in the spring on the human body with skeletons that worked like a puzzle.)
• Usborne books.  Great quality books.  We also like DK books.

I have used Abeka, Bob Jones, Math U See, and many other curriculum.  I am probably leaving out some that I really liked.  (There are so many!!)  I choose not to speak badly about the ones I did not like.  They just didn't work for us, but may for some!  I am sure that our list will continue to change.  This is one of the perks of homeschooling, our kids are not bound to continue with something that does not work for them.

Some great Homeschool Websites:

• 
  
  The Homeschool Lounge-I can not tell you how I love this place.  If you have a question, a concern, a prayer request or just need to talk with another mom, then this is the place! 
• Homeschool Share- tons of resources from other homeschool moms that share!  Unit studies, lapbooks, etc.
• Free Homeschooling 101-  nice site that list all kinds of free websites.
• Spelling City- my kids love to play these games with their spelling words.  It is FREE!
• Star Fall- great phonics games for little ones.  FREE.

Again, this list is not complete.  I have lots more on my favorites file.  These are just a few.  Maybe some will be new to you!  Do you have any sites that you love too?