Get all your questions about helping your homeschooled student apply and get accepted to college answered with this resource. It discusses transcripts, diplomas, education choices, online colleges, and more. If you are worried about whether your homeschooled student can have a successful college search, then this book will help allay those fears and offers good support and information. 

Homeschool Test Service, a service of Rainier Christian Schools and Rainier Christian High School, provides the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT) to homeschoolers in Washington state.

Mater Amabilis is a free online homeschool curriculum, which takes the methods of Charlotte Mason and applies them for the 21st century Catholic family. Offering a detailed and flexible syllabus for each age level, Mater Amabilis can be used as a complete curriculum or simply as a springboard for learning. This online teacher training forum provides support in implementing the methods of Charlotte Mason and tips for adapting these methods to today's family.

LEARN is an inclusive non-profit homeschool support group in the South Puget Sound region of Washington State. While most LEARN members live in Thurston County, they also have members in Pierce, Mason, Grays Harbor, and Lewis Counties. Its purpose is to offer member families quality opportunities to augment their own educational efforts on a cooperative basis. LEARN offers field trips, a newsletter, shared (co-op) activities, mom's meetings, used curriculum sales, and more.

Discussion for parents and/or educators in the Pacific Northwest (and points beyond) interested in the educational methods and philosophies of Charlotte Mason, a British educator from the late 1800's. Most of the list members are in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and British Columbia, but there are others from across the USA, Canada and around the globe.

Turning Point Ministries Homeschool Co-op exists to partner with parents by providing an alternative atmosphere for Christ-centered growth. Emphasis is placed on developing excellence in character, academics, and relationships.

The Western Region Unschoolers is a group for unschoolers who live in the Western U.S. covering: Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and California. This is a forum to announce and organize conferences, travel, camping, and other places to get together.

This group is a networking resource for homeschoolers in the Kitsap County, WA area who are using the Charlotte Mason method.

Family Learning Organization is intended to advocate for home-based education, to facilitate the encouragement of homeschooling families, to help preserve the freedom of parents to educate their children, and to serve as a means of communication and networking. Through the organization, homeschooling families can network with other more experienced parents. They also offer educational assessment and testing services.

The Homeschool Resource offers a listing of testing resources for Lewis and Thurston Counties, Washington.

Parents providing home-based instruction for their children may use any standardized achievement test that has been evaluated by Buros Institute of Mental Measurements, the test evaluation organization recognized by the State Board of Education under WAC 180-52-070. Testing is one of two options for meeting the statutory annual assessment requirement: [See RCW 28A.200.010(3)]. The tests listed on this site are examples of the kinds of tests parents may use. Provided by the Washington State Board...

Lewis County Learning Center, is a branch of a state approved private school Academy Northwest/Family Academy. They also offer additional services including, Educational Consulting, Academic Advising, Achievement Testing, Non-Test Assessments, Learning Style Analysis, Parent Qualifying Classes and Junior High and Senior High Learning Centers.

Are my homeschooled kids required to take the WASL? This article answers all your questions regarding testing and homeschooling in the state of Washington.

This group is for families who are educating their children in the style of Charlotte Mason. This is a group based in Snohomish County, Washington.

CRU92's purpose is to provide a forum for unschoolers in the Tri-Cities area of Washington state to find and meet each other, and to share information, support and inspiration about unschooling. Ideas shared here will be discussed in order to help members gain a better understanding of unschooling.

Children at Play is an insightful exploration into the world of children's play and its tremendous significance in the shaping of each child's humanity. A mother and proponent of Rudolf Steiner's Waldorf system of education, author Heidi Britz-Crecelius offers practical suggestions and an up-to-date list of resources for today's families.

For the first time, Basic Montessori opens the celebrated philosophy and method to a more general public. David Gettman has devised a clear and modern explanation of Montessori's revolutionary ideas about early intellectual development, and provides a step-by-step guide to the Montessori learning activities most commonly used with under-fives. These include activities for introducing reading and writing, counting and decimal concepts, science, and geography, as well as activities that help develop the child's practical and sensorial skills.

Tomorrow's Child magazine offers insights and information that helps parents to feel confident that Montessori will prepare their children for the real world. It will help you understand and appreciate Montessori and apply it in your home.

Grades 1-5. Tub of over 500 manipulatives includes Pattern Blocks, Connecting People, Cuisenaire Rods, Coins, and Bean Counters and can be used with the Flip Over Math Books. This 49 page book (others sold separately) is written to NCTM Standards and provide hands on activities from basic math skills to advanced problem solving.

Grades 2-5. Idea Book designed for use with Cuisenaire Rods.

Maria Montessori went beyond the conventions of the day to seek a new way of knowing and loving a child. In THE DISCOVERY OF THE CHILD, she describes the nature of the child and her method of working more fully with the child's urge to learn. With 16 pages of photographs.

Nothing beats seeking the voice of experience if you want to join the estimated 1 to 3 million parents who teach their children at home. Here's a guide that comes direct from the experts: a mother of two homeschooled, now-grown children and 83 homeschooling families she surveyed. Their stories make reading this starter kit on teaching ages 3 to 7 worthwhile. For those ready to take on what author Linda Dobson calls "a natural extension of being a good parent," the manual provides at-a-glance boxes of insightful anecdotes called "How We Did It," as well as lists at the end of each chapter of helpful books, magazines, Web sites, software, and computer message boards that connect homeschooling households. The straightforward writing covers the basics on reading, writing, and math; different teaching approaches; organizing a curriculum; even how to deal with skeptical relatives and spouses. There are no specifics on each states' homeschooling requirements, which vary widely. But as a primer for parents starting out, the book serves as a confidence builder and an inspiring how-to guide. --Jodi Mailander Farrell

Hands on unit studies on a variety of subjects, including science, life skills, arts and crafts, and animals and insects. Also offers free mini units available for download.

Learning Language Arts Through Literature is a fully integrated language arts program that teaches grammar, reading, spelling, vocabulary, writing mechanics, creative writing, thinking skills and more.

Maria Montessori describes the child with warmth and the exactness of a scientist. She also discusses the array of materials and techniques needed to release his learning potential.

Waldorf Education finds itself catapulted from its humble beginnings 80 years ago into the midst of the central educational and social issues of this decade.

What draws parents and educators toward Waldorf Education today? "Waldorf Education - A Family Guide" offers a "first look" for parents and educators into the history, philosophy, curriculum, and traditions of this unique education. This comprehensive book is a collection of articles describing the world of Waldorf Education - the fastest growing independent school movement in the world.

Montessori International is the magazine for all parents and teachers. Montessori International magazine is a high quality colour education magazine with a Montessori focus and a truly child-centred approach. The magazine is for Montessori parents, nursery owners, teachers, and students with an interest in Montessori education.

Fun and Effective Home Learning Activities for Every Subject
As a homeschooling parent, you're always looking for new and creative ways to teach your child the basics. Look no longer! Inside this innovative helper, you'll find kid-tested and parent-approved techniques for learning math, science, writing, history, manners, and more that you can easily adapt to your family's homeschooling needs. And even if you don't homeschool, you'll find this book a great teaching tool outside the classroom. You'll discover fun and educational activities for kids ages 3 to 12, including how to:
·Create maps based on favorite stories, such as Treasure Island or The Wizard of Oz
·Make letters out of French fries as an alphabet learning aid
·Explore architecture by building igloos, castles, and bridges with sugar cubes and icing
·Review spelling words by writing them on the sidewalk with chalk
·And many more!
This comprehensive collection of tried-and-true—and generally inexpensive—ideas provides the best-of-the-best homeschooling activities that can be done anywhere, anytime, and by anyone.

Grades K-4. Each 120 page book contains worksheets and has selected activities that cover the major math standards. Each page outlines the grade level, materials needed, settings, learning experiences, and are based on NCTM Standards.

This set of 10 simply designed colorful wooden blocks and pattern boards includes 100 blocks in six different shapes and colors. They help develop shape recognition and spatial relationship skills. The contents store neatly in a durable wooden case. This games was awarded the Scholastic Parent & Child's 2004 "Top 22 Toys that Make Kids Think" award.

We all want the best possible starts in life for our children, and one of the best possible starts in life, educationally, is the "method" pioneered by Maria Montessori and taught successfully today throughout the world.

Now, Lesley Britton, the leading Montessori practitioner in England for more than twenty years, will show parents how to bring Montessori home. If you would like to facilitate the development of your child's unique personality, make it possible for him to develop to his full intellectual capacity, and help him become socially and emotionally well adjusted, then this is the book for you.

Montessori Play and Learn is packed with ideas, activities, and games that can fit into your normal routine and help supplement preschool learning for your child. For planning your home, introducing your child to the supermarket or the neighborhood, and helping him discover other people and cultures, this book provides valuable tips and insights that help parents and children grow and learn together.
-- Create hundreds of learning opportunities from everyday life
-- Learn dozens of games and activities to help prepare children for mathematics, reading, science, and writing
-- Make your home environment as stimulating for your child as the best Montessori preschool.

A Reason For® Spelling combines the latest research on how children learn to spell with all the strengths of traditional programs. It teaches highfrequency base words, plus hundreds of other word forms. Values-based stories set the theme each week and help make spelling fun. You'll find product information about A Reason For® Spelling here.

John Holt looks at the role that schooling in society plays in education.

Each book in the Learning Adventures series covers skills and concepts for grades 4-8, with a history-based approach. Each contains a year's worth of lesson plans in a daily format. All subjects except math are covered.

Phonics Pathways begins with short-vowel sounds, slowly progressing to whole words, phrases, and sentences of gradually increasing complexity. Special teaching tips, extensive examples, and 100% decodable practice readings reinforce each lesson. Contains all spelling rules with a spelling index, spelling charts, spelling short-cuts, diacritical markings, and a wealth of inspirational proverbs. The new 9th edition of Phonics Pathways features many new enhancements including a wealth of reproducible games, a step-by-step spelling guide, teacher/student record sheets, a Dewey-the-Bookworm Bookmark and a new carefully-researched appendix detailing how Phonics Pathways aligns with most State Standards. Supplements to this program include The Train Game (to teach letter sounds), WordWorks (a set of cards used to reinforce phonics reading skills), and Blendit! (a set of eleven board games that reinforces knowledge of specific begining spelling patterns). For product information on Phonics Pathways, click here or visit their website.

This is the historic text (originally called the Blue-Backed Speller) that has been updated to teach phonics/beginning reading. The blends and words in this reader are arranged to correlate with the sequence in which the special phonics sounds are taught. This reader is an invaluable teaching tool for children who need extra practice in the application of phonics rules. Find out more here.

English from the Roots Up explores the Latin and Greek roots of words. Many people haven't realized how valuable the Latin and Greek vocabulary is in the formulation of the finely structured English vocabulary of today. Even learning a few Latin and Greek root words gets you hooked and you want to learn more. Why? Because you can move from "what words mean" to "why words mean"&mdashin short, a thinking vocabulary. You'll find product information here.

This book series by Susan Wise Bauer is another that is best enjoyed as a read aloud rather than seen as a history textbook. It is full of engaging stories, mixing facts and historical legends. The companion study guides offer questions, narration exercises, activities, crafts, and reproducible pages. There are also lists for each chapter of supplemental books that are easily found at your local library.

Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, Volume 1: Ancient Times (From the Earliest Nomads to the Last Roman Emperor)

• The Story of the World, Volume 1: Ancient Times
• Activity Book One: Ancient Times
• The Story of the World, Volume 1: Ancient Times Audiobook CD, read by Barbara Alan Johnson

Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, Volume 2: The Middle Ages (From the From the Fall of Rome to the Rise of the Renaissance)

• The Story of the World, Volume 2: The Middle Ages
• Activity Book Two: The Middle Ages
• The Story of the World, Volume 2: The Middle Ages Audiobook CD, read by Barbara Alan Johnson

Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, Volume 3: Early Modern Times (From Elizabeth the First to the Forty-Niners)

• The Story of the World, Volume 3: Early Modern Times
• Activity Book Three: Early Modern Times
• Story of the World, Volume 3: Early Modern Times Audiobook CD, read by Jim Weiss

Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, Volume 4: The Modern Age (From Victoria's Empire to the End of the USSR)

• The Story of the World, Volume 4: The Modern Age:
• Activity Book Four: The Modern Age

Reading Made Easy is a phonics-based program, featuring 108 easy lessons, designed to be taught in less than 30 minutes per day. It is fully scripted and has original Christian content and stories. Includes hands-on writing and drawing activities. Reading Made Easy can be purchased here.

Progeny Press study guides include vocabulary exercises, comprehension, analysis, and application questions, introduction of literary terms, background information, discussion of related Biblical themes, suggestions for activities related to the reading, a complete answer key, and more. These are some of the titles available (grade range is in parentheses):

• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (9-12)
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (6-8)
• Amos Fortune, Free Man (5-7)
• Anne of Green Gables (5-8)
• Bears on Hemlock Mountain (1-3)
• The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (4-6)
• The Bridge (4-6)
• Bridge to Terabithia (6-8)
• The Bronze Bow (6-8)
• Carry On, Mr. Bowditch (9-12)5-7
• Charlotte's Web (4-6)
• A Christmas Carol (8-12)
• Clipper Ship (1-3)
• The Courage of Sarah Noble (1-3)
• The Cricket in Times Square (4-6)
• Crown and Jewel (4-6)
• A Day No Pigs Would Die (9-12)
• The Door in the Wall (4-6)
• The Drinking Gourd (1-3)
• Farmer Boy (4-6)
• The Fellowship of the Ring (9-12)
• Frankenstein (10-12)
• Frog and Toad Together (K-2)
• The Giver (7-9)
• The Great Gatsby (9-12)
• Hamlet (9-12)
• Heart of Darkness (9-12)
• Henry & Mudge in Puddle Trouble (K-1)
• The Hiding Place (6-8)
• The Hobbit (8-12)
• Holes (5-8)
• The Indian in the Cupboard (5-7)
• In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson (4-6)
• Introduction to Poetry: Forms and Elements (8-12)
• Island of the Blue Dolphins (5-7)
• Jane Eyre (9-12)
• Johnny Termain (6-8)
• The Josefina Story Quilt (1-3)
• Julius Caesar (9-12)
• Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie (1-3)
• The Lion, Witch & Wardrobe (4-7)
• Little House in the Big Woods (4-6)
• Little House on the Prairie (4-6)
• The Long Way to a New Land (1-3)
• The Long Way Westward (1-3)
• The Lord of the Flies (11-12)
• Macbeth (9-12)
• The Magician's Nephew (5-7)
• Maniac Magee (6-8)
• The Merchant of Venice (9-12)
• The Minstrel in the Tower (2-4)
• Miss Rumphius (1-3)
• Mr. Popper's Penguins (3-5)
• New Coat for Anna (1-3)
• Number the Stars (5-7)
• The Old Man and the Sea (9-12)
• Oscar Otter (K-1)
• Out of the Dust (7-9)
• Out of the Silent Planet (9-12)
• Ox-Cart Man (1-3)
• Perelandra (9-12)
• Prince Caspian (5-7)
• The Red Badge of Courage (9-12)
• Redwall (5-9)
• The Return of the King (9-12)
• Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (6-8)
• Romeo and Juliet (9-12)
• Sam the Minuteman (1-3)
• Sarah, Plain and Tall (4-6)
• The Scarlet Letter (9-12)
• The Screwtape Letters (9-12)
• The Secret Garden (6-8)
• Shiloh (5-7)
• The Sign of the Beaver (5-7)
• Stone Fox (3-5)
• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (8-12)
• The Swiss Family Robinson (7-9)
• A Tale of Two Cities (9-12)
• To Kill a Mockingbird (9-12)
• Tuck Everlasting (6-8)
• The Two Collars (4-6)
• The Two Towers (9-12)
• Wagon Wheels (1-3)
• Where the Red Fern Grows (5-7)
• The Whipping Boy (3-5)
• The Witch of Blackbird Pond (5-7)
• A Wrinkle in Time (5-8)
• The Yearling (9-12)

Create! Press carries creative approaches to teaching creative writing and composition. Their products include the Create-A-Story game, Writing Adventures, Stepping Stones, and more.

The teen years are when many homeschooling parents start to question or abandon their efforts. It's a precarious time, with challenging academics, pressing social issues, and the prospect of college looming. Parents can now breathe easy: this guide calms the teen-time jitters and even offers hope to those just turning to homeschooling now that their child is about to enter high school. With brief "how we did it" testimonies from other parents sprinkled throughout the book, author Cafi Cohen offers sage advice with the turn of every page. A columnist for Home Education Magazine and Homeschooling Today, two of the most respected periodicals on the subject, Cohen has also homeschooled her two children into college. To comfort doubters, she begins with 10 reasons for homeschooling your teenager (work experience, limited peer pressure, and family togetherness, among them). She goes on to devote long chapters to traditional subjects such as math and history, and even gets to those you might not have considered, like driver education. Her suggestions for parents new to homeschooling: decompress slowly, study only one subject a month at first, and read at least one book on learning styles. This approach will save much time and reduce those trial-and-error episodes.

The guide is neatly packaged and easy to read in the same style of its sister publications, Homeschooling: The Early Years and Homeschooling: The Middle Years. A large collection of lists and quick tips offer everything from the top 10 books for teens and the most popular math programs to money-saver suggestions such as joining a local college's foreign-language club and asking for discarded equipment from local schools. The last chapter contains two college application essays written by teenage homeschoolers. It also provides reassuring information about diplomas. Many universities follow Harvard's policy of not requiring a diploma, but if you or your homeschooling support group do issue one, your teenager can answer "yes" to the diploma question on most job applications--a fact sure to illicit a collective sigh of relief from thousands of parents who homeschool their teens. --Jodi Mailander Farrell

Veritas Press offers a history based classical curriculum for kindergarten through twelfth grades.

Diana Waring--History Alive! produces books, tapes, videos, and history curriculum for the homeschool market.

Happy Phonics uses games to teach early reading skills. Simple yet entertaining and educational, these phonics games are printed on colorful, sturdy cardstock ready to cut out. Included is a mother-friendly guidebook which contains details on how to teach phonics and reading, how to pronounce and teach the phonics sounds, how to make your own simple beginning readers, and step-by-step teaching information for each phonics sound. Happy Phonics covers beginning to advanced phonics.