Which Curricula Can You Trust for Your Homeschooling Classroom?

As we move into the spring/summer homeschooling convention season for 2009, it's important to start thinking about new curricula for the classroom.  But, which curricula can you trust?  Whom can you trust out of all of the peddlers of wares?  There's a lot out there: cheap, expensive, ineffective, ineffective for your child, effective for your child but boring, takes too much prep...and the list goes on and on.  There are many ways to rank, critique, and evaluate any curriculum package, but here are some great resources for you to consider when making your decisions:

Review Sites:

Check out these curriculum reviewing sites for lots of information all in one place, organized in a way that won't make you search forever:

• Homeschool Reviews
• Cathy Duffy Reviews
• VegSource: Homeschooling

Carried by a trusted name in homeschooling:

Sometimes, curriculum being carried by a trusted name is enough, because of their stringent guidelines, reviewing, and vetting processes.  Some of the most trusted names in homeschooling?

• Sonlight Curriculum
• The Old Schoolhouse
• Rainbow Resources
• Timberdoodle

Blogs (Or, straight from the horse's...erm...homeschoolers' mouths):

Homeschoolers LOVE to talk about the curriculum they use.  See what they're saying -- and writing -- about their curricula.  Most homeschoolers even list the curricula that they use on their blog's homepage.  If you are not already blogging, get going.  But, even if you're not ready to take the leap into blogging, you can at least take advantage of what OTHERS are saying on THEIR blogs.  

• Search the blogosphere with Google Blogsearch
• Get on the blogs that homeschoolers are using: Homeschoolblogger, Blogger (Blogspot), and Wordpress.
• Follow these blogs, aggregate their feeds, comment on posts, and send private messages. 
• While you're at it, get connected to other people (including homeschoolers and other educators) via the social networking sites: Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and LinkedIn.  

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