You Asked: My son is 9, in third grade and will begin homeschooling after Christmas. What advice would you give as we make such a transition half-way through the school year? It seems excessive to buy all new curriculum for a year that is half-way over but I'm not sure what else to do. Our Answer: This is such a good question. The problem is that with a tangible (books and workbooks) kind of program, there is no easy way to send you half. There are a few solutions, but none are particularly elegant: 1. Post out to used curriculum...

Are you new to Timberdoodle and wondering where to start? Here are some placement tests and guides that might be helpful to you.   Comprehensive Placement Tests For Young Children Early Education Placement Test All About Reading Pre-Reading Readiness Checklist For Elementary Grades We are currently in the process of developing comprehensive placement tests for the elementary grade levels. While these are still in the beta phase you are welcome to try them out. Or if you need placement guidance for a specific subject, please select the appropriate test below. Grades K-2 Placement Test (beta version) Grades 3-5 Placement Test...

We've been asked why we use Spelling You See in our curriculum kits instead of All About Spelling. We actually like both programs and offer All About Spelling as an option if you'd prefer. However, we default to Spelling You See in our kits. One of the biggest reasons for that is that Spelling You See is about the easiest spelling program to teach. You simply open the books, work with your student for 10 minutes, and you're done for the day. We also love the chunking by color technique (Circle all "Bossy R" Chunks in purple: ar er ir...

This is a common question about our Timberdoodle Curriculum Kits so for those of you who have wondered but not asked yet, here is our answer! Accreditation is really a term used for regulating schools instructing students, rather than the curriculum itself. So if we were overseeing the education of your children, checking their grades, etc. then we could pursue accreditation. However, Timberdoodle is not a school, but rather a curriculum supplier so we are not eligible to become accredited. To put it another way, your local school district is accredited, but not their textbooks. What most people mean when...

AMANDA ASKED: Do you think homeschooling a five-year-old is a better decision than public school? JOY’S ANSWER: You know, this is a harder question to answer than you might expect that it would be for a company making a living selling home education materials. The short answer is yes, but I’d like to give you more than a quick answer. Both of my parents come from families who valued education, and I have many teachers in the family. One of my grandfathers was a long-time teacher, coach, principal… and since he lived next door while I was growing up, I have...