A photo of BookShark Homeschool Curriculum

BookShark Homeschool Curriculum

You chose to homeschool so you can have the family life you imagine—full of good books, interesting discussions, laughter, and inside jokes. You want a flexible lifestyle that lets you sleep to a reasonable hour, sneak in some me-time, and still have energy to get the kids to their clubs, rehearsals, and co-ops. 


BookShark’s 4-day, literature-rich curriculum allows for this lifestyle while giving your kids a top-notch education so they can accomplish their dreams. 


Use it as scheduled in the 36-week Instructor’s Guide, or do your own thing and skip around, enjoying the books and hands-on Science activities whenever and however you like! Learn more: download samples or request a catalog.

4 Ways to Raise a Reader

A shoe clad in a blue sneaker sits atop a stack of books

4 Ways to Raise a ReaderThere are many benefits of being a reader. Academically, children who are read to, and who love reading tend to have a higher vocabulary, better mental skills, and a longer attention span. Long term, being a reader decreases the chance of dementia, reduces stress, and enhances your analytical thinking skills.

What are some ways we can encourage reading in our children, so they can reap the rewards of being a reader? How do we raise a reader?

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Benefits of Book-Based Learning

open hardback books

Benefits of Book-Based Learning The weight of textbooks in our backpacks is often more memorable than the textbooks themselves. Not that they aren't chock full of information. On the other hand, books like the fiction and non-fiction literature that make up the BookShark curricula conjure up images, characters and narratives. Certain books are so meaningful and memorable that when recalling their stories, the characters feel more like real people who you knew in your life than constructed characters from lines of text.

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Experience Ancient Greece with These 7 Videos

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Experience Ancient Greece with These 7 VideosOnce you complete your study of Ancient Egypt and move on to Ancient Greece, this list of video supplements will come in handy. Add a video or two each week to appeal to visual learners and to enrich your study of ancient history with BookShark Level G for ages 11-13. Some videos may also be appropriate for students using our younger World History Program—BookShark Level B for ages 6-8.

Don't worry about matching the videos perfectly with your history readings. It's okay if your children see something in a video first and then read about it a few days or even weeks later.

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How to Inspire Awe in Your Homeschool (And Why You Need It)

inspired homeschool

After parents have been homeschooling for several years, the routine of lesson plans, read-alouds, and record keeping can start to feel monotonous. Even parents who embarked upon homeschooling with loads of enthusiasm may start to view their family’s learning lifestyle as commonplace.

While settling into a homeschooling routine can be a good thing, losing joy in teaching children at home is not.

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The Great Homeschool Pajama Debate

a girl wearing pajamas works on a tablet

It’s nearing noon. The four of us are strewn around the house reading books, building LEGO models, watching documentaries, or cooking up some kitchen science. Occasionally someone pipes up to ask a question like "How are sound waves and light waves different?" or "What happened at Waterloo?" or "Why do American still use cups when the rest of the world uses liters?"

More often than not, these days include one common ingredient: pajamas.

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How Dandelions Helped Me Choose to Homeschool: An Interview with Tanya

a dandelion

How Dandelions Helped Me Choose to Homeschool: An Interview with TanyaMeet Tanya, a mom to three kids ages 7, 4, and 2. She educates her son at home using BookShark Level 1. We had the opportunity to chat with Tanya and find out why she homeschools and why she loves using BookShark with her active seven-year-old boy who loves history and language arts. Plus Tanya shares some tips for getting started with a new BookShark package, dealing with overwhelm, and book storage.

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Teaching Math When You’re Not a Math Whiz (& When You Are)

a teen works with a ruler and pencil in a notebook

I could see the tears welling up in my eight year old’s eyes. We were on day three of trying to learn subtraction with borrowing, and we were getting nowhere fast. My frustration was boiling over, and his desire to learn was nonexistent by this point. We had reached a stalemate, and I had no clue to the next step.

Teaching kids brings its own challenges, but the most challenging aspect is when you have a learning mismatch.

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Homeschool Impostor Syndrome: Six Tips to Regain Your Confidence

a woman wearing a green v-neck shirt covers her head with a cardboard box on which is drawn a distressed face

During the school year, homeschoolers in public stick out like a sore thumb. We’re the only ones in the warehouse club, leading small, elementary-age armies through a minefield of produce. We’re the only ones in the cookie aisle, encouraging mussy-haired moppets to determine ratios of cost to value.We’re the only ones in the library fielding questions from second graders about the breeding habits of aquatic mammals.

It’s like wearing a target on your back: “Homeschoolers, eh? And what are we learning about today, children?”

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BookShark Assignment Rehearsed on Broadway Stage

Every homeschool family is unique, with its own reasons for homeschooling. This post introduces you to one BookShark family who has been using our programs for three years so far. Iain is a theater enthusiast in the second grade. We spoke to his mom Lee about her choice to educate at home and how BookShark suits their lifestyle.

Why did you choose to homeschool?

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4 Uncomfortable Feelings That Mean You Are Doing a Good Job as a Homeschool Mom

mom stands in front of a red background with a negative smirk on her face

4 Uncomfortable Feelings That Mean You Are Doing a Good Job as a Homeschool MomHomeschooling is full of challenges from choosing curriculum to managing multiple lesson plans for different ages. But one of the biggest obstacles for many homeschool moms is dealing with negative feelings about their choices. There’s reason to take heart, though. Feeling self-doubt as a homeschooler can actually be a good sign. Here are four uncomfortable feelings that mean you are actually doing a fantastic job as a homeschool mom.

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