This is the second article in my Homeschooling 101 series. If you missed the first post on Finding Your Why, be sure to read it here. Today we are tackling one of biggest hurdles – finding the best curriculum for your family.
I was a few years into homeschooling the first time I went to a homeschool convention. As I walked into the convention hall where the curriculum displays were set up, my feet stopped, as if they were glued to the floor. The room stretched the length of two football fields, with wall to wall displays of glossy, color splashed banners promoting curriculums of every shape and size: grammar, spelling, math (lots and lots of math), art, science, history, worldview, Latin, manners, computer coding. You name it, they had it. Whether shopping online or at a convention, the sheer volume of choices can be overwhelming, even for a veteran homeschooler. You can quickly be guilted with thoughts like, “Oh everyone should learn Latin?” or “A well rounded child must have instruction in fine art.” Or you may simply just not know where to start. Curriculum shopping is not unlike any other type of shopping in that doing a little research and making a list before you go into the store will make a huge difference. Here are four steps to help make the curriculum search a little more manageable, plus save you a lot of time and money.
- Understand Your Child’s Learning Style and Your Teaching Style
Understanding how your child learns best is an important step in choosing what curriculum would work best for them. However, often when considering curriculum, parents only consider their student’s learning style and not their own. The first homeschooling resource recommended to me was Cathy Duffy’s 102 Top Picks of Homeschool Curriculum. (I highly recommend her resources as a more thorough look at this topic.) In the first section of the book, Duffy lays out the importance of taking a balanced approach, giving equal weight to your child’s learning style and to your teaching style. You have to factor both in because it is shared effort that you both need to be comfortable with.
For example, math manipulatives do not make sense to me. I totally understand they are helpful for some kids, but for my brain, they are more confusing than just working the facts on paper. A booth at a curriculum fair could sway me to purchase a math program that is “proven to help kids succeed at math” but if it is not the way my brain works, it shouldn’t be my first choice. But if my child has struggled with traditional workbook-based math, a new approach could make learning easier, lightening everyone’s load.
2. Consider Your Homeschooling Approach
You don’t have to get too deep into the weeds on this topic, especially if you are only considering homeschooling for a brief season, but it is something that you have to consider in order to narrow the scope of your search. Some popular approaches to homeschooling are: Charlotte Mason, Classical, Unit Based Studies, Unschooled, and Traditional. (Read more about each one here or here.) Ask yourself, “What do I want school to look like?” Do you want to buy an all-in-one option where you simply follow the prompts, or do you want to piece together your own choices for different subjects? Do you want to dive into one topic and build lessons around that topic or do you want to use textbooks to give a wider, but briefer, overview of the subject? Do you want to learn primarily through exploration and nature walks, or do you want your kids gathered around the table with a textbook and workbook for every subject? Do you want the approach to be more language based or technology based? Knowing what general approach you want to take will narrow the choices into a more manageable lot.
When I first began homeschooling, I exclusive used a more traditional approach. I wanted school at home to look like school. The longer I’m in it however, the more I have come to appreciate that school doesn’t always have to look like school. While there is not right or wrong approach, don’t be afraid to think outside the box and customize an education that suits both you and your child.
3. Research and Ask Questions…But Not Too Much or Too Many
There is a balance when diving into the curriculum waters. You need to know what you are looking for and have a basic understand of what is offered, but do not feel pressured to do an exhaustive search. Sometimes research is a black hole that sucks us in to a never-ending spiral of searching for the perfect choice. Spoiler alert – there is no perfect choice. At the end of the day, school is about learning. You can do that with any curriculum or with no curriculum at all. You are simply looking for the best framework for you and your child. There is no curriculum that you or your child will love every day. If you child hates math, you may find an approach that bring joy to the subject or you may just find something they hate a little less than what they used before.
Another important tool in the search is asking questions. Veteran homeschooling families have a wealth of information to share about what has and has not worked for them in the past. However, take every recommendation or critique with perspective. Someone with an unschooling approach may hate Abeka Language Arts or Math, but someone with a more traditional approach may love it. Our family enjoys Tapestry of Grace, but if you hate history, it may not be the best fit for you.
4. Keep it Simple
If you are new to homeschooling or if you children are younger elementary school or below, my biggest piece of advice is to keep it simple. Focus primarily on reading and some math. You kids would be far better off with a calm, organized mom, a few subjects and plenty of time for reading, than a frazzled mom trying to juggle a million things and not executing anything well. The battle to keep it simple is won and lost when shopping for curriculum, like the battle to eat healthy starts in the grocery store. Keep your focus very narrow when it comes to curriculum shopping. That day I walked into the vast jungle of the convention floor, the thing that saved me was my list. I knew what I needed to buy before I walked in. If I would have thought, “What fun things could we try?” I could have walked out with enough books to furnish a small school!
In the early years, subjects like science and history can easily be tackled with a trip to the library. Pick a topic (weather, plants, electricity or astronomy) or a time period (Ancient Egypt, The Middle Ages, or The Revolutionary War) and read the books with your kids. They can draw a picture or journal about what they have learned. The early years of education are all about exposure and exploration, not mastery. Teach them to read, teach them some math and get a stack of books, having them read to you and you to read to them and they will be well on their way to a great education.
5. Resist the Urge to Curriculum Hop
A lot of time and money can be spent researching and buying curriculum. I would encourage you to resist the urge to jump from one curriculum to another. Just pick something and stick with it until you have a pressing need for change. There are certainly times for adjustments and a fresh approach and one of the beauties of homeschooling is the flexibility to customize your child’s education. However, I believe most curriculum jumping is more about the mom’s enthusiasm than the child’s needs. Resist the urge to change out of boredom. As I said before, at the end of the day school is school and there is no perfect curriculum. Before buying something new, consider if small adjustments can be made to what you already. Skip the lapbooks or only do the odd/even problem in the math book. Sometimes a new curriculum can be exactly what is best for your child, but sometimes it just brings a new set of challenges. You will save a lot of money and space on your bookshelves, plus not have a mound of curriculum to get rid or sell one day, if you resist the urge and only buy what you really need!
With curriculum choices that are a good fit for you and your child, you will be well on your way to a successful year.
Next time we will look at the nuts and bolts of setting a daily routine that will be both consistent and flexible. See you then!
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