Welcome back to our So, You Want to Homeschool Series! Today, we’re tackling the topic of picking a homeschool curriculum.
Specifically, we’re going to explore how to pick the “right” homeschool curriculum. I also want to tackle what to do when you’ve picked the “wrong” curriculum.
If you’ve ever gone to a homeschooling conference and walked into a vendor hall, you may have felt like hyperventilating. There are so.many.choices. Or maybe you’ve never been inside a vendor hall, but you have done some research and feel your head spinning.
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Picking the “Right” Homeschool Curriculum
1. Know your child’s learning style. For example, if you know your child is very hands-on and movement oriented, it’s important to pick something that can work with your child’s bent instead of against it. This will save you and your child tons of frustration!
2. Know your child’s learning struggles. If your child struggles with language, an explicit, multisensory curriculum like All About Reading and All About Spelling is what you’ll need. If your child, however, is reading third grade chapter books in Kindergarten, chances are your child won’t need an explicit, step-by-step approach like this.
3. Know your teaching style. Just like kids have learning styles, we have teaching styles. If you prefer having a teacher’s guide that gives you scripted lessons, find a curriculum that will give you what you need. If you’re more of a creative {like me}, you might want something that isn’t so “constricting.”
4. Familiarize yourself with the different styles of homeschooling. While we stick with an eclectic style, there are TONS of styles out there. Instead of going over each one, I found a gold mine of resources here.
5. Do your research. Take your time before you jump in. Read online reviews, ask friends, or even call the company. Find out if there’s a money-back guarantee just in case this doesn’t work. These things do take time, but will really save you time in the end. I’ve included a section in my homeschool planner so you can weigh the pros and cons of curriculum before you make your final decisions.
6. Pray about it. Trust God with the results. I have found that with decisions like this, God doesn’t send me a sign saying, “______ is the homeschool curriculum for you.” For me, His “sign” has always been peace. If I feel at peace with a certain curriculum, and I know it’s what I will need, I know it’s probably the right fit for us.
What if I’ve Picked the “Wrong” Homeschool Curriculum?
It happens. You get into a curriculum that just isn’t working for you or your child. Before you completely abandon ship, get to the heart of why it isn’t working. Buying a new curriculum isn’t always the answer. If you don’t get to the heart of what’s going on, it’s very possible your replacement curriculum won’t be the best fit either.
If you discover that the curriculum isn’t working, try some of these things.
Supplement with something else. I get emails from people weekly who say they’ve purchase something from my shop to supplement their curriculum. Of course, there are thousands of free printables on my site to choose from, too!
Use it less often. If it’s not a core subject {like reading or math}, just use it twice a week. Or maybe you just don’t use all the parts of every single lesson.
Modify the pace. Sometimes curriculum moves too slow for our learners. Sometimes it moves too fast. It’s okay to slow it down or speed it up to match what your learner needs. {Can I let you in on a little secret? It’s also okay to skip lessons if you know your learner doesn’t need to review that skill. Yep. You don’t have to teach every single lesson.}
Change it up. Maybe instead of doing the workbook page, cut the problems out and create a sort or a matching game instead. You could also keep the workbook page, but add manipulatives to make it more hands-on for your learner.
One of the things we did last year was change up our comprehension work, and we used Reading Eggs twice a week instead. {By the way, you can sign up for Free 2 Week Trial to see if this might work for your family.}
Think long and hard / pray about your teaching style and your child’s learning style. Before you jump right into something new, be sure you know why the last curriculum didn’t work out. Revisit steps 1-6 above before you move to something new.
Don’t Pick a Homeschool Curriculum at All
Some families don’t buy curriculum at all. I didn’t for years. I loved piecing together my training as an educator and the resources from being a classroom teacher and reading tutor to create my own activities. I also created my own Learning the Alphabet activities, Preschool reading curriculum and Kindergarten reading curriculum, which my kids used.
For me, though, it became hard to be an expert every year in every subject as my kids got older. Having a curriculum {or at least a workbook} in certain subjects helped give us some structure. You can find all the curricula we’ve used over the years at the bottom of our Homeschooling Resources Page.
Got any tips for picking the “right” curriculum? I’d love to hear them in the comments!
Find all the posts in our Homeschool Series!
Enjoy homeschooling!
~Becky
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