Homeschool Curriculum The ABCs Part 1

Embracing the curriculum hunt is an exciting part of learning to be an excellent teacher and hunting for the perfect homeschool curriculum can be daunting.

Attitude is everything and there is no rush when it comes to choosing homeschool curriculum or making a switch.

I’ve tried to restrain myself from writing an all out volume today in sharing homeschool curriculum the ABCs because information can be overwhelming when you are faced with this decision.

Using this ABC method, I can share brief tips and tidbits for you in a not so long and enormous post.

Also, I have divided this post up into two different blog posts. One for now, one for later.

Take your time mulling over the bite size nuggets.

A is for ADVICE.

Everybody has advice.

The key to finding advice that works for you is to ask another homeschooler why they chose the curriculum they did.

Do they have circumstances similar to yours?

Are their goals similar? Trying to fit the reasons somebody else started to homeschool into your life does not make a good fit from the beginning.

B is for BELIEFS.

Christian or secular homeschooler, you have them both.

One of the reasons we all homeschool is to pass that onto our children. Curriculum will never be perfect.

However, if you purchase something, even with some modifications on your part, will it promote the values that you want to from the start?

Homeschooling is hard enough without unintentionally sabotaging your values by having a curriculum that presents an underlying message you do not want to promote.

C is for COURSE OF STUDY.

New homeschoolers tend to focus less on understanding the process of learning because they feel the pressure to purchase curriculum.

Taking time your first couple of years to understand the learning process by looking at various courses of study gives you a picture of what you will be teaching.

Curriculum will then be a tool to master those courses, not a tool of oppression because you feel it has to all be completed.

Look at these links below:

Click here to look at state standards. Do not follow to a “T” but use them as a rule of thumb.

Click here to look at World Books course of study.

Click here for an elementary solid course of study from Christian Light Publication that is free to download.

Click here for a high school solid course of study from Christian Light Publication that is free to download.

Click here to compare a solid course of Study from A Beka – Preschool to 12th Grade.

D is for DEFINE.

Defining your goals helps you to stay on your homeschooling path.

The physical act of writing out your goals for the first and second year before you purchase curriculum gives you pause to think about a purchase.

Also, not IF but WHEN burnout and tears come, a visit to your goals encourages you to stay the course.

Goals are reminders because they help to minimize the need to play curriculum switch and shuffle each year.

E is for EVALUATE.

Assuming your child should do the same grade level of school work that he did while in public school is another rookie mistake.

Avoid that costly mistake by taking more time to evaluate where he actually is instead of the grade level.

Countless hours have been spent by me urging and pleading new homeschoolers to take a longer period of time using free evaluating tests online.

Performing free online and informal tests will be of great value to compare with a course of study to find a better place to begin.

Starting out with tears because we pushed our child ahead instead of stepping back a grade to accept where he really was or covering previously mastered material for a gifted child are signs of homeschool shipwreck.

The first year can be filled with delight and not dread because you did not jump into purchases instead of making a more informed decision.

Click here for Math U See test.

Click here for Alpha Omega’s Free Diagnostic Test

Internet4Classrooms has a whole section dedicated to Assessment testing.

There are printable tests by grade, and interactive practice for each grade level, for 1st through High School.

Again, these are all free resources you can use to prepare your children.

Click here to go to Internet4Classrooms.

Reading Competency Test by NRRF

F is for FINISH.

Understanding the difference between completing a curriculum and finishing a curriculum is another key in avoiding the overwhelmed homeschooler.

Even veteran homeschoolers make the mistake believing that completing every assignment is equivalent to mastery. It is not.

Half used curriculum can be finished for our child if a learning concept was mastered or the curriculum taught what we wanted to convey.

It is finished even if half completed. It is not wasteful but wise.

Click here to read Controlling the Time Spent on Homeschool Subjects or Running a Homeschooling Boot Camp

G is for GAMES.

A hard point for me as a Nazi momma, who wanted structure and organization when I started was humbling myself to understand that covering worksheets and having projects to prove my homeschooling status was part of public school mentality.

Without abandoning completely the way I wanted to have structure, I needed to jump the public school ship and understand that game playing is a vital part of making the love of learning lifetime.

That learning could possibly be fun didn’t equate with what I thought was responsible parenting.

I now tout Benjamin Franklin’s quote, “Games lubricate the body and the mind.”

Purchases for curriculum any year should include some way of making learning fun.

H is for Hands-On and Homeschooling Defined.

For the first few years to be successful and for you to get an accurate gauge of where each child is, you need to be a hands-on parent.

You may say, “I already am, that is why I am going to homeschool.”

However, more and more curriculum providers that promote themselves as homeschool companies are actually public school servants.

There is a difference between homeschooling and school at home. A hands-on parent tutors their child and homeschools while using curriculum as a slave.

A school at home environment invites somebody else that does not know your child to supervise his learning using public school methods.

Homeschooling does not mean you can’t take advantage of laid out lesson plans and get outside help.

It does mean YOU are the teacher and supervisor now.

{okay, okay maybe a little too hands-on after the formaldehyde stunk up my sister’s house for our frog co-op}

I is for INCH.

Have you heard the saying inch by inch it’s a cinch and miles by miles it’s a trial?

Expecting that you will right all the wrongs of public school this year is not possible.

Measuring forward progress by inches instead of miles, keeps homeschool realistic.

One of the most common pitfalls of first time homeschoolers is to think you are going to accomplish so much more than you actually do.

If you set out to measure forward progress an inch at a time instead of by tests and completion of the whole curriculum you can savor the first year.

J is for JOURNALING TO RECORDKEEP.

When you are new you are not quite sure how to record keep and it takes a while to investigate different methods.

Instead of turning it over to somebody else and if you live in a state where you can, journal it.

I have notes written in lesson plans my first year that are hilarious both in the musings for the day and because I didn’t understand the learning process.

By using a very simple, though you may not think impressive method, like writing in a notebook or typing on a computer, you are setting your pathways for excellent teaching.

Journaling is an accurate reflection of what you are doing instead of the mirage of a lesson manual.

You will set more realistic goals next time because of your journaling. A private blog works for this too.

K is for KINDS.

When you are familiar with the different kinds of curriculum offered and that all of them fall into the general categories of Textbook, Classical, Charlotte Mason, Unschooling or Relaxed and Unit Studies then you tame the curriculum conundrum.

L is for LETTING GO.

The hardest part of beginning a new journey is to let go of the way we think learning should take place.

Feeling comfortable with our new found homeschool freedom is not comforting in the beginning to a lot of homeschoolers.

Surely, we should have somebody tell us what to do or how to learn otherwise our children may get behind echoes our inner homeschool voice.

Have we let go when we buy a workbook and set up a home environment that is a mini public school?

Some of those things may work for our family. Letting go does not mean abandoning common sense teaching.

Some things about public school teaching works at home.

It does mean analyzing our environment and curriculum to show that we embrace this new lifestyle.

{credit: Todd Wilson}

M is for MANUALS.

There is a vast difference in how teaching manuals stack up to each other.

When choosing a homeschool provider you may want to ask these questions about the manual.

Does the company have a homeschool division?

If you are using a company that caters to homeschool you should still ask how comprehensive their manuals are in giving background information.
Can they provide a sample to you? Because not all companies are strictly used by homeschoolers, their manuals may only provide limited help.

Most new homeschoolers want a lot of information on the subjects being taught unless they are a public school teacher.

Even public school teachers who are now homeschoolers only taught one or two subjects but may want help in other topics.

Are the answers in the teacher’s manuals?

Assuming the way a teacher’s manual is or is not laid out may cause extra stress that is not needed.

Trial and error is part of purchasing curriculum.

Being enthusiastic about finding curriculum that suits your teaching style and not just your child’s keeps you focused on the opportunity you have provided your children.

Take time to do the research but reap the benefits for your whole journey.

I wanted to share this quote that I do share in my workshops quite often.

We’re not trying to do “School at Home.”

We’re trying to do homeschool. These are two entirely different propositions.

We’re not trying to replicate the time, style or content of the classroom. Rather we’re trying to cultivate a lifestyle of learning in which learning takes place from morning until bedtime 7 days each week.

The “formal” portion of each teaching day is just the tip of the iceberg.

Steve and Jane Lambert ( Five In A Row )

I got through half the alphabet and will be sharing the rest of the tips next!

What about you? What is your formula for choosing homeschool curriculum?

Check out these other posts:

3 Ways to Choose the BEST Writing Curriculum (for a Growing Homeschool Family), 7 Budget-Friendly Language Arts Curriculum to Pair with Unit Studies (with printable), You’ve Pitched the Homeschool Curriculum – Now What? and 8 Components of a Boxed Curriculum

Hugs and love ya,