Choose Curriculum

Curriculum is one of those topics that I have to dig through my font size to see if a smaller one exists so then maybe my post does not look as long.

It is a disease I am telling you to love collecting, using, buying, reviewing and giving advice on curriculum.

Yesterday, I shared Homeschool Curriculum The ABCs Part 1 and today I am finishing up my tips on Homeschool Curriculum ABCs Part 2. 

I have nuggets of experience to share on letters N to Z to help guide you in being selective about choosing homeschool curriculum.

N is for Narration.

Don’t pay for endless textbooks and worksheets when a simple and effective tool like narration is of more benefit.

Listening to our children tell back what they have learned about any topic is a way to nurture and stimulate intellectual skills.

Check out my post 3 Unexpected Benefits of Homeschool Narration.

O is for Objectives.

 Objectives are clear steps to reach a goal.

Whether you make your own or follow a scope and sequence, having even a simple objective like your child learn the ABCs or multiplication tables helps you to make forward progress as you meet each tiny objective.

Don’t wander aimlessly from year to year, focus on an objective.

P is for Pinterest.

There are too many visual learners for you to not take advantage of free lessons and curriculum found on Pinterest. Be sure you are following me on Pinterest.

Q is for Quiz.

A much overlooked tool, a quiz is something that is brief and can be done orally. There is no need to do a print quiz unless you want to.

If you went to public school, like I did, then you remember the groans and heavy sighs as the teacher announced an unplanned pop quiz.

What if, instead of a written quiz, you just orally discussed the subject?

Oh yes! Talking and a question and answer style give me that any day and I can tell you back what I learned. A quiz each day makes headway.

R is for Read Aloud.

Reading aloud should become a lifelong habit.

Read to your children ALL the way to high school. Each year as your children grow they should associate reading with warmth, security and pleasure.

How can I possibly list all the benefits associated with reading? Success in life, at work, with others and especially to have a spiritual relationship with God are of lasting value.

S is for Spice.

Spice used in the right amount added to any bland food can give it a kick.

Instead of throwing out what you may think is a bad curriculum purchase, add spice to it.

Look at this book Homeschool Spice: Help for Hum Drum School Days. It is a great read full of tips.

T is for Types of Curriculum.

Textbooks, Unit Studies, Classical, Charlotte Mason and Relaxed/Unschooling are types of curriculum.

Most of your purchases will fall into one of these categories. If you prefer one over the other, then do not waste your time at conventions, on the internet or otherwise trying to understand ALL of the other types of curriculum.

Focus on the curriculum that fits your family instead of being overwhelmed with choices.

U is for Used Curriculum.

There is an abundance of used curriculum websites on line. They have literally sprung up everywhere. It use to not be that way. One site I have a soft place in my heart and that has been around for years and years is Vegsource. Crazy name uh? 

I started following it sometime after Mr. Senior 2013 was born. I couldn’t make the connection between a website that promoted a plant-based diet and homeschooling.

I figured out along the way they homeschooled and they put a small spot on their website for selling used curriculum.

Not so small now, it still is a happening place for all things homeschool and to sell/buy used curriculum.

Side note of interest: If you get a chance, read about the background of Mr. Nelson’s family on the site. His great-great grandfather started the Armour Meat Company and now Mr.Nelson is a vegan. Talk about being removed from his roots.

V is for reVISIT.

Curriculum is about change.

A lot of homeschoolers that we help to get on the road to homeschooling feel they will stay the whole course with what they initially purchased. They have if it works now, why change it mentality. This thinking works for some projects but not for homeschooling.

Change happens not necessarily because the curriculum changes but because the needs of your children do.

A routine and curriculum can become boring and dull, then you have created a rut. A wise teacher will revisit her initial approach whether it is Charlotte Mason, Classical or Textbook to see if it still fits the needs of your children now. Find your groove at that moment and move forward.

W is for WORLD.

As veteran homeschoolers we take for granted the saying; “The World is Our Classroom”.

However, even seasoned veterans grasp for a full and rich meaning of this well known verse in the homeschool community.

For me, it means that once we abandon the mindset that we learn in one room, with one set of curriculum, at one designated time and be tested by it, we look to everyday living and the world around us for lessons.

Get out of the house. Attend a ballet, an art show, a historical reenactment or cultural event.

{learn in tents,……..}

{learn at the library,……}

{learn at a 4h club with others, ……}

{learn at the park. Get out, get out.}

By observing the things God has made, we let Him be the Grand Instructor. Then our teaching truly becomes elevated, supreme and worthy.

{A new born calf at our place was a cause for pause and a valued learning moment.}

X is for ‘XPLORE.

If there is anything that causes burnout, it is not being able to expand and explore new options. 

Choosing curriculum is more about taking what works “good enough” for our family and expanding it.

Explore options to round it out. It does not mean we have to complete the course, but we finish it. Huge difference.

Finishing it means we have used the parts that filled our needs for the year. It may or may not mean completing the whole curriculum.

Y is for YEAR.

Measure your progress using your curriculum by the year.

Sometimes we want instant results in a few months. It takes more than just a few months to see progress the progress in our children. Oh don’t use something that you think is not working at all, but don’t be so quick to abandon a curriculum because there could be other things that affects how a child is learning right now. Immaturity and growing spurts are some things we can’t control but are often culprits of our child not understanding a curriculum.

There is a lot you can’t control about learning but by measuring by the year, you will know if the curriculum was a mistake or if your child was experience a change.

Z is for ZEAL. 

The definition of zeal means to boil over.

Enthusiasm and zeal for learning is contagious.

It is more important that as the teacher, you have a zeal for learning. No amount of curriculum can impart a thirst for learning.

The example set by the parent is what becomes the curriculum. It’s not easy every day to boil over with excitement but it should be true a lot of the time.

I am hoping in these last two posts that you can quickly grab a few nuggets of experience that will tame the curriculum conundrum for you and help you to make a better choice about choosing curriculum the first time.

Hugs and love ya,

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,

For sure you do not want me to start singing for you and after I share when my homeschool curriculum has lost that lovin’ feeling with you today I will probably be singing You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling.  It is one of those catchy songs for me.  That song reminds of the lovin’ feeling we have when we first purchase homeschool curriculum that we think is going to love us back.

When My Homeschool Curriculum has Lost that Lovin’ Feeling

You know the curriculum I am talking about.  The pictures are perfect, your husband thinks the price is a real steal and it seems to be laid out where you think it can be finished in a school year.

Let’s not forget the smell of those tantalizing pages as we flip through them imagining that our children are going to eagerly sit down, embrace and complete them.

Then, it happens.  Compliments of curriculum turn to criticism.

Tantalizing pages turn to torture and feelings of being trapped by curriculum brings more stress. Everybody is bored and has the doldrums.

It just makes me tired thinking about it.  Feeling overwhelmed is normal and happens to all of us.

Teaching Tips to Breath Life Back Into Your Homeschool Curriculum

How can we breathe life back into our day?  Here are some tips.

Subjects are not really boring, only the presentation of material or maybe the teacher (ouch).

Many parents I help try to find out what is wrong with the child but never reflect on the type of teacher they want to be.

It has been said that an excellent teacher can use any resource and breathe life into it.  Are we the kind of teacher that others want to learn from?

We don’t always have the luxury of ditching our textbooks or expensive curriculum but we can cut back assignments or embellish them.
Do you know what an embellishment does?  It makes something more attractive by adding a detail.

This doesn’t make teaching harder because a detail is not reworking the whole process but adding an enhancement.

For example, leave out the worksheets and add in one hands-on activity.
Better yet, do the hands on activity with not 10 families (too much energy when you are drained) but with just 1 family.

Let another mom teach and you listen one week and then trade places.

Let the children teach one day or two, or…..

I LOVE doing this with my boys because my days are so exciting. Seriously though I know my boys do get tired of me talking.

So let your children run school for a day teaching their younger siblings. Even the youngest child can lead the Bible reading assignment and act like “mom”.

I learned a lot about myself as I saw it reflected in their teaching. Of course it adds excitement to the day if you could act like you don’t get anything they are trying to teach you.

When the boys were much younger, this teaching tactic worked because it made them explain back to me what they were learning. It was a lot of fun because I made sure I was always the hard kid to teach and the kids got a great laugh too.

Be selectively creative and try to prevent fatigue and exhaustion.

Many things are thrown at us in the homeschool world and we may think that we can’t have boring days.

Understanding that mundane things in curriculum cultivates determination and endurance helps us to be selectively creative.

Do we really need to do a lapbook or unit study on every topic? Does every science topic have to have an experiment?  There is nothing wrong with reading material and moving on.

We live in a world that sows the seeds of discontentment.
Being bored or not bored is more about attitude than curriculum.

Lack of imagination and initiative using any curricula can be more at the root of the problem.

We were created to want a challenge and our minds hunger for it.

Challenges, imagination, and a change of pace generates more energy for the doldrums. When your curriculum has lost that loving feeling remember variety can be the spice of life.

Do you have a favorite thing you do when your curriculum has lost that lovin’ feeling?

Hugs and love ya,

“But the little dear doesn’t want to homeschool”
When does homeschooling become “normal“?
3 Easy Fixes to Recharge Your Homeschool Routine

P.S. I couldn’t resist sharing, now you’re humming the same catchy tune. Plus, I just love this song!