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homeschool curriculum

45 Ways to Define Homeschool Curriculum – Is Your Definition Holding You Back?

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today, I am sharing 45 ways to define homeschool curriculum. Also, look at my page The Best Homeschool Curriculum by Grade Level for more tips.

The word curriculum has Latin roots and it means to “run a course.”

Instead of taking time to expand your definition of homeschool curriculum, it’s easy to run out and buy the first textbook that smells good (okay, I did that). Can you relate?

45 Ways to Define Homeschool Curriculum - Is Your Definition Holding You Back?

Not only am I hoping that it will help you to expand your definition of how to use your experiences in everyday life to teach your children, but I hope you will see how many of these things that you can easily and without much money put your hands-on.

Don’t get me wrong.

You have to have curriculum and it’s paid for somehow.

Whether you spend hours poring over free curriculum or you pay with your hard earned money, homeschool curriculum has a cost!

Looking beyond the cost of homeschool curriculum, I put this list together because I want you to focus more on the content or quality of your instruction.

Many one-room schoolhouses of the past had very little in the way of formal curriculum. Also, they had shorter school days.

What they did have was a strong work ethic and took time to build not only character, but teach kids life skills that would take them into adulthood.

Too, more than ever, we are booming with an abundance of techie devices and online learning, but have they really raised literacy levels?

Don’t let the overwhelming amount of curriculum that we have today, which tout high rigorous standards replace everyday experiences in our life.

Teaching our children how to think can’t be replaced by online learning.

So look at these 45 ways to define homeschool curriculum.

  1. View videos.
  2. Study art prints.
  3. Watch a documentary.
  4. Listen to CDs. Yes, they are still around and sometimes have the best lessons about a subject.
  5. Watch movies.

True ‘Classic’ Homeschool Curriculum

  1. Your life examples.
  2. Your life experiences.
  3. The life examples of others.
  4. The life experiences of others.
  5. Analyze primary resources.
  1. Play board games to learn about math, science, history and language arts.
  2. View online and print magazines.
  3. Use educational apps.
  4. Oral interviews with professionals, experts in specialty fields and persons with first-hand knowledge of current or old events. Think of an interview with a grandmother or grandfather or neighbor.
  5. Animal care.

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Reading each chapter’s highlights will give you encouragement, knowledge, guidance, and peace of mind to homeschool with confidence. The best part is that you’ll be educating the person who loves your kids the most in this world--YOU! Armed with the knowledge to make better choices in curriculum will empower you to continue the path of home education. Unlike many books based on one family’s experience, Homeschooling 31 Day Boot Camp for New Homeschoolers is also based on Tina’s many years of mentoring hundreds and hundreds of new homeschoolers at live workshops.When you don’t know where to begin Homeschooling 31 Day Boot Camp for New Homeschoolers equips you to successfully homeschool your children.

  1. Gardening.
  2. Manipulatives.
  3. Learn about olld toys.
  4. Read any book like history, biographies or cook books.
  5. Your specific written plans about any topic.
  1. Watch and learn from reenactments.
  2. Memorization.
  3. Podcasts.
  4. Visit museums and attend museum classes.
  5. Listen and study music from the past and present.
  1. Learn and study musical instruments.
  2. Analyze old photos and new photos.
  3. Study a timeline.
  4. Review old and new advertisements.
  5. Attend plays.

How to Begin Homeschooling With Minimal Curriculum

  1. Attend a musical or ballet.
  2. Read old newspapers. (or review Old Wills and Deeds at the Courthouse. So cool.)
  3. Take nature walks and a trip to the beach.
  4. Nature collections.
  5. Learning about sculptures or statues.
  1. Old cemeteries not only showcase a period in history, but provide details about people from a certain time.
  2. Specialty workshops or group classes like cooking classes, CPR classes and babysitting classes.
  3. Read old documents in a courthouse. Did you know that most of the documents are free to the public? Read an old Will or an old Deed to learn about what people owned and how they lived their lives.
  4. Visit significant battle sites.
45 Ways to Define Homeschool Curriculum. Is it possible that you could be overlooking one or two of these possibilities. Grab them at Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
  1. Visit first homes of Presidents.
  2. View historic buildings or homes in the old downtown part of your city.
  3. Visit an antique shop to learn about things used in agriculture and everyday life from times past.
  4. Visit an aquarium.
  5. Free online old school books.

More Homeschool Curriculum Tips

What else do you include as homeschool curriculum? Look at some of my other tips below.

Don’t forget to follow BOTH of my Pinterest accounts for more AWESOME pins.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.


Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

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Do You Need to Know What A Scope and Sequence Is When You Homeschool

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Do you need to know what a scope and sequence is when you homeschool? Also, look at my page The Dynamics of How to Homeschool Easily and Smarter for more tips!

No term seems as daunting to grasp to a new homeschooler than a scope and sequence.

You don’t have to have a teaching degree to understand new terms.

Too, sometimes there is just too much hype in trying to understand new terms and I feel scope and sequence can fall into one of those types of things.

I don’t want to minimize the importance of understanding the term.

But it’s not necessary to completely understand all the details of a scope and sequence before you embark on your new career as home educator.

Do You Need to Know What A Scope and Sequence Is When You Homeschool

A simplified definition of scope and sequence is this:

Scope means the range of knowledge in an area or subject that will be covered and sequence means the order in which that area will be covered. That’s it, simple enough.

If you choose something that is laid out lesson by lesson, which is called a boxed curriculum in the homeschool world, then the publisher has already determined what will be covered in that grade level and when or what days it will be covered.

I would prefer that you focus on how advanced or how much help your child needs instead of worrying right now at which grade level to cover which subjects.

You will have plenty of time to be educated about all the education-ese.

For example, look at the scope and sequence of each grade.

And then determine which grade your child fits into and not determine your child’s grade first and then buy that level.

There is a huge difference here.

Are You Making this First-Timer Mistake

The first way of selecting a grade level will set you up for a course that will make your first year more successful and the second way may set you up for a more stressful year.

Assuming your child is ready for the scope and sequence in a grade level because that is his grade level is a common first year mistake I want you to avoid like no other.

Let me say it again and that is don’t buy curriculum based on your child’s current grade level.

There is a time when a scope and sequence will weigh in heavier on your choices for curriculum.

That time is when you decide to play a larger role in lesson planning.

Then, it becomes more important to understand how extensive a subject should be taught in a grade and in what order it should be introduced or mastered by your child.

I encourage you for your summer reading to study and become somewhat familiar with both free online scopes and sequences.

Too become familiar some books that I will share with you at the bottom of this post.

Hear my heart on this.

Key to not getting overwhelmed is to not study all 12 grades.

What insane crazy person does that? I did.

FOURTH GRADE HOMESCHOOL CURRICULUM ACTIVITIES

I almost gave up homeschooling in the beginning because I put myself under too much pressure.

Study the grade level your child will be in, the one above and the one below it.

That is enough for now.

That will give you a bigger picture skill wise, to see where your child’s level is compared to a scope and sequence.

I assure you instead of stressing you out, getting familiar with the set of skills a child is generally introduced to in each grade level will do quite the opposite for you in the long run.

It will empower you to be a teacher that is a cut above those that don’t take time to understand the learning process.

Do You Need to Know What a Scope and Sequence Is When You Homeschool

Look at my list below and one last reminder before you jump into some of this not so light reading is that this is just a “map” designed by curriculum providers.

What I don’t want you to take away from the reading is that your child has to cover x in x grade.

Eventually, I will share some posts about some significant milestones to look for in certain grades which is of far more importance than keeping up with each grade level.

Do Homeschoolers Need to Know What is a Scope and Sequence? Click here to grab these AWESOME tips!

Each child, barring any developmental issues will reach each educational milestone at their own time.

Look at these free online scope and sequences:

Books to read that I think help through your whole homeschooling journey:

The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home Even though you may or may not follow this homeschool approach, she has great tips for valuable resources in all areas.

Pick and choose what works for you. For example, I used her reading suggestions when teaching my sons to read and write.

Home Learning Year by Year: How to Design a Homeschool Curriculum from Preschool Through High School

Again look at some of the resources instead of honing in on exactly all that needs to be covered.

What Your Preschooler Needs to Know: Get Ready for Kindergarten (Core Knowledge Series)

What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know

What Your First Grader Needs to Know: Fundamentals of a Good First-Grade Education (Core Knowledge Series)

What Your Second Grader Needs to Know: Fundamentals of a Good Second Grade Education (Core Knowledge Series

What Your Third Grader Needs to Know (Revised Edition): Fundamentals of a Good Third-Grade Education (Core Knowledge Series)

What Your Fourth Grader Needs to Know: Fundamentals of A Good Fourth-Grade Education (Core Knowledge Series)

What Your Fifth Grader Needs to Know (Core Knowledge Series)

What Your Sixth Grader Needs to Know (Revised) (Core Knowledge Series)

Books to Build On: A Grade-by-Grade Resource Guide for Parents and Teachers (Core Knowledge Series)

Slow and Steady Get Me Ready I used this book for my boys when they were babies and again, didn’t get stressed out if my boys were behind some of these things or some of them were easy.

It gave me a heads up about what to expect at each age.

When is Knowledge Power

Too, this series below is the set of books I much more preferred to use along with the ones written above by other homeschoolers.

I did glance at the Core Knowledge Series above and use some from those books.

But I loved the fact that the books below had ideas of how to teach concepts and it also came with an envelope in the back of the book that had a test I could give.

I know, I know, I couldn’t help myself about testing.

I was worried and had to test for a year or two, but after that I realized I was on track.

Do Homeschoolers Need to Know What is a Scope and Sequence? Click here to grab these AWESOME tips!

You will too. So if it gives you comfort, it’s okay to test, just don’t stress over them in the younger years.

How Is My First Grader Doing in School? What to Expect and How to Help
How Is My Second Grader Doing In School? What to Expect and How to Help
How Is My Third Grader Doing in School? What to Expect and How to Help
. . . . My Fourth Grader Doing in School?: What to Expect and How to Help
. . . Is My Fifth Grader Doing in School?: What to Expect and How to Help
How Is My Sixth Grader Doing in School?: What to Expect and How to Help

Try to remember that as you join with the other thousands of homeschoolers who have been down the road for several years now that we too have expressed some of the same feelings of not wanting our child to get behind or wanting to do this “right”.

So instead of following a scope and sequence, just use it as a guide to enlighten yourself about the general educational needs of all children. 

But focus on how unique your children are and know that what you will eventually be teaching them through all the years won’t be able to be contained in any set of scope and sequences.

What do you think? Do you feel a little more empowerment from this foundation of knowledge?

Do You Need to Know What a Scope and Sequence Is When You Homeschool. Tips for the Beginner. @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Look at these other helps:

Hugs and love ya,

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