Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Activity, Change, Progress

homeschoolcurriculum

When You Are Afraid of Homeschool Science Gaps

| 6 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

When You're Afraid of Homeschool Science Gaps @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

I was given a free copy of this book and I was paid for my time. However, paid for my time does not mean paid off.  ALL opinions are my own and for sure I will always tell you what is on my mind. Your experience may vary. When I do accept a review it’s because I am giddy to tell you about it. Read my full disclosure here.

Homeschool science gaps or holes in what we’re teaching can make us panic, but we have many resources at our finger tips, which can lessen homeschool fears and one valuable tool is Air Is Not Oxygen: Essential Science You Should Have Learned … But Probably Didn’t.

Did You Miss these Essential Science Concepts?

First, look at these three other posts, Free Moon Journal, Electricity Hands on Science Activity and Erosion Easy Hands-on Science Activity where I share easy hands-on activities from Air Is Not Oxygen because I don’t want you to miss them and the free printable.

There were several things that drew us in to want to use and review Air Is Not Oxygen, but the main lure I was giddy about was that it explains science concepts in a way easy to understand.

This reminds me of other curriculum that we have been drawn to that gives us the broad strokes, which I feel are important for several reasons.

One| Covering the essentials are stepping stones to in depth studying.

I have always confessed that I run the other way from science topics, but not my boys.

Tiny is no exception. So not only am I sure that he is covering essentials, which are easily explained like Newton’s laws and changes in the earth, but having a basic framework gives Tiny a foundation on which to build a solid science study.

Two| Broad strokes means mastery.

Mastery learning appeals to both a student that is advanced or a student that struggles with basic concepts.

This means that Air Is Not Oxygen can be used with elementary aged children or kids getting ready to enter high school, who may not have covered basic science concepts adequately.

For a child that is younger and has a love for science, they’ll love mastering concepts quickly instead of using a spiral approach to science.

Also, Air Is Not Oxygen is a great fit for an older student who may feel like he is behind. Quickly covering basic essentials gives a high school student a boost in science and can rekindle his love for science.

Three| If a mom student is science phobic, he’ll love this book.

I was especially drawn to this book because it fits the way I think kids and adults should learn when they may not like a subject.

With few details and emphasis on hands-on activities within each chapter, it makes learning science simple, fun and interactive.

What Would Your Ideal Homeschool Science Curriculum Contain?

Air Is Not Oxygen draws you into the subjects because they are witty, short and concise.

When you’re short on time (who isn’t these days), you’ll love the fact that many of the supplies for science activities are things like paper cups, plastic spoons, pie pans and straws, which are things you have around your house.

I don’t need another exhaustive list to make of science supplies we wouldn’t use later. I like uncomplicated supplies and your kitchen and home will have most of the supplies.

For quite a few of the activities, Tiny just gathered up the supplies and he was ready to go.

Did I mention the chapters are short? Tiny easily read the book in just a few days.

Of course, we went back and did the activities, but the short chapters with simple explanations was a huge hit with him.

I like the What You Learned bullets at the end of the chapter because it made for a quick review.

And if I could make up my own science curriculum it would certainly be a lot like Air Is Not Oxygen  , with no worksheets, lots of easy hands-on activities to do with multiple ages of children and a review.

If you are like me, you want to be able to explore curriculum freely and jump around from topic to topic. I gave Tiny the book and instead of reading it in order, he started with Newton’s Laws, went to the chapter on electricity and headed over to earth changes, then fossils and after that I can’t remember.

I love the fact that Tiny could skip around and learn what interested him first and I can plan our unit studies by picking and choosing activities that match our unit study topic.

You’ll want to include this nifty resource in your must-haves for science curriculum.

Product Facts a Glance 2

Here are a few other things you’ll want to know that made a difference to me.

  • Author Bill Morelan, Ph.D is a pioneer homeschooler, teaching his two daughters at home in the early 1980s. Both of his girls went on to achieve advanced degrees, and today one is a highly-respected elementary teacher, while the other is actively involved in the homeschool movement.
  • The book covers physical, life and earth and space science.
  • It is a multiple age resource and that includes adults who may be lacking in their science education.
  • It is a super resource for myth busters, like air is not oxygen.
  • It meets the national Science Standards.
  • Concepts are simplified for clarity.
  • Each chapter has more than one hands-on activity.

Purchase the book here: Air Is Not Oxygen: Essential Science You Should Have Learned … But Probably Didn’t!
Grades: elementary to high school
Type of Format: paperback
Price: $12.95

I highly recommend this book if you are a science phobic teaching mama, have a kid that loves science or one that feels he may have missed out on some essential concepts.

Hugs and love ya,

Tina Signature 2015c

All product information is correct and accurate as of the date of this review.

Also, grab these free resources to round out a study about life, physical and earth science.

Learn About Leap Year Free Notebooking Page, Human Body Unit Study and Five Free and Fun Hands-on Science Activities.

 

10 Signs to Know When to Walk Away from “Perfect” Curriculum

| 11 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today, I’m sharing 10 signs to know when to walk away from the perfect curriculum. Also, look at my page The Best Homeschool Curriculum by Grade Level for more tips.

The perfect homeschool curriculum is music to our ears or at least we think so.

Well, it was “perfect” homeschool curriculum at the time.

However, times change.

And having two homeschooled graduates, you think I would learn from my quest for the perfect homeschool curriculum.

Admittedly, I can be hard-headed, but I learned a few things as I knocked my head on the wall. (ouch, don’t do that)

10 Signs to Know When to Pitch the “Perfect” Curriculum

Sharing 10 tips to know when to walk away from the “perfect” homeschool curriculum hopefully you’ll not do some of these same things.

1. When your child out grows the curriculum.

You may think well duh, my children are getting older and they will outgrow it. No, I am not talking about that.

What I mean is that whatever made you decide to use the curriculum at that time and then suddenly the circumstance is not there, curriculum can turn from sweet to sour.

I have one son that went from wanting the full picture each day in his curriculum to a checklist.

The curriculum outgrew its usefulness and now becomes a burden. Time to move on.

2. When your child’s learning style changed.

Most kids are wiggly willies (meaning girls too) until about the age of 6 or 7 years old.

Along about 8 to 10 years of age, a child’s true learning style emerges. Normally, this learning style will be the one that will be with them longer or maybe even their whole life.

This happens at anytime and kids don’t wait to the first day of school to present their new learning style. But, you can start seeing frustration now in a curriculum that seemed to have worked before.

This happened to me with another one of my son and it was in the middle of a school year.

The textbook method to math no longer worked because his auditory learning style started to be dominant.

So in the middle of the year, I was on the prowl for a math curriculum that suited his auditory learning style.

 3. When you have to change your homeschool approach.

Saying that you’ll use the same homeschool approach your whole journey is a rookie mistake. I know, I did it.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to stick to a homeschool approach because it works for your family, but the problem is that life gets in the way.

Changing my homeschool approach because either I was pregnant, sick, or had to take care of aging parents are all things I’ve had to focus on.

Curriculum then becomes a burden when I don’t have time to plan it. Switching to a boxed curriculum was a welcomed relief.

It was easier to see this coming unlike some of the other signs.

Check out my tips at my article, Taking a Hit Doesn’t Mean to Quit– Homeschooling Through Crisis.

4. When most of your days are filled with tears. (yours and your kids)

I thought this would be another one of those duh things that you think that most homeschool educators know, but I have tell you about helping a homeschooler one year.

I won’t forget her because no matter what her boys said about not understanding the method and curriculum she chose, it was going to be her way. They were going to use it.

She had great kids and their tears flowed because the curriculum just didn’t click with the kids.

However, because the curriculum fit her learning style, she wasn’t giving it up at any cost.

It was a pretty ugly standoff and ambitious homeschooling has a way of biting back.

Look at my article, Homeschooling for the Love of Learning – Does It Really Work?

5. When your curriculum makes you feel like you’re behind.

Pitch it. That is all there is to it.

When a curriculum takes over your life, your day, and your kids because it no longer is a tool but a taskmaster it’s time to walk away from it.

It really is very simple and uncomplicated though you may read a lot of curriculum tips that try to make you feel like its you or your kid’s fault. It is not.

Unless your child has learning disabilities, he is just where he should be.

Let me say that again. He is where he is suppose to be and not where the boxed curriculum touts that he should be.

Also, check out the tips in 102 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum.

6. When you didn’t ask specific questions before you bought it.

It’s okay for one of your homeschooling friends to be over the moon excited about a curriculum. However, that doesn’t mean it will work for you because she has tremendous success.

Your kids are different and unique and so are you.

I have purchased curriculum based on suggestions before asking specific questions.

Questions like how long does it take you to get through the curriculum, how much teacher prep does it require, do you have to buy anything supplemental and can I use it with multiple ages are some very specific questions to initiate conversation.

7. When your curriculum doesn’t reflect your family’s values or goals.

When you start to homeschool, it seems like there are lot of things you are just suppose to know right from the beginning.

And knowing exactly the goals and values for your family is one of those things you need to know, but I also learned that goals and visions change and grow.

Do You Need to Unlearn these Homeschool Curriculum Habits

Whether you want to move toward more faith-based homeschooling or want to move toward a more secular approach, don’t wait to switch curriculum.

When a curriculum is not working, it sets your homeschool back.

Move forward by letting go of the weight of a curriculum that is not working.

8. When your teaching style has changed.

As you grow in your homeschool experience, there will be some subjects that you feel more comfortable teaching than others.

Some curriculum gives more detailed back ground information about a subjects than others do or they may not give enough background information. Your teaching needs changed and may be different than the present curriculum you are using.

What was a homeschool help at one time can become a hindrance.

Your teaching style will change, so don’t delay switching curriculum to breathe life into your teaching journey.

Also, I love trying out curriculum for free on a limited bases because it gives me a chance to see if it will work for me. You’ll love being able to do that with the Homeschool Buyers Coop. Although they have a lot of free curriculum during the summer to try out, they have many freebies throughout the year.

9. When you over buy one type and now need separate curriculum.

You are not alone. I think we all over buy at one time or the other.

But, what I am honing in on is that you may want to buy curriculum from different approaches.

For example, I have one son that likes textbooks and another son that wilts when one is pulled out.

Instead of buying or using the same curriculum across the board for all my children, I bought separate products that use a variety of homeschool approaches for each of my boys.

10. When you seem to be leaving more out than you’re covering.

This was the final straw for me when I left more curriculum out than I was actually using.

I knew that I had to change my curriculum. Becoming weighed down with curriculum caused stress instead of easing it.

There may be a lot of things you regret by the time you finish homeschooling, but switching to a homeschool curriculum that better suits your present needs won’t be one of them.

More Homeschool Curriculum Tips

10 Signs to Know When to Walk Away from the Perfect Homeschool Curriculum

Why Most Homeschool Curriculum Tips Are Useless

| 11 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Choosing homeschool curriculum can be one of the most thrilling things about homeschooling and at the same time be nerve-racking.

Getting ready to graduate my second homeschooler and using completely different curriculum with him than I did with Mr. Senior 2013, I have come to appreciate why most homeschool curriculum tips are useless.Why Most Homeschool Curriculum Tips are Useless @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool PlusDon’t get me wrong.  Having homeschooled from the beginning, I too have pored over volumes of books and blogs to discover that one piece of advice that will push me from reality to lightning striking revelation.

It might sound a bit over dramatic but what is really absurd is the overwhelming and staggering amount of tips on how to choose homeschool curriculum.

It’s not that we don’t like them, but we would like to read them in this life time.

With a limited amount of time to pick homeschool curriculum over the last few years, I have tried to simplify my method to choosing curriculum.

Instead of depending on flashes of brilliance from numerous blog posts about curriculum (I really do love them but I need simple), I have found that if I follow a method to choosing curriculum for my family that it works for both me and my sons.

From Homeschool Insanity to Homeschool Sense

Look at these 3 questions and tips that make choosing curriculum a cinch each year:

1.  Your Teaching Style Is Not Just Important, It Is Paramount.

Homeschooling momma martyrs are common, unfortunately.  As teachers we can shove aside things that help us to be an excellent teacher and solely focus on a child’s learning style.

While a child’s learning style is important, it should not have greater weight until a child is learning independently for a good portion of the day.

For example, you may be at a point in your journey where you thrive with a boxed curriculum but your child is a huge hands-on learner.

How do you marry the two styles? It is much easier for you to teach with a guideline and fill in with hands-on ideas each day than to come up with your own lesson plans for a hands-on learner.

This will eliminate your hunt for curriculum that is just a bare framework where you are suppose to fill in with hands-on ideas.  It just won’t work for you if you need a more fleshed out curriculum.

Again, using a homeschool curriculum that supports your teaching style and which you have to tweak a bit to fit your child’s learning style gives you a much better head start for the year.

A homeschool curriculum may receive a rave review, but if it does not support your present teaching style, you may burn out mid-year, too.

Again, I cannot stress enough that you as the primary teacher needs to be over the top excited about a curriculum that encourages you and makes homeschooling lively.

Banish boring days by beginning it with a curriculum that fits your strengths and shores up your weaknesses.

2.  Your Child’s Learning Style Matters Especially Around 6th Grade.

Switching on you here because I am giving you a method in how to evaluate homeschool curriculum, but the next significant factors to consider are the ages, maturity level and learning style of your child.

When children are young, a good rule of thumb is to use a curriculum that is suited to your teaching style and mix in the activities to tweak it to fit your child’s learning style.

As they grow older and become more independent in how they learn, which generally is around 6th grade, then it’s time to evaluate again.

Sixth grade is important because it generally is the time for another leap in a child’s maturity.

This doesn’t mean it happens automatically, but I wanted to give you a specific way to measure.

Only you can answer these questions:

  • During the 6th grade year, does your child need another year of momma teaching and are thriving with you tweaking your present curriculum? or
  • Was this past year one where there was more head butting than head way made?  If so, is it because you were determined to use curriculum that you felt was rigorous and met your learning style instead of your child’s learning style?
  • Can you give your child more choices this year?  It is time to give up control but not the authority, which is a fine balancing act.

Decision making by your child is a learned process.

Releasing decision making is easier and better done slowly or a little at a time.

Do not all of the sudden one year expect your child to choose all the curriculum.

Though at the 6th grade age, they may seem like they are ready for making all the decisions, they are immature and still inexperienced.  Too, as the parent, you have the authority to make the final say on all the decisions.

The only way for your child to gain experience and maturity is to start with small things and build up when it comes to choosing curriculum.

Just like you have allowed them free choice in their reading material while they still read the books you choose, curriculum is the same.

How to Begin Homeschool Teaching With Minimal Tips

Does that wonderful and new curriculum that you are excited about allow your child to work independently for part of the day if he is ready?

Through the years, I have learned that it doesn’t really matter what curriculum you use.

I don’t want to seem flippant about how hard it is to choose homeschool curriculum, but what matters in the long run is if the curriculum fits your child’s learning style best.

3.  What Do You Want the Curriculum to Teach? Concepts and View.

The answer to this question is not obvious because I am not talking about wanting a science curriculum to teach science or a history curriculum to teach history.

Look at another example.

If you have a science background and maybe even have a degree in science then you have a preferred way to teach science.

Science can be taught generally or in a spiral method each year or you can focus on one field like Chemistry, Physics or Biology.

As a science teacher, you may want to cover deeper concepts instead of broad strokes.

What difference does it matter if the newest science curriculum is hot on the homeschool market if it does not fit with the way you want to teach science?

All the homeschool curriculum tips can be useless and overwhelming if you are not looking to teach science the same way.

History is no exception.  If you want the details of history, then why look at a history curriculum that will cover history in generalities?

The same question or mind-set should be examined when you think about the approach.

How important is a Bible based curriculum, or would you prefer something light on Bible content so that you can add your own resources?

As I scrutinized my method for how I chose homeschool curriculum easily over the past few years, these three questions have helped me to slice and dice the huge amount of information on the net.

Focus on tips that work for your family and leave the rest of the tips to other families that need them.

Hugs and love ya,

Tina Signature 2015c

 How Can I Achieve Simple Homeschooling?
Eliminating 3 Non-Essentials to Homeschooling
When My Homeschool Curriculum Has Lost that Loving Feeling

Linking up @ these awesome places:
Hip Homeschool Hop|Titus 2 Tuesday|Tell It to Me Tuesday|Turn It Up Tuesday|Laugh & Learn|The Mommy Club|Mom’s Library|A Little Bird Told Me|Wise Woman|A Little R&R|Pintastic Pinteresting|Think Tank Thursday|Hearts for Home|Frugal Friday|Family Fun Friday|Freedom Fridays|The Homeschool Linkup|Sharing Time|Ultimate Homeschooling Pinning Party|TGI Saturday|Thoughtful Spot|

Where to Begin When Putting Together My Own Homeschool Curriculum?

| 4 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Your questions are awesome.  Where to begin when putting together my own homeschool curriculum is another dynamic reader question I have to share with you because sometimes the core curriculum is not real clear.

Look at Nicolle’s question:

I am a single mom of an incredible 6 (going on 7) year old boy.  A hands on entrepreneur with overhead still working on the business and so I am a working mom and my son comes to work with me.  though it may be difficult I work towards doing things I believe in in my heart, after long consideration.  I am very creative; however we are just making more friends and have no family where we are (my sons daddy is here p/t).  With that said and with found support in other (stay at home) home-school moms I took the leap and am just beginning to home-school my son.  I am overwhelmed though still with how to create an initial solid foundation to build a ‘core curriculum’ for him and us.  I’ve been told my style is more eclectic, unit studies, with a twist of Charlotte mason living language.  I was referred to take your course which I will.  I’ve worked on new work etc scheduling…but despite being told it’s easier to buy a curriculum (a bit expensive for me and all I want is the written curriculum and not all the books as I can attain them in a different way and which to choose?!)  I’d like to start working on my own…Where do I begin knowing the curriculum I put together (as you said in your video) will not ‘leave my child’ behind so to say??? 

Singleness can have a huge advantage when you are on the curriculum hunt.  You have time to research curriculum because you don’t have a husband’s demands to meet.  Singleness does have its freedom.

Too, using the creative and entrepreneur part of your personality are strengths and can save you money in long run.

Entrepreneurs rock and are willing to take chances and risks that others are not willing to take. This is where you can think of hands-on ideas on the spur of the moment and where you will seize teachable moments.

The side of your personality that probably needs support is with the details and maybe curbing the desire to “jump” to something different when you need to stay on course.
This is where part laid-out curriculum comes in. You are on the right track.  Just remember though that laid-out does not always mean expensive.

You can use laid-out curriculum without buying a whole boxed curriculum. Just buy each part that you need.

When looking at costs, there are a couple of ways at looking at this.
One way is that when you buy something laid-out, you don’t have the guesswork of whether you are covering the basics or not.

Another way of looking at it that I have seen is that many, many, many homeschoolers think they are saving money only to spend or waste thousands of hours trying out new curriculum in their hunt to find a perfect fit.

What price are you putting on your time to hunt for the “perfect” resource?
Understand that anything you purchase will not be perfect ever.

However, getting something that will help you to stay on task, will allow freedom for you to add your creativity and tweaking or deleting activities that make no sense to you is a great start.

I do believe you can find a balance too. One more advantage you have is that your son is very young.  Just starting out you don’t need very much at this age.

The core curriculum are basically your 3 R’s, which are reading, writing and arithmetic.

The 3 R’s vary slightly at each age, but here is the very short list of essentials for his age:

Phonics

Handwriting

Math

Reading

If you spend your hard earned dollars on these things first, then you are covering the essentials.

These are the subjects he needs to do everyday. They don’t have to be done necessarily by a worksheet either.  Again, you can add your flair to these subjects.  At this age, he needs more hands-on as well.

For example, a day of teaching might go like this: phonics may be about creating an art collage of the sounds he is working on, handwriting practice might consist of playing with slime dough after he writes a sentence or two, math could be a read aloud from a living book about math or doing a candy graph and reading could be him listening on line to a read aloud.

Using the laid out guides, you will know what he needs to learn each day and can enhance it with more hands-on learning.

With your tendency toward creativity you can add in science and history from library books and free resources.

Too, you will want to spend money on items for arts and crafts because at this age it is not just play, but it is about learning.

Used curriculum is not always cheaper. It’s worth looking at all your options.

You do not have to buy a boxed curriculum, but you can buy each of these pieces separate and still make a good fit for your son because they are still laid out.

Choose a Homeschool Phonics Program

Look at some of the choices for phonic programs that I like:

Alpha Omega has Horizons, A Beka has a solid phonics program, All About Spelling which is a reading program too, Explode the Code and Sing, Spell, Read and Write.

Choose a Homeschool Handwriting Program

A Reason for Writing and I like workbooks by Zaner-Bloser.

Too, add in plenty of copywork and dictation starting off with like one sentence to copy and expand to longer ones.

You don’t need to teach formal composition until later grades, which could be another long topic here on my blog.

For now, at this age you are teaching the mechanics of how to write.

Most children don’t have control over their fine motor skills until about halfway through first grade. That is when I started teaching cursive to each of my sons.

Choose a Homeschool Math Program

Math is a fun subject too. There are a lot of wonderful programs to choose from as well.

Besides something rigorous which is a given, I prefer bright colored pages for this age too.

Horizon Math is advanced, Singapore is right there too and so is Math U See.
Each one has a different approach.

Choose a Homeschool Reading Program

If he is not reading yet, then you want some phonics readers that enhance your phonics lessons. I used Pathway readers because they were rigorous and inexpensive.

Too, when I taught my oldest son to read, I went to the local teacher supply store and bought an inexpensive set of phonics readers. It focused on one sound in each book and then I added in way more free stuff I found on line and hands-on art to focus on that sound for three or four days and then added in another book.

If he is reading, then you want to look for living books, which means they are not textbooks. You can also save a lot of money by making regular trips to the library to get books on his reading level.

Keep in mind if you use a program like Sing, Spell, Read and Write or All About Spelling which is called All About Reading, readers will be included.

I also loved Christian Light Readers too. They are inexpensive and beautifully written.  It does not hurt to have phonics readers and easy books for beginning readers a plenty.

Though I see this long scrolling list of subjects that new homeschoolers have for their children, the core curriculum or basics are the bones or framework of an excellent education.

Stay the course by doing them each day in every grade, adding in spice along the way by varying your teaching methods and curriculum and you will have a great beginning.

You might also want to look at these posts:

8 Components of a Boxed Curriculum
How to Use a Boxed Curriculum without Giving Up Your Homeschool Approach
How To Choose Curriculum Other Than the Looks Good Method
Stop Switching Your Curriculum, Switch Your Course of Study 

Hugs and love ya,

Signature T

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.

What If I Choose the Wrong Homeschool Curriculum

| 9 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

What if I choose the wrong homeschool curriculum is at the top of the list of worries for new and seasoned homeschoolers alike.

However, I think on the flip side of worry is getting a shipment of new homeschool curriculum. It can be one of the most pleasurable moments in homeschooling. Don’t you just love the smell of new books? It just feels like you have it all together now.

But then, worry sets in. Will this be the right curriculum for my child? Will this year meet my expectations? We spend hours reading every catalog and website that we can as we pore over curriculum choices.

Many times we still are not sure if we have the best curriculum. Then we read those emails or posts on groups where one mom used something that is working so “perfectly” for her and her children.

And then we wonder what’s wrong with us. Doubt sets in about the choices we made at the beginning of the year and we have a gnawing pain at the bottom of our stomach.

If you are teetering about making a huge change, there are a few things that I have learned about choosing the wrong curriculum. Look at these 5 tips below that I hope will help you.What If I Choose the Wrong Homeschool Curriculum

(Incidentally, I love ALL the curriculum in this picture above and highly recommend it.  It worked beautifully for me in the years that I needed it.  But, what works one year for me, may not work for you. That is the key to determining if it’s the wrong choice for you.)

1.  There is no PERFECT curriculum.  Some years it is just about trial and error. There will be times when you pick something that is not what you need for that year or does not meet your goals. You will make some mistakes. That is okay because at anytime during the year you can switch.

Before you switch though, be sure it is the curriculum that is not working and not issues of scheduling, discipline or being overwhelmed. We might mistakenly think that the curriculum is the culprit of our day when in fact it could be other issues in our homeschooling. So give new curriculum a fair shake so to speak.

The opposite of that thinking is sticking with a curriculum no matter what. I have tried to stick to a curriculum because I begged my husband that I just had to have it, so I felt guilty in not using it.  What I have learned is that this can have detrimental effects on my kids.

It is not a waste when you switch because this is a lesson well learned in how your child learns best.

I am not encouraging you to not be frugal and make the decisions you and your husband make work, but balance that thinking with the hundreds and hundreds of dollars you would have spent in public school on school supplies not used, countless clothes purchased and otherwise frivolous things like a school fund raiser.

Too, if you keep your curriculum neat and clean you can resale it and recoup some of your husband’s hard earned dollars.

2. Don’t forget to read homeschool curriculum reviews.   iHN, which I am a proud member of reviews homeschool curriculum.  So be sure to check out the reviews because in reviewing curriculum, I try to give an objective summary of each one.

This means that I try to recommend which group of homeschoolers that a particular curriculum will work for and what you may need to consider if you end up using it.

Look here at the homeschool curriculum I have reviewed so far.

It is important to read homeschool reviews that are informative instead of biased.  Why? Because what may not work for you this year may be the “perfect” curriculum for another year or different circumstance.

More importantly, try to determine why or why not a certain curriculum worked for a family and see if you have similar circumstances.

3.  Take advantage of talking 1:1 vendors at curriculum fairs or either on the phone.  They spend thousands of hours tweaking their curriculum to meet our needs and most vendors want you to understand how best to use their curriculum.

Too, companies like Rainbow Resource, which has been around for a long time have staff that is well educated in the differences between curriculum. Use these free resources by asking them questions when you can’t find the answer in your own research.

Just the catalog alone from Rainbow Resource is an education in the differences between curriculum with their mini-reviews or write ups about various curriculum.

4.  Children are pretty hardy. Homeschooling in fear is not a good place to be at.  So don’t fall prey to the idea that we will have huge gaps in learning.

The truth of it is, everybody has gaps in their learning unless we all learned at the same school at the same time with the same teacher and we still would come away with differences in our education.  Our educational background and differences are what makes each of us unique.  Embrace it.

If you use a curriculum and feel you are somewhat behind in what your goals are, just remember children have a great reserve to pick up at a new point in learning and move forward.

I have done this more than I can remember. I made a bad choice with Mr. Senior 2013 in math beginning his middle school years and he got behind.  By high school, he was well ahead. Why? Because having made a better choice with math, he was highly motivated to move ahead because he loved math.

The same thing happened with Mr. Awesome with a spelling program in his elementary years.  One spelling program was not clicking with him, but after I changed he went up two grade levels because he now had a much better fit with the way he learned.

Not seeing tears, but a return of their love of learning was well worth any money I had spent previously. Just remember, your time is well spent investigating another curriculum if the one you are using is not making sense to your child.

sharing homeschool curriculum

(One mom in our group ready to share her homeschool curriculum with the group.)

5. Look to your local homeschool support.  Many times in our local support group, we would plan a park day for the kids, but it would be a curriculum swap or show and tell for us as the moms. Don’t you wish you could just rent curriculum for a week or two to see if it will work for your family?

As long as you respect copyright laws of publishers, you can take the curriculum home and give it a test drive. Many of my favorite programs I first put my hands on at a park day with my group.  Looking it over for a week or two gave me a much better picture if it would work for my family or not.

Curriculum is our blue print to see how we want to build the education of our children, but it is not the final building.  There are always changes and adjustments to any construction job. Sometimes the adjustments are huge, sometimes they are trivial.

Most important though is that when you are enthusiastic about learning and teaching any subject, that is contagious and rubs off on your children.

It is your attitude toward learning that matters more than any curriculum you choose. Your children will adopt the attitudes and examples you set.

Share your enthusiasm and passion for learning and your children will remember their unique educational heritage and not the wrong curriculum you chose.

Check out the other stuff I have to say about choosing curriculum:

Stop Switching Your Curriculum, Switch Your Course of Study

 How to Choose Curriculum Other than the “Looks Good” Method.

The A, B, C’s of Picking Curriculum + {part 1}

The A, B, C’s of Picking Curriculum + {part 2}

SaveHugs and love ya,

Signature T

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.