Do you do this? You are looking at curriculum to teach. . .oh, let’s say science. You think you find the perfect curriculum. The description sounds exactly like what you want. It sounds like it promotes critical thinking. It sounds like it has tons of fun hands on experiments. It sounds like it gives plenty of teacher help so that you won’t be lost trying to decipher the difference between osmosis and diffusion. And then you get it, you rip it out of the box and start using it only to find that your child hates it. . .or you hate it. Where did you go wrong?
I can’t speak for you but often my eyes are bigger than my brain so to speak. I see something and it is definitely what I would’ve enjoyed but I fail to think about my child. Or I see it, think it looks great, but really I’ve been sold by a great presentation and there are flaws that I didn’t anticipate.
There is not a right answer to choosing curriculum. I have a curriculum that I like and works well with my family but that doesn’t mean that it’s right for your family. I have yet to see one curriculum lead to drastically better results over another and so I continue to maintain that when it all comes down to it–it really doesn’t matter.
But that doesn’t get you through the next several years of home schooling! So when you’re thinking about curriculum choice here are a few tips to help guide your thinking:
Your Philosophy of Education
I always encourage new homeschoolers to pen out their goals for their student. Writing down what you hope to accomplish and how you hope to accomplish it will help give you the beginning framework of what to look for in a curriculum. For me personally, I wanted a literature rich approach. Therefore, I automatically steered clear from programs like Abkea of Alpha and Omega that relied on basal readers and work books. There’s nothing wrong with them–but they weren’t for me.
Your Child’s Learning Style
Consider how your child learns best. What types of situations frustrate him? What type of material excites him? Does he seem to like doing hands on projects? Filling out workbooks? Does he need manipulative to understand math concepts?
Your Unique Situation
My first official year of home schooling, was also my first official year of mothering twins. I knew that I could not spend my time grading workbook pages, or doing things that otherwise would take me away from my younger children for too long. This was a key factor in make a curriculum decision. Reading out loud appealed to me because I could do it with everyone around and on my lap if they so desired. That first year, I often spent time reading to Lizzy while younger children were curled up next to me. I knew I couldn’t do anything that couldn’t go for several ages at once and I knew I couldn’t home school all day.
By considering some of your goals and thoughts, you can avoid purchasing curriculum to discover it’s not really what you want. There are other things to consider too, like your budget for example, but thinking through these three things are the most helpful in shaping your curriculum for your child.
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