A Better Way To Homeschool: Choosing Curriculum

After deciding to homeschool their children, many parents

panic at the thought of choosing the "right" curriculum to

use. This is understandable as parents take the responsibility

to educate their kids out of the hands of the public school

system. How can the parents be sure that they are making the

correct decisions?

When I first began schooling my own kids I heard many moms and

educators assure me that it was not the curriculum that would

make or break my child's education. The truth is, with the

right attitude toward learning, a homeschool child can excel

far beyond the constraints of any "curriculum". Attitude is

everything. Character is paramount. If the child becomes a

brilliant student who aces every test and standard set before

them, yet cannot communicate compassionately with the world

around them. What good would that be?

I would rather invest heavily in the training of "how to

learn" with my own kids than "what to learn" any day. A Child

that learns to become an independent, self-motivated,

compassionate learner would be my primary goal. So what about

curriculum?

The primary goal you as a homeschooler need to set is your

standard's for success. In my own family, we have 4 basic

goals that would define our mission statement as

homeschoolers. Keep in mind that these are different for each

homeschooling family.

    Our faith is the most important thing we can pass on to

our Children. As Christian parents, we include the Lord in

everything we do.
    Math facts need to become reflexive. A child cannot hope

to thrive mathematically if they do not have those basic facts

memorized.
    Children need to devour books and great literature. This

is key to becoming an excellent communicator; both on paper

and in front of others. Nothing exposes children to vocabulary

and culture like great novels.
    Children need lots and lots of practice perfecting the art

of writing and communicating. There is no way around this one.

To become a great writer, one must write a lot.

Since these are the personal goals for my own children, I

would expect you to agree with some and disagree with others.

Once we established these "filters of success" we look at the

various curriculums and subjects that we teach our children.

We take a few things into consideration when planning our

school year.

    The ages and grade levels of each of our kids.
    Can any subjects be combined and customized to teach a

variety of ages simultaneously.
    The standards of the Department of Education for

California (since that is where we live).
    Enriching activities, field trips, hands-on experiences,

and people who will add to the depth of education of each

child.

Every family approaches curriculum differently. I personally

use the state standards as a guideline and then locate books

and resources that cover those standards.I am completely

unimpressed with busy work, so I tend to use actual books,

novels and texstbooks and then choose projects that culmiate a

topic (like the Civil War). I then choose engaging materials

and supplies to facilitate "topic driven projects".

Our school work takes the form of journals, lapbooks,

pocketbooks, Powerpoints, and presentations that each child

will complete. Keep in mind that what the kids learn is not as

important as how they learn. In this technology driven age the

"world is at your fingertips".

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tips, advice, and encouragement is our passion. Visit

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