How to Choose the Right Homeschool Curriculum
Kayley Kenzie
Attending a homeschooling convention to select your homeschool curriculum can be refreshing. It leaves you reflecting over the myriad of possibilities that are available.
On the other hand, it could leave you feeling more lost and overwhelmed than before you ever went.
You might be the kind of parent who enjoys picking and choosing what you see in catalogs. Maybe you prefer to make your purchases over the phone, by mail, or through the internet. Perhaps you'd rather contact the salesperson first instead of waiting for them to get in touch with you.
Or maybe you're a parent who prefers surfing the web to find the resources you want and need.
No matter how you choose to shop for your homeschool curriculum--whether it's online, through a catalog, or a homeschool convention--there are some important things to keep in mind when you're making your decision:
* Recognize your child's interests, strengths, and weaknesses. This will help guide you when you're choosing the materials. The resources should not only play to your child's strengths, but also help turn your child's weaknesses into strengths.
* Know what your family is about. Is your family religious? Do your children have special needs? Would you like to do more traveling? When you choose a homeschool cirriculum, it is important to consider all these factors.
* What is your child's learning style? Knowing how your child learns is an important factor to consider when choosing curriculum. Is your child more of an auditory, visual, or hands-on learner?
* What long-term goals does your family have? Has your child been setting goals? If you and your child both have a goal to let him or her run a business, you should focus on resources that will help both of you achieve this goal.
* Cost of materials is an important factor. Some homeschooling families feel okay about photocopying material, or "borrowing" curriculum. Personally, I feel it is not fair. This doesn't mean that the curriculum you choose has to be expensive or make your broke. If you plan in advance, you will be able to budget in the costs.
* Is there a homeschooling philosophy that appeals to you? There are plenty of homeschool cirriculum philosophies. There are some that are literature-based, textbook, unit studies, accelerated, unschooling, Classical, and Christian.
* What are your time constraints? If you have a lot of children and also work part-time, it is important to take time into consideration. When you buy curriculum, you need to consider the time that you'll also be putting into co-op classes and your child's activities.
Before you decide on any homeschool curriculum, I think it's important for you to pray about your decision and talk things over with your spouse first.
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