When people begin to toy with the idea of homeschooling their children one of the common fears involves the curriculum:
- Which curriculum is the best?
- Which one guarantees that my child will be able to do brain surgery at 10?
- Which one will take me by the hand and lead me through everything because I don’t have a degree in education?
- What happens if I don’t know the answer to a question?
- Will my child be doomed by my “ignorance”?
And the answer to all of these questions is … there is no magic curriculum. The purpose of homeschooling isn’t to create Einstein (even though that might be nice). It isn’t to prove to outside friends and family that your child is smarter than their child. It is to provide your child with an educational platform that will allow him to thrive as an individual and to be able to learn the skills they need for their chosen profession. The rest is all ego – parental ego.
So the first thing that parents considering homeschooling should work on is their own attitude. There is no one on this planet that loves your children more than you do. There is no one on this planet that will lay their life down for their children but you. So, you will not hurt your child by educating them. Education is really teaching someone how to find out the answers to the questions that they have in life. Common sense is a much harder thing to learn than regurgitating facts for a test, which unfortunately, the current educational system revels in these days. So before you pick out a curriculum, you need to have a good long talk with yourself about why you want to homeschool, make a commitment and do it. The rest will fall in line.
I have spent lots of money looking for the holy grail of curricula. But I was looking for things that interested me and not really considering the things that would interest my children or suit their personalities. So, before you pull out your checkbook, watch your children play and interact and see what works best for them. My eldest daughter must be in motion or she’ll explode. She’s a really smart girl, but sitting quietly is not her best learning style. My middle daughter is of a reflective nature, so I have to make sure that I leave her a lot of time to get her work done. She’s a daydreamer, but her work is always well done by the end of the school day. My youngest (he’s 2) seems like he’s going to follow in the footsteps of my first daughter. He’s always in motion and does his best “work” while he’s running around. So, we’ll be doing hopscotch alphabet and numbers in a couple of years. J
Now, that I’ve categorized my kids I can start thinking about which curriculum would be “the best”. I think “the best” curriculum is one that works for my family. It may not work for Fran’s family or Katy’s family, just my family. Every family is unique. So, I have a more eclectic approach. I like Sonlight’s curriculum, but my daughters had trouble with some of the math samples I printed up, so it didn’t make sense for me to invest in the whole year curriculum. But I do use their reading book lists that tie in what I’m teaching my girls right now. We’re learning Russian from a fellow homeschooling mom and her family. I like the language arts and history programs by Susan Wise. I have various science books around the house, so this year we’ll actually see which ones we will use.
For math I like Math Mammoth. My 9-year-old and 6-year-old are both working in the same series (at different paces, obviously), but what I’m really impressed by is their mastery of each worksheet. My eldest really struggled with conventional math books and got more wrong than right. Now, however, she’s a consistent 95% and above on each one. That’s greatly improved her confidence which has led to better work habits. My six year old is adding and subtracting double digits with ease. Although she works more slowly than her sister (who is still in review mode) she gets 100% every time. So how can I complain about a little daydreaming?
My 6 year old is still working on her reading skills, but the book, “Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Lessons”, I’m using to teach her to read is much different than the ones that her big sister used. Why? Because she needs more time to think out her answers. The eldest (and probably her little brother) loved the computerized independent/discovery learning style. I used the Scholastic Reading Program (that they discontinued for some reason) as well as StarFall and IKnowThat coupled with the LeapFrog Videos and she pretty much taught herself. My point is that each child learns at his or her own pace. Our job is to find what works and encourage it. And that’s one reason I think the best way to start is not to spend hundreds of dollars on curriculum, but find something that is flexible while you work out the details of how your children learn.
I have fallen in love with the The Old Schoolhouse Planner. It’s an eclectic collection of resources that is also a complete year’s curriculum. First off, let me confess that I have not been the most organized homeschooler. I’ve purchased programs to keep records on the girls work, I’ve set up schedules (that I then proceeded to ignore after about a week), and changed my mind a couple of times during the course of the year on some of the books that we had chosen to use for learning. But after reading through this 375 page masterpiece of planning I am finally content. Each month is based upon a theme and all the activities and subjects that are taught in that month follow that theme. This would be just about perfect for new homeschooling families. When you start out homeschooling you always worry that you won’t get everything done. The planner is designed to help you not only get yourself organized, but to have fun while you teach and learn. (If you want to learn more about the planner you can go here or read additional reviews here.)
Another resource that you will find useful is called “Oklahoma Homeschool” and has a great breakdown of educational styles and ideas that will be a great help to you as you choose your curriculum. You can also visit The Homeschool Lounge and talk to experienced homeschoolers. You’ll see that the ways to have well-educated children are as diverse as the stars.
You can and will make the difference in your child’s education. The curriculum is just a tool in your hand. Take your time to pick the right one for you and your family and the rest will follow.
