Home Schooling Curriculum
Selecting a home schooling curriculum can at first seem like a daunting task. Once you have selected a home schooling methodology you have actually started down the path to selecting a curriculum. The choice of methodology will help to focus your search for a curriculum.
Review a Scope and Sequence
It is not at all uncommon for the new home schooler to have no idea where to begin. A good way to get your bearings might be to review a scope and sequence for your child's grade level. A scope and sequence is simply a plan, or outline, of what skills and topics are covered at a given grade level. Most are fairly general and would allow for a lot of latitude in picking curriculum. There are many sources for obtaining a scope and sequence, including: encyclopedia companies, state offices of education, teacher college libraries, home school web sites and the web in general. Some good guides on what a child should be learning at a given level include:
- Homeschooling: The Early Years: Your Complete Guide to Successfully Homeschooling the 3- to 8- Year-Old Child by Linda Dobson
- Homeschooling: The Middle Years : Your Complete Guide to Successfully Homeschooling the 8- to 12-Year-Old Child (Prima Home Learning Library) by SHARI HENRY
- Homeschooling: The Teen Years : Your Complete Guide to Successfully Homeschooling the 13- to 18- Year-Old (Prima Home Learning Library) by CAFI COHEN, Janie Levine Hellyer
- What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know : Preparing Your Child for a Lifetime of Learning (Core Knowledge Series) by E.D. JR HIRSCH
- What Your First Grader Needs to Know : Fundamentals of a Good First-Grade Education (The Core Knowledge Series) by E.D. JR HIRSCH
- What Your Second Grader Needs to Know : Fundamentals of a Good Second Grade Education Revised (The Core Knowledge Series) by E.D. JR HIRSCH
- What Your Third Grader Needs to Know : Fundamentals of a Good Third-Grade Education (The Core Knowledge) by E.D. JR HIRSCH
- What Your Fourth Grader Needs to Know : Fundamentals of a Good Fourth-Grade Education (The Core Knowledge) by E.D. JR HIRSCH
- What Your Fifth Grader Needs to Know : Fundamentals of a Good Fifth-Grade Education (Core Knowledge Series) by E.D. JR HIRSCH
- Christian Home Educators' Curriculum Manual : Elementary Grades by Cathy Duffy
Some states require that home schoolers have a curriculum plan that gets approved each year. Having a scope and sequence in hand with which to build your curriculum can be very helpful with this government review.
Use Your Child as a Guide
You should spend time observing your child to understand how they learn and what they find interesting. These two pieces of information can help to guide you in the selection of curriculum materials. If your child is a hands-on learner, then a curriculum that requires a lot of sitting and reading may not be correct. Similarly, if your child has an interest in ancient civilizations, then a unit study based around an ancient civilization theme might be good. It is important to remember that you are trying to tailor the learning to the child. Because of this, observation is a very necessary component of your planning process.
Talk to others
A consistent theme through most literature on the subject of home schooling is that you should seek out others who are also home schooling. They are an invaluable resource for curriculum and resource ideas. They can give insight into what they found effective and ineffective.
Home school conventions are another great place to talk to others. Conventions have the added advantage of showcasing many curriculum vendors who are displaying their products. This is an excellent way to review many curriculum choices in a small amount of time. Often the vendors offer convention discounts and you will also save shipping costs.
There are also numerous resource guides, books, magazines, and web sites that have valuable information on home schooling and home schooling curriculum that you can consult.
