CHOOSING HOMESCHOOL CURRICULUM – Questions To Ask Before Buying

Homeschooling families are faced with choosing a homeschool curriculum. Maybe you are just beginning your journey or maybe you are years into it and deciding to change what you have been using. Most homeschoolers I know have a similar first-year story. They select a curriculum based on the recommendation of a friend, and then a few months (or weeks) into the year, they realize they made a HUGE mistake. This post is to help guide you in choosing curriculum, but also to assist you in making some choices about the curriculum you are thinking about ditching.

Because selecting curriculum is like a journey, I have included this awesome photo of a Lego Man with a compass and a map!

VITAL QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE BUYING

Here are some vital questions to ask yourself before choosing (or continuing to use) a curriculum:

OBJECTIVE

What is my objective? Do you want to teach your children facts, figures and everything you learned in school, or are you looking to impart a love of learning to your children? 

WHERE TO FIND INFORMATION

Where should I go to find information? Google is your best friend. Do not ask in a Facebook forum the following questions: What curriculum is best? Should I give up on my current curriculum? What age should my child be (*fill in the blank – reading, multiplying, tying their shoes, etc.)? You will get hundreds of different answers. AND EACH CHILD IS DIFFERENT!

MAKING MISTAKES

Am I making a mistake in my choosing this homschool curriculum? Trust yourself. Even if you make a mistake, every curriculum can be adapted and modified to fit your lifestyle and your unique child. I know that homeschooling seems scary at times, but the best thing I ever did was to begin to trust myself.

MAKING CHANGES

Can I afford to ditch this curriculum if it doesn’t work? If you want to ditch your curriculum and get new curriculum mid-year, but you can’t afford to, learn how to adapt! This will be a useful skill for you and for your children to learn. Too many math problems per page – do half of them? If your child is struggling with reading – find something they like: billboards, comic books, cereal boxes, magazines, trade publications, books about breeding chickens. Any reading is better than no reading. And read out loud to them.

COST

If I select this homeschool curriculum what is the final cost? Are there any hidden costs associated with this choice? There are curricula that are free online (Elements of Fun Learning uses Disney Movies to teach), and there are curricula that cost thousands of dollars a year per child. Many times the higher priced ones come with access to a teacher. Do not think that COST = BETTER. Some of the better options actually have cost me less through the years.

CONTROL

How much control do I have when using this method? How much control do you want in what your children learn? Many “free” curriculum is not truly homeschooling, but charter schools that offer a free laptop and curriculum. But these free choices come with less control and more oversight.

TIME

How much time do I want to devote to teaching? Some curriculum have everything laid out for you, and others require a lot of planning. You have to decide before buying how much time you want to spend reading a manual or preparing for art projects before buying.

REVIEWS/RECOMMENDATIONS

Does this curriculum have reviews I can read? Sometimes no review is not a bad thing, but if you find many bad reviews that may say something about the support you get when you have questions. 

IMPORTANT POINTS TO REMEMBER WHEN CHOOSING HOMESCHOOL CURRICULUM

There is no perfect curriculum

There are no perfect kids

Perfect Teachers do not exist.

Your child will have gaps in their education whether they go to public school, private school or homeschool.

A curriculum that worked for child A may not work for Child B.

A curriculum that worked last year for child A, may not work this year for child A. 

The best things you can teach your child are to be flexible, to adapt to their circumstances, and to be kind to everyone they meet.

      Keep your child’s learning style in mind. Some children need a more hands-on approach especially for subjects like science.

ALL CHILDREN LEARN DIFFERENTLY.

If you are still unsure of whether you should homeschool or not, it helps to create a pro and con list – are your pros and cons on this list?

MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW ELEMENTS OF FUN LEARNING for a free online curriculum using Movies.