Don’t Be Afraid of Choosing Homeschool Curriculum – You Can Do It!

Deciding to homeschool your kids means setting out on an adventure, and like any adventure there are pieces of the journey that feel scary. The good news is this: you are not alone! Other parents have gone before you and there’s lots of encouragement and practical wisdom to be gained from their experiences. Let’s be honest; choosing homeschool curriculum causes fear for many parents.

What if you pick the WRONG thing??

What if you fail to get the PERFECT thing??

Take a deep breath, sit back and have a chat with your big sisters, my friend. Out of our 20+ years homeschooling our many children in the various families represented by the veteran homeschool moms at 7SistersHomeschool.com, we would like to offer you this super-duper-important truth. Are you ready for wisdom?

There’s not ONE right way to go about choosing homeschool curriculum.

It’s true. You cannot possibly get it all wrong, because every kid and every homeschool parent is different. Part of the reason many families choose to homeschool is because they want to customize their child’s educational experience. That means that even the uber-popular curriculum all of your homeschool friends are talking may or may NOT be a good choice for you.

But how do you know? How do you handle choosing homeschool curriculum when you don’t know for sure what will be a good fit for your child, your style as a teacher, and your family’s approach to homeschooling as a life-style?

We can’t offer you a fool-proof formula because there is no formula out there. But we can offer you 10 practical steps for tackling the challenge of choosing homeschool curriculum that is likely to be a good fit for your homeschool family.

10 Tips for Choosing Homeschool Curriculum – Don’t Be Scared; You Can Do This!

Pray.

Prayer is always the best place to start. God knows your kids even better than you do, and He is pleased to give parents wisdom when we ask Him for it. Ask Him to guide your decision-making process and to give you His peace as you take steps to prepare for your homeschool year.

Strategize.
Before you even consider your first textbook or co-op, take some time to think about your homeschool in a global sense. Make a list of each of your homeschoolers, their grade levels and subjects that need to be covered. Make note of any special circumstances you have to handle (dad is a shift-worker, mom has a job in addition to homeschooling, someone with chronic illness lives in the house, etc.). Write down personal goals for each child. Think of goals in a very broad sense. Ask questions like these to get your goals into words:

Before you even consider your first textbook or co-op, take some time to think about your homeschool in a global sense. Make a list of each of your homeschoolers, their grade levels and subjects that need to be covered. Make note of any special circumstances you have to handle (dad is a shift-worker, mom has a job in addition to homeschooling, someone with chronic illness lives in the house, etc.). Write down personal goals for each child. Think of goals in a very broad sense. Ask questions like these to get your goals into words:

• When my child is ready to graduate from high school, what do I want him to be prepared for?
• What spiritual qualities do I want to cultivate in my child along our homeschooling journey? What relational qualities? What unique things about my child do I want to encourage and build on? What areas of struggle do I observe that can be a target for improvement?
• Is my child an independent learner, or does she thrive in a more relational learning environment? Are her abilities to learn in various environments solid, or do we have some flexibility to build?
• What is my style as a teacher? Am I very much “in-the-trenches” or more of a coach from a distance?
• In what ways do MY OWN learning styles match my child’s? In what ways are we very different?
• Do I thrive in cooperative educational settings or am I more comfortable in my own home with only my children? Are those preferences in a healthy place or do I have some exploring to do beyond my comfort zone?

The answers to questions like these will help you to set goals for your homeschool year that address more than just academic subjects in a list. They examine the unique strengths and weaknesses, personal preferences, and areas of similarity or difference between you and your children. Understanding the organic make-up of your homeschool allows you to set wise goals.

Decide your budget.

This will determine which special (expensive) items you can get, what needs to be a freebie, how much text-swapping you need to do with friends, how many reasonably-priced texts you can afford. ‘Nuff said. We all know that finances have a big impact on the way we handle choosing homeschool curriculum.

Define each of your homeschoolers’ learning styles.

In addition to recognizing your child’s unique personality and relational style interacting with others, he or she has a learning style. Is your child a hands-on, experiential learner? A reader? A listen and talk about it kid? A mover? Understanding your child’s preferred learning style will help you determine how many texts to use vs. how many living books you want to find. You will have a good idea of how many unit-study/experiential-learning subjects you employ. If it might be time for your child to build some strength in his ability to learn in a style other than his prefered style (e.g. Your son is primarily a hands-on guy, but now that he is in Middle School you want to build his attention span for reading a tradtional text), think about employing a less-familiar style in an area of natural academic strength or giftedness, and stick with the preferred learning style for academic subjects that are more challenging to him.

Respect YOUR learning/teaching style, too!

You took a look at your natural hard-wiring earlier in this process. Don’t lay all of that awareness aside in favor of your child’s preferred style. You need to be teaching from a place of strength as much as possible to keep the homeschooling adventure healthy and happy for all. You matter, too, mama!

Explore.

Ask around Facebook groups about different curricula and read reviews. No one else can tell you what choices you should make when you are choosing homeschool curriculum. Unfortunately, some people will try to anyway! Seek input, and seek it from lots of sources. But don’t jump to a quick decision just because someone assertively recommended one resource or another. If it really is likely to be a good fit for your homeschool, you will only be MORE certain of that after you sleep on the idea. Talking to others with homeschooling experience is absolutely one of the most powerful tools for wisely choosing homeschool curriculum, so take advantage of the internet and your local community! Just remember that the decision is yours to make and no one else’s.

Think about the appeal of texts you are considering.

Do you like how they look? Yes, that matters! What about readability? Is the style of writing and choice of vocabulary exhausting? Insulting? How about the ratio of color/pictures to text? Some readers like lots of white space. Some like lots of colorful images. Some need the words and no distractions from them. What do you think of this text’s ability to foster independent learning? If it will require you to sit and read every paragraph alongside your child, be sure that this is a wise choice for this homeschool year.

Decide which courses are your homeschoolers’ strengths.

Every kid finds some subjects easier than others. Build on strengths and areas of interest in your homeschool. Choose a curriculum that fits your goals for those areas.

Decide which courses are your homeschoolers’ weaknesses.

Every kid finds some subjects more difficult than others. That’s okay! No one is equally comfortable in every area of academic discipline. Choose curriculum that will help your child gain confidence, find successful ways to master a difficult subject, and stick with the process even when the material gets tough. Can you find a curriculum that is a very different format than you’ve ever used? Sometimes a major departure from what your child has used before can be the key to success.

Include some special-interest materials.

If you kid is fascinated by a particular subject like baseball, or animals, or Medieval Times, craft some of your learning around those areas of interest. This can be a real life-saver during those weeks when everyone is out of sorts and needing a break but schoolwork still needs to be done. Work on a subject your daughter already loves and watch the tension decrease for all of you!

Now, the big question:
What if you make a mistake when choosing homeschool curriculum and buy something you simply cannot find a way to use successfully?

Well, you are in good company! It happens to all of us at one point or another. But remember: There’s never really a BAD curriculum choice! Even poor educational experiences are educational…and it gives you something to sell or barter at end-of-the-year homeschool book sales! Keep your approach flexible and don’t ever lose your sense of humor! Some of our homeschool graduate kids have very fond, very funny memories about curriculum “fails” we chose back in the day.

If you’d like more help from some homeschooling big sisters, visit the blog at 7SistersHomeschool.com where you will find lots and lots of encouragement and practical tips for homeschooling. The ebookstore at 7SistersHomeschool.com also offers ebook curriculum for Literature, Writing, and really cool Electives (mostly at the High School or Middle School level, with Elementary Literature Activity Guides for little learners, too). Each 7Sisters title promises no-busywork and no overkill. It isn’t the perfect curriculum for every homeschool family (because NO curriculum is!!), but it just might be a good fit. Take an extra 20% off any one item with the code HS101 until 6-17-17.

For parents of high school students, tune in to The Homeschool HighSchool Podcast on the Ultimate Homeschool Radio Network. Every Tuesday morning at 9:00 Eastern Time Sabrina Justison and Vicki Tillman (along with others of the 7SistersHomeschool.com community) explore all things homeschool high school!
Are you ready to embark on the adventure of choosing homeschool curriculum?

You can do it! Enjoy the adventure!

This is part of my Homeschooling 101 Series and I’m so glad you are here!

Next up How to DeSchool – Tips to Help You & Your Kids by Amy Milcic of RockYourHomeschool.net

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Sabrina Justison of 7 Sisters Homeschool

Sabrina is mom and step-mom to 7 kids in a blended family, and the youngest graduated from homeschool in 2014. Now she co-hosts The Homeschool HighSchool Podcast with Vicki Tillman on The Ultimate Homeschool Radio Network and creates ebook curriculum and blogs at 7SistersHomeschool.com with Vicki, Marilyn, Allison, Sara and Kym. Wait…that’s only 6 sisters, not 7. That’s right! When you visit, YOU are the 7th sister. Can’t wait to chat with you about homeschooling!