Curriculum

What is curriculum? Curriculum are the books and resources your children will learn from. What other purposes does curriculum serve? The curriculum may offer various teaching methods guided toward your childs learning styles. It also provides you (teacher) instructions and suggestions on tests, quizzes, grading and how to teach the subject(s) in general.

When I began homeschooling over ten years ago. I honestly had no idea where to obtain curriculum. Should I ask my local school district? Ha! Should I go to the local teacher supply store?

I settled on visiting my local teacher supply store. I eagerly ordered books and resources. During this time my children were 7 years old and younger, so I decided to purchase workbooks from Walmart to help supplement.

Is this approach to homeschooling wrong? I would say no. It was the way I got started and it worked for our family. The point I am making is begin with what you know and expand your knowledge with a little research. The more experience, knowledge and confidence you gain will hopefully lead you to making clearer decisions in selecting curriculum.

I continued shopping at the teachers store about a year until I discovered the world of curriculum fairs and homeschool conferences. Attending those events were so much fun and exciting!! It was also tiresome and overwhelming. I reviewed and compared countless curriculum packages and talked with numerous vendors. I longed to be back at the tiny teacher supply store where the selections were fewer and simple.

Here are a few points to consider when purchasing curriculum:

• Observe your child and recognize his learning styles
• Consider his personality
• Don’t buy impulsively
• Read curriculum reviews
• Contemplate the cost or consider buying used
• Determine how well you understand the curriculum

My daughters both learned math using a mathematics manipulatives program for several years. However, after third grade various lessons became confusing. We’d review sections again and again, but the progress was very slow. I could see their frustration. I switched to a textbook approach and their skills immediately improved .

I was glad to find a resolution, but Ialso had invested a lot of money in that math curriculum. Yet, I had to let it go. I have heard many moms on the search for the “perfect” curriculum. I am guilty as charged! I can assure you there is no such thing! I can tell you after careful research and consideration the curriculum still may not be a good fit. Sometimes curriculum selection is trial and error.

I will be reviewing and comparing curriculum choices on this blog quite often. I look forward to dialoguing with you on this topic.

For The Love Of Our Children