When it comes to choosing curriculum for your homeschool, it can feel like an exciting and energy-infused time. After all, you have so many things to check out, so many options you can go with – the possibilities seem endless!
But when it comes to choosing curriculum for your homeschool, it can feel overwhelming and scary and bring up all sorts of insecurities. After all, you have so many things to check out, so many options you can go with – the possibilities seem endless…
Back and forth…
Forward and back…
This curriculum or that one…
Which one do you choose? How do you know if you’re choosing the right one? How do you even begin to look at everything so you can make an informed decision?
Let’s face it, when it comes to choosing what curriculum to use in your homeschool, it can feel like wrestling a 7-headed monster covered in Jell-O…exhausting, slippery, and you don’t know which head to focus on and fight first.
But it doesn’t have to be that way!
Let’s take a step back, grab a cup of coffee, and start to break this down one step at a time…
…And in the process, we’ll take that nasty 7-headed monster and defeat him soundly!
The Most Important Principle of All
As you start down the path of choosing homeschool curriculum, you’re going to come to many decision points. Many different options. Many different forks in the road, so to speak.
Some of them will be simple. Some of them will only have an A or B option…while others may have tens or (not to scare you, but…) hundreds of options you can take.
Now, before you get scared and alarm bells and sirens start going off in your head, you need to remember something very important. In fact, I think this is the most important principle you can follow when choosing your homeschool curriculum:
Give yourself time and take it one step at a time!
Yes, this is far easier said than done, but think about it: When you’re overwhelmed or rushed, things feel bigger and more complicated. It’s harder to wrap your mind around what you need to understand to make the best decision. And the pressure to make a decision builds like none other!
So how do you avoid all that?
Start this process as early as you can to give yourself enough time to check out what you want to. Even if you’re not able to start as early as you want to, give yourself as much time as you possibly can.
Take things one step at a time by focusing on finding the answer to one question, working on one aspect, or working on one step at a time.
And as you go through the process, if things start to get overwhelming, take a step back. Take a break for an hour, a day, or even two, then come back with renewed energy and clarity to continue on. You’ll be surprised how even walking away from an overwhelming project for 5 minutes to stretch your legs and refill your coffee or water can bring a whole new level of clarity!
So give yourself time to look at your options and think and pray through which choice will be the best fit for your family as you choose your homeschool curriculum.
The Legal Stuff
If this is your first year homeschooling, there is one very important thing you need to make sure to complete: The Legal Stuff.
Now, I know this post is all about choosing curriculum, but as part of starting your homeschool, you need to let your state know that your children will be homeschooled. I’m not a lawyer, so I’m not going to attempt to tell you the exact details of what you need to do. However, the wonderful people at Homeschool Legal Defense Association (or HSLDA) are experts in homeschool law. Click this link to check out the exact legal steps you need to take to make sure your homeschool is fully compliant with the laws in your state.
The First Fork in the Road
Now, the first fork in the road, the first major decision you need to make when it comes to choosing your homeschool curriculum is the type of curriculum you will use. I like to call it your curriculum style.
And in this step, there are 5 major avenues you can take…
Grade in a Box
This first option is where you order a homeschool plan for a particular grade and it comes ready-made and ready to use out of the box.
Let’s say your child is getting ready to start 2nd grade. So, you go online and purchase a set of 2nd grade homeschooling curriculum from a publisher. In a few weeks, a large box arrives on your doorstep with all the textbooks, workbooks, and reading books you need as well as a teacher’s manual. Essentially, all you have to do is open the teacher’s guide and lead your children through what they laid out for you to do in each subject day by day through the entire year.
These curriculum plans are all-encompassing and really take the guesswork out of how to create a plan to walk through your child’s curriculum in a year by giving you the plan to follow. They can be helpful because everything you need for every subject is included in that one box. This type of curriculum style can also take the intimidation out of trying to plan your homeschool curriculum on your own.
In my opinion, the biggest downfall of the Grade In A Box curriculum style is the lack of flexibility. There’s a lot of pressure that comes with trying to stay on someone else’s set plan for the year – particularly if you’re just starting your homeschooling journey and you haven’t found the best pattern for you and your family yet.
Another major downfall is that all the material in a 2nd grade box, for example, is where the publisher feels a 2nd grader should be at in school. But what if your child is struggling in math and needs to back up a bit to be sure they mastered the basics before moving on? What if your child excels in reading and is beyond what the curriculum in the box lays out?
It’s hard to meet your child where they’re at on their learning journey and tailor your curriculum to their learning styles when you’re working with a pre-boxed, pre-planned year of curriculum.
One other challenge bears mentioning here and that is the challenge of going through a pre-boxed set grade level of curriculum if you have multiple children. You see, each year has it’s own plan, which means if you have multiple children, you will be teaching a full day of 2nd grade, a full day of 4th grade, and a full day of 6th grade with no cross-over – each and every day. And while it’s possible, it can also be extremely challenging and draining…especially if you don’t think through this challenge ahead of time.
Co-Op or Hybrid School
The option of a co-op or hybrid school is very similar to the Grade In A Box option with one major difference: You’ll be meeting together with other homeschooling families at least once a week as you walk through the set curriculum.
Now, each specific co-op and hybrid school is set up in their own unique way, but generally, families will meet together at least once a week and possibly up to three days a week. In these weekly gatherings, your children will attend classes that are taught specific to a topic and grade level. For example, your 2nd grader might be in math class while your 4th grader is in science class.
On the days where you’re not meeting with the other families, you’re responsible to help your children walk through their lessons at home to ensure they will stay on track with the rest of the class when you meet the following week.
One of the great benefits of this approach is that your curriculum plan is all laid out for you. There is no need for you to put together a plan on your own because it’s part of the co-op or hybrid school. This approach also allows each of your children to learn in a class specific to their grade level on each subject.
In my opinion, one of the biggest downfalls of this approach is the flexibility. When you commit to being a part of a co-op or hybrid school, you agree to a set school schedule. You agree to have your children in their classes at a certain time each week and to make sure their assignments are all completed according to the plan laid out for you.
The other major downfall that I see in this approach is that it becomes much more challenging to meet your child where they’re at in their learning journey. Essentially, your child will be in a class with other students and you won’t have the flexibility to speed up or slow down the rate that you go through the curriculum since you need to stay with the group.
Now, before we leave this approach of co-ops or hybrid schools, I do want to mention that I know a great number of homeschooling families that have chosen this approach. And you know what? Their children are thriving in this environment. I also know a great number of families that have tried this approach and found that it is not the right fit for their family.
Again, there is no one right way to homeschool your children. The best way to homeschool your children is choosing the approach that works with your family’s rhythms and one in which your children are learning.
Subject by Subject
The next approach is to choose your curriculum subject by subject. In other words, you do the research and choose the curriculum you want to work through with your children. But instead of getting a big box of every subject you need for 2nd grade like in the Grade In A Box approach, you choose your curriculum one subject at a time.
Now, because you are looking at a different curriculum for each subject, there are many different approaches each curriculum can take. Some of them will give you the textbooks, workbooks, and a suggested plan for how you can break down the material into daily lesson plans for the year. Some of them will come complete with textbooks, workbooks, answer keys, and even a DVD or online class where a teacher presents the lesson for you. Some of them will come with just the textbook.
Each curriculum you choose for each subject will look a little different because you’re choosing each subject on its own.
Once you’ve chosen the curriculum you want to use for science and the curriculum you want to use for math and all the individual pieces have shown up on your doorstep, then you put together your plan on how to walk through the curriculum with your children in a given year.
Now, this part of putting your curriculum plan together on your own can be the biggest asset to the Subject by Subject approach or it can be seen as its biggest downfall.
Creating your own curriculum plan is an asset because you are the one setting the pace for each subject for each child. This automatically gives you a great amount of control over the pacing of the material and a lot of input into how your school year takes shape. You also have a lot of say in the schedule you set and the flexibility you build into it. In other words, you’re not on anyone else’s schedule as you work through your school curriculum!
Another asset to the Subject by Subject approach is the ability to meet your children where they are at in their learning journey. For example, if you have one child who excels in math, they can continue to learn without having to stay inside the “4th grade math box.” On the other hand, if you have a child who struggles with learning math, you can take your time moving through the material and not worry about finishing a certain level by a certain time.
Another major asset to the Subject by Subject approach is the ability to combine classes across grade levels. Because you’re choosing your own subjects, you can have all your elementary school children working on the same science curriculum or history curriculum. This saves you a great deal of time because you only have one science lesson to teach instead of 3 or 4 every day (depending on how many kids you have).
One downfall of the Subject by Subject approach is the time it takes to research out the curriculum for each and every subject. In other words, you’re not just making one decision of what curriculum to use, but multiple decisions.
As I mentioned before, creating your own yearly curriculum plan can be seen as the biggest downfall of the Subject by Subject approach. And while each subject may come with a suggested path to follow, it’s up to you to put all the different subjects together into one coherent plan for the year. If you’ve never done something like this before, creating this plan can feel very intimidating. On the other hand, if you have a guide through this process, creating this yearly plan can be a lot easier than you might think. (Stay tuned for more on this piece…)
Unit Studies
The Unit Studies approach uses unit studies in one of two forms.
Small unit studies tend to cover a shorter time span and are intended to supplement your studies in a particular area. For example, you may find a unit study on ‘Little House in the Big Woods’ by Laura Ingles Wilder. And while it will not take you an entire year to go through this book, a unit study can act as a companion to the book, giving you worksheets, activities, and more that closely align with the book. In other words, these short unit studies enhance the curriculum you’re already using.
There are also semester-long or year-long unit studies that encompass not only a larger amount of time, but will combine all of your subjects under one umbrella. For example, they might take a book as the basis for the unit study and add on things like handwriting, math, spelling, and everything based on reading one chapter book.
Small Unit Studies are extremely helpful when you’re wanting to dive deeper into a particular topic. You can add a unit study to your curriculum plan without too much extra effort. And it allows you to dig deeper into a subject that your children have an interest in.
One major downfall to the small unit studies is that it’s easy to get distracted by them. When you add in too many unit studies, it can take over and you lose sight of your original curriculum plan.
One benefit to using a semester-long or year-long Unit Study is that it allows you to work through the same subject material with all of your children at the same time.
One of the major downfalls to the semester-long or year-long Unit Studies is that there is no clear path to teaching a particular subject. For example, while you may work on some math problems, there is no pattern in how math is taught from one year to the next or even from one lesson to the next. Math is a very build-on-what-you-have-learned subject and when it is taught a little bit here and a little bit there you end up doing a disservice to your children because you’re jumping around like crazy.
Personally, I’m not a fan of the unit studies that are created for a semester or a year-long approach. While I feel that they can give some good insight and can connect different subjects together, it turns into a hodge-podge approach. Particularly when it comes to some subjects like math.
Create It All on Your Own
The approach of creating all your homeschooling curriculum on your own is just that – where you create all your own curriculum from scratch. This is a very time-consuming option where you would put together not only the plan for going through the curriculum, but all the material you’ll be going through completely on your own. Essentially, you write it all!
This is not an option I suggest for mommas just starting out homeschooling. While it can be rewarding (personally, I’ve done this and you can check out curriculum that I’ve written here), it’s very time-consuming and challenging – especially if you’re writing it while still homeschooling!
If you’re just starting out or if you’re not sure about this approach, I would highly recommend you stick with curriculum that has already been written.
There Are Other Options…
Now, reading through these 5 major avenues, you might start thinking that there are other options available. And there are options like virtual school and others available to you!
However, this post is all about showing you the options for choosing curriculum as you homeschool. Personally, I don’t consider virtual school the same as homeschooling since the curriculum is already set for you. If virtual school works for your family and that’s the option you choose, that’s great! It’s there and available for you to use.
My Family’s Curriculum Choice
As we have walked through over a dozen years of homeschooling, every year I find myself looking through these options and re-evaluating to make sure we’re making the best decision for our family.
Each year, we seem to come back to the same avenue: The Subject by Subject method. This approach has been a huge success for my family, given us the flexibility, and the stability that we needed as we’ve walked through our homeschooling journey with all 5 of our children.
In my observation, this option of the Subject by Subject method is one that many people prefer, but that a lot of people struggle with getting a handle on – particularly when it comes to creating your yearly curriculum plan.
Over the next few weeks, we’re going to walk through how to put your Subject by Subject plan together for your homeschool – starting with the subjects to cover in each grade and then moving into different options and resources for different subjects. It’ll take us a while, but we’ll get there.
And, as an added bonus, I’ve been working on putting together different charts and resources you can use to make your homeschooling journey more organized, more enjoyable, and more colorful!
Your homeschooling adventure awaits…
Additional Resources:
- How To Get Started Homeschooling: 10 Important Tips
- What Style of Homeschooling Curriculum is Right for You?
- Subjects to Teach Your Child in Preschool and Kindergarten
- Subjects to Teach Your Child in First, Second, and Third Grade
- Subjects to Teach Your Child in Fourth and Fifth Grade
- Subjects to Teach Your Child in Middle School
- How To Measure Your Child’s Homeschooling Progress…without Using a Checklist
Elizabeth Tatham, founder of Inspiration in the Everyday, is a homeschooling momma of 5 who loves helping other homeschooling mommas create a unique homeschooling adventure your kids will love…without the overwhelm! Join in on the journey with 7 simple steps to make your homeschooling day go faster, easier, and with less tears here.