Deciding to homeschool comes with the daunting task of choosing a curriculum. Some homeschoolers use an all in one for all subjects. While others break it up and may use one for English and another for math and so on.
With literally hundreds of curriculums to choose from and at all price points and learning styles. The research put into finding what not only fit my teaching style, but my childrens learning style was quite the task.
I spent hours researching online, looking at YouTube to dig deeper inside the material and looking at reviews.
After 2 months I finally decided on what worked best for my family!
When considering to homeschool there are several things you'll need to consider.
BUDGET- With price points all over the place. Its good to set a budget for your family. To consider what you are willing to spend per child for the year. You could easily spend $1200 on a curriculum. With things to consider like purchasing an all in one. Which includes Math, science, social studies and language arts material for the year.
Where as some people break it up as I mentioned above. Purchasing one brand for English another for math and so on. But with this you need to remember that some English curriculums alone run about $180 for the year.
I for one found some great buy, sell or trade sights on Facebook with used materials (that look brand new and haven't been written in) for much cheaper than the retail price. Which helps significantly especially when you have more than one child.
TEACHING STYLES- With the many teaching styles that curriculums offer, another thing to consider is what will work best for you and your family. Do you want secular(non religious) or a Christian based program.
Do you want the Charlotte Mason approach. Which believes in educating the whole child, not just the mind. Good habits, shorter lessons with focused attention. Rather than long blocks of time. Charlotte Mason believes in understanding ideas vs memorization. Living books, outside, music and literature rich studies. Some examples of Charlotte Mason inspired curriculums include...Living books, harmony fine arts and queen homeschooling.
However, Maybe the Waldorf method fits your style better. Waldorf values nature, creativity, play and socialization. Ages 7-14 lessons are taught through art. Where as ages 14-18 he takes a more rigorous approach, teaching children to think for themselves. Curriculums may include Oak meadow, earth schooling and Waldorf essentials.
With so many more methods to choose from, such as. Classical, traditional, unit studies, montessori, Thomas Jefferson and unschooling. You can see how it can get daunting. I suggest doing your research to become more familiar with what works best for your family.
HOW DO YOUR CHILDREN LEARN BEST- Do your children learn best by taking online classes virtually, or maybe they love workbooks and reading from textbooks. Are your children hands on and kinesthetic learners? Talk with your children about what they would like to see this years learning look like.
TIME- A good question to ask yourself is how much time you hope to devote everyday to teaching. Some curriculums require much more time than others. Make sure that as you decide, you think about your child. Can your child sit for an hour and do math everyday or will they get distracted and need to move on to history sooner than that? Think about it realistically. Not all days are the same and even though we all have high hopes of spending our days teaching sometimes life just gets in the way.
EXTRAS- Maybe you're wondering if you should include spanish, physical education, music and art. Well of course you can. Think outside the box. Maybe your child plays rec basketball or takes guitar lessons. Well, there is your PE and Music tied in with no extra stress added to your plate. Think simply and don't try to force everything at once. Start the year off with the basics and add more as you see fit, To work around your schedule and flow of the school year.
BREATHE- This is an overwhelming, exciting and challenging decision to make. But we as moms need to remember we aren't alone. What works for me and my family may be the opposite of what your family needs, and thats ok! Literally thousands of families in countries across the globe choose to homeschool. For an array of different reasons, probably all at one point feeling exactly like we do right now.
Trust in yourself in your decision and breathe! Grab a cup of coffee and remember. You've got this mama!
Comments