How to Design a Homeschool Program for Your Child

Let's face it, one of the major reasons that families homeschool is because a standard curriculum program just won't work with their child/ children. Either they are opposed to the standard curriculum for religious reasons or a lot of times their child just learns differently. Their child may be ahead or behind in certain areas. The child may just be too antsy to sit quietly doing a bunch of bookwork. Yet, even though homeschool parents may know their child needs something different, they may not have the confidence to come up with their own homeschool program for their children. This is a guide to show parents how to break out of the "boxed" or "packaged" homeschool mindset and choose what curriculum their child needs with confidence. Don't get me wrong, box sets work for a lot of families, but they don't work for all. So, if you need something different, keep reading.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Homeschool catalogs
• Homeschool friends
• access to a homeschool curriculum fair
• computer

1. Assess your child. Does your child like to be read to? Does your child squirm a lot when read to? Does your child learn a lot from tv, computers, or listening to books on tape? Does your child work independently well? Is your child hands on or is your child an audio or visual learner? Answers to these questions will help you figure out what type of curriculum is best for your child.

2. Assess yourself. Are you hands on? Do you like structure? Do you hate structure? Are you good at following a lesson plan or do you like to wing it? Do you like crafts and projects? Do you like reading aloud? Do you like being very involved in the learning or do you like your child to work independently and come to you when they need help? Answers to these questions will help you determine the best type of curriculum for you to teach.

3. Ask your homeschool friends about what they use. It's almost impossible to know about every type of homeschooling product out there. There is one homeschool catalog out there that is 1000 pages long! Your friends can be a great resource. Ask your friends what curriculum they use and whether they like it or not. Also, find out why they like it. This is very important! They may like it for reasons that would not work in your homeschool, so knowing if a product is hands on, a lot of structure, ect. is very important.

4. Look through catalogs. There are many catalogs out there for homeschool products. Really read the description of each product that looks interesting. Make a list of the stuff that sounds good, so you can research it further.

5. Go to Curriculum fairs. Curriculum fairs are probably the best place to really check out curriculum. In larger fairs, there can be hundreds of vendors. Most will allow you to look through their curriculum. To make the most of your time there, you may want to go with a list of curriculum you want to looks at.

6. Read blogs and message boards. Blogs and message boards, have tons of homeschool information and homeschoolers love to share what works for them. If a homeschooler is talking about a curriculum that sounds good to you, don't be afraid to speak up and ask questions about it.

7. Are you going to homeschool all your kids together in some subjects? Some homeschoolers find it easier to teach their kids together in certain subjects, especially when they are only a few years apart in age. This affects the curriculum you will want to use. Some curriculum are meant to be able to be used for multiple ages. Just keep in mind your children's learning styles and your teaching styles when choosing this option.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't use something just because your friend thinks it is the greatest thing. The reason they think it's the greatest, may be the very reason you would hate it.
• Be willing to scrap a program if it doesn't work for your child.

[leduncan]

on 8/18/2009 Thanks for the ideas Lynn. Homeschool fairs ARE the place to go to check out curriculum.