How to Find a Curriculum for Homeschooling

After you determine what you want your child to learn, you can take the rest of the process one step at a time. Here's how.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Homeschool Publications
• Textbooks
• Internet Access
• Library Cards
• Personal Organizers
• Computers
• Educational Software

1. Define your lesson plans (or at least your subject areas, if you lean toward unschooling). Once you know what you want your child to learn, you can start to identify learning materials.

2. Consider using some of the prepackaged curricula offered online and through mail-order catalogs. These can be lifesavers for first-time homeschoolers, as well as a starting point for more experienced parent-teachers.

3. Shop book fairs and school supply outlets for thematic units and mini-lesson plan kits. Once you've got the basic curricula, you can incorporate your child's particular interests and learning needs.

4. Consult with the public school in your district. School reading specialists, librarians and other key personnel can be invaluable resources to guide your curricula selection. They may even provide your child with appropriate grade-level textbooks to use at home, if you choose.

5. Check with your local homeschool organizations for opportunities to swap books, language tapes, software and other curriculum materials with other parent-teachers.

Tips & Warnings

• Avoid spending more for the oldest child's curricula with the expectation that the material will be reused by younger siblings. A lot of print material and software is out of date in a very short time, and who's to say your younger children will have the same interests as the oldest?