Hello!
Today, you won’t be hearing from me.
Instead you’ll be hearing from a mom with lots more momming and homeschooling experience than I have. My good friend Rebekah has six children ranging from ages 4-13.
Suffice it to say, she’s been around the block and back again on curriculums.
But when I asked her to share a little wisdom, rather than fill us in on her favorite curriculum, she decided to share the important questions she believes each mom should ask themselves when searching for the right curriculum fit for their family.
Each mom, each child, and each situation are vastly different, and I think my friend comprehensively acknowledges that here.
So… (drum roll please!) Take it away, Rebekah!
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“To the parent considering homeschooling,
If you are feeling a bit overwhelmed by the vast amount of curriculum options out there, hang in there. When it comes to choosing the right curriculum for your family there is no quick, one size fits all, answer. Instead of listing all of the curriculums I have tried and what I loved or didn’t love about each, I’m going to share with you the questions I feel are the most important to answer to help you narrow down your choices.
#1. Why do you want to homeschool?
Is your child doing great with the classwork, but struggling socially?
Are you wanting more control over what they are exposed to in school curriculum, and/or peer interactions?
Are you primarily concerned for their physical safety?
Are you wanting to spend more time face to face with your child?
The answers to this question will help you decide if online/computer based classes are a good option, or if something that more heavily involves an in-person co-op or a lot of snuggled-up read-alouds might be better for your family.
#2 What homeschool philosophy fits best with what you believe education should look like?
When I started homeschooling 8 years ago I knew with great certainty that I wanted to homeschool, but didn’t realize that there were so many ways to approach it. I took this quiz (http://eclectic-homeschool.com/homeschool-philosophies-quiz/) several years in. I had tried Timberdoodle, Classical Conversations, and Mission: Great Commission. While there were things I loved about them, they fit like a shoe that was just a smidge too small. I wanted to love them, but ultimately they didn’t fit quite right.
When I scored incredibly high in the Charlotte Mason philosophy, I actually had to research it to even know what that meant. After learning more it became clear that it was a perfect fit. From there I had a springboard to find podcasts, blogs, and curriculum suggestions based on a philosophy I knew fit our family.
I will say that while this fits our family, doesn’t mean it will fit yours. Take the quiz for yourself and go from there.
#3 Do you want a Christian based curriculum?
And if so, how doctrinally specific do you want it to be? There are secular and christian resources for each educational philosophy.
#4 How much time do you want to invest in planning and teaching on a daily, weekly, monthly, basis?
Almost no time for prep or teaching? An online option might work best for you.
Do you want your time to be spent reading and teaching your child, not picking out resources and activities? A box curriculum might be a good fit.
Do you have all the time to devote to homeschool, and love to be in control of every little thing? A mix and match approach might be your thing.
#5 How many children are you teaching?
When I started our homeschool journey, I had one in kindergarten and 3 littles. A single grade curriculum set worked great for us! But now, as a mama of 6 school aged kiddos, I chose My Father’s World, because many of the subjects are taught in a group setting with everyone from pre-school through middle-school. Doing every single subject individually would make it nearly impossible for me to get through everyone’s work in a day.
#6 How much can you afford to spend?
Curriculum is available for EVERY budget. There are options that give you lesson plans for FREE that require minimal resources and supplies and most books can be found at the library. There are options for brand new, all inclusive curriculum kits that are a much more hefty investment. There are many more options that, at full price, land somewhere in between. Knowing what you are willing and able to spend can really help you narrow down your choices.
Once you have answered these questions, you should have a far less overwhelming list of curriculum options to choose from. At that point, I highly recommend talking with other homeschool parents that have used the resources you are interested in, and if possible, look at it in person before making your final decision. Some curriculums have samples you can try for free to really get a feel for it before making an investment. For math this year we did the trial lessons in teaching textbooks before paying for the full version. It ended up working out great for three of my kids. Two others ended up using The Good and the Beautiful after downloading their free PDF lessons and completing two weeks worth before feeling confident that it was going to be worth the investment.
Keep in mind that it is helpful to revisit these questions at least every year. It is ok to try something and decide it’s not working for you or your child.”
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Well, there it is, friends! Short, simple, and incredibly insightful!
Tune in next week and I’ll share a few favorite curriculum suggestions from some other seasoned homeschool mamas to follow up on this!
To my friend, Rebekah, thanks for the tips and helpful questions!
And to anyone considering homeschooling… I hope this helps a ton!
Much love, mamas!
My Family Freedom 