If you’ve already read about the different methods of homeschooling, here is a bit more information about how NOT to choose your curriculum!
While it’s tempting, try not to google, ‘Easy Homeschool Curriculum” or anything like that. Don’t go ask your friend who has two kids and married a Doctor—she’ll tell you that you can’t get a good education for less than $1500 a year in curriculum and science kits, pottery classes, English Country Dancing lessons and etc.. It’s usually not a good idea to post in a group with 15,000 other moms and say, “I’m thinking to start homeschooling and I’m so excited to be doing this…any suggestions for curriculum? By the end of that thread, everybody will have a headache and you’ll feel like you’re not qualified to pick a curriculum at all!
Why not use these avenues to find your curriculum? Well, when you’re looking for curriculum, remember that every family is different, and what they’re recommending worked for them, but they don’t know everything about you. For example, consider these things:
- Family size. Your friend with 2 kids LOVES XYZ company. But you have six kids and work two days a week. Her experience with XYZ might have been amazing, but yours might not be. Similarly, if she has 3 and you have one, then you might have more time for a more hands on approach, and might even enjoy that time. If you have a special needs child, you might NEED something with lots of one on one time, and your friend who suggested something from Company ABC might not and company ABC doesn’t have any hands-on work.
- Budget. I have a friend…everybody has that one friend. She seems to have no limit to what she can spend on curriculum. She’s switched science 6 times in the four years she’s been homeschooling! I see her all over the place online, telling everybody to ‘try this’ and “This was the best History set ever! Don’t forget the flashcards!” Ouch. There might be a Cadillac of curriculum out there, but some of us are just looking for the Honda Odyssey that will get us from A to B and leave us time to be a family without taking a second job to pay for curriculum.
- Time. If you’re working outside the home, and you’re asking advice from somebody who is a full time SAHM, she might accidentally recommend a curriculum to you that takes hours a day of Mom’s time. Oops! The next thing you know, you have a curriculum on your hands that gives your student the perfect excuse to say, “Mom, I couldn’t do school because you weren’t here to help me!” Maybe you’re a SAHM but your family is starting a business, building a house, etc…your SAHM friend might recommend her favorite but it’s not realistic for your life at the moment.
- Teaching or learning style. Some Moms love experiments and making paper collages and going on field trips and doing things, hands-on, every day, every subject with their kids. Other moms are in a different place in life, have 4 kids under 10 years old and are potty training one (okay, two) kids at the moment, worrying about what to make for supper, etc. Or, maybe your friend’s son was born with a book in his hand, and yours thinks that the world didn’t exist until the iPad was invented. Other people’s’ teaching style and other people’s kids’ learning styles can be very different from your child’s.
What you SHOULD do! If you can, find a Mom who has a similar situation, a relatively similar number of kids, budget, learning style, etc…ask her. Take notes…and make sure you really lay out your student’s personality. If you can’t get him to sit on a chair for five minutes, it’s important for her to know that before she gives suggestions.
Or, if you’re new to this and don’t have that option, call the curriculum company you’re interested in directly. Tell them your situation, and most all of them will be honest with you and tell you if something is a good fit for you and your situation or not. No company wants to sell somebody a product just to have it frustrate them, and have them end up giving up on homeschooling altogether. Homeschooling has grown enormously thanks largely to word of mouth, so making a quick buck doesn’t matter nearly as much to a homeschooling company as making a successful homeschooling family. It’s cheesy, but I’ve been on the inside…it’s true.
Feel free to send me an email and I will do my best to get back to you with and try to help find a solution for your family. I don’t work for any company, and don’t have any affiliate links…I just want to give you some peace of mind that you CAN homeschool and I’m happy to help you get started!