Homeschool Curriculum
This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using this link. Thank you!
Since we are just starting out, I’ve been researching homeschool 
curriculum like a mad woman. I’ve read reviews, looked at pricing, read samples, asked homeschool mom their opinions on curriculum and even tested a few out with the kids. I’ve come to a major conclusion: there isn’t one perfect curriculum. There isn’t even one that I could tell you works the best, or works the best for us, or will work the best for you. The thing is, you really just have to pick one and try it. At times I feel like I’ve made a really good choice and other times, I feel like I should throw a dart at a board with curriculum names and go with whatever it lands on. I get the feeling a ton of other homeschool parents feel this way too.
There is no one homeschool curriculum for everyone. Some are reader-based, some are more hands-on, some are completely hands-off for parents and the child does it all. Some have workbooks, others have no “work” at all and some have DVDs, workbooks and textbooks. You really just have to look around at what you think will fit your child the best, what you can afford and dive right in. The good thing is, it’s okay if you don’t pick the right one straight away. So you spend a month or a few months, or even a whole school year using a curriculum that you don’t care for. For the next level, choose a different one. Unless the one you choose is causing your kid (or you) to cry or have headaches, or it takes them 4 painstaking hours to get through it, you’ll be okay. There are tons of places online where you can sell your used books and/or DVDs that weren’t right for you and pick up a different type.
At first, I felt like this was a major life decision and that if I didn’t choose wisely, I would somehow cause my kids to be dumb (I have an overactive imagination with its own sense of humor). Now that I’ve talked to other homeschool moms who have had years of experience, and kids who have successfully graduated from college, I feel so much better. I know that we can choose different homeschool curriculum for different subjects, use an all-in-one boxed curriculum or purchase used books/workbooks/DVDs and we’ll be just fine.
P.S. I’ve come across a really great site that we are using along with our curriculum. It’s called School House Teachers and it’s absolutely loaded with material for all grades and subjects. There are videos, lessons, unit studies, lesson plans, record keeping, planners and more. Give it a try and you’ll find you use it every day!
Leave a Reply