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Choosing Curriculum (07/20/2009) To Publications / Articles - Choosing Curriculum (07/20/2009)

Posted 6/23/14
Laura Hazelip

Choosing curriculum can seem to be the hardest part of home schooling, but it really doesn’t have to be.
 

Curriculum is more than a set of books or activities you complete in a school year, it is a learning plan that you decide upon for your children.
 

Before you choose your curriculum, back up, and establish the goals you want to achieve for that year, for each child.
 

Start in prayer, asking God to direct your choices and desires so that they may be honoring to Him first. Remember that the Word says in Matthew 6:33, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
 

Christian home education is all about raising our children in the Lord, and giving them a solid biblical worldview to draw from as well as challenging them to be their academic best at whatever level that is.
 

Keep in mind that the Bible should be the center of our curriculum. The very founding of our country was started by the education of our fore fathers in the homes and churches of their neighborhoods, and their characters and literacy would surpass many of the American children that the worldly governmental schools would produce today. The Bible and real life was their curriculum and to our fore fathers that, was simply enough!
 

After prayer, discuss with your husband what he feels is important for your children to learn, after all he is the head of your home and homeschool.
 

When you have prayed and your husband has helped you choose the goals for the school year consider why it is that you homeschool. Is it to pass on your religious beliefs, and convictions to your children? To offer your children a richer learning environment than a structured classroom could offer? To challenge them academically? The answers to these questions will help you narrow your choices for the type of curriculum you will use in your homeschool.
 

Once you have prayed, discussed and decided you will be more prepared to begin choosing the right curriculum for each of your children. No matter how much you know a particular curriculum won’t work for your child, it is still tempting to buy that shiny new box, unit study, or hands on science-kit! That’s why it is so important to be prepared for your decision, and although we all make mistakes that cost us financially, it is not the end of the world! Arm yourself with as much information as possible when you go to make your decisions.

 

Helpful information for your choices include:

1. What is your teaching style?

2. What is your child’s learning style?

3. What is the teaching approach made by the curriculum?

4. Do your children have any weak areas that need attention?

5. What are the limits on your budget?

6. How will this curriculum help fulfill the goals you have already laid out?

 

Once you have armed yourself with all the necessary prayer, and information you are ready to charge into the huge piles of curriculum choices available to us. Sometimes there are simply to many choices available to us and we don’t know where to begin. A good starting place is the curriculum that trusted friends, support group leaders, and homeschool mentors have used. It is always fun to get together and chat about curriculum. Set up a time to visit with a friend and look at all she has been successful with in her homeschool and some she has not so been successful with.

Make your decision, read all there is to read before starting, ask a friend for her advice if she has used the curriculum before and dive right into a wonderful learning adventure with your family! Make the curriculum work for you, don’t work for it. Remember you NEVER have to finish all of a book or workbook. This is your official permission to tear out pages, skip what they already know or is irrelevant and individualize it for your family! As homeschoolers we have the freedom to follow God’s plan and standards. Trust Him, relax and enjoy your children…….they grow so fast.


 

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