10 Rules of Thumb for Choosing Teaching Materials
 

Rule #1: Invest in yourself first!

• Build your "house" with a plan, materials and the right tools for the job
• Buy or borrow parent help books and start reading
• Think through furniture set-up, household schedules, chores and younger children
• Be willing to spend money on yourself if it will make you more confident and able to create learning environment for your household.

Rule #2: Consider your situation

• Farm families have ideal opportunity for "hands on" learning in science, economics, math,
• City families have easy access to museums, libraries, cultural events, sports, group activities.

Rule #3: Choose teaching materials that compliment the learner

• Visual learners learn best by reading, looking at pictures, diagrams, and watching others
• Auditory learners learn best by listening to lectures, songs and stories
• Kinesthetic learners learn best by doing, touching, hands-on stuff
• Global learners learn best by getting the big picture and then filling in the pieces
• Analytical learners learn best by getting all the details first

Rule #4: If you don't like the material, you will resist using it no matter how good it is.

• Just because you're friend raves about it doesn't mean you'll like it
• Does just looking at it make you feel tired or pressured?

Rule #5: Avoid programs that require a great deal of teacher preparation

• Detailed teacher's manuals, supplemental books or seminars that are necessary = frustration

Rule#6: Expect to waste time, energy, and especially money!

• It's part of learning what works for your family…tuition to "University of Home Ed Parents"

Rule #7: Know that there are various schools of thought concerning the teaching of any subject

• Ex: Math with manipulative, math solved on paper—Reading then rules, rules then reading...

Rule #8: Realize that there is no perfect curriculum

• What works with one child won't work with the next
• What works this year may not work next year: family needs and interests change
• Buy materials that meet present needs; Mold the curriculum to fit the child not the reverse
• 4th gr. Abeka science, you may like; but you may not like other Abeka levels or subjects

Rule #9: God gave you YOUR specific children because there is something in You that He wants imparted to them.

• Teaching materials are only tools with which to disciple your children
• Let God lead you to those materials that will help you best disciple each child

Rule #10: Remember that teaching materials are often the least important elements in your home

• The best teaching materials in the world are easy to discard if they don't work for you
• Bad attitudes and destructive family dynamics aren't so easy to get rid of!