“How do I get the home school curriculum?” and “How much will it cost me?” are common questions. Curriculum, or the schooling materials and books, can be purchased, (new or used), rented, or designed on your own. Here are a few places for each option.
These steps will help you organize and plan for your curriculum purchases, finding the best resources for your family
Homeschooling is a journey parents begin every year. Unfortunately, many families who wouldn't even think of traveling without a map begin this homeschooling journey on their own, asking for directions along the way. You should begin by answering "Three Core Educational Questions." Your answers to these questions will help you reach your destination with confidence. They are:
1. What is education?
2. What are the roles of the teacher and the student?
3. What is the role of the curriculum?
Online message boards and support groups are great ways for homeschooling families to share information about curriculum and teaching methods. We all like to go beyond reading the paid advertisements or professional reviews to learn from the experience of "real families." But in doing this, it's important to realize that there are as many different opinions of the best curriculum and methods as there are homeschooling families. Think of all the variations: personalities, income, number and ages of children, strengths and weaknesses, backgrounds, goals and philosophies. No wonder we don't always agree.
This veteran group of home educators from around the blogosphere joins together to spread the word about their favorite curricla to help you make informed decisions for your homeschool. Their methods and philosophies vary, which means you will find curriculum reviews for an amazing spectrum of materials. You'll find reviews of curricula, books, games, and more.
Find out what subjects are usually taught at your child’s grade level. List the subjects you have decided to teach in their order of importance to you. Curriculum review manuals are helpful in bringing awareness to what is available in each subject area.
Preschool and Kindergarten – what fun ages! Play is learning and learning is play. Perhaps you’re looking for some ideas for your formal Tot School or perhaps you just want to make sure that your little ones will be ready for first grade when it comes along.
This is a list for discussion of learning materials, and will include posts of commercial press releases, product announcements, and other news about resources of interest to homeschooling families. Sponsored by Home Education Magazine.
As the number of Internet courses increases over the next few years, here are some questions you can ask when considering a Web-based course.
Choosing teaching materials can be an overwhelming decision because there are so many excellent products available and each one claims to be superior to all others. Many veteran home schoolers suggest that you stick to a 'prepackaged" traditional curriculum for the first year or so. Others encourage new home schoolers to consider correspondence schools. Here are some suggestions concerning choosing curricula.
A list of items you should consider when evaluating a curriculum.
So, you have made the decision to educate your children at home. Before taking the next step, think about the things you shouldn't do. One of the biggest mistakes we make is following current logic or someone else's idea of what is best. Your family has been uniquely designed with a specific purpose in mind.
The thought of homeschooling your children may seem quite overwhelming at first. There are so many questions going through your head. Where do I get curriculum, what curriculum should I use, can I really do this, and of course what about socialization? Let me put your mind at ease. It's not as difficult as it looks.
You've made the decision to homeschool, so what's next? These suggestions can make choosing a curriculum a bit smoother.
"Can anyone recommend a curriculum for pre-K and kindergarten? This is a frequent question homeschooling bulletin boards and email lists. It's a perfectly reasonable question, but some of the responses can be confusing to new homeschoolers. We all come into homeschooling with some common preconceptions of what the program should be - but many who have been at it for a while or raised homeschool grads are likely to strongly suggest not setting up a structured study program for young children. This is where some misunderstanding can come into play. Saying that a structured study program for a young child is inappropriate is not at all the same as saying that learning is unimportant during the early years. It's simply that many experienced homeschoolers and other educators feel there are certain kinds of activities that are much more important and appropriate in early childhood than studying the 3 R's - and that to establish a structure that emphasizes the 3 R's at that age can actually be detrimental. If a child is asking to learn to read, of course, that's a whole different matter - but it's simply a question of helping that child learn to read, which is very different thing from setting up a curriculum.