Question from a homeschooling mom:
Homeschooling Curriculum: What is the best learning material to choose?
What’s the best curriculum? I need help researching and deciding what to choose for my son.
Answer from Ann Zeise
Do it the other way around… Decide what is important for your son to learn. Ask him what he wants to learn about this year. THEN go find the curriculum that makes the most sense. Consider what your goals are for him as well as your budget. Do you have to meet stringent state standards or do you live in one of the easier states to homeschool in? What does your son excel in doing? What are his interests and talents? You’ll want to consider your personal teaching style – Are you more likely to teach, facilitate or participate in each lesson or will he be working mostly on his own with assignments? His learning style is equally important – does he prefer a more hands-on learning approach (activity-based learning) or is he a self-starter; happiest working quietly at his own pace? Does he respond with better understanding when he is able to hear the instructions and lessons rather than read them? Is he more of a “show me” person – excelling when reading the instructions and learning with visual aids like charts, graphs, pictures and timelines?
What is “right” for my son most likely wouldn’t be at all right for your 8-year-old. I like to give the parallel: Would you go into a shoe store, without your son, and tell the sales help to select the best shoes for your son? The sales help would start asking you all sorts of questions like: “How old is the boy? What does he intend to do in the shoes (Are the shoes for playing sports? Will the shoes be used mostly for walking? Are the shoes you want for a formal occasion?)?
Do you want cloth, plastic or leather? What size and width does he need? How much do you want to spend? What color does he prefer?” Wouldn’t it be better if you had your son along to see if the fit and selection were just right?
Look here if this is your first year homeschooling.
Here are some methods and styles that will give you some foundational understanding. Hopefully, this will assist you in making an informed choice for this coming year’s curricula.