Have you ever gotten well into a homeschool year and all of a sudden come to the realization that you may have made some mistakes in your curriculum choices for certain subjects? Possibly, you have bought a box curriculum and some or all of it is not working for a particular child or your family in general. This can bring on a lot of anxiety. I just want to tell you that it does not have to be the end of the world. There are so many great choices for curriculum and so many options. It wouldn’t even hurt to build your own for one year or just use your state standard guidelines to build your own curriculum and do so using the public library. I know first hand that this can be done!
While curriculum costs a lot of money in most cases it can be hard to make the choice to switch when you are a few months into things. I made this mistake once as well. I stuck with a curriculum for my children that was not good for them or me. I did this because it was free and we were financially strapped at the time. I wish that I had been a bit more resourceful and energetic and made the switch. It would have kept my kids from falling behind. Convenience does not always rule!
If you are wonderful about different types of curriculum you will need to do your research. Homeschool curriculum comes in many different shapes and sizes. None of it is one size fits all. Good luck in your journey. I truly hope that you find what works best for your child because there is nothing that makes homeschooling more enjoyable that knowing you are doing right by your children!
mybloggerings said,
October 30, 2008 @ 7:12 pm
I’m the queen of switching curriculums. This is my 4th year into it. This year I am using My Father’s World. I simply love the CM approach, like nature and art study, but find the English lacking. So I found MFW and I love that it is all planned out for me. I know this curriculum will not suit everyone. And it doesn’t suit me as a package either. I do supplement with library books, dictionary skill workbooks, health books (along with the library) and phonics lessons for my advanced 1st grader (who is doing 2nd grade work in MFW with her 4th grade sister). I also find coloring sheets, videos, and games online. So I’m still doing some planning.
In my first year of homeschooling, I tried a “unit study” but found it very confusing. So I used a packaged curriculum. I cringe now thinking about how much I shelled out for all this stuff. In the end, I stuck with the packaged stuff for 2 years and then got brave enough to try something unorthodox. I ended up using Ambleside Online which is a free curriculum plan for using CM. In the end that became too much work still, so now I am using something I love and have found things to supplement and it works for us. I think we shouldn’t feel bound to anything just because we paid alot of money for it. Sometimes just using the library is good. We know our kids needs. We just have to be creative in how we find what they really need.
Jena said,
November 2, 2008 @ 4:29 pm
I was always on the lookout for that perfect curriculum. I have finally realized that there really isn’t such a thing.
I have been there and tried that! The good news is that through this whole process I’ve learned what my daughter’s learning style is. This has helped me buy curriculum that is going to work.
Now I piece her curriculum together. We use Sonlight for our history and language arts. Math-U-See, How Math Works and Math Wizardry for math. And Christian Cottage Unit Study for hands-on history projects and science.
I agree with “Mybloggerings” that we should never “feel bound to anything just because we paid alot of money for it.” My goal is to educate my children and if something isn’t working I tweak it or toss it.