Yesterday, I got my first homeschooling curriculum catalogs in the mail. The first of the season that is. Over the course of the next couple of weeks, I am sure that I will continue to accumulate a growing pile of homeschooling curriculums all of which claim to meet my child’s needs. If you haven’t been inundated yet, let me encourage you to take a few minutes to sit down and think about it. Why? So you won’t be tempted to spend more than you need on “cool” stuff. What Do You Really Need? The truth is, there are tons of … Continue reading →

Do you do this? You are looking at curriculum to teach. . .oh, let’s say science. You think you find the perfect curriculum. The description sounds exactly like what you want. It sounds like it promotes critical thinking. It sounds like it has tons of fun hands on experiments. It sounds like it gives plenty of teacher help so that you won’t be lost trying to decipher the difference between osmosis and diffusion. And then you get it, you rip it out of the box and start using it only to find that your child hates it. . .or you … Continue reading →

As someone who runs a homeschooling support group and someone who writes about homeschooling, I find that I’m constantly talking to homeschoolers about curriculum. What do you like? What don’t you like? I have met numerous homeschoolers that make radical changes in their homeschooling curriculum every year. I have mentioned before that I think taking the time to write out a philosophy is very helpful in avoiding the curriculum flip flop. However, I’m going to let you in on a little secret. There Is Not a Perfect Curriculum If you go the pre-written boxed curriculum route, you need to understand … Continue reading →