Sometimes choosing homeschool curriculum is the basic, overwhelming task facing families each academic year. This Ultimate Guide to Choosing Homeschool Curriculum comes alongside you, offering many resources. This homeschool advice is gathered from our archives here at Curriculum Choice, from the wisdom of our team of review authors and from fellow homeschoolers around the web.
Choosing Homeschool Curriculum
Begin By Defining Your Beliefs and Philosophies
“I search for items that line up with our purpose for homeschooling, and trust God to lead me. Yes, the academics are important, but when I consider our goals, getting an A in calculus isn’t top priority.” I want my children to have godly character. I want my children to know how to think and reason. I want my children to grow in responsibility and self-government.
“Can curriculum really address these deeper heart issues?” How I choose curriculum from Renae here at Curriculum Choice.
- Annie Kate, with more than two decades of homeschooling experience, turns to Cathy Duffy’s 101 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum each year. Annie Kate reviewed this just last week here at Curriculum Choice. She says, “101 Top Picks begins by helping you understand and determine your family’s educational goals and needs. Cathy asks questions such as…” She also reviewed 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum in detail on Annie Kate’s Homeschool Reviews.
- Brenda shares about writing a family mission statement before considering curriculum choices.
- What kind of homeschooler are you? Tips for defining yourself…“When you meet another homeschooler, some of the first questions asked are, “What curriculum do you use?” and “What kind of homeschooler are you?” To new homeschoolers, this can be completely overwhelming and finding your options can literally drown you in information. “
Be sure to check out Everything You Need to Know About Choosing a Homeschool Curriculum by Kim Ashbaugh. Kim talks about Getting Started Choosing Curriculum, 5 Questions to Ask Yourself, and more!
Check out our Series on Homeschool Methods
Homeschooling does not fit into one box. In fact, I’d be willing to say that no two homeschools look alike. In this series we dive deep into the major homeschool methods.
What are they?
How do they work in daily life?
Where can you find resources for each homeschool method?
These are the questions that will be answered, to offer you insight and practical help for choosing and implementing a specific homeschool method in your home.
Renae’s three part series on Principle Approach
- Principle Approach is a Philosophy
- Principle Approach is a Method
- Principle Approach is a Curriculum – “The mounds of resources quickly become overwhelming. Examining the reason I homeschool gives me a filter to sift the piles of books.”
- The Elijah Company has a wealth of online ejournals with advice on choosing curriculum. Here’s a sampling:
- Tips for Choosing Materials for Your Homeschool: Ten Rules of Thumb. “But before you actually start looking at products, I’d advise that you revisit some of the basics of what your educational philosophy is, what your family is like, and what teaching and learning styles you have to work with.”
- Determining How Your Child Learns Best. In the school for animals, “An old story tells of the creation of a school for the animals. In this school, everybody took the same four courses: flying, swimming, climbing, and running.”
- Common Teaching Approaches. “All home schooling materials fall into two main categories: traditional textbook curricula and non-textbook curricula.”
- Developing an Educational Philosophy. “There are four educational philosophies influencing home schooling today. Think of these philosophies as the underlying assumptions about what comprises an education and what the teaching materials should cover in a course of study.”
Consider Advice From Veterans on Choosing Homeschool Curriculum
What could we all learn from one another?
If we explored the combined wisdom, experience, enthusiasm, and innovation from multiple generations of homeschoolers, what might we discover?
That is at the heart of the Homeschool Generations blog series.
- Curriculum Choices for a Kinesthetic Learner at Hodgepodge. “She loves to make things. Do things. Move. Participate. Give her a display board for a biography report. Let her make a salt dough map. She loves to color while I read. Crafts, creations, busy. That’s her.” Plus organizational ideas to meet the needs of this type learner.
- Review author Heather B. encourages with Why I Don’t Stress Over Homeschool Curriculum Anymore – “Does it mesh with your child’s learning style? How about your teaching style?”
- I shared my Planning and Goal Setting annual habit for choosing resources and setting goals for each of my five children at Habits for a Happy Home. “I bring along my current favorite spiral notebook and pen. And I rise early and meet with the Lord over matters.” This time is key for considering the big picture before specific curriculum choices.
- Kris at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers lists 10 Tips for Starting to Homeschool with great advice on choosing curriculum, considering learning styles and more.
- Kris also has a 10 Days series entitled: Homeschooling 101. In her post, How to Homeschool: Choosing Curriculum, she challenges homeschoolers to consider: “What curriculum do you use? What curriculum could you not live without? What curriculum didn’t work for you?“
- Then, at the Homeschool Classroom, Kris also offers tips on Choosing Homeschool Curriculum.
- Five Js advises on curriculum choices in How to Start Homeschooling.
- Hey Donna answers the homeschool newbie question: “Curriculum for Your Kindergartener?”
- Heidi at Starts At Eight encourages you to consider things like learning styles and your budget in What Happens When You… Need to Choose a Homeschool Curriculum?
- 10 Things to Consider When Choosing a Math Curriculum from our review author, Mary at Homegrown Learners. Mary’s post includes a video explaining the difference between spiral and mastery approaches.
Changing Curriculum
- Heidi at Starts At Eight askes the question, What Happens When… You Know a Curriculum Isn’t Working?
- 10 Reasons Why Mama Homeschool Outside the {Curriculum} Box by Lauren Hill at Mama’s Learning Corner points out some of the qualities of boxed curriculum that are not right for her family and may not fit your family as well.
- You may or may not wish to change curriculum. Our review author Cindy has excellent advice in How Do You Plan For Next Year’s Curriculum?
- Cindy also answers the frequent question, “How Do You Know a Child is Ready for Next Year’s Curriculum?”
- Our review author, Kendra asks, “Have you ever watched people switch curriculum and think they are nuts?” Curriculum Changes
Choosing Homeschool Curriculum – Creating Your Own Resources
- Review author, Daniele at Domestic Serenity has wonderful advice on creating book lists for children — for those who create their own lists, whether classical, Charlotte Mason, delight-led learning or another homeschooling type: Building Booklists for Children.
- Meet Penny shares resources for free curriculum to use to build your own style in Resources for Free Homeschool Curriculum.
General Curriculum Choices Help
- Our review author, Kendra, offers these practical helps: Staying Organized with Curriculum Choices. Also, help before you go to a homeschool conference: Homeschool Conference Plans
- Our review author, Betsy, suggests Explode the Code as a wonderful resource for beginning phonics.
- How to Make An Overall Plan for the Year is a practical guide by Barb-Harmony Art Mom here at Curriculum Choice.
- Carnival of Curriculum – a list of all our authors’ review indices – all the curricula we have each used and love!
- Curriculum Choice Homeschool Helps Pinterest board from around the web – over 150 pins!
- Choosing Curriculum Pinterest Board – a great visual and easy reference to many of the posts included in this Ultimate Guide.
More Curriculum Help
Be sure to check out this list of The best place to find Used Homeschool Curriculum to help you save money!
You are invited for a visit! I am sharing another guide you might enjoy: The Ultimate List of Easy Slow Cooker Recipes at Hodgepodge (50 recipes and a dozen resources).
Want help with curriculum choices? We invite you to subscribe to The Curriculum Choice so you won’t miss a review!
Originally published August 2012, by Tricia, owner of The Curriculum Choice. She also shares the art and heart of homeschooling at Hodgepodge.
THIS is truly a fantastic post – great for new and experienced homeschool families. I love the way you pulled in various topics and truly the Principle Method – I am learning more and more about it and we lean more in that direction than in any other…..Many Will be blessed by this!
Tricia, this is a fantastic post!
Wow! This post is full of information and resources! Great job, Tricia.
Thanks for pulling all these resources together in one place! I know I’ll be referring to some this month….and I’m very interested in reading the “help before you go to a homeschool conference.”
Thank you all! Choosing curriculum can be daunting. I hope that these resources will bless families!
Very nice post, Tricia! What an excellent resource for this time of year, and I foresee myself wanting to reference it in the future also. Thanks!
Excellent information for both the new and seasoned homeschooler! Will be a great reference when choosing items for my own homeschool and when others need a guiding hand as well. Thank you!
What a great resource! Thanks for linking to the Homeschool Classroom!
Understanding different personality types and their learning styles by Briggs Meyers has helped me. But whole brain teaching reaches all children, and is especially great for active children, hands on learners and children with learning disabilities.
Great resource!
The best of homeschooling is you get to mold your child the way you want. As they say, “no one cares like a mom” …. Homeschooling for me is the best option for a child’s education.
AnneG
Hi Tricia, this is an excellent read. What I have been searching for is the good resources which I can use for home-schooling my kids and I specifically liked the section in which you talked about ‘Creating your own resources’. I am going to try the Daniel and Penny books you have mentioned in the article. I hope I will be a very helpful dad to my children. Thanks a lot again for so much information in detail, cheers!