5Hello Everyone! I am back after being busy with college and other junk.
Today we are going to get a bit into the boring junk: Curriculum and types of curriculum.
Curriculum is weird in the Homeschooling world. For one thing how you use curriculum depends on state law.
For one thing, some states require parents to get curriculum from a private or public school, some states don't care what you use as long as your child shows something like progress, and others don't give a diddly darn whether or not you use curriculum at all (Read:Texas.)
It also depends on the family. Some families do better if they use only curriculum, some use a mixture of curriculum and free study, and some families only do free study with everything except math.
For another thing, a LOT of homeschooling curriculum is based on Judaeo-christian beliefs due to the homeschool movement in the USA being headed mostly by Christians during the 80s. This is a problem for families who are not Christian and creates difficulty in finding textbooks.
However, this is rapidly changing as homeschooling becomes more popular in the secular sphere. See what I mean when I say curriculum is weird?
"How does one set about finding curriculum?" you may be asking. I'll list three ways:
1. Homeschooling Conventions
According to my mother, this is the easiest way to find curriculum. Most of the vendors sell different types of subjects and you can find everything you need in one place. Its also more likely to have secular textbooks.
2. Rainbow Catalog/ Rainbow Resource Center
Its called 'Rainbow' because the pages are color coded for different subjects. I LOVED looking at these when my mom got them when I was a kid. They have a ton of creative ideas and its interesting to look at, if nothing else.
3. Online Shopping
Self-Explanatory.
The most important part of choosing curriculum is research. Know what it is you are buying and how good it is.
Equally important is knowing your children.
It does not matter how good the curriculum is if your child has trouble in certain subjects, and you suspect/know the curriculum won't help them, THEN DON'T GET IT. Find something else.