What curriculum would a teacher (straight out of the classroom) use for homeschooling? I’m gonna tell you and I promise this information will help you choose your homeschool curriculum for next year as well.
I have a video about this, so if click here if you would rather watch.
In a traditional setting, most teachers don’t have control over what curriculum is used. This was the case for my English class. The school I was teaching at had used the same faith-based curriculum for 50+ years. I knew the content well and I was comfortable teaching from the textbook using it as our “main tool” with supplements as I saw fit. I was “allowed” to include worksheets from a different curriculum, which took a mastery approach for those students who needed extra practice. My reading class was different. The previous teacher chose the novels for the class to read and I was on my own. I turned to Teachers Pay Teachers (check out my new store!) to purchase novel studies from some of my favorite sellers. But, this was the same approach I had for literature while homeschooling, so I felt very comfortable teaching each novel. The lesson plans went slower in the classroom, but that was to be expected when teaching 50 students as compared to 3.
After 12 years of homeschooling, I’ve gotten pretty familiar with most curriculum choices. I have my favorites, I have memories of what worked well for one child, but not another. I have experience with teaching styles, and I’ve learned what is most important in choosing a curriculum. After in-classroom and out of classroom experience, what do I think?
I first look at the learning style of my student(s). I decide on Math first, then English, then the rest of the subjects. Is Science important? Yes. More important that math foundations? Not in my opinion.
So how do I choose a curriculum now after having experience in and out of the classroom?
The same way I did before, with the exception of English. Now, I look at our co op and see what classes are being offered and which classes my child wants to take. This year, my daughter is taking science and creative writing at co op, so I will purchase the materials decided by the teachers of those classes. She is also taking two electives at co op that won’t require curriculum purchase, but maybe a few supplies.
After co op classes are decided, I look at math. Math is important to our family, especially since I have children who learn best with different methods. My youngest daughter learns best with a mastery approach, while my other two children prefer the spiral method. (More on these methods later)
Remember when I mentioned my choice for English is different this year? Here is why… Students in school hated reading. There were a few bookworms in each class, but as a whole, the students felt tortured with each required reading assignment. This was my first experience with Accelerated Reading program. Each grade level has a different requirement of AR points each quarter. They typically wait until the last minute before the points are due and chose the easiest book they can find. Or, there are those who try to work the system and look up answers online, cheat off friends, etc. I’ve seen some students put far more effort in cheating the test than it would take to just read the book. Overall, it appears this is killing the love of reading in students. I saw this with my own children. We read tons of books each year, FOR FUN! I encouraged spending time at the library. We attended fun events and reading time when the kids were little. We met authors, we knew the librarians personally. My oldest daughter read dozens of books during her last year of homeschooling. After being introduced to AR, points became her focus, not reading for enjoyment or learning something new. I know the program was designed to make kids read more, but I’m not convinced the amount of stress surrounding the points is worth the effort.
Disclaimer: My kids have restrictions on their screen time. It’s a constant battle. But, that may be another reason they chose reading during their free time. There was not an option to sit on the phone all day.
So, back to my Language Arts choice this year. I am choosing SonLight for it’s heavy focus on reading. The living books have a historical order, which ties in the student’s history for the year. This year, we will be focusing on American History. I hope the focus on interesting books and related assignments will undo the trauma of AR from last year. (An exaggeration, maybe. But trauma is how many families feel with the stress from this program. And don’t even get me started on students with learning disabilities. They never had a chance.)
So there you have it. That was easy. Science and Writing are taken care of at co op. I will continue the same Saxon Math we were using before and I’m looking forward to lots of time curled on the couch reading with my daughter. SonLight encourages reading aloud as well as the student reading to themselves. I like this Charlotte Mason approach where students read slightly under their level and are read to slightly over their reading level.
Who Let the Kids Out 