Homeschooling 101: Choosing a curriculum

You might want to pop popcorn and grab a fun drink. It's going to be a long read. I decided to break this post into two parts. I’m going to start with the personal stories because I believe it is important to know that the best part of homeschooling is catering your children’s education to the needs and lifestyle of the family. Therefore there is no black and white, right or wrong way to homeschool. That’s the beauty of it. Find freedom in allowing your family to learn in your own way. After you see that we will move into the different curriculums and I’ll leave you with a million links to their websites.

Here are some things you should know before we dig in:
1-Just because you bought it doesn’t mean you are married to it. I have twice now gotten halfway through the school year and chucked a program because it was making everybody miserable. It’s okay, it’s part why we homeschool, we get to choose what our children study and how they learn.
2-Don’t let the price scare you. I understand that curriculums can be pricey, but oftentimes there is a cheaper way. Facebook for example has homeschool swap groups. Libraries are a fun way to get out of the house, and are free. Used book stores. Amazon. Some states have in person swap groups. Also even the most expensive is thousands less than private school and you get to make the schedule. For our family I budget school into our monthly bills. Some years a gym membership falls under the school line and others I spend most of it on field trips or books. It all depends. The majority of it I spend over the summer as I look for sales. What you budget will also depend on the curriculum you choose, as some will cover up to three different grades-they are created for siblings and family learning.
3-Don’t be 100% for religious or secular based programs. Be 100% for your children’s education. For example one of my favorite math programs is considered religious, it’s about math not religion, but the creators were Christians and there is a large market for christian materials so I think they made sure to add the christian label. And vice versa don’t put your kids in a bubble as there are a lot of really good secular curriculums out there such as time4learning and khanacademy. 

4-Lastly, sometimes you don’t need a curriculum or program. In fact sometimes it’s better to make your own or just use real life. (my unschooling method is coming out) Here are some other examples of how I do things: 

 ~I don't do spelling or Grammar with the kids until they have a strong grasp on reading. I strongly believe (and some experts do as well) that it’s too much for a child to have to focus on these things when they are just starting to figure out basic reading. I think that if they are able to read the word they can then focus on the order of the letters that make the word or the order of the words that make the sentence. Therefore it wasn’t until 3rd grade that I really started to focus on those things. And Honestly my dyslexic boy will always struggle with spelling and grammar.

~In the younger years science and art were easily combined and my curriculum came mostly from Pinterest. We studied colors, rainbows, the water system, density, and Space. Remember to be age appropriate. If you’re not sure what that is, most states have a “What my child should know by the end of first grade” list. I have one friend who says that “Learning by mistake is the best way to learn.” Science and art are both prime examples of that. Just because traditionally each subject is separated doesn’t mean it has to be.

~I started by using reading programs, but I quickly learned that if my kids were interested in what they were reading they would catch on a whole lot faster. Now I compare some of the best seller’s lists for their reading levels and they get to pick the books and the ending book project to show they understood what they read. Check out this great book full of book project ideas, below. The year I threw reading programs out the window is the year my dyslexic boy started to want to read on his own. I honestly thought that day would never come, but it did and it’s amazing! 

~I have used different spelling programs, I’ll list some of my favorites down below, but honestly the easiest and “battle free” spelling year was the year I made spelling boxes for them. In the box was a 5x7 sketch pad, an index card box filled with index cards, markers and crayons. Each day they had to pick a word first thing. I would write it on an index card for them and they would then draw a picture of it as well as write out the word on the page. Then whenever they wanted to know how to spell the word I would encourage them to remember their drawing and 95% of the time they could then spell the word. It was the best. Of course now they are older and you can’t put a picture to every word so we use spelling lists, but in the beginning this was our favorite.

I asked other families what curriculums they used and why? Here’s what they had to say and I included a hyperlink to the different programs so you can check them out for yourself. At the very end I have a few other resources that will give you direction from preschool to highschool, books vs online, and many secular options as well.

~We have gone through a lot of curriculums. When my oldest was kindergarten age we started with Classical Conversations program. It was fantastic for us. We were new to the area so getting together weekly with like minded people, and meeting other homeschooling families was great. The material used is religiously based, as are the meetings. This was important to us. The program also covered memory work in history, math, science, language arts, and fine arts. We did this program for 3 years with different groups of people. The program is comprehensive apart from needing to still choose a math curriculum and teach reading at home.
We have never used a reading program. We have always just read, read, read to our kids. I have found Read Aloud Revival with Sarah MacKenzie really encouraging. I got frustrated at first with my son's lack of interest in learning to read, but people kept telling me that when he was ready he would read, and though it was frustrating, fostering a base for love of reading and stories has propelled him forward. It was true, he read when he was ready and is now 9 and reading well.
For math we have yet to find a curriculum that we love and want to dive into. We started with Saxon which is a fantastic program, but unappealing to a 5 or 6 year old. It is black and white, and lengthy. We picked and chose what of the program we wanted to use and only did the workbook part sporadically. I do really like the mad minute math drills part since I believe that memorizing the addition facts and then subsection, multiplication, division makes math so much easier.
The next year we switched to Horizons math. It was much more colorful, but started having so many equations with each lesson that it was overwhelming to my boy. It was hard to remember that I am the teacher and I get to choose how many equations he does. We started just doing the even numbers and made it through most of the curriculum.
For 3rd grade, and 1st grade for my daughter we switched to Masterbooks. I had heard that this was a gentler approach to math, and it was real life and story based. It looked like it was going to be a great program for us. It started out good. We loved the storyline each week, and the amount of math was not overwhelming. It was colorful, and fun. I actually really love it, aside from the slow pace, and repetition. My 3rd grader picks up math concepts really easily so was bored with the same concepts week after week. We moved quickly through the book skipping pages and concepts. Then I decided to start teaching more advanced concepts and printing out worksheets online to drill them. The 1st grade book has a lot of place value, shapes, and number drawing. It was too much emphasis on how to draw numbers, but would definitely help us master it.
Next year for my 4th grade we are planning on trying Teaching Textbooks. It is online, and that excites him. I’ve been trying to find something that he looks forward to doing since math comes so easily to him.
I’m not sure what we will use for my 2nd grader, but for my kindergartener we will work on skip counting, and easy addition without curriculum. So much math is present in our everyday lives that we don’t bring in worksheets unless we have to. We love to learn by mistake.
As for other subjects, we kind of just make up our own. Science is accomplished by books from the library, easy at home experience, more reading, and lots of outside time.
Social studies or history is also accomplished through reading from the library or books we pick up at 2nd hand stores and garage sales. My kids know more about history than I did, so I am learning with them. My son's favorite subject is history, so I feel happy about that.
Language arts are lacking in our house, and our weakest point. We are good readers, but we are not good spellers, nor do we know many rules of writing. We plan to work on that in the fall. This year I ordered Spectrums language arts for 3rd grade and we have looked through some of that, but didn’t make it very far before having a baby, then all bets were off.

~I personally use a hybrid of Sonlight for History and Science. My own personal selections or the kids' preferences for Bible, Teaching Textbooks for Math, and Lifepac for Language Arts. We are also using Apologia for the two oldest for Science this year. I loved the Lifepac because they are very self-directed and when I am teaching 5 different grade levels, it is helpful for them to have some subjects that don't require as much from me. We use them for Math until 3rd. grade when they can start Teaching Textbooks. Teaching textbooks has made my life so much easier. It is an online lesson and then questions that give them immediate scoring and feedback and then gives them direction on where to go to relearn something if they didn't understand it. It requires very little from me other than follow-up to make sure that the scores are acceptable.
I love Sonlight for the books. It is very literature heavy which is great for some of my children and has to be slimmed down for other children. Apologia is great as well and we have really enjoyed both.

~So I follow the Charlotte Mason method for our homeschool. There are many facets to it, but the basic idea is to have the kids read living books (books that are engaging, often told in narrative form, written by someone who is passionate about the subject - NOT textbooks) and then narrate (tell back) what they have read for each reading. The idea is to spread a wide feast of different books/topics that are read slowly over a longer period of time (typically 12 weeks for a lot of the books, though it varies quite a bit). Nature study and large amounts of time outside, observing and appreciating the natural world is also a big part of the CM philosophy. I use Ambleside Online, which is a free Charlotte Mason curriculum that has been created and refined by a group of really wonderful, intelligent people over the past 20 years or so. They provide carefully selected book lists and schedules for all grades K - 12. I made the switch to the Charlotte Mason method 2 years ago after not finding much joy in our homeschool and really wanting to find a way to instill a love of learning in my kids. We LOVE Ambleside Online. It is FULL of rich, wonderful books that make the kids forget how much they are learning. The last 2 years have been by far our best homeschool years (and we've been doing it for 8 years or so). So far we've done grades 1-5 with AO, and I'm already excitedly planning for the new school year in the fall. Ambleside Online certainly has a distinctly Christian bent, but I think there are some who use it and may skip/substitute some of the more overtly Christian books. Charlotte Mason herself was a believer, so much of her writings/philosophy do include Christian ideas, but again, I know there are some who follow her educational philosophy who are not Christian. 

~We largely use ABeka. We've used My Father's World. In The coming year we are looking forward to changing things up and using Notgrass. While ABeka is great for laying a firm foundation of reading, writing, and numbers skills it is very much structured for a traditional classroom environment. My Father's World has a lot more freedom to learn as a family. It combines subjects which is time saving. My Father's World does send you A LOT of books to use each year however.
This year we are going to use a combination of Notgrass History which combines History, Literature, Language Arts, and Bible. We will Use ABeka for Math and Science because my guys enjoy it.

~We will be going into year 5 of homeschooling. We have tried a variety of curriculum over the years. This past year we found one that we will be using again next year. We use ABEKA Videos (unaccredited) for grades K-2 (so far, will have 1-3 next year). It is a Christian, faith based program that teaches in a traditional classroom style. There is a specific Bible class each day with faith woven throughout the other classes. Frankly I would prefer more of an eclectic style of homeschooling, choosing a curriculum based on the needs of each child, however last year we hit a wall and needed to streamline. My children have thrived using it! Having 6 children ages 8-1 has its challenges and this Momma needs to be sure that everyone is getting what they need... school children and needy toddlers alike. In future, perhaps I would plan to do family subjects for science and history but for now this is working. I do also utilize other curriculum for certain things I would like to cover. For example we are doing the Not Consumed Bible Studies as well. I also use Sonlight and the Read Aloud Revival Book Lists each year. Even though I purchase a "Boxed Curriculum" I am not limited to using just those resources throughout our homeschool. 

~So that's what some friends have to say. I have used many of these programs, but I'll focus on what they haven't used. For Grammar we use Easy Grammar, it takes just a few minutes a day to get through. We have used a few different math programs but settled on Math U See. It's fun and never feels like busy work. It's a very hands on program so for my Dyslexic boy who needs to touch, feel and see in order to learn this was perfect. And each lesson has a little video teaching time so I don't have to teach the concept or if I want to understand what they expect I can just watch it for myself. We all love this program. Math U See also puts out a program called Spelling U See which is also a visual hands on program, my second favorite by far. Our top spelling program is Sequential Spelling. This makes spelling seem like there is some logic to it. Ha! Angela O'Dell is a textbook author that we stumbled upon, and instantly fell in love with her work. Every year we use at least one of her books for history class. In the early years we used Handwriting Without Tears. We also used an online "Box curriculum" for a few years called Monarch. It is one of the best online programs for kiddos with dyslexia because if they run into a word that they can't figure out there is an option to have it read to you. 

Here you will find a million links to a million and one different programs. Also know that a lot of these programs allow you or your child to take a placement test of sorts so you do end up buying a program and realize it wasn't the best level for your kiddo.

~Homeschool.com for more recomendations of curriculums.
~Schoolhouseteacher.com has some suggestions of online programs.
~The homeschool resource room has an abundance of information on secular only programs. Everything from preschool to highschool, from books to online programs.
~Learning Abled kids can be a good resource if you think your child might have a learning issue such as dyslexia or ADHD.
~Christian Book Distributors for great sales on material. Also check FB swap pages, and Amazon's secondhand bookstore is amazing.