3 Things to Look For When Choosing Homeschool Curriculum

We have so many choices to make when choosing homeschool curriculum.

(And if you have recently abandoned the ideal of public school and made the decision to homeschool, that feels like enough deciding for one year, right?!?)

I’ve homeschooled ALL ages and also ALL the way through graduation, so I have some experience with choosing curriculum. Some were excellent choices, while others simply gathered dust on the shelf because they didn’t work for us.

Please allow me to offer three simple criteria when choosing ANY piece of homeschool curriculum. (A curriculum litmus test of sorts.)

This will let you spend LESS time shopping and MORE time implementing and reaping the rewards of a beautiful curriculum.

These suggestions are born out of experience.

If I had a huge homeschool do-over, this is how I would choose curriculum.

(*These suggestions are for larger pieces of curriculum. Of course we played games, took field trips, and so many other things as part of our “curriculum” - but with this post I am referring to materials in which you make a considerable time and monetary investment.)

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Consistency

Will the curriculum you have chosen be something you can use for the entire year? Does it have a schedule that works for you, or can you tweak it to fit your homeschool?

One of the very best choices I made for our homeschool was to use First Language Lessons. This curriculum had short, effective lessons that my children could do daily with me. It was ACHIEVABLE.

The lessons were scripted and easy for me to use - even if I hadn’t prepared the night before!

Be honest with yourself when choosing a curriculum. Try a sample lesson with your children and test the waters. Is this something you can do consistently and well?

Beauty

Giving our children beauty is one of the biggest benefits of homeschooling. The world is our oyster.

God has given us infinite opportunities to observe, learn about, and create things of beauty. Why use a curriculum that doesn’t have that aesthetic appeal? And, why use a curriculum that doesn’t point our children to beauty?

Again - an example: Our morning time was always sacred. I loved to have a basket full of beauty for us to feast on first thing in the morning. It just set the tone for our day.

I knew I wanted the kids to learn about art - and I did, too. We used 13 Paintings Children Should Know (and other books in this series) because they were just BEAUTIFUL. My children STILL can recognize and tell you about the works of art we studied in those books.

You can even look for beauty in your math curriculum. I love the way Shormann Math points to the creator in each lesson. The children learn Bible verses and see how math is perfect because math is a thing of God.

Truth

This speaks to our world view. In a world that is increasingly hostile to our Christian beliefs, it is VITAL we choose materials for our children that point to God and reinforce our world view.

Science is an area to be easily led astray. We have always used Apologia Science, as well as beautiful living books. My son took Experience Astronomy - a course taught by Luke Gilkerson, which had a solid grounding in Biblical truth.

Five in a Row, which helped us create so many precious memories with stories, is grounded in a Christian worldview, so I knew the stories chosen would speak TRUTH to my children.

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I hope this helps you simplify your decision making just a bit.

I KNOW there are so many choices. Don’t waste a lot of time in search of the PERFECT curriculum, because you will never find it. But I do believe that if you look for consistency, beauty, and truth in the curriculum, you will have a greater chance of hitting a home run.

You Might Also Like:

Using Story of the World as a Spine for Learning

How to Include Beauty in the Upper Grades of Homeschool

Do you have a favorite piece of homeschool curriculum?

Does it meet the 3 point litmus test I’ve given? Let me know in the comments below!

5 Good Things: Give them Beauty

I received a text this week that transformed my thinking.

It was so simple: “Anna and Grant give me hope for the future”.

We went on to talk about the insanity in our country right now, and how homeschooled children seem to be more able to discern truth from lies - how our children are being brought up to question who their authority is and learning how to sift through the barrage of information thrown at them each day.

As I further contemplated this exchange, it was impressed upon me that the ONLY way to combat the forces at work in our world right now is to relentlessly pursue BEAUTY for our children.

Before you read this post - please read Repairing the Collapse of Virtue. Professor Carol has so eloquently stated what was on my heart this week.

Someone must teach a child to create, rather than destroy. Someone must teach patience, discipline, and compassion. Someone must plant the magical words of poetry, proverbs, and hymns to teach the values and virtues of our heritage. And if no one is there to do it, what will replace it?

This week’s 5 things are practical ideas you can implement with your children, and also inspirational pieces for you, the home educating parent.

Our job is IMPORTANT. Our children are the hope for the future, and we have a large (but not impossible) task set before us.

It is a privilege to reclaim our own education and invest in repairing the ruins of a country that is now feeling the effects of a public education devoid of truth, beauty, and goodness.

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• How to Include Beauty in the Upper Grades of Homeschool

  We have to dig a bit deeper, invest more in relationships, and actively strive to include things of beauty in our teens’ lives. We have to keep talking about the beauty in our own lives, even if they think it’s “dumb”. We have to model the quest for truth, beauty, and goodness in our own lives. This post from last year might help you.

• Politics, Media, and Engaging Our Culture

  There is so much wisdom in this post from Veritas Press. We have DAILY conversations about discernment when it comes to news, social media, and all of the other sources of information presented to us.

• Strawberry Girl

  This is a wonderful book that I remember from my childhood. My daughter works at a strawberry farm, so we have a lot of yummy berries this time of year. As three buckets of berries were staring at me this week, my mind went Lois Lenski’s Strawberry Girl and the wonderful memories I had of my mother reading aloud to me.

  If I had a little one right now I would read the book and make jam! There is no easier way to incorporate beauty than through nature and literature.

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A post shared by Homegrown Learners (@homegrown_learners) on Jun 12, 2020 at 12:38pm PDT

• Virtual Music Hour

  This free resource from the Colorado Symphony is a great way to expose your children to beauty. This week, in particular, is of interest to me. The symphony is sharing a performance of Duke Ellington’s Three Black Kings and Aaron Copland’s Lincoln Portrait - along with a discussion about the pieces.

• How to Spot Fake News (and teach kids to be media savvy)

  I love this article - it gives us basic questions to ask when we are presented with a piece of media. It’s great for EVERYONE in the family as we navigate these strange media times.

“Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God’s handwriting.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Here’s to our pursuit of beauty and home education!