Choosing homeschool curriculum is a hot topic at this time of the year, particularly for first time homeschoolers. There’s a lot of pressure to make the “right” choice when the truth is that most curriculum is just fine and will provide your children with a grade-level learning experience.

So, if you’re on a budget or pressed for time to make a decision, just know that in your first year of homeschooling getting started with something is the main goal. As you begin to experience homeschooling you will learn more about how your children learn, how you like to teach, and what materials you like or dislike.

Case in point, when we decided to begin homeschooling I knew NOTHING about curriculum, learning styles, teaching styles, ADHD, the autistic spectrum, math disabilities, dysgraphia, or dyslexia. I did know a few people in my church who were homeschooling. A good friend used A Beka and gave me one of their catalogs which offered curriculum from Pre-K to 12th grade. It looked comprehensive and I decided that it would be suitable for my upcoming kindergartner and 2nd grader. It turned out to be a good, thorough curriculum and we enjoyed it for about three years.

As my three younger children reached school age, the workload of homeschooling began to be overwhelming using A Beka’s materials because it generates a lot of paperwork. It was developed for private schools and any time you have materials created for classroom use, you find a lot of busy work built in. Homeschoolers don’t necessarily need all of that busy work – I know I certainly didn’t.

By our third year of homeschooling I knew a lot more about how my children learned and how I liked to teach. I also had begun to develop my own educational philosophy by then. I knew what I wanted and that A Beka was no longer serving my purposes. But in my first and second year of homeschooling, I was thankful to have a nice scope and sequence to follow with a prepared curriculum. My kids were getting a good education and they learned a lot.

When you’re choosing homeschool curriculum for your family, you’ll want to take the following items into consideration.

Time

If you’re a stay-at-home parent you have may have more time to prepare and do school than a parent who is also an income earner. Some curriculum is open and go like The Good and The Beautiful or LifePac by Alpha Omega with very little prep for the parent to do, and some is very time and labor intensive, such as A Beka and Classical Conversations. Being able to eliminate curriculum based on how much time it takes will make choosing homeschool curriculum easier.

Number of Kids and Budget

The number of kids you’re homeschooling is also going to impact your curriculum choices and affect your budget. I’m homeschooling one child right now, but in the past I had five children that I was homeschooling at the same time. I chose reusable materials whenever possible when I had my five kids. I used Easy Grammar and printed the student pages for each child as needed. I used Math-U-See because I only had to buy the manipulatives and teacher manuals once and could just order student materials as needed. This made homeschooling many children much more affordable.

If you don’t really have much of a budget set up for homeschooling, I would advise you to do a thorough search throughout your home for materials that you can use to homeschool your children and to use as many reusable or free online resources as you can. I’ve used online handwriting worksheet generators, printed MadLibs to help teach grammar, and used various math worksheet generators as well. There are even sites that offer complete homeschooling curriculum for all ages for free, such as Khan Academy, Easy Peasy, Ambleside Online and Wildwood Curriculum (though you may have to purchase some books not available from the library).

Evaluating Curriculum

Whenever possible, it’s great to see curriculum in person. If your local homeschool group is hosting a book sale or convention, you should make it a priority to attend. Seeing materials in person and being able to ask questions about it is invaluable.

If you can’t get to an in-person event or even if you do go to an event, I have two online sites that I highly recommend. Cathy Duffy Reviews is a great resource for learning about curriculum and “seeing” it. This is a very comprehensive site that has reviews of just about every homeschool curriculum and also offers a FREE learning styles assessment. Another equally great resource is Rainbow Resource Center. They’re not only a curriculum supplier but offer FREE curriculum consultations, and have many free guides and materials to help you succeed as a homeschooler.

So, there you have it- choosing homeschool curriculum is not as hard as you might think it is. I wish you all the best! Happy Homeschooling!