Let's Talk Curriculum

     I am so excited to be a part of the Annual Back to Homeschool BLOG HOP.  Today we will be talking about homeschool curriculum.

     When we started homeschooling 20 years ago, I thought that my children needed to have a certain type of curriculum in order to give them a good education.  I was under the impression that only the expensive textbooks were good enough. I would have to buy the entire set from only one publisher and it had to be new.  BOY WAS I WRONG!  This way of thinking not only cost our family a large amount of money, it also caused struggles in many areas.  Some of the books I bought were not a good fit for my children.  It took years for me to figure out that each child had a different learning style and the curriculum I purchased needed to match the way they learn. 

    Each year I sit down and focus on what curriculum would be best for each of my children. I have had to change my way of thinking in order to meet their needs.  Our son Ryan, who is a Senior this year, loves to have books that he can physically hold in his hands.  He doesn't care for digital books or online classes.  For him, we can buy gently used textbooks & workbooks and he is a happy camper. Our youngest son Josh enjoys learning through online classes, so most of his classes will be on the computer.   Hope, our youngest daughter, loves unit studies and anything that brings creativity to her lessons. She doesn't mind learning math through a textbook, but her other classes must be hands on or she gets bored.  

     Would you like to know some of our favorite choices for curriculum?  Here is our list for each subject:

     * Bible  - Wiersbe Bible Studies

                    Greek 'n' Stuff Bible Studies

     * Language Arts - A Beka Language Arts

                                  A Beka Grammar & Composition 

                                  Readers in Residence by Apologia

                                  Institute for Excellence in Writing

     * Math - Saxon Math

                   UnLock Math, Online Classes

     * History/Social Studies - Heritage Studies from BJU Press

                                             The Home School In The Woods Publishing History                                                         Studies

     * Science - Fascinating Education, Online Classes

                       Novare Science & Math

                       A Beka Science

     * Art - Art Achieve, Online Classes

     * Computer - Compuscholar, Online Classes

     These are just a few of our favorites.  We also love to use classes from  SchoolhouseTeachers.com.  They have so many wonderful classes to choose from that I won't even try to list them.  The videos and planners are wonderful as well.  

     It's not always easy finding the right tools to help my children learn, but I feel it's worth the effort.  As a young mom I didn't pay attention to what my children were trying to tell me as they sat there crying through the lessons I had planned out for them. I just figured they were being defiant and not wanting to do their schoolwork.  Oh if I had only known what I know now. I could have saved us many days of tears and frustration. Now that I have grown up, I want to share my wisdom and experiences with other moms so they will learn from my mistakes. Take some time and figure out their learning style. Understand that each child will have different needs.  It's important to remember that curriculum is not one size fits all.  

     How do you choose your curriculum? Do you have some favorites that you would like to share?  I would love to hear from you!!!

Come on over and join in the fun 👇