Homeschool Curriculum Choices|
When I first started homeschooling I wanted a Christian homeschooling curriculum to tell me what I was supposed to teach and when I was to teach it.
The American homeschool curriculums were somewhat helpful but they taught things differently to Australians and I wasn’t confident to follow their programme.
No one could really help me unless I slotted into a pre packaged workbook programme.
I wanted specific details.
I felt there must be a way to do this, just give me the plan and I'll follow it!
The Department of Education’s 'Key Learning Areas' was not much help either—it was so general.
Who would tell me when should I teach the solar system, times tables or Australian Parliament?
I looked at the prepackaged options and they looked pretty dull. I wasn't willing to just go with the flow and work with an ad hoc arrangement.
I read a lot and that helped but what pointed me in the right direction was the advice from seasoned homeschool mothers, especially the ones with lots of children who had been doing it for a while.
I finally worked out that I didn’t need to follow a rigid plan
but rather use a guideline and gather a few good resources.
Over time I chipped out my own homeschool scope and sequence for the primary years.
Match your curriculum to your homeschool style
As you search the internet you will see—or have already seen—a plethora of different ways that you can homeschool; many of these styles come with a firm philosophy behind them.
If you're like me you will probably find that one style seems to gel with you, but you can see the merits of other styles.
Here is a quick list of styles that you might commonly find.
• The Charlotte Mason (I definitely have strong leaning towards this style)
• Natural learning (or unschooling)
• Steiner
• Montessori
• Distance education such as ACE.
• Workbooks and textbooks
• Classical
• Unit Study
• Eclectic homeschooling (a bit of everything--that's my style.)
Other Article Of Interest
Christian Homeschooling in Australia