What curriculum do you use?
- homeschoolhoopla
- Jul 14, 2020
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 11, 2022
This is a loaded question! It depends on the grade and the child, as well as the goals you set for your kids. That is what I love about homeschool.
If you want the low down on all the various curricula out there check out Cathy Duffy. She is a wealth of information, but it can be overwhelming for some. She goes through many homeschool curricula and rates them. You can learn a bit more about the various methods of homeschooling at her site too.
Below are a few websites to help you get started in browsing for curriculum. This list is not exhaustive, just a few to get you started and looking. There are TONS more.
Simple curriculum and very colorful. This publisher would most naturally appeal to the Charlotte Mason crowd, as they use a "living books" approach to education. The Stortz family has used a few things from here (Logic and history), and found them to be more workbook-oriented. The Arledge family made the switch to the Masterbooks math curriculum (Math Lessons for a Living Education), and has found it to be more engaging than their previous chosen math curriculum. They have also used the history books as a reader to go along with Classical Conversations' history cycle, and enjoyed the content and pictures.
They have almost every curriculum you can think of. It's like a one stop shop, which is nice because you can order from one place and get free shipping without having to visit each individual site. This is not a publisher, rather a homeschool resource reseller. Most homeschool books and items can be found here at a reduced price.
Both the Arledge and Stortz families use the Latin curriculum from Classical Academic Press, starting with Song School Latin 1 & 2, and progressing to Latin for Children. The Stortz family will start using their logic curriculum after they finish with Masterbooks. There are several other curriculums that look interesting from CAP!
This is Charlotte Mason based and is an all-in-one box curriculum. You get every subject you need with all the instructions to lead your child through their year of homeschool. These can be more expensive, but they are well thought out. It is A LOT of reading! For some, the downside is all the curriculum comes from one publisher. Along the same lines is ABEKA and Bob Jones.
Timberdoodle has kits that you can customize. They choose curriculum from different publishers and put them together. You can choose from a basic kit all the way up to a deluxe kit and in-between. It structures everything for you and tells you what to do when.
Classical Conversations includes the framework for all the subjects. Communities meet weekly to learn memory work, complete science and art projects, do presentations, play games, and more. Many families who choose this program use it as the spine of their curriculum, adding math, reading, and whatever else interests their family. This is the case for the Arledge family.
These should get you started. Trust me, there are tons more, and more that we use and we will get into those. Don't be too intimated, and remember to start with less. Cover the bare minimum first: math, reading, handwriting... and you can always add more 1 month, 3 months, 6 months in. It's better to be successful with a few things than have a plan to do too many subjects and become overwhelmed by it all and quit.
If a curriculum isn't working... guess what? You can change in the middle of the year! No need to finish it. I wouldn't advocate switching 4 times in a year, but it's important that you find what's right for YOU and YOUR child(ren). Just because a friend is doing a certain curriculum doesn't mean that it will be the right fit for you. I (Jessica) personally did one spelling curriculum with my first kiddo and she did great. I tried it with my second and it wasn't working. I went through 4 curricula over the next couple years until I found one that works and now she is doing great in spelling. It's ok to realize that a curriculum isn't the right fit for you or your child and move on.
Consider buying used curriculum! There are online marketplaces as well as thriftbooks.com for certain things. Also, check out your local library. In Iowa, the local library has started to buy homeschool books as a part of their collection. We (Stortzes) also have a homeschool assistance program through the public schools that we choose to participate in, and they have a lending library, so we can borrow resources from there. You don't have to spend a ton of money on curriculum. If you prefer, you could piece together your own from online resources. I just personally prefer to use ones that have it all laid out for me so I can just follow the books. In Michigan, there are a number of local co-ops to participate in, offering several different classes to the various grade levels, including electives.
I hope this helps give you a general overview. Be sure to watch for our upcoming posts on the grade levels. We will come back and update this page as necessary!
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