How to Create a Home Schooling Curriculum

Home schooling is fast becoming a widespread educational option for American parents. Parents now realize how important their involvement is with the education of their kids. Some to the point that they themselves want to educate their kids. But just teaching your kids at home without a plan is not advisable. You need to know what to teach your kids to prepare them for the big world out there. What you need is a home schooling curriculum to follow. Constructing your own home schooling curriculum is not that hard. You don't even have to be a professional educator to make one. All you need to do is to do these few steps to start designing your own home schooling curriculum.

First thing you need to know are the interests of your child. Know what their favorite books are. Keep tabs on what TV shows they like and what magazines they like to read. This will help you construct the format of your lesson plans. Also ask them what topics interest them.

Once you know what your child likes, it's time to pick the subjects to teach. Avoid re-inventing and opt to use pre-packaged curricula which are available everywhere. One of the most effective ways of constructing your own curriculum is by using History as a basis for all subjects. By working through history, you can discuss literature, scientists and inventions, historical characters and events, arts and artists, and geography of a specific historical time period. Don't forget to include the basics like Math and Spelling. If you can, also include Computer/Technology subjects.

Now that you have your subjects picked out, it's time to construct your course outline. Just make it simple because you are going to use it as a guide. Include your goal of teaching a specific subject to your child, and the materials and methodologies that you are going to use to teach that subject. Refer to the following example:

Math:

Goal in Teaching Math: Your reason for teaching your child Math.

Materials: Library books, reference materials, flash cards, etc.

Once you have your outline done, it's time to prepare your materials. Always incorporate appropriate literature into whatever you teach. Use all your resources; the public library for instance. You can also search online for various e-books that you can use.

Incorporate fun and educational activities in your curriculum. A curriculum that's all lecture and no activities will quickly make your child lose interest. You can also include games and give your child small prizes if they do well in his or her lessons. Keeping them interested and enthused is the key to a successful home schooling program.

Encourage them to take down note. It has been proven that note taking increases retention of lessons. Make note taking interesting for them. For very young kids, provide them with blank pieces of paper with graphics on the borders.

Aside from the regular subjects, include also some arts and crafts into your curriculum. Devise art activities based on your child's age and interests. You can easily find such projects in your local craft store or online. Teaching crafts not only develops your child's artistic side and dexterity, it has the double benefit of making homeschooling fun. You might even find it fun yourself.

Finally, find a support group that can give you tips on how to improve your curriculum. There should be a home schooling support group in your area you can turn to if you need help. For added support and information, attend one of those huge home schooling conventions. These conventions not only provide information and support, here you can also find products that can help improve your existing curriculum.

Educating your child is a big responsibility. Follow these simple tips to make sure you're doing it right.

Home Schooling Curriculum

Free Work Sheets

Lesson Plans

Products & Services For Teachers

Subject Matter

Used Curriculum Materials