Which homeschool curriculum is for you?
Next to the act of parenting, there is no greater privilege than to be given the opportunity to educate your child in the privacy of your own home, and the freedom to select the information you choose to teach your child. Fortunately, we live during a time when the amount of curriculum that is available at our disposal is virtually limitless. One of the biggest perks of homeschooling a child is the simple fact that no one knows your child better than you do. If your child happens to be a strong reader, then you, as their primary educator, can customize what your child will learn at home during the school year, and include lots of read-alouds, historical fiction, Christian missionary biographies, and so on. And because you know your child so well, choosing a curriculum for him or her may actually mean not following any given curriculum, but by taking bits and pieces from the many different programs available. Whether you prefer the structure of a textbook, concentrated unit studies, consumable workbook studies or interactive web-based programs, the goal of any Christian educator should be to keep God central to all that you are working on with your children.
Below are some of the various homeschool curriculums:
Monarch:
Monarch is a new Christian, internet-based homeschool curriculum that is targeted for grades 3 through 12. Monarch’s curriculum encompasses core subjects as Bible, history and geography, language arts, math and science. Additionally, this homeschool program offers 35 elective courses to round off your child’s school day. Monarch uses interactive web-based lessons interspersed with fun graphics, engaging learning games, web-related links and much more.
LIFEPAC:
This curriculum is a work text program that weaves Scripture into each core subject and elective and includes chapter lessons, activities, quizzes, tests, and fundamental truths necessary for daily Christian living.
Horizons:
Horizons is a best-selling Bible-based curriculum in a consumable workbook format that is sure to engage learners of all ages. Horizon’s curriculum integrates the truth of God’s Word into each subject, and is an award-winning reading-based program.
Sonlight:
If you have a child who loves to read and be read to, Sonlight offers a great selection of quality, age appropriate literature for your homeschooled child. Sonlight can be purchased in customizable units or in pre-made all-inclusive packages.
Switched on Schoolhouse:
This multi-media based curriculum includes the core subjects and up to 35 electives. Switched on Schoolhouse can be customized to meet your student where he or she is at. This program is also geared towards grades 3 through 12. Scriptural truths coupled with Christian living applications make this curriculum a good foundation for your child.
The Weaver Collection:
The Weaver Collection is a Bible-based unit study that uses God’s Word as its core. This collection is ideal if you have multiple grade levels in your family because you (the teacher) can formulate each study to be simple for your younger grades or more intricate for your older children.
Choosing the correct homeschool curriculum is really done by trial and error, and what works for one child in your family may not have the same desired effect on the other children in your household. But choosing a curriculum should not stress you out; it should be lots of fun. Remember, you know your son or daughter better than anyone else in the world. Selecting a program that you know will speak to your child’s heart in terms of having a strong Biblical foundation is key. So, as you are considering curriculum for your child, envision how your child would react to certain manners, methods and modalities of teaching, pray about whether a certain curriculum will build your child up and encourage him or her in his daily walk, and ask seasoned homeschool moms what curriculum worked best for their family. If you are shopping around for curriculum for an older child, include them in the selection process. Not only will you wind up with a more suitable match, but having that little say-so in choosing curriculum may prove to be very meaningful to your child.
