Home School Curriculum

There are as many ways to home school as there are people out there that home school. Basically most people will range somewhere in the broad spectrum between "school-at-home" and "let the kids play all they want and they'll learn what they need to know". You need to know your style and the temperaments and learning styles of your children to be able to come up with an educational philosophy that you can both live with. Children can learn with workbooks and they can learn with games. Some children love to work through a textbook and don't want to be bothered with games while other children may complete a workbook but not remember anything they did. There are all kinds of terms that are used to describe the styles of home schooling such as Eclectic, Classical, Unschooling, Traditional, Montessori, Charlotte Mason, and Unit Studies. Homeschooling does stretch a parent but it doesn't have to bend them out of shape. Each parent needs to evaluate what type of...

Most home schooling programs are fully comprehensive and provide everything you would need for your child's complete k-12 education. However, you should keep in mind that many experienced home schoolers do not stick to just one program. They pick and choose from what they believe are best of each of the various programs. I cover in greater detail how people mix and match in my home schooling newsletter. There are many popular and respected home schooling programs. The ones I'll cover briefly here are Saxon, Center for Learning and Curriculum Associates. Perhaps one of the more well-known home schooling programs comes from Saxon. Saxon is a part of Harcourt Achieve, a publisher that provides a variety of educational materials across various subjects. Saxon focuses on math, phonics and early learning. Many home schoolers like Saxon's math texts. Math is an area that children will need expert instruction in. If the parents don't have a math background, Saxon may be the rig...