Homeschooling is on the rise. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to grip the world, more and more parents are turning to homeschooling as a viable option for their children’s education.
Whether it’s due to the local school closures, dissatisfaction with school options, or a desire to provide more personalized learning, creating your own homeschool curriculum is a great way to make learning more engaging and effective. With just a few steps, you can create a custom curriculum to meet your child’s needs. What Are the Benefits of Homeschooling?
Many parents choose to homeschool their children for a variety of reasons, such as giving their children more one-on-one instruction and personalizing their learning according to their individual interests and needs. Other benefits of homeschooling include the ability to control the education environment and schedule, tailor the curriculum to the student’s interests and learning style, and provide learning experiences outside of a traditional school setting. By homeschooling, parents can also provide their children with a more robust social life and broader educational opportunities.
What Should Be Included in a Homeschool Curriculum? A well-rounded homeschool curriculum should include a variety of components such as core academic subject areas, exploration of meaningful topics, and experiences that will foster critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Generally, the core areas that are included in most homeschool curriculums are math, language arts and literature, science, and social studies. Additional areas of study can also be tailored and added as desired. These may include alternative learning styles, extra-curricular activities, field trips, and virtual learning experiences, as well as physical education, foreign language and music lessons.
How Do I Create My Own Homeschool Curriculum? Creating your own homeschool curriculum is not an impossible task.
When done properly, it can be an enjoyable experience and yield positive results. Here are 15 questions to consider when crafting your own custom curriculum.
1. What subjects will you teach?
When creating a homeschool curriculum, the first step is to decide what subjects you want to teach. This can include core academic subject areas, such as math, language arts, science, and social studies.
Other topics such as foreign language, music, and physical education can also be included depending on your child’s interests and your own preferences. Additionally, you may choose to add in a focus on alternative learning styles, such as kinesthetic, asynchronous and project-based learning.
2. What types of resources will you use?
Once you have determined the subjects to be covered in the curriculum, the next step is to figure out what types of resources you will use. This can include textbooks, digital tutorials, online courses, as well as field trips, games, and hands-on activities. Some homeschoolers also make use of educational television programs, podcasts, and articles from print or online publications.
Additionally, you may wish to incorporate virtual learning experiences and extracurricular activities into your homeschool curriculum.
3. How will you track your children’s progress?
As the primary educator, it is important for you to keep track of your children’s progress. This can be done in a variety of ways, including but not limited to portfolios, assessments, and grade tracking sheets.
Additionally, most homeschoolers track their children’s growth and development through journals, interviews, and other type of reflective activities. Keeping track of your child’s progress is especially important if they will be attending college, trade school, or the military at some point, as these organizations may require evidence of their academic success.
4. How will you introduce new material?
Introducing new material can be a challenging task for homeschoolers. Whether you are teaching a new concept, subject area, or activity, it is important to ensure that the material is presented in a way that engages the student.
This can be accomplished through a variety of methods, such as lectures, discussions, role-playing, and worksheets. Novelty and creativity can also be used in introducing new material, such as incorporating storytelling, games, and even multimedia.
5. What methods of assessment will you use?
Assessing your students’ progress is essential to ensure that they are mastering the material. When creating your own homeschool curriculum, decide on the methods of assessment that you will use to evaluate your students’ understanding.
These can include tests, quizzes, quizzes paper and pencil, projects, presentations, list-giving, and document study. Additionally, some homeschoolers prefer to incorporate portfolios and self-assessment, as these allow for a more personal evaluation of each student’s progress.
6. How will you use technology in your homeschool curriculum?
Most homeschoolers make use of some type of technology in their curriculum. Technology can be used in various ways, from online courses to digital textbooks to educational software. Additionally, some homeschoolers take advantage of computer programming, robotics, and coding, which can offer a more hands-on approach to learning and introduce students to new concepts.
Be sure to consider the age and abilities of your children when deciding on the types of technology to use.
7. What type of structure and scheduling will you use?
One of the advantages of homeschooling is the ability to tailor the structure and scheduling to your child’s unique needs. This includes setting the daily schedule, deciding the length of instructional periods, assigning homework, and setting expectations.
Consider the needs and interests of each child when deciding on the structure and scheduling of your homeschool curriculum.
8. How will you accommodate students with different learning styles and abilities?
Every child has their own learning style and abilities. When creating a homeschool curriculum, it is important to accommodate these differences. This can include incorporating a variety of activities, from hands-on and online to experience-based and project-oriented learning.
Additionally, providing feedback in a variety of formats can help to ensure that each student is understanding the material. Consider personalizing the curriculum for each student to ensure that each student is provided with an optimal learning environment.
9. How will you keep the curriculum current?
As times and technologies change, it is important to keep the homeschool curriculum up to date. To do so, it is necessary to regularly review the materials and incorporate new topics, activities, and resources in order to keep it relevant.
Additionally, staying abreast of current events can be incorporated into the curriculum to enrich the learning experience.
10. What types of enrichment activities will you provide?
Enrichment activities are a great way to make learning more engaging and effective. These can include field trips, outdoor activities, virtual learning experiences, and extracurricular activities. Additionally, these activities can foster critical thinking and problem-solving skills and provide experiential learning opportunities that cannot be provided in a classroom setting.
Choose activities that are both engaging and educational, such as cooking, gardening, and even robotics.
11. Will you incorporate social activities?
Socializing is an important aspect of learning, and homeschoolers should make sure to include a variety of social activities in their curriculum. This can include participating in a homeschool group, virtual class or club, or outdoor activity.
Additionally, engaging in community service can provide students with an opportunity for social interaction, as well as provide a sense of purpose.
12. How will you manage distractions and eliminate procrastination?
Distractions and procrastination are common obstacles that homeschoolers must overcome. To limit distractions, establish a learning area that is comfortable and free of potential distractions. Additionally, setting clear expectations and providing incentives can help to eliminate procrastination.
This can include establishing check-ins, goal-setting, and hold student accountable for their progress.
13. What type of opportunities will you provide for creativity?
Homeschooling provides an opportunity for creative learning experiences. Incorporate creative activities, such as artwork, music, and writing into the curriculum.
Additionally, provide plenty of free playtime for kids to explore their own interests and ideas. Make use of a variety of techniques, such as problem-solving, storytelling, and journaling to stimulate creative thinking.
14. How will you document your progress?
Documenting your progress is important in order to track your student’s growth and development, as well as to provide evidence of their academic success. Keep accurate records of attendance and grades, as well as lesson plans and activities. You will also want to include evidence of any extracurricular activities, field trips, and other learning experiences.
15. How will you evaluate your homeschool program’s success?
Evaluating the success of your homeschool program is essential in order to ensure that your curriculum is effective and that your children are learning. This can include taking periodic assessments, as well as tracking your student’s grades and attendance.
Additionally, providing feedback to your students, and asking for their opinion, can be a great way to gauge their satisfaction with the program.
Conclusion
Creating your own homeschool curriculum is a daunting task that can be greatly rewarding. By taking the time to consider these 15 questions while crafting your plan, homeschoolers will be able to create a more robust and effective homeschool curriculum that is both engaging and tailored to their students’ individual needs and interests.
With the right approach, anyone can create a custom curriculum that will be sure to provide an optimal learning experience.