Buying Guide to Home School Curriculum - Books, Arts and Crafts, Software, Cd's and More

The big picture:

Curriculum should invite your child to pick it up and explore it. Learning should not feel like a duty, task or chore. What you choose to surround your child with in regards to items of educational value does not have to necessarily look like school stuff. Children learn best, when their minds are free to explore, examine how things work, use their imagination, experience cause and effect, can think about what will happen next and most importantly of all, they can feel free to be happy about learning. Start your adventure by asking your child what they would like to learn. If they are young and need some help with this, ask them what they have questions about as you tuck them into bed, and jot their answers down in a journal. When you watch them throughout the day, notice what captures their attention. Do they seem fascinated with animals, or sports, buildings, people of different cultures? When they draw pictures, what do they usually draw? Older children can articulate better what interests them. The more a child is involved in picking out what they will be learning and what tools they will be learning with; the more likely they are to use them.

Curriculum can take many forms. Traditional forms are books, art and craft supplies, musical instruments, maps, videos, DVD’s, cd’s, talking globes, chalk boards, felt boards, software and computer. The not so traditional can be anything from a bowl, spoon, measuring cups ingredients and a recipe, to a walk through a nature center. Your local library has a vast array of learning media to choose from and most items are free to borrow. Your local library also has reference material that although you can not take it out of the library, spending an afternoon exploring different reference materials can open up new frontiers for your child without taking up space in your home and without cost, well, except for an afternoon of quiet exploring.

Features of good curriculum and what to look for: