Developing a Curriculum for Homeschooling
Once you have selected topics and understand the types of resources that are available to you, it's time to identify the curricula you need. As with the subjects you select, you will need a curricular for each topic for each student for the upcoming year. You should identify your needs using the subject list that you created earlier.
Curricula Needs by Student and Grade Level
Student: Jill
Grade Level: 5th Grade
| Subjects | Curriculum Elements |
| English (Literature, writing, spelling, grammar) Math (Pre-algebra) Science (Geology, astronomy) History/Social Studies (1700-1800 America, geography) Arts (Violin, ballet, performing arts) Physical Education (Gymnastics) Bible study | Book club, grammar book, spellingbook, write play script, various reading assignments (some related to 1700-1800 history and plays for field trips) Pre-algebra book Geology text, astronomy class, field trips to museum, observatory, quarry History text, nonfiction books from the period, living history museum field trip, vacation planning, map software Violin lessons, ballet classes and performance, field trips to local theaters Gymnastics class, conditioning program Study of Genesis, Psalms |
This planning will help you identify the specific materials you need to obtain, the outside resources you will use, field trips to plan, and so on. This planning will require creativity on your part and you can expect it to take some time.
This will also be an iterative process. As you start searching for resources, you will likely identify more specific curricula elements for topics; when you do, you should update your plan to make it more specific. Likewise, you might find that some of your ideas don't pan out and so you will need to adjust your plan by replacing them with ideas that do work. You should expect your curricula plan to change significantly during the planning process even up to and into the school year.
More on: How to Homeschool
Reproduced from Absolute Beginner's Guide to Homeschooling, by Brad Miser, by permission of Pearson Education. Copyright © 2005 by Que Publishing. Please visit http://www.informit.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=0789732777 to order your own copy.
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