This a topic which has been written about time and time again. I believe I may have some new information for homeschoolers just starting out. I don't want to discourage anyone, but only encourage. The discouraging news is that sometimes it takes purchasing and utilizing various programs for either one subject or more which a child may be struggling with. When I was homeschooling my oldest she had a hard time with math, we tried a variety of publishers before we found the one that worked best for her. The up point was that we did find something to fit the way she learned and took in information. Another up point for me was that I had two more behind her. While we still went searching for my oldest son for math also, the choice for my youngest was easy. My point is that choosing curriculum is not always easy. Some ways to narrow down choices include talking with your child about the program they are using, find out what they like and don't like. Take that information and visit a homeschool message board for some advice from others. A homeschool support group is useful for advice also. Look at reviews, while they are one individuals opinion they can be helpful. Once a choice is narrowed down ask the child what they think, Christian Book Distributors has samples from the majority of the books they carry which can be very helpful. Lastly talk to other homeschoolers to see if they might have the program you are interested in. This will gives individuals the opportunity to look at it more closely. Don't forget to let the child in on this decision, after all they are the one who will be using it. If the individual who allows a viewing is not utilizing the program they may let you borrow it. Some homeschool support groups have libraries, this is another place to look.
I have a nice collection of different programs and would love to start a lending library to help homeschoolers with situations like this. However due to lack of interest it has never happened.
Homeschool Reviews
While one will not find everything here there is a variety of reviews available. I have utilized this site before and found it helpful.
A Homeschool Review
This is a Yahoo group I belong, it is very helpful. Because this link is direct and I am already a member it may not work. However, by searching for the title of the group one should be able to find it.
1 comment:
One of the things I recommend most when choosing curriculum is understanding your child's learning style. If you can fit the curriculum to the learning style, you have a much better chance of success. Here's a link to a great article on the subject: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/543609/homeschooling_with_style.html?cat=4
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