Homeschool curriculums can be as interactive, diverse, detailed and social as the natural world we were designed to learn.
Whether searching for or developing your own homeschool curriculum, there are universal factors crucial to long-term success. The human mind is designed to interact with an energetic, ever-changing world with camouflaged patterns to catch and critical tasks to execute for survival and satisfaction. The more dynamic, detailed and meaningful education is, the more a mind stays engaged and actively creates connections and solutions.
Just as words are only a fraction of communication (with intonation, body language and context bearing greater significance), so well-laid-out information is only a fraction of education. An ideal curriculum, therefore, provides context and a variety of interactions with the subject matter designed to build memory, original cognition, adaptive fluency and practical skill. In other words, it informs, as well as trains students to think for themselves, use the information in a variety of practical ways and thereby remember the subject matter far better.
When starting your homeschool, it can be helpful to commit to a specific curriculum (whether ideal or not), so your creativity can be spent solely on acclimating to your new lifestyle. Setting the stage for education, creating a positive and balanced family work environment and mental state is foundational to every subject and therefore a higher priority than the nuts and bolts of a curriculum. Once that is established, the quality of education can advance quickly.
Cross reference curriculums. Flip through textbooks, which have a bad rap but are really quite useful. Ask the librarians and the internet for fun or unusual supplemental resources or activities for a subject or specific concept being worked on. As you go, you are likely to find there is a wealth of possibilities to explore outside of that one curriculum, which does not necessarily make that one curriculum obsolete. Whatever curriculum you purchased can be a very useful framework, providing the bulk of study in a systematic format. As long as it accurately explains and cleanly details the breadth of knowledge sought, customizing your homeschool curriculum with interesting dynamics can be an ever-evolving overlay.
If you are an innovative spirit, or simply cannot find the type of curriculum you would like to offer your child, you can always design one yourself. You may have expertise or significant struggles in an area that give you insight into qualities lacking In the typical curriculum for that subject. Either extreme can be a great impetus to reimagine and reformat the classic take on a subject. When designing your own curriculum, look at the many methods of study for ideas. Regardless of style though, all studies are incomplete without:
TERMINOLOGY
Every field has its esoteric jargon that carries nuanced significance the uninitiated don’t realize. If you don’t understand the shoptalk, many of the concepts, especially the funny ones, will be over your head. Abbreviations, acronyms and symbols (like music notation) add a bit of cryptography to the mix, and who doesn’t like having the key to a few codes stashed in the back pocket of the mind?
FORMULAS
These are the shortcuts, the long proven tricks and hacks to quickly solve mysteries once you know the secret of how to use them.
PROCESSES
Whether constant recurring phenomena, loose patterns in chain-of-events or intentional ways to achieve a desired result, processes are the puzzle pieces in complex structures.
THEORIES and LAWS
These are the rules and boundaries to play the game by. In some fields, there are no laws, only theories that are rather debatable. In which case, testing those boundaries and analyzing the results can be brilliant fun, even when things go awry.
CLASSIFICATIONS
Everything is unique at some level. Classifying the underlying similarities and differences allows a mind to avoid inundation and work in simplified probabilities like a skilled gambler tracking only strategic differentials.
INTERCONNECTEDNESS
When it all starts to come together, the pieces rapidly converge into real comprehension. Sensing the big picture and understanding the pull of cause and effect on a tapestry of factors is the starting point of mastery.
APPLICATIONS
When and how to use what was learned is not always as intuitive as hoped, so ample opportunities to test-run or real-time apply new knowledge is pivotal. Applications can also test the value of those pesky details, which often prove to be critical. The best applications require a bit of personal ingenuity along with the new knowledge to discover more, cultivate, analyze, solve, participate, alter, etc., training individuals to weave their own designs through the tapestry of factors.
*An important note to novice educators: People forget things quickly, especially children. They are little sponges and as such, children absorb so much that anything not used is eliminated to free up space. Revisit concepts occasionally, otherwise the memories, the knowledge, will evaporate. Car ride discussions and playful oral quizzes are brief yet effective.
When evaluating, customizing or designing curriculums, weigh not only the educational value, but also the logistics involved. Be realistic about what you can invest. Consider not just money…time and brain power are precious commodities to a busy parent, directly impacting emotional bandwidth and general atmosphere. Calculate how much of the curriculum will require supervision, assistance, active teaching, transportation, supply runs, etc. Sketch out any additional activities or resources you would like to include with prep time estimates. Prioritize the most important elements based on the purpose of study in that subject.
5 Hobbies
Providing intellectual enrichment and creative outlets, hobbies are fun and worthy investments when time and energy permits.
4 Academic Balance
As a minor focus, skills and knowledge that provide academic balance are needed for well-rounded brain development and opportunity optimization. Many careers require more skill sets than just knowledge in one genre.
3 Testing Proficiency
Testing strategies combined with a strong knowledge base in math and English not only develops testing proficiency for getting into top universities, but it is also essential for keeping up once in.
2 Academic Foundations
Critical to ongoing pursuits, academic foundations need to be thorough so future courses are not stifled by gaps in fundamental proficiencies. Falling behind in more advanced courses can be extremely discouraging even with a good work ethic, so making sure foundations are strong by revisiting them regularly is a simple efficiency that makes a world of difference. Read my post Foundational Skills and Knowledge, for more information.
1 Professional Grade Interest
This level of interest deserves the additional research into what tools and practical knowledge are essential in that field. Talk to professionals and find out what they wish schools would teach. Work from a trade mindset rather than academic exploration, and find ways to get involved in the active field. Allocate ample time to the mastery of any related subjects and skills.
Purpose in study determines style of pursuit. Homeschooling can be refashioned at any time to better suit changing needs and interests. Sometimes, however, the stability of finishing out that semester’s plan is more beneficial. A course can be fast-tracked too. Be open-minded, yet strategic.
Whether choosing, customizing or designing your own, your curriculum should reflect your purpose, your dedication to quality and a hint of your personality in the details and dynamics.
-S. E. Bocker
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