Part II: How to Choose an Individualized Homeschool Curriculum for Each Child

It’s that time of year when homeschool families all over the world are rushing to get that last minute vacation, buy all their school supplies, purchase clothing for growing children, get the perfect individualized homeschool curriculum for each child, and make goals for the upcoming school year. Even though it can be stressful, it’s also an exciting time as homeschool families  celebrate the accomplishments of the previous year, enjoying dedicated time together, and looking forward to new experiences in learning.

But, how do you choose the perfect individualized homeschool curriculum for each child in your family? It begins by knowing what a quality homeschool program should include. So while you are researching homeschool programs for your children this year, keep this checklist handy!

A Top-Notch Program will have:

• Accreditation. Knowing that what you are doing will be fully recognized both now and in the future gives you the freedom to enjoy homeschooling.
• The ability to customize the individualized homeschool curriculum. Having the ability to tailor the curriculum between multiple publishers and resources gives your child the best advantage as you can pick and choose what work’s best for them.
• The option to ask for help. Working with an expert gives you peace of mind throughout the year, knowing that if you or your child may need help, someone will be there to assist.
• Professional Grades and Transcripts. Avoid the stress of wondering what records to keep, how to meet state laws, or whether your child is performing well. When you have a homeschool partner who takes care of this, you have more time to focus on your child and those creative ideas!
• Additional Resources. This is a MUST! Having more resources available at your fingertips helps your child learn information instead of just memorizing content for a quiz or test.
• No Limitations. As a homeschooling parent, you need full flexibility and control for when and where you want your children to study.

A Top-Notch Online Homeschool Program will have:

• The ability to review information or lessons as needed. This allows the student to independently choose the pace s/he needs to learn the content.
• The option to retake quizzes and assignments if needed. Giving students this option allows them to understand what was wrong and how to better study in the future.
• Quick feedback on all tests, quizzes, and papers.  How can you measure your child’s progress if you don’t get results quickly?  When your individualized homeschool curriculum online program provides results within 24 hours, you can adjust your schedule if your child needs more help.
• Extra resources!  Because every child is different, they will struggle in different areas. The best online programs cover all the bases in each lesson so that you don’t have to research additional assignments or projects to help your child learn.
• No limitations for when or where you do your schoolwork. You should be able to choose your child’s login times and have the ability to start your school day or year when it’s convenient for your family.
• A Top-Notch Blended Homeschool Program will have:Because blended programs offer a mixture of textbook courses and online courses, you will want all of the above! Blended learning will give you more ways to better customize an individualized program for your learner. And it will give your student a change in pace to help them focus.

Programs for Unschoolers will have:

• The ability to take any electives. Because you want your kids to learn topics that are interesting to them, this is a must! Electives are a great way to get more in-depth learning on specialized content like classical books, animals, marine life, etc.
• Freedom and Flexibility to take just a single course. Many homeschool programs require that you get all the major core classes. Make sure you have the freedom to only choose classes when you want them.
• Additional Resources. You never know what will spark your child’s attention. By having additional resources available, you can give them options to find more topics and ways to learn that catch their interest.

How do you know which homeschool program will be best option for your child?

Take a learning style assessment designed for your whole family!  Online programs tend to help Auditory learners, and Textbooks can be great for Visual Learners, but if your child is a Kinesthetic learner or enjoys changing subjects often, then it might be a good idea to look at blended learning.  Because no two kids are alike and many children have a mixture of all those learning styles, having detailed results from a learning style assessment will help you customize an education to each of your children to fulfill their greatest potential.

Still overwhelmed by the whole process? Don’t worry! We are here to help! Call us at 800-863-1474 to talk to one of our homeschooling specialists and ask any additional questions. Or feel free to comment below. We would love to help you find the perfect individualized homeschool curriculum program for your family.