When I was an English teacher, curriculum planning was very simple. The school district’s curriculum committee decided which learning materials were appropriate for the students in my class. At the beginning of the semester, they gave me everything I needed in a large, heavy box.
With the help of the dense teacher’s manual and numerous auxiliary materials, I was able to create daily lesson plans with little difficulty. But for most parents of homeschooling, the curriculum planning process is rarely that simple.
Because writing is a fundamental academic skill, many home education parents place special emphasis on the selection of a home-based writing curriculum for their children. But with so many options, finding the best writing curriculum at home can seem like a formidable task.
As an adoptive parent, I have researched a variety of home writing curriculum options for the child that I am currently in my care. Here are some guidelines to make the decision-making process a bit easier for you and your family:
1. Develop your writing curriculum at home from any element or opportunity to help you teach writing. This includes activities as simple as writing poems or song lyrics. Young children are especially natural poets. The inspiration to write poetry can be found anywhere. Reading some children’s poetry books can help stimulate the creative process.
2. Since writing is a fundamental skill, first buy your writing curriculum at home. To avoid feeling overwhelmed by all the options in the market, read reviews online and talk to other educators at home about your experiences with the curriculum.
3. Because the writing covers a wide range of topics, some families buy more curriculum than they really need. This problem can contribute to impulse spending, as some parents fear they will not do a good job unless they have all their bases covered.
4. It is not necessary to buy the entire writing curriculum at home. Library books can be used to teach literature, and you can share books with other educators at home.
5. Consider your own personality and needs when considering a purchase. Some writing programs, such as those published by Bob Jones University Press, require active planning and parental involvement, while other programs, such as the Houghton Mifflin English Curriculum, tend to be self-directed and require less parental involvement.
6. Also consider your child’s personality and needs. A child who lacks motivation to write would not be involved in a traditional home-based writing curriculum that emphasizes grammar rules and formal language structure. A better option could be a workbook that is fun and divides the writing process into manageable sections.
Many students enjoy the sense of accomplishment they feel when they complete a writing book. These positive feelings can be moved to your next written workbook. You can also complement any written work with oral tasks.
7. If you don’t like to write, or if you prefer to have everything organized and planned, consider using a traditional textbook and a teacher’s manual. Although this option is more expensive, you will benefit from having the guidance of an expert to take it step by step through each concept.
Teacher manuals also help parents evaluate their children’s written work. Some include extra printable worksheets and other instructional materials on CD.
8. Above all, remember that teachers teach, books don’t. The actual amount of learning that occurs depends largely on the quality of the interaction between you and your child.
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