Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

Mike Farris:
So far on this week’s program, we’ve discussed teaching styles and learning styles as factors to consider when deciding on homeschool curriculum. Cathy, what other factors would you say are important?

Cathy Duffy:
I think some parents forget to factor in the circumstances in their own families when they select curriculum. If you have four children to home educate at four different grade levels, if you purchase four separate grade level programs, all studying different historical time periods, science topics, and other areas, it’s almost impossible for parents to stay on top of what each student is doing, much less do any substantial teaching!

I’ve also seen parents purchase real books programs but drown under the load of read-aloud books they’re supposed to get through. If you’ve got a toddler or a baby, your time is going to be severely restricted and interrupted in ways you need to take into account. If you’ve got a beginning reader, that child will need a disproportionate amount of attention for a year or more, since they can’t read their own instructions for independent learning.

A parent with only one or two children, and they’re past the learn-to-read stage probably has a lot more flexibility in curriculum choices, because of the flexibility in their schedule.

We might love a particular approach to education and have marvelous ideas for implementing it, but we have to be practical as we make curriculum selections, that we’re choosing things that will actually work in our own situation.

Mike:
That is absolutely terrific advice, Cathy. I’m Mike Farris.