F.R.E.E. Academy Home School: Creating a Curriculum

Creating a curriculum can be a bit time consuming. It isn't difficult, but it takes some concentration, commitment, and research. LOTS of research. But creating your own curriculum can be accomplished by any interested parent, and doesn't require you to have a degree in education or know how to teach every single thing your child needs to know. Luckily, there are websites all over the web to reduce the amount of research necessary than say, looking through the card catalog at the library.

When beginning to create your homeschool curriculum, you really just need to know your child, do your research, and don't be afraid to try new things, ask friends and associates for help, and relax. You don't have to do it perfectly right at the beginning. Your child won't fail in life because your first year or your first curriculum wasn't created by Einstein himself.

Which brings me to my next point. Go back to your roots. Think about what YOU learned as a child/teenager. Not only at school, but in real life as well. Teach them how to DO things. Spend time with them. Nothing teaches a child more than living life, exploring, and spending time with people.

Home schooling starts in infancy. You teach your baby things from the day they are born. Teaching them to eat, teaching them to sleep, then how to play with toys and eat by themselves. I think all parents know that potty training is a lesson for everyone in the house!

You'll want to have a separate curriculum for every 2nd tier of age ranges you have. So for example if you have a 5 year old and a 9 year old, they would have different curriculums. But for someone with a 4 year old and a 7 year old, you might have the same curriculum but with different materials. You never want to combine curriculums for age groups more than two levels outside of the chart below. I've used a color coding system to describe what I'm referring to in the age ranges below. For the final age group, 17-18 year olds, you would want to have a brand new curriculum focused on continued education studies to prepare your student for University, College or community college, trade school, technical school, or professional certification programs.

1-2
3-4
5-6
7-8
9-10
11-12
13-14
15-16
17-18

When creating your curriculum you'll want to follow the basic guidelines outlined below before getting started.

1. Look for groups in your area - See what other parents are using. There may be something perfect for your student already developed. Joining local homeschool groups is the fastest and easiest way to get you going.

2. Decide what style of homeschooling you'll start off with, and get a full understanding of what that means to your family. Then be sure to document ALL local and state homeschool laws.

3. Get Organized - Create a filing system on your PC with parent folders. Sign up for Teacher/Administrator accounts at all the main websites and keep track of passwords. Come up with a password system for those accounts so that you don't have trouble with login issues. Create separate sections for each child in a cabinet or corner of your home that contains the last 30 days worth of work and assignments. Archive anything you've done or created for at least 2 years in the event that you need evidence of your homeschool activities.

4. Make a plan - Once you have all your ducks in a row, it's time to plan out your curriculum. It's a good idea to do at least 1 semester in advance.