Are you drowning in a sea of curriculum options and feeling a bit lost? Now you’re wondering can you create your own homeschool curriculum?
The answer is yes! You absolutely can!
Creating a homeschool curriculum for your child might sound intimidating. But it’s totally doable.
There are amazing benefits to personalizing your child’s education! I’m sharing the tried-and-true strategies I’ve used in our homeschool.
If you’re ready to learn how to create a homeschool curriculum that has your child excited to start school each day, then let’s get started!
The Benefits of Creating Your Own Homeschool Curriculum
Taking the time to create your own homeschool curriculum for your child has numerous advantages.
- Improved Academic Performance: When lessons cater to your child’s interests and learning style, they’re more likely to retain information and develop a deeper understanding of the material.
- Increased Motivation and Engagement: A curriculum tailored to your child’s passions keeps them excited and eager to learn. Who wouldn’t want to dive into a lesson about their favorite topic?
- Deeper Learning Experiences: Provide a well-rounded and immersive learning environment that goes beyond the standard curriculum for your child. You’ll foster creativity and critical thinking.
- Personal Growth and Development: A personalized curriculum allows your child to explore their strengths, work on their weaknesses, and develop valuable life skills, setting them up for success in the long run.
- Stronger Connections: Designing a customized homeschool curriculum that’s unique to your child helps strengthen the bond between you and your child, as you work together to create an educational journey that’s truly special.
Strategies for Developing a Customized Homeschool Curriculum
1. Embrace Interest-Based Learning: Turn Passions into Lessons
Think about your child’s passions and incorporate them into the lessons. Does your child love animals?
Instead of following along with the generic geography unit in the box curriculum, create a geography unit centered around the wildlife in the area you’re studying.
For example, we did this when we were studying Alaska. The diverse ecosystems and wildlife there brought the state to life in ways that memorizing the date of statehood never could!
The level of engagement will skyrocket as their curiosity is sparked and learning is brought to life!
2. Foster a Growth Mindset: Embrace Challenges
I’ve found that nurturing a growth mindset in my own children has helped them become more resilient learners.
I think it’s easy as parents to want to support. But it’s more important to take a step back and encourage our students to view challenges as opportunities and learn from their mistakes.
To promote this mindset, try having regular discussions about their learning experiences and problem-solving strategies.
As they get older tell them to write questions down and save them for the end of the day.
This process can sometimes lead them to look at the questions differently or let them sit on the back burner while they gather more information.
Sometimes we need to put a little barrier to the information in our mind being too readily available to them. Instead, encouraging them to dig a bit on their own.
3. Prioritize Flexibility: Experiment With Scheduling
Try out different scheduling techniques and routines. Or even combine them for greater flexibility.
Consider using a loop schedule for your electives. A loop schedule cycles through subjects on a rotating basis rather than a fixed daily schedule.
This provides flexibility and keeps things fresh, ensuring your child stays engaged and excited about learning.
Not only that but with a loop schedule I don’t feel the pressure to check off a box. If something is engaging our interest, we can follow that rabbit trail without getting off track.
4. Emphasize Real-World Learning: Bring Learning to Life
One of my favorite ways to teach my children history is by visiting local museums or historical sites.
Real-world learning experiences like these make the material more memorable and help children see the relevance of what they’re learning.
If those aren’t an option for you, consider online resources, virtual museum tours, and living literature to bring subjects to life.
For an example, check out this list of resources we used for our Alaska Unit.
You could also try more hands-on activities like starting a family garden to learn about plant life cycles or conducting a local history scavenger hunt to make learning memorable and relevant.
Websites like Google Arts & Culture offer virtual tours of museums and cultural sites, while Project Gutenberg provides access to a vast library of living literature.
5. Focus on Skills Not Just Content: Develop Essential Abilities
Why not ask your child which skills they find most important?
Then make a list of your own that isn’t driven by the amount of a curriculum they consume. Instead, emphasize skills like critical thinking, communication, and collaboration.
It’s easy to get checklist-focused, but we’re setting them up for success beyond academics.
6. Leverage Technology: Embrace Digital Resources
I love simplicity. But we also want to take advantage of the countless resources that bring learning into our home.
We also need to acknowledge that our children are going to be living in an increasingly technological society.
Ensure you’re setting them up for success and utilizing resources that enrich their learning.
For visual learners, try educational YouTube channels like Homeschool Pop, Space Station Story Time, or TED-Ed.
Auditory learners might enjoy podcasts like Brains On! or Wow in the World.
We have fallen in love with Miacademy for sign language and Spanish.
7. Foster Group Learning Opportunities
How have you found ways to foster social interaction for your homeschooled child?
Joining local homeschool co-ops or participating in online group classes can help develop essential social skills and create a sense of community.
We offer affordable kids art lessons here that might be the perfect fit for your homeschool. Try out a free lesson to see if you can take that off your to-do list.
To create a truly customized homeschool curriculum, you’ll need to think outside the box and look for enrichment activities. They might be happening at the local or state parks. Museums often hold summer camps and the summer library program can be incredible.
Adding in a group component can create a rich and diverse learning environment your family couldn’t build on your own.
8. Adapt a Box Curriculum
You don’t have to start from scratch. We’ve pieced together various pre-made curriculums to save time in the past. But we customize and adapt the curriculum to suit our needs and interests.
You can do the same by swapping out books or activities. Or, using the curriculum as a foundation and adding supplementary resources that cater to your child’s passions.
Although we lean toward a Waldorf-based curriculum, I love Bookshark for its open-and-go approach and Living Books Foundation. But working from home means the books can be a bit too much at times.
Not to mention, some of the books don’t align with our goals or interests, or simply aren’t available.
It’s easy-peasy lemon-squeezy to take the lesson and change it up with a new book. That’s available at your local library. Instead of Amazon – #supportyourlocallibrary!!!
Or, my favorite, order from independent bookstores. Try Bookshop.org.
Look online or at used homeschool bookstores to discover gently used curricula.
Create Your Own Homeschool Curriculum to Maximize Enjoyment
With these powerful strategies and the knowledge of the incredible benefits, you’re now well-equipped to create your own homeschool curriculum that your child will absolutely adore.
Remember, the key is to stay flexible, listen to your child’s needs, and make learning a fun, exciting adventure that you both can cherish.
