Learning Styles = Better Learning

Curriculum is defined as:

1. courses offered by an educational institution,
2. a list of all the courses of study offered by a school or college,
3. a program or plan of activities.

Your "homeschool curriculum" probably matches definition #3, above. New homeschoolers often become confused over "which curriculum to use" or "where to buy a curriculum."

But a homeschool curriculum is simply "a plan of homeschool activities" that you use in your homeschool. It need not be an expensive curriculum, nor does it need to incorporate textbooks or workbooks.

Homeschoolers can use textbooks and workbooks if they'd like. But it certainly isn't necessary.

Your children will learn more readily and more fully when you and they homeschool in a manner that best complements their unique learning styles. Spend time observing and determining your child's own learning style.

For help determining your child's learning style, check out some of these books:

* 8 Great Smarts for Homeschoolers, by Tina Hollenbeck
* Discover Your Child’s Learning Style, by Mariaemma Willis
* How Children Learn, by John Holt
* Learning All the Time, by John Holt
* The Way They Learn, by Cynthia Tobias

Remember: Homeschooling is not a "school at home." Don’t confuse yourself, or your children, thinking that it should be. You’ll only make it harder on yourself.

As John Holt warned: “To parents I say, above all else, don’t let your home become some terrible miniature copy of the school. Live together, as well as you can; enjoy life together, as much as you can. Ask questions to find out something about the world itself, not to find out whether or not someone knows it.”

Remind yourself each day that your duty is to guide your children, not force instruction upon them. Your role is to help them learn how to learn and to encourage them to seek answers to questions, find materials and information that will help them learn, explore the things that interest them, and allow them the freedom to learn in the style that works best for them.

This, then, will become the curriculum -- the "plan of activities" -- that best suits your children and your family!

For more help creating your own homeschool curriculum, using homeschooling or unschooling activities, or hundreds of educational ideas for weekly homeschool lessons, see our Home page at EverythingHomeschooling.com.

Happy homeschooling!