Homeschooling
Should You Buy a Homeschool Curriculum or Make One?
If you’ve spent any time in homeschool Facebook groups, you’ve probably seen the same question over and over again:
“What’s the best homeschool curriculum?”
Every year, homeschool parents ask for recommendations, compare reviews, and wonder which curriculum is worth the investment. With so many options available, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.
My advice might surprise you.
Instead of asking which curriculum you should buy, learn how curriculum is created in the first place.
I’m not necessarily saying every homeschool parent needs to spend months designing an entire school year from scratch. I know life is busy, and gathering resources takes time.
But I do believe every homeschool parent should understand how a quality curriculum is built.
Why?
Because once you know what goes into creating an effective curriculum, you’ll become a much more confident consumer. You’ll know what to look for, what questions to ask, and whether a curriculum actually meets your child’s needs instead of relying solely on marketing claims.
Why Understanding Curriculum Matters
Think about it this way.
When you understand how a house is built, you’re much better equipped to spot quality craftsmanship when you’re buying one.
The same is true for homeschool curriculum.
Once you understand the building blocks of curriculum design, you’ll start asking questions like:
- Does this curriculum have a logical scope and sequence?
- Are the lessons building on previous skills?
- Does it include meaningful assessments?
- Are students practicing skills in multiple ways?
- Does it allow flexibility for different learning styles?
Those are the kinds of questions that help you choose a curriculum you’ll actually enjoy using.
You Don’t Have to Reinvent the Wheel
Creating your own curriculum doesn’t have to mean writing hundreds of worksheets or designing an entire textbook.
Sometimes it simply means learning how to:
- organize lessons into a meaningful sequence
- create engaging unit studies
- develop lesson plans that fit your child
- choose quality books and resources
- build assessments that actually measure learning
Even if you eventually purchase a curriculum, understanding these concepts will make you a smarter homeschool parent.
Want to Learn How Curriculum Is Created?
To help homeschool parents understand the process, I’ve created a free five-part YouTube series that walks you through curriculum development from start to finish.
In the series, you’ll learn how to:
- develop a curriculum from the ground up
- create effective lesson plans
- design engaging unit studies
- decide whether to use academic standards (and how to use them effectively)
- organize your curriculum into a cohesive learning experience
The series also includes a companion workbook to help you apply what you’re learning as you watch.
Whether you’re hoping to create your own homeschool curriculum, supplement an existing one, or simply become more confident when choosing curriculum, this series will give you the foundation you need.
If you’ve ever wondered what happens behind the scenes when curriculum is created, this is a great place to start.
Watch the free five-part series here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLd7hgeE6wS5M&si=DYZXvGy63m2mBJav