Two weeks ago the kids attended our church’s Winter Retreat. With temperatures dipping into the upper 20s and lower 30s, and the weekend promising equally cold weather with cloudy skies and possible rain, Kenny could no longer feign he was warm enough in cargo shorts. So, we had to do what Kenny hates doing more than anything in the world. We went shopping–for jeans.
Kenny is in that awkward stage where he doesn’t “quite” fit into the boys’ sizes but isn’t yet big enough for the men’s sizes. When the girls went through this same stage in their growth, I developed a strategy that worked. I just kept them in the dressing room, tossing over clothing article after clothing article until something fit. I knew that once they walked out of the dressing room fully clothed, they were less likely to go back to try on something else.
Yes, you read right. My highly effective strategy requires keeping kids in their skivvies in the dressing room for as long as there are options available to try on; then and only then do I release them.
It works, people.
Getting a custom fit with a homeschooling curriculum.
But not with everything–for instance, I would not use this kind of system when selecting a homeschooling curriculum.
Do I want a custom fit? Absolutely. What works for one kid may not be as effective for another.
Still, I can’t just toss things the kids’ way and expect immediate feedback. Well, that’s not true; they will give me immediate feedback whether I ask or not. But, that type of knee-jerk feedback is not as helpful as what I’d get after six weeks, a semester or even a year.
The quick, “It fits, can we go now?” begs multiple questions, namely, “Are they comfortable?” “Will you wear them beyond today?” “Is this going to be a waste of my time and money?” “Have you tried to sit, stretch or tuck your shirt in with them on?” “Are they what you need to go with the rest of what’s in your closet or do you need a different color, style or length?”
How many of us have thought we found THE curriculum only to discover it doesn’t work the way we anticipated? Or even, that it worked for two out of three kids, but now what do you do for that third one? How much of your budget have you lost by reselling curriculum at the fraction of the cost you paid to purchase something different? Or what about curriculum that worked perfectly LAST year, but for whatever reason, it isn’t a good fit THIS year?
When we were shopping, Kenny was frustrated at one point because I tossed him the same exact size of what looked like the same exact jean–just from two different brands. And guess what? The brand made the difference–his size changed across brands.
It isn’t as easy as trying on jeans.
He is right at level in Math, but in reading comprehension, vocabulary, spelling and written work, he is probably at a ninth-grade level. From conversations with my friends, and from reading the comments here, this is true for most students, which means selecting a curriculum might mean breaking away from the “grade level” mindset. It isn’t as easy as trying on jeans though. Sometimes gaining recognition of where our children stand–especially when we are switching to another curriculum, takes weeks not minutes.
Choosing a curriculum is hard. It takes time. It takes research. It takes patience. It also requires understanding your kids’ learning methodology, your family’s culture and approach to education, and your budget.
This year we tried on an entirely new curriculum from Alpha Omega Publications. We had a method to our madness; we wanted an online homeschool curriculum so it’d be easy to take on the road with us. The kids wanted something they could do more independently, and I wanted something with more automation. We weren’t unhappy with our previous mishmash of curriculum, but it wasn’t what we needed going forward. Plus, we were not going to be involved in a homeschooling cooperative this year. We’re one semester in, and most of it fits, but we know next year we will make a few changes. We make changes every year though, so that’s not surprising.
What I’d like to know is how YOU choose curriculum; most specifically, what lessons have you learned along the way (good or bad), and how did you learn them?
Heather Sanders is a leading homeschooling journalist who desires to inspire families to live, love and learn. Married to Jeff, Heather lives in the East Texas Piney Woods where she currently homeschools three kids using Monarch, an online homeschool curriculum.