Finding the best home school curriculum for you and your child can be a difficult task. Many private and public schools can provide access to a home school curriculum. In addition, several colleges also provide home school curriculum. This is also true for many churches, which often form groups of parents who provide homeschooling instruction and homeschooling books.
But, how do you know which home school curriculum is best for you and your child? To determine this, you should first try to get an idea of your child's grade level equivalency in each subject area. It is possible that your child is working below or even ahead of where he is expected to be working for his age. Many reputable providers of home school curricula will help you test your child to determine his grade level equivalency.
To further assist you in determining your child's grade level equivalency, get a copy of your state's standards. Standards are a listing of the information every child is expected to know for each subject by a specific grade. For example, if your child is the age of most 8th graders, obtain a copy of the 7th grade standards for your state. Go over these standards with your child. If he understands these standards and is comfortable with them, then move on to the 8th grade standards.
If you suspect that your child is working beyond his grade level expectations, you can also go through the 8th grade standards to see what your child already knows. Standards can usually be downloaded from your states Department of Education website. If you can't find the website, or if the standards are not available through the website, check with your local school. They should be able to provide you with a copy or at least tell you how to get one.
Standards are also a great tool for developing a home school curriculum. Once again, many organizations will provide you with a home school curriculum, but these usually include a home tuition. If you can't afford to pay for a home school curriculum, or if you just prefer to create your own personalized home school curriculum, refer back to the standards.
The plus to home schooling and creating your own home school curriculum is that you don't have to spend time on those standards your child already understands. Therefore, pre-test your child on his grade level standards before developing a home school curriculum. If he already knows some standards - great! You don't have to spend much time, if any time, working on these standards.
If, however, your child is weak is some standards, you have the freedom and flexibility to create a home school curriculum that spends extra time teaching and practicing that standard.
Finding organizations that will provide a home school curriculum does not have to be difficult. Usually, your school will be able to refer you to a variety of organizations that provide home school curriculum. If not, check with your local churches and community colleges. Or grab your own copy of the state standards and get to work creating your own, personalized home school curriculum that is best for you and your child.