How To Build Your Own Homeschool Curriculum

Curriculum

Homeschooling can get VERY expensive when it comes to buying curriculum.

If you are a new homeschooler, looking to buy curriculum for your student, you have probably found that books are pricey, and if you had to do this EVERY year, for EVERY grade, you would probably come to the conclusion, “I just can’t do this!”

If you tried to match your homeschool curriculum, to the “public school,” you would most likely find that they are boring and not every child learns this way.

This is one of the main reasons, why teachers have kids that are left behind, or not comprehending the material.

I have personally gone the “public school” route and the “perceived” Christian Curriculum route.

In fact, the thought of parents having to buy expensive textbooks, that they must teach from, is a turn off to most. Try buying those for every grade you teach, per student, it will run you at least $1000+-.

Let me show you what I am talking about:

A typical secular textbook like Houghton Mifflin Hardcourt ranges from $60 +.

This ONLY includes the textbook, not the teachers Manual, the student workbook, or the student practice book.

That’s where they get you. You were probably thinking, “That’s doable!” Until you saw everything you have to purchase to teach it and having to buy additionally per student. Not to mention the other grade level books you might need for your other kids.

It takes hours!

Teaching this way takes hours! No kid can sit for over an hour in math, language arts, science, etc. And it requires a tremendous amount of work on your part. That’s ONE SUBJECT. For that ONE STUDENT.

Christian textbooks are no different.

Take the popular Abeka or Sonlight, each textbook alone seems reasonable. Until you purchase everything required to teach it.

The entire system for these books can cost up to $300+, encompassing only 1 or 2 subjects. Imagine spending this much per child, EVERY year!

Even if you searched for these textbooks used, you still will not find all the items, and in good shape.

We stopped buying used textbooks two years ago. The quality was just not what they implied it would be. They would give us our money back, but it didn’t take away what we had to deal with: half already completed materials and missing pages!

So, what’s a homeschooling parent to do? Let’s jump into it!

How To Build Your Own Homeschool Curriculum

First, let me add that the curriculum listed above is not all bad. You can glean from it.

Meaning, you can look at the content and compare it to what your kids need to know for that grade level, find books based on that, and purchase them.

Also, some parents, including me at one time, have purchased a single set. With that set brought, I aimed to buy other books that were cheaper to complete my curriculum.

Mixing and matching works great if you love those textbooks when buying an entire grade level (set) is out of the question.

So now, I am going to share with you the steps I take to build my own curriculum.

I am not saying that my way is the best way. This is how I do it. There has been many that came before me that might also know how to do this better or may even do what I do. If you have a different way that you build your curriculum, please share below! We love to hear other ideas, and it will help another homeschooling family.

The First Step: research!

Yes, every homeschooling parent must research.

If you do not want to spend a lot of money, find out what’s out there, the different textbook brands, and ways around them.

After you find the different textbooks, now its time to see what your student will be learning that year.

For example, my fifth graders are studying the united states this year. I can opt to buy a United States History book, or I can find a way around it. And I have! I can easily schedule them to learn one state a day, and we can use an online resource + a journal. Remember my notebooking blog?

Step Two: choose your books!

A typical language arts book can be pricey, and they NEVER encompass everything you need to teach your child without subsequent books.

Since you did your research in step one, now you know what your child needs to learn for that subject. You can buy books or a book that teaches most of all it.

For example, I have loved and used Jesse Wise for years, but her books do not encompass everything needed for language arts, and they tell you that you will still need to teach something else from another one of her books $$$$$.

So, I listed what is needed, what they (my girls) were interested in, and purchased books in my price range. My girls are HUGE writers, therefore, a writing workbook under $8 is what I found!

Let me give you an example of steps one and two above. You can do the same thing if you would like! Keep in mind that I am not a common core mom, I don’t like common core, and will only use a text/workbook, that teaches to those standards if it’s in my price range, also note that some of the skills needed for language arts also cross over into different subjects, therefore, I can buy a science text/workbook, that teaches research skills and writing, like my all-time fav, “Read and Understand Science,” by Evan Moor.

Also note that if the subject crosses over, only one text/workbook is needed that encompasses both, allowing you to save money, by spending less. Likewise, every aspect does not require a book. This is done for each grade level. Use my planning sheets to organize.

5th grade Language arts	Books/My Research
Reading Development	Various autobiographies, or a book on different famous people or not so famous people, basically any book grade level or above they can read, or you can read with them. (Reading and writing crossover, so I can purchase a workbook that allows them to read and write about it. Similarly, I can have them read and journal about it. Investment in our personal library.
Writing/Explaining/	A workbook that teaches writing for their grade, and that encourages them to write, so far my favorites are: Spectrum Writing and Evan Moor Writing.
Speaking abilities	Have kids recite their Bible verse out loud in a clear and understandable way, or they can learn a poem and do the same things.
Vocabulary/ Grammar	I can use a workbook that teaches vocabulary and grammar together like, Steck-Vaughn Core Skills Language Arts Workbook Grade 5

This is just an example of my then Fifth graders language arts, and the options listed either cost me very little or nothing at all.

Complete Curriculums??

There is one more thing to add before you leave today complete curriculums!

They have just the amount of power you need, and they allow you to supplement with workbooks to cover anything you want. You can also order temporary subscriptions to places that send science projects to your home, if you don’t want to make them up on your own! I will list some good ones below for you to check out.

Math and language arts are big subjects, but do not need to take all day to teach, especially if you have more than one student.

This is where the big textbooks fail, you end up teaching for over an hour, just like in the classroom at school. Homeschool is not like that, it should be relaxed.

Relaxed homeschooling, I love that term! It doesn’t mean that you are not teaching enough, it means a no stress lifestyle. Allowing your kids to go at their pace, yet still having a time frame and schedule to adhere to, in order to be productive.

This is the way I build my own curriculum. It took lots of research and practice, but I mastered what I wanted, and I am always aiming to learn more ways.

Workbooks are better than textbooks because they are cheaper.  And the good ones, like the examples I listed, teach the same things the big textbooks do, also the kids can learn at their own pace, creating independence.

Similarly, I build my math curriculum the same way, deciding how best to teach it. There are so many math options out there. We have always used Singapore Math, and I made these printables to go with that curriculum, for you interested parents. Yet Singapore math is another of the big-ticket items and we were done after fourth grade. which is why you can find them used in our store.

Math, depending on how your child learns it, has options for them to self-pace and learn as well. Determine how best your child learns math. Just like we talked about in Homeschool vs. Public School| Homeschool 101 Basics, don’t force it. Allow them to grasp one skill a day, until they are ready to move on.

Be relaxed.

You also saw how I allowed any other subjects to cross over.

An example of that, would be the workbook I listed above, the “Read and Understand Science.”

The kids learn reading, writing, critical thinking skills, and of course science topics covered for their grade level. See! Easy as that.

I will list some of my favorite curriculum builders below. I hope you can piece them together and get a full curriculum for each student like I have.

For one student, you might spend less than $100, and so on. This is a ton of savings, and the best part, you can spend less time worrying about “what and how will I cover all this material?”

 More time with your family!

You can even use this method with the block scheduling technique, talked about in Homeschool vs. Public School| Homeschool 101 Basics .

Textbooks and Workbooks are not our thing!

If textbooks and workbooks are not your thing, and you find they just don’t work for your family, go out of the box. Try unit studies instead. Here are a few articles on the site to help you get started!

I hope this school year will be amazing for you.

Let me know if there is anything else you want to know about this subject. Email me.

Gods peace all over you!

I hope you have enjoyed this homeschool article.

Unit Studies that teach multilevel grades and subjects and resources to plan them:

Complete Curriculums I like: