How to Avoid Curriculum Overwhelm: Easy Steps For Choosing Homeschool Curriculum

It’s that time of year when the whole homeschool world is buzzing about which curriculum they will be using in the coming year.

Maybe your initial thought is; “But, we aren’t even finished with this year’s curriculum! I can’t even think about next year!”

And then it begins, the endless rabbit trails and overwhelms of homeschool curriculum research.

I think we can all agree that having so many options at our fingertips is a blessing! However, even as an admitted curriculum junkie like myself, the overwhelm can get quite intense.

It’s not a bad thing to think about the upcoming year unless it causes anxiety or disrupts your current school year. In that case, it might be best to wait until you finish the year before evaluating what to use for the next one!

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Over the years I have found the best way for determining our plans for the upcoming school year is by doing a quick evaluation of our homeschool.

Here are things to consider when choosing homeschool curriculum… this is intentionally SIMPLE!

What is your goal?

Determining your goal for your homeschool is probably the most essential question.

For example, my goal for our homeschool is to go beyond just academic focus and to foster a learning environment that involves our whole family and allows our faith to be the center. This simple statement just told me:

• Academics are important

• Family style curriculum when possible

• Faith-based is important

Once you have determined your goal, move on to the next step.

What worked? / What didn’t?

Did something work really well? Keep it or tweak it to make it work even better.

Is there something that flat-out didn’t work well for your homeschool this year? Toss it for the next and evaluate why it didn’t work so you know what to avoid the next time around.

Ultimately, our children and our families are unique. If something didn’t work well that works well for others, that doesn’t mean you failed. You have to find what fits your home and children best. (That’s the beauty of homeschool, isn’t it?)

Another factor in determining what did or didn’t work may be due to your children’s very specific needs. This leads us to the next step.

What are your needs?

Consider your children individually.

I have a child with dyslexia so obviously, I will be choosing components that offer specific methods for him.

This same consideration goes for specific learning styles or methods of learning. Do I want a heavy literature focus, a more traditional approach, or even an online option?

These are all things to determine as well as how teacher intensive I would like it to be.

When we keep our eyes on our family’s needs and goals, it can help us to avoid being distracted by the newest, the best, or the most doted on curriculum out there.

Finally…

What is your budget?

This is a deciding factor that is extremely personal. For some families, money may not be an object. For others, it may be the very first thing to consider. Regardless of where you stand on the budget topic, I think we can all agree we don’t want to waste money on impulse curriculum buys.

When purchasing, my last step is to write down each of my children’s names with their subject choices and electives underneath. This process helps me to see the “big picture” so I can ensure I haven’t planned too much or too little for each of my children.

As a mom of 6 little ones, this list can get pretty lengthy (and if you’re looking for tips for homeschooling multiple children, I’ve got you covered!)

Ultimately, choosing curriculum is not a simple process; there is so much heart and thought behind our choices.

While it can be wonderful to get ideas from other homeschool moms, it truly comes down to what is best for YOUR family. Give yourself time, space, and grace to make this decision.

You don’t have to go through all of these steps in one sitting, take your time to prayerfully consider them. My hope is that these steps aid in the process of evaluating and choosing curriculum for your homeschool and most importantly, help you to beat the curriculum overwhelm!

This post is from our contributor, Megan.

Megan is a homeschool mom of 6, wife to Jon, former public school teacher, and follower of Christ. Homeschooling and homemaking are areas that the Lord has drawn her to be passionate about and it is her desire to be as intentional as she can in both.

She enjoys cooking, reading, gardening, history, and hiking in the beautiful mountains of East Tennessee. In her spare time, she is also a content creator for her YouTube channels Pennies and Salt , as well as her website, Pennies and Salt.

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Curriculum Picks from Homegrown Learners:

We have used and loved each of the following curriculum providers/products.

Nothing is recommended on Homegrown Learners unless we have firsthand knowledge and experience with the curriculum!

Mr. D Math

Saxon Math

All About Learning

Journey Homeschool Academy

Compass Classroom

SQUILT Music Appreciation

You ARE An Artist - Chalk Pastels

No Sweat Nature Studies

The Story of the World

Are you in the middle of choosing curriculum? Are you feeling overwhelmed?

Leave a comment below and share with us!

Are You Willing to Make a Change in Your Homeschool?

Nothing stays the same.

If the past year has taught us anything, it is that simple fact.

One of the reasons we gave up the ideal of public school so many years ago was the system’s inability to adjust to individual students and make changes based on their needs. To be fair, when you are mass educating so many children it is impossible to change with each one. Hence, homeschooling, right?

After making the change to homeschool there are so many decisions we then face on a continual basis.

Sometimes we get in a rut in our homeschools and do not make the changes that are necessary for our children to succeed.

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Signs a Change in Your Homeschool Might Be Necessary

Let’s take this quiz. Have you:

• become comfortable with what you are doing (It’s just “easy”) but something just doesn’t feel right?

• wanted to stay in the place where your children have friends - but something just doesn’t feel right?

• continued with a curriculum because of its reputation (everyone else is doing it!) - but something just doesn’t feel right?

• had life get in the way and been going on autopilot for a period of time - and you KNOW something isn’t right?

I get it. I’ve answered yes to all of those things.

(all in the past year)

It takes courage to make big changes in your homeschool - and generally when you have a nagging feeling that something isn’t right it’s time to make a change.

But sometimes things get in the way:

• Sometimes a homeschooling parent does not have the fortitude to stay in their own lane - the peer pressure is very real in some circumstances.

• Sometimes we operate out of a place of fear and worry - fear of the outside world and its influences and worry about what will happen when we make the change.

• Sometimes we find something and stick with it - regardless of if it works or not - because it is what we KNOW. 

Let Me Encourage You

Stepping out into something new is scary. It takes courage and bravery.

Making a big change in your homeschool will be easier if you:

• do your research

• pray

• consult parents ahead of you on the path

• include your child in the decision-making process

And sometimes, the changes are hard and you won’t see the benefit for a few years. We must have patience and faith.

For example, when my daughter made a big change in her schooling for the 11th-grade year she spent many months without a friend group and adjusting to new classes. Now - four years after - she will tell you that the changes she made in 11th grade helped her when she made the change to go to college, and then helped her when she had to make drastic changes when a pandemic upended her college education.

The Changes We are Making Next Year in Our Homeschool

I did an entire Instagram Live video about this today - you can watch that here:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Homegrown Learners (@homegrown_learners)

Long story short, we are stepping away from Classical Conversations after we complete Challenge 2 this year.

This is the exact same path my daughter followed, but with my son, this change snuck up on us much more quickly.

It’s been a rough year for us (for so many people, right?). My dad passed away a month ago from natural causes related to this horrible virus. My husband left his job in the corporate world to join me here at Homegrown Learners and SQUILT Music. We’ve also had all of the normal stresses related to lockdown and the craziness that has ensued in our country since the lockdown.

The last thing that I wanted to change was my son’s 11th-grade year. I thought I had it all set. It was a done deal.

(Some Background:)

My son has had the same sweet group of kids traveling this Challenge path since the 7th grade - and many of them have been together since their days in Foundations. I thought they would all graduate together. I assumed everyone would stay on the path.

In the back of my mind I was aware, however, that things start changing when our kids turn 16 and can drive. They begin to seek and need more independence. They are making more decisions for themselves about how they spend their time and what is important to them.

What Began to Happen:

Little by little over the past semester, many of the students in our Challenge group have chosen not to return. The common themes I am hearing are that they want to explore more of their interests, they desire accountability from a “teacher” and that they are tired of doing all six strands and being stuck doing schoolwork all day.

Another very common theme is the amount of reading that takes place at the Challenge level. I often joked with people that I beat the love of reading right out of my daughter in the 9th and 10th grades. Well - I see it happening with my son and I will not do it again - not in the name of “Classical” education.

This is in no way meant to disparage Classical Conversations - it has worked at times for my children and at other times it has not. This is the beauty of homeschool - we have the CHOICE to do what works for our individual child.

Additionally, let me be very clear: we have a wonderful group of children and they have had exceptional tutors. The kids are all very close and supportive of each other. While I am sad that this ideal “group” is breaking apart for schooling purposes, I trust God’s hand in this situation.

Where We Go From Here in Our Homeschool

I’m not finished with all of our curriculum choices for next year - but when they are finalized I will be sure to share them with you!

Our goals as a family are to reclaim an enjoyment of reading, nurture my son’s interest in graphic design and technology, and simply ENJOY his last two years of high school.

As I have witnessed in the past 12 years of homeschooling, God is faithful and change happens for a reason.

Every experience our children have works for good, even if it doesn’t feel so good at the time. You also cannot make your decisions based on anyone else's expectations - I like to tell people I am a recovering people pleaser. I am learning that no matter what I do someone will always be unhappy about it.

Please stay tuned.

I am so appreciative of this homeschool community. Many of you have been with me through 11 years of blogging. We’ve gone through this entire journey together and I’m not ready for it to be over!

Are you making any changes in your homeschool next year?

Care to share? Leave me a comment below!