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Did you spend your summer researching homeschooling curricula and choosing the best one, only to find that your child is not succeeding with it? You are not alone! This is a common concern, especially among new homeschoolers.
In fact, I advise new homeschoolers not to spend money on curriculum without trying it out first. Some online curriculum vendors, such as Pandia Press, have PDF samples you can download for free. Or you can ask around in your local homeschool group to see if you can borrow someone’s used curriculum for a few weeks and try it with your children. Those of us who’ve been homeschooling for a while, especially with multiple children, have likely accumulated almost as much curriculum as a library 😊. When we meet new homeschoolers and invite them over for a playdate, I usually offer the parents to browse our homeschool bookshelves and borrow whatever they’d like to try out.
But what if you’ve already chosen a curriculum, fallen in love with it, but your child does not share your sentiments? You might feel disappointed, and that’s understandable. But you can reframe this disappointment into an opportunity. As a homeschooler, you can custom tailor curriculum to your child! Each child is a unique individual. No matter how much they might look like you, your children are their own people, with their own strengths and weaknesses and their own preferences. And homeschooling gives you the opportunity to take all of those into account.
In order to accommodate our children’s learning needs, we homeschool parents need to be flexible. Some of us are better at that than others 😊. But flexibility is a trait that can and should be cultivated. It comes in handy in many areas of parenting, especially as our children grow. As they become more independent, they begin to make choices in life that we may or may not agree with. And there comes a time when we parents need to step back and let go. Hopefully, if we’ve cultivated our relationships with our children from a very young age, they will value our opinions. Yet, the choices they make must be their own. And that’s our ultimate goal as parents – preparing our children to make good choices once they’re old enough to be on their own.
But getting back to curriculum. You might ask, do you really need to switch to a different curriculum if your child doesn’t like the one you chose? As with anything valuable in life, there is no simple answer. It depends on many factors, and you need to tune into your child and understand why he or she is unhappy with the curriculum before you decide to switch. In my experience, in most cases, switching to a different curriculum is a good idea.
However, there can be exceptions. Sometimes, your child needs to learn something but is finding it very difficult. He might complain about the work but still understand deep down that the work is good for him. In such a situation, you would want to draw from your reservoir of patience, acknowledge your child’s challenges, offer praise for every little step forward, and just stick with the program. This might be the case for a child with a learning disability or any kind of specific challenge. In these situations, you want to make sure to balance the hard work with other activities that your child enjoys.
But if you’ve discussed the situation with your child and have come to the conclusion that the curriculum is simply a bad fit for her, be flexible! Hear her out and look for a better fit. Experienced homeschool parents are a great resource in such situations. This is especially so if they’ve already gotten to know your child and have a sense of what might work better.
These days, there are so many choices of wonderful homeschool curricula out there! If you keep looking, you’ll likely find something that your child enjoys. And then both you and your child will have a much more enjoyable homeschool year. The added bonus is that by listening to your child and being flexible, you are building up your relationship. And that’s the cornerstone of homeschooling and parenting in general.
And as for the curriculum you’ve already paid for? If you have younger children, don’t toss it. It’s very possible that another child will enjoy it and even love it. Children are very different, even if they are siblings. Or you can sell the curriculum to another homeschool family. For all you know, you might just make their year!
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You have addressed a very important point, in most cases this is a bottleneck! Its an important decision to make and having to sample a curriculum is everything! Especially when you have a child with special needs, things can get really detailed and intensive.
Yes, special needs definitely add to the equation!