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- Coffee and Curriculum: Figuring It Out for Fall/
As we begin to say goodbye to summer, the realization that fall is right around the corner can be overwhelming. But, getting ready for a new homeschool year can be exciting! We at LetsHomeschoolHighSchool.com have seen more “back to homeschool” years than we care to admit, but the best advice is to embrace preparation!
While you get ready for a new school year, one of the first things on the agenda is to figure out what curriculum you’ll need. Before you can choose a homeschool curriculum, you’ll need to know what subjects to teach your students. The best way to arrive at a decision is to work backward, starting with graduation. If your students have a good idea of what they want to do when they finish school, that makes this process a little easier. If they don’t, you’ll have to play the “just in case” game for a little while as you figure out what they want to do. That is, you may have to teach certain subjects “just in case” they need them for graduation and college acceptance. Of course, you’ll want to keep those to a minimum.
Working backward, you may want to research the requirements for a public school diploma in your state. Although you’re homeschooling, you still want your students to have an academic advantage. Colleges will compare your students to other applicants, and you don’t want there to be any glaring weaknesses. Begin by researching what a student in public school needs for graduation in your state and make sure your students have at least those same courses on their homeschool transcript. For instance, you may discover that students in your state need three credits of science at a high school level with at least two of the courses being a lab-based course. If that’s the case, decide what you should teach each year to ensure your students have those three credits by the time they graduate.
This back to school season, you can pull your curriculum for fall together in a step-by-step manner that makes it super easy and less overwhelming!
So, you’ve mapped out the subjects you’ll teach each year, you’ve asked around for others’ opinions, and you’ve narrowed it down to a select few. Now what? Here comes the fun part: actually choosing a curriculum. By the time you reach this step, you might feel like the ones you’ve narrowed it down to are equally just as great. And, they probably are. But, there will be differences that may be deal breakers for you. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
As you’re working to figure things out for the fall, curriculum options will be at the top of the list. The process of choosing programs doesn’t have to overwhelm you. Following a few simple steps, you’ll be able to fine-tune your list to a few options and choose from those that will fit your needs best!
August 1, 2018
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