The amount of home school curriculum available to parents is overwhelming. Before you begin your search for the perfect curriculum, make a few key decisions. Answer questions to determine what kind of program to consider. What is your child's learning style? If he learns best by listening, then a worksheet-driven curriculum would not be the best for him. What is your goal in homeschooling? Is it for religious reasons? Is it to allow him to dig deeper into subjects he is interested in? Once you have determined your child's learning style and the reasons for home-schooling, you can narrow your choices. Parent-taught curriculum is just that. You are the one guiding your child through his lessons. Much of the work can be done independently, but, ultimately, the parent is the one who will be teaching, grading and keeping records of his work.
If you would rather have someone else actually teach your child's lessons, then a DVD-based curriculum could be right for you. In DVD courses, the child watches a lesson taught by a certified teacher on DVD. He then completes the reading, worksheets or test assigned for that day's lesson. The parent may then step in to help answer questions or grade his work. This is a good option for kids who are independent.
Another option for home-schooling a 10th-grader is a computer-based curriculum. Many computer-based programs take the paper textbook and put it onto CD or online for students' viewing. Each lesson may contain reading, listening and hands-on game playing or a combination. Most of these curricula will also have supplemental books and materials that the child will do off the computer, but for the most part, the student will watch his lessons on the computer and type most of his assignments into the computer. Some of the more popular computer-based curricula are Switched on Schoolhouse, Robinson Curriculum and Time 4 Learning.
Another option for home-schooling are online schools. Students enroll in the school, and the curriculum is taught through online lessons and online classrooms. The lessons are student-driven while the online classroom gives the students interaction between a teacher and other students. Assignments are entered into the computer. The teacher for each particular course gives feedback. Handwritten assignments and tests are normally mailed to the teacher for record keeping. Many of these schools are also accredited so the student receives high school credit for the school year. One of the most popular online schools is K12.