A homeschool curriculum requires textbooks for all subjects. You can find textbooks published specifically for homeschool curricula or use textbooks that have been written for classroom instruction, since you will supplement them with other materials. When selecting textbooks, make sure the publisher meets state and national educational standards. This information is usually provided on book covers, and can also be found online.
If you plan on teaching your children and verbally explaining the lessons to them, purchasing the teacher companions to the textbooks will help you develop the lessons and provide you with examples and activities to integrate into the curriculum. If you expect your children to learn concepts on their own, having the teacher books is a necessity. Your children need the structure, directions and added explanation provided in the teacher companions. The companions designed to accompany textbooks produced specifically for homeschool curricula are most effective in helping children teach themselves. If you are using another series, the teacher companions are probably more complex and abstract, but will still help your child as a supplement to the textbook.
Since children studying at home do not have homework or in-class assignments, worksheets and other exercises that help them apply and review the concepts they learn are essential. Most textbooks have corresponding workbooks that provide project and activity ideas, assignments and worksheets. Purchase these workbooks to complete the homeschool curriculum for your children.
Supplementary books, such as novels, research books and reference books, make your homeschool curriculum more comprehensive. They take the essential themes covered in the textbooks and help your children examine them from different angles. They enable your children to develop different skills, such as literary appreciation and research skills. Textbooks can explain these skills, but children need to practice and use them on a regular basis to master them. Your children will also discover many of their own interests and strengths through these supplementary books, which broaden their horizons.