Many novice homeschoolers start out with a packaged curriculum, not feeling confident that they can figure out exactly how and what to do to meet their children's educational needs. Some publishers offer recordkeeping or administrative services such as grading and accreditation. Some of the larger publishers of packaged curriculum include A Beka, Horizons, LIFEPAK, Calvert School, Robinson, Clonlara, Sonlight and Alpha Omega. The advantages of such programs is that the parent doesn't have to spend much time with preparation, and most everything is laid out for the parent. In the case of correspondence schools, even the grading and awarding of credits is taken care of. With such programs, students will turn in assignments, papers, tests and receive grades and feedback from the school. Some schools have one regular teacher or mentor that works with the child throughout the year, while others have a team of teachers or school mentors. However, there are disadvantages. Many parents feel tied down to the textbooks, and the texts are not as easily tailored to each child's needs. Costs vary widely depending on which curriculum is chosen and if the books can be shared by multiple children in a family.
Many parents like using the unit study approach in their homeschools. This involves combining subjects under a topic. For instance, for a unit study on weather, students might do science experiments related to weather, read about weather during their language arts study time, do art projects based on weather themes, do some real-life math converting Fahrenheit to Celsius, and study some historical weather disasters. Often, homeschoolers will use math textbooks, and perhaps certain language arts texts, to provide some regular sequential teaching in those areas in addition to the unit study activities. Choices here are wide in curriculum, ranging from books that teach you to write and develop your own unit studies, to a type of packaged unit study curriculum such as the Weaver, or individual unit studies such as those by Amanda Bennett. The advantages include incorporating all the subjects into one unit, which can save time -- especially for larger families -- and money. The downside is that for some families, it might seem too random. They might want to follow a more structured path.
The classical approach to education is a big movement in homeschool circles. This is a structured, traditional method in which students learn basic facts in the early years and move on to more advanced study in later years. There are some packaged programs in classical education such as Sonlight, Calvert and Robinson as well as some programs that offer distance learning options such as Escondido Tutorial Services, Logos School and Scholars Online Academy. Another method is to buy books about homeschooling with the classical approach, then choosing individual texts in each subject. Some advantages of the classical approach is the ability to tailor the curriculum to the child's needs and the focus on real literature. The classical approach can be costly, depending on what materials are chosen, and it might not be the right fit for every family.
With unschooling there won't be workbooks or textbooks. There might be some guides to homeschooling in the unschool method, and a varied home library geared toward the interests of the children. Unschooling uses real-life experiences and books, and is directed by the interests of the children. A child with mechanical aptitude might read books about engineering, have a basement full of projects, and incorporate math into those projects. The curriculum used will be individually chosen to suit the child's passions and current learning level. The advantage is the ability to tailor-make curriculum. A possible downside could be that it can be overwhelming for parents worried about crossing every "t" and dotting every "i," particularly in terms of the paperwork. If the administrative side is a concern, there are a number of distance options that can help guide you and take care of the record keeping such as Clonlara, Boston School, Moore Foundation Academy and Desiderata School.
To make the best curriculum choice for your child and family, take time to read about the materials and methods open to you. Go to the library, search online, but don't overlook one of the best options. Get in touch with area homeschooling groups, and attend a meeting if possible. Often the groups will be able to offer you a chance to see materials different families use, and offer their advice. Also, most state homeschool groups have an annual curriculum fair where parents can peruse booths of materials and speak with representatives from different publishers. Most parents come home with totes full of catalogues, brochures and samples after such events.