Tips for Outside the Box Learning Series: Teach the Child not the Curriculum

If your new to homeschooling it is easy to get lost in the awesome curricullum options out there. For many moms it becomes an issue of the shiny new curricullum always looks better than what they have. While that is a problem it isn’t the problem I’m talking about.

Instead of grass is always greener syndrome, some moms find themselves in the opposite camp. The “I bought it so we need to use it”, train of thought. Both are equally bad.

So, my Tip is this: If the curricullum isn’t working, ditch it.

If it isn’t working, it isn’t working

Remember back when YOU were in school. Some lessons really resonated with you, and some, (most if we are honest) just left you bored. Homeschooling doesn’t have to be like that. Sure, it might not be all fun and games and excitement, but it also shouldn’t be a daily fight.

If you really don’t have the money for something else, find ways to use what you have differently. No one says you have to do it all or do it how its spelled out. There is no one to tell you that you are using it wrong.

Teach the child not the curricullum means, you use what works, and you don’t continue with what isn’t working.

An example: My youngest daughter doesn’t love readying, so my book heavy curricullum was really pulling her down and making her feel dumb and discouraged. Once I realized what was happening, I realigned our school day. We still read all the books :D, but I pulled out the one’s I thought she would enjoy and those she reads, and everything else, I read as a bedtime story, and I still use the science I had, I just pace it differently, and I went with another curricullum for writing and history.

Now my daughter is really getting more, but it feels like less of a burden and sees success when she completes a lesson. (I even got to bump her up a grade level with the new curricullum, another bonus for her self-confidence)

I don’t know how to make a lesson plan

Classrooms and Box curriculum have another thing in common, besides worksheets and timelines. Someone else did the work and made the plan. I’m not say you have to do this all yourself. You take from each of the curriculum and fill in your own lesson plan, no teaching degree required. In fact, you can just continue to do what I suggested the in my first tip and just take notes of what you do each day.

But if you feel the need to have it all in one place and planned out. Here is a free printable lesson plan worksheet. Just don’t be afraid to mix it up, this is a work in progress as you and your child figure out what works best, they grow and change, and you have to work it out again.

Outside the Box Lesson Plan Printable

In my sample page, I made note that we have co-op on Wednesday and parkday on Friday, we did that for many years, my kids new that Thursday would have more work because they got Friday off to play with friends. That might not work for you, it is just an example.