How to Create A Personalized Homeschool Curriculum

Inside: All about the importance of a personalized homeschool curriculum and what to do to create your own.

Back-to-School has always been my favorite time of year. Actually, anytime I can walk through an office supply or bookstore is my favorite time of year, if I’m honest. I have a bit of an obsession.

There’s just something about copious amounts of brand new post-it notes, glue sticks, and crisp sheets of paper that send me to my happy place.

Likewise, having new curriculum arrive at my door is like Christmas. The smell of new books wafting through the schoolroom is glorious. If there was a “new book” candle scent, I would light it all the time.

While Fall may still be a summer away, like many of you, I have begun researching into what subjects and curricula we will be using next school year.

I get so excited at this time of year thinking about all the new things we will be learning and doing next year, sometimes I have to remind myself we still have to finish the year we’re in.

Creating A Personalized Homeschool Curriculum

One of the best benefits of homeschooling is being able to create a personalized homeschool curriculum for each of my children.

It means allowing my science-loving tween to delve deep into the science world. Or having my teenager delight in exploring history instead of complaining of it being boring.

Each child is unique. They come with their own personality, learning style, and interests. When I plan our school year, I take all of these into account when choosing a homeschool curriculum.

A successful school year means having homeschool curricula that work for us, not curricula we are a slave to. I want my kids to be just as excited about their subjects as I am. Learning shouldn’t be a chore to hurry up and get done.

Important Questions to Ask When Creating A Personalized Homeschool Curriculum

Creating a personalized homeschool curriculum for my children means bringing them into the loop.

We chat about their interests. What new things do they want to learn or explore?

I ask them about the current curriculum for each subject we are using. What do they like/dislike? Why? Do they want to keep using it or try something new?

What tools do they think they need to help them be successful in the upcoming year?

I also make notes of how I felt a curriculum worked for us.

Did it meet our needs? Was it too time-intensive? Did it require the right amount of effort or was it too easy/hard? Did it mesh with our religious or homeschool philosophy? Will it work with the next child’s learning style/personality/interests?

The answers to these questions are always enlightening and help me to choose a curriculum both my children and I will enjoy using.

When They Aren’t Going to Love the Curriculum

Now, my kids all have a least favorite subject. While they would like to opt-out of said subject, they know that’s not an option.

Often, I find the least favorite subject correlates with the one they have to apply themselves the most in to succeed. It’s not necessarily the subject they have an issue with, but the amount of effort required.

Reading, writing, and math are not optional. For those subjects they don’t love and are not going to love even with the most amazing and incredible curriculum, I choose the curriculum I think will be the least painful and result in the fewest amount of tears.

And sometimes, depending on what it is I feel my child needs to learn, I choose a curriculum because it requires effort or will push my child to go outside their comfort zone.

A Different Learning Path for Everyone

Because I personalize our homeschool curriculum, it is not uncommon for my kids to have an entirely different curriculum from their siblings when they reach the same grade level. Or to use a different curriculum to study the same topic.

Yes, this means I am often rotating curriculum. Sometimes it even means letting go a curriculum I found and love because it doesn’t meet the needs of the child it is meant to teach. I am always hopeful, though, I’ll get to come back to those curricula for later children.

The Importance of Personalized Education in High School

The purpose of a personalized homeschool curriculum is to set each child up to succeed on whatever path they choose to go. This becomes most important when they reach high school.

During high school, the ability to create a personalized homeschool curriculum is vital in helping guide your child toward determining where they would like to focus their efforts post-high school.

Do they want to go to college? What do they want to study?

Are they looking at a trade school? Perhaps they want to be an entrepreneur.

I know many teens don’t know what they want to do with their life, but high school is the time to explore. Simply “going to college” shouldn’t be the goal. Without a direction, they are likely to find themselves with a whole lot of debt and still no sense of vocation.

Most universities have certain guidelines they want incoming students to meet. If your child is unsure whether or not they want to attend college, plan as if they will. It’s much easier to have the requirements and not need them than to need them and not have them.

The personalization in high school subjects is going to come primarily in the form of electives. So what are their interests? Let these be delight-directed.

Some examples of these are: forensic science, psychology, ceramics, dance, choir, robotics, auto science, woodworking, logic, etc.

I personalize required subjects by letting them help pick the curriculum or the focus of study. For example, for English do they want to study American or British authors for the year? For history, do they want to focus on a specific event or time period? Even for math, there can be some leeway. For example, finance or statistics instead of Algebra II or Calculus.

Personalized Education in Elementary and Junior High

For these grades, the world is your oyster when it comes to letting them explore their interests.

For required subjects, I look a lot at learning style and personality.

Hint: Younger children (Pre-K thru 3rd) are almost all kinesthetic learners.

Most people will have one learning style they lean towards, but they may have a second that is also strong. For example, you could be both a strong auditory and visual learner, with a slight preference for one over the other. Finding a curriculum that appeals to their dominant learning style or incorporates multiple learning styles in teaching will be best.

For example, in math, if you have an auditory learner, a program where a child can listen to the lesson will be a better fit over a program where the instructions are all written.

Personality is also important. My son hates workbook work. He does not want to read and then write responses. He wants to move. This is especially true for science. His sisters all liked a textbook and workbook approach to science with some labs sprinkled in. He does not. When it comes to science he needs it to be visual and kinesthetic. Science videos and experiments work best. If he is moving, he is learning.

Set Your School Year Up for Success with a Personalized Homeschool Curriculum

Personalizing our homeschool curriculum to fit with the needs and interests of each child ensures greater cooperation and desire to learn.

When my kids have picked the area of study or when the curriculum matches both their personality and learning style, they tend to look forward (or at least not be antagonistic) to doing their school work.

Our school year goes smoother when I am not fighting against a curriculum that’s the wrong fit. Likewise, when my children know I’ve made every effort to make their least favorite subjects engaging and interesting, I get less push back.

Homeschooling gives us the freedom to personalize our child’s education. It’s up to us to make the most of it.