What to Do When Your Homeschooling Curriculum Just Isn’t Working

Adapting the lessons or taking some field trips are two ways to adjust an imperfect curriculum.
What to Do When Your Homeschooling Curriculum Just Isn’t Working
Parents have the freedom to change their homeschooling curriculum anytime. MoMo Productions/Getty
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Ask any veteran homeschool mom, and she’ll tell you a my-homeschool-curriculum-just-isn’t-working story. We’ve all been there. So, you’ve done all the research. You’ve chosen the perfect curriculum. And you’re excited to get started. Then, maybe a month down the road, your smile has faded. Your kids are grumpy and bored; they’re constantly fidgeting, fussing, and complaining about school. You wonder if they’re learning anything at all.

Now what? Well, take heart, because all is not lost. You have the freedom to change your curriculum at any time. In fact, you can change your curriculum as many times as you need. I know it’s frustrating, believe me, but keep in mind that you know your children best, and that knowledge alone will help you inspire learning every day—whether or not you have a particular curriculum as a guide.

Rule Out a Medical Reason

First, determine if the problem could be medical. Perhaps your kids are due for an annual physical, which may reveal an underlying condition or a neurological issue such as a processing disorder, dyslexia, or dysgraphia. If your kids haven’t had vision and hearing screenings recently, now is a good time. If there’s nothing wrong medically, it’s worth the reassurance.

Identify the Problem

Look at your curriculum; consider if the problem is actually the curriculum itself or something else.

Think about your schedule. As your kids grow and change, you may need to adjust your schedule to better meet their needs: older kids may need to sleep in and work later, the order in which you study the different subjects might need rearranging, or maybe you and your kids both need more breaks.

Compare your children’s learning styles with the way the curriculum works. Is it a good match? For example, let’s say your child is a kinesthetic learner; he or she learns best by doing rather than by seeing or hearing. So, hands-on projects, science experiments, nature studies, etc. will work best, as opposed to filling in worksheets and lots of reading. Try reading aloud while your child sits on an exercise ball or jumps on a mini-trampoline.

Or maybe your child just needs more time to fully grasp a topic or concept. For instance, let’s talk about reading readiness; some kids are early readers, while others struggle and need more time.

Is the curriculum too complex or time-consuming? It’s simply not worth the frustration to try to muddle through when you already have other parenting obligations beyond homeschooling.

Last but not least, ask your kids for their feedback.

Consider Adapting the Curriculum to Meet Your Needs

Sometimes a simple change can make all the difference.

When I was a middle school student, I remember having to do 50 math problems for homework at times and wondering why I had to do all that busy work when I was 100 percent certain I understood the concepts. Claude Bernard, a French physiologist, said it best, “It is what we know already that often prevents us from learning.” You know your child best. You get to decide how much practice he or she needs before moving on.

Additionally, you do not have to do all the lessons and activities for each chapter or unit in a particular curriculum. Choose the ones that you feel cover the concepts best or are the most interesting.

You can shorten a lengthy writing assignment, divide a reading assignment up into a manageable number of chapters per day, and break up a long video lesson with some movement or outdoor activity.

This is also a great teachable moment. You can show your kids the different steps to take in order to successfully deal with a challenge.

Save It For Possible Use in the Future

It’s best not to be hasty; don’t give it away or sell it just yet. Sometimes it’s just a matter of timing. Save it and try it again next year.
While you take a break from the curriculum and/or research others, you can supplement with all sorts of resources. Engage your kids with some educational online reading and math games, trivia, puzzles, and brain teasers.

Take Time Off

If you’re able, take time off from school. Or at least, just take time off from formal school work. Spend a week taking exciting field trips, watching animal documentaries, and working on individual hands-on projects.

Trade or Sell

Occasionally, it’s simply best to call it quits and trade the curriculum with another homeschooling family or sell it on a reputable site such as Homeschool Classifieds, Homeschool Shopper, or Amazon. It may not be worth the stress of trying to make adaptations if it’s really just not a good fit.

When your desired curriculum isn’t working for whatever reason, it’s OK to hit the pause button and reset your homeschool. Remember, homeschooling is a journey, and you have complete freedom to blaze your own unique trail in your own time frame.

Karen Doll
Karen Doll
Author
Karen Doll is a freelance writer and homeschooling consultant based in the small village of Wassergass, Pa. She enjoys writing about homeschooling, gardening, food and culture, family life, and the joys of chicken keeping. Visit her at AtHomeWithKarenDoll.wordpress.com
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