Once you have made the decision to homeschool your child, you need to come up with a way to develop your homeschool lesson plans. Exactly how you go about doing this will depend largely on what your teaching style is. Some families choose to plan out their lessons for the entire school year, while others choose to plan lessons by season, monthly or weekly. Some parents don't plan ahead much at all, and just jump on whatever their child is interested in at the moment, building lessons from there. There is no right or wrong way to create lesson plans; if it works for you and your family, then it's the right way.
A good place to start is to find out what your state's rules are for homeschooling. Check out the guidelines for your state, indicating what subjects should be taught. This can be a jumping-off point for planning what you will teach. Another good place to start is by checking the Core Knowledge Series, which outlines what is typically taught for your child's grade level, and take your basic plan from that. The series is available at libraries and online bookstores.
Customizing Your Curriculum
For many families, one of the benefits to homeschooling is the ability to pick and choose different curriculums, worksheets, etc., for different subjects, based on the child's interests and abilities. Lets say, for example, that your child is a reading whiz, yet struggles a bit with math. You may be able to take a more relaxed approach to language and literature, yet you may want the structure of a standard math curriculum such as Saxon Math, Singapore Math or Math U See.
Many families develop lesson plans by simply following their children's interests. A wonderful way to do this while still teaching all the basic subjects is with unit studies. With unit studies, you take a particular topic (airplanes, dogs, Thanksgiving, butterflies) and explore it thoroughly by reading, writing, doing projects, field trips, etc., all based around the theme of that topic.
For example, if you do a unit study on Thanksgiving, you might read a bit about the history of Thanksgiving, prepare some foods they might have eaten, write a poem about being thankful, make a diorama about the first Thanksgiving, map out the route of the Mayflower and figure out how many miles the pilgrims traveled. In doing this, you would have covered reading comprehension, history, writing, art, geography and math in a fun and interesting way.
Whether you prefer "school at home," unschooling or a teaching style that is somewhere in between, there are lots of ways to build interesting and creative lessons for your child. If you get stuck, talk to other homeschooling parents to share ideas.
 | Homeschooling is a rewarding way of educating your child, but it is not necessarily the right choice for everyone. |
 | There are pros and cons to homeschooling; while homeschoolers do tend to do exceptionally well, there are also some challenges to educating your child at home. |
 | When you start homeschooling a shy child, you will be presented with unique challenges. It can be difficult if your child is naturally shy and reserved. |
Successful homeschooling requires an honest assesment by parents, who must decide if they're fit for the job. Are you? |
The bad news is that there are indeed some potentially negative effects of homeschooling. The good news is that if parents are aware of them, they can all be overcome successfully. |
