The Sweet Freedom to Tweak Homeschool Curriculum

Some years, you stumble upon the perfect curriculum.  Everything about it seems perfect–a great teacher’s guide, just the right mixture of hands-on activities & other types of work, interesting topics.
And six weeks into the school year, you’re ready to chuck it out the window.

Or maybe you’ll cry if you have to look at it again.

Maybe it’s your kids who cry every time they look at it.

But you just can’t bear to abandon it.  Not yet.

I’ve been there.  And done that.

In our early years of homeschooling, I headed straight for a boxed curriculum.  Several homeschoolers I respected used them.  I loved the idea of getting it all in one box and digging into the box excitedly.  It seemed simple to have everything in one book, waiting for me to follow.  {That part still appeals to me some days!} 
I settled on one that had structure but also a fair amount of flexibility.  And then I tried it.  I tried, I really did.  But it just didn’t work for us.

And that’s certainly not been the only failure in our homeschool journey.

What did I want to change?  It depended on the subject!

I wanted to…

…complete the chapters in a different order
…skip the parts we found boring
…throw out the parent guide2
…cut up the parent guide and rearrange the weekly format
…skip half the math problems without feeling like I was going easy on the kiddo

Over the years, I’ve realized the value of adding:

• cooking inspired by the time period and/or location
• the joy of audiobooks in the car
• fun math manipulatives like Legos & MagnaTiles
• outsourced classes

I’ve also learned the things I want to skip…

like read-aloud books (yes, it’s my one shame as a homeschool mom LOL)

and some of the art activities {and add other art into our day}

and some of the field trips

and some of the non-art activities

Gradually, I’ve learned that I’m free to do all of those tweaks.  No one is going to bang on my door to make sure I’m using a curriculum in its intended way.  I’m free to mark up books and tear out pages.  No one is checking my library record to see if I really read all those storybooks (thank goodness!).

I REALLY CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT WITH OUR BOOKS.

I’ve also learned the importance in…

• talking to other moms for advice on switching up that particular curriculum
• not holding myself to ridiculous standards of completing every page in every book
• talking to the publisher–they want you to love their program!
• slowing down before I decide on a replacement curriculum
• letting go of a but-everyone-loves-it program — you aren’t everyone and neither are your kids