It's the most wonderful time of the year . . . for homeschoolers! It's the time of year when many of us research, plan, and buy our materials for next year.
Our fingers rush nimbly over the keyboard.
We walk miles as we move around the convention floor perusing the options and brushing up on our teaching skills.
Today, I wanted to share five questions that will help you as you wade through the options to create a plan for homeschool science for your children.
How much do you want to spend on science this next year? Knowing how much you have to spend is a great place to start when making your decision for curriculum.
You can immediately eliminate programs that are beyond your budget, making the pool of choices a bit more reasonable!
Are you teaching only your own children? Or are you teaching a group of students at a co-op?
Is there a wide age spread among your students? Or are you teaching just one age range? Are there any other special considerations created by the students you will be teaching?
Being aware of your student's ages and needs will help you narrow down the options.
What have you studied in the past? And what do you want to learn this next year?
There is no point is looking at the brand new, super cool chemistry program if you know that you need to study animals this next year.
Having an idea of the subjects you want to focus on this next year will help you winnow out the field.
Do you want to gather the supplies or would you prefer a pre-made kit? Not all science curricula offer corresponding experiment kits, so if you want one it is good to know this beforehand.
Knowing whether or not you need an experiment kit can help you determine which science curricula fits your family's needs.
This is more a philosophical question, but it's still good to know the answer as it will help you determine what type of program suits you.
Do you need the curricula to shore up a weakness? Or do you want a curriculum so that everything is pre-planned and you can just focus on teaching? Or do you just want an idea of what you need to cover, leaving room for you to personalize your plans?
Understanding why you need a curriculum as part of your homeschool science plan will help you to make a decision as to what program will work for your family!
I trust that these five questions will help guide you as you create a plan for science in your homeschool. If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to leave them in the comments below!
Want a roadmap for teaching science to your students that will help you as you develop your plan? Check out our book Success in Science.
We love notebooking at Sassafras Science! And these ten posts on notebooking will help you understand the how's and why's of this super effective tool.
Stop what you are doing, drop what is in your hands, grab a book, and start reading! And don't forget to come celebrate DEAR Day with Sassafras Science.
