Curriculum Building Blocks
One of the most frequently asked questions we get from new families is, “How do I know what to teach and how do I integrate EHRC into my child’s course of study?”
Firstly, it is important to grasp that as your child’s primary teacher, you are designing the curriculum. For a new homeschooling parent this often seems like a daunting task, but is actually a very beneficial process. As you work through understanding curriculum planning, you will begin to glean what is necessary to make a child’s education well rounded, find unique and inspiring ways to teach certain themes and subjects, realize there are many ways to learn and will even begin to delve into the thought provoking philosophies and methodologies of education. It is a very rewarding journey.
As you begin, a good way to find out what your child should study in a given grade is to do internet searches for examples of scope and sequences for the grade level that you are interested in. A scope and sequence provides general guidance on what essential understandings, knowledge, skills, and processes should be targeted and explored in a given grade level. They are based on State and National Learning standards. After you get a sense of what your child should study, you can begin your search for appropriate resources to support the learning.
The next series of pages will give you information on the Basics of Curricum Building beginning with a generic Curriculum Builder. This builder is a basic guide to what students should cover in a general sense developmentally. Additionally, you’ll find samples of a very good series of scope and sequences for students K-8.
EHRC and Your Curriculum provides a sample of curriculum building and also shows how to add EHRC classes/workshops. Many Tools for Learning offers a list of the various curriculum categories and Curriculum Resources on the Web provides links to many wonderful internet educational web-sites.
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