Happy National Homeschool Month! The following article was written by homeschooler and abcteach staff writer, Carol Welch. As you’re putting the final touches on your family’s lesson plans, we hope these tips provide support and creative inspiration for another successful year.
Enhancing Your Homeschool Curriculum with abcteach
As summer winds down, homeschool families are gearing up for a new year of learning. For my own family, September always means that the year’s curriculum and lesson plans are in place and it is time to learn! However, no matter how meticulous our planning is during the summer, there is always a need to enhance certain areas of study throughout the year.
One of my favorite aspects of homeschooling is having the freedom to pursue teachable moments or areas of special interest. Whenever my sons want to learn more about a subject, we gladly deviate from lesson plans and embark on a learning adventure. I know that I can easily find the resources that will fit our needs, such as report forms, graphic organizers or topic materials.
I, also, need to enhance our curriculum is when one of my sons requires practice in a particular area, especially math, spelling or grammar skills. I can quickly print out supplemental materials or spend a little time creating them with abctools.
Here are a few links to areas that I have found particularly helpful for adding to our homeschool curriculum:
- • abctools are a great way to create reinforcement, skill-building worksheets with your own spelling words, vocabulary lists, or specific math levels/skills.
- • Report Forms include book report forms, writing border papers, planners and organizational forms that can be adapted to any curriculum.
- • Graphic Organizers include blank Venn Diagrams, KWL, KWHL, Timelines, Webs and more that can aid students in gathering information and organizing projects.
- • Theme Units cover many specific topics that are of special interest to young learners.
- • Interactive, PowerPoint and Audio/Video sections offer great alternatives to traditional learning experiences.
- • Book Units include supplemental materials to many popular books such as Chronicles of Narnia, Charlotte’s Web, Laura Ingalls Wilder series, plus Newberry and Caldecott selections.
- • Homeschooling and Parent Resources section provides materials specifically created to meet your needs.
I encourage homeschool parents to take a tour around these areas to familiarize yourselves with the resources that are available. I have found them to be valuable tools in my own homeschool experience and I think that you will too.
I wish you all the best in your upcoming school year!
Posted by Carol Welch, abcteach staff writer