How to Choose the Right Homeschool Curriculum
Homeschooling is an excellent option for military families. It allows you to customize your child’s education to meet his or her individual needs. When it comes to choosing a curriculum, there are tons of options available.
So, how do you know which one is right for your family? 
Military homeschoolers have a few things to consider that others may not. For example, military families move around A LOT. This can make finding a curriculum compatible with each new state or country’s educational requirements challenging.
Further, military families may find themselves stationed in remote locations where there are no other homeschoolers or support groups. It may be difficult to find local resources or to even get curriculum.
Additionally, military children often have unique needs. They may need extra support due to deployments, frequent PCSs, or other stressors.
When choosing a curriculum for your military family, consider the following:
1. The educational requirements of your current state or country. Make sure the curriculum you choose meets the academic requirements of your current state or country.
2. Do you plan to use an umbrella school or correspondence program? Or some locales may require you to use a homeschool association. These organizations may have specific curricula requirements that you’ll need to follow.
3. Your child’s needs and grade level. Choose a flexible curriculum that can be easily adapted to meet your child’s needs, as well as the age and learning level of your child. If you are unsure of where they test academically, many curriculum publishers have testing available to help you place your child on the right grade level in each subject.
It’s also helpful to know how your child learns best and what their interests are. For example, some children learn best with a more traditional approach, while others prefer a more hands-on approach. Therefore, you may want to consider a curriculum that teaches the material in a way that will keep your child engaged by teaching to their particular learning style.
4. Your family’s schedule and lifestyle. Military families are often busy with deployments, PCS moves, and other obligations. You’ll want to choose a curriculum that can be easily adjusted to fit your family’s changing schedule
5. What are your priorities and criteria? You may want a faith-based curriculum or one in which material is automatically graded. As parent/teacher, YOU get to decide what’s important and necessary in a curriculum for your homeschool.
Despite the challenges we may encounter as military homeschoolers, there is an abundance of curriculum options that will help you successfully homeschool as a military family.
Want more curriculum information?
Listen to Episode #12- Military Families: How to Choose the Right Curriculum and Homeschool Successfully. Crystal discusses the curriculum decision in more in-depth and shares tips for homeschooling successfully no matter where the military sends you!
*For more articles like this, visit Crystal on our AWN homepage.
