How to choose an online homeschool curriculum. When deciding on an online homeschool program, consider the unique needs of your child. Let’s be honest. It’s hard to choose traditional pen-and-paper homeschool programs. There are so many conflicting reviews floating around:
- Your best friend swears by All About Reading.
- That veteran homeschool mom raves about Master Books.
- Your favorite blogger says Logic of English is hands down the BEST program around.
So, when you’re looking for an online curriculum, which one do you choose? And what’s the best choice if your student is neurodivergent (ADHD, Autism, dyslexia, etc)?
Important questions, Friend. So, here are 15 things to consider when choosing an online homeschool curriculum.
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15 Tips: Choosing an Online Homeschool Curriculum
The following are 15 tips to help when choosing an online homeschool curriculum.
These principles apply universally to kids whether or not they have a diagnosable learning disability. However, they do benefit kids who learn differently. Specifically, these variables consider the needs of kids with:
- ADHD
- Autism
- Dyslexia
OK. Let’s get to it.
1. Consider YOUR Student
When choosing an online curriculum, you must consider the student in front of you. Does your child learn differently? Do they have a learning disability?
If your child doesn’t have a formal diagnosis, think about how your child learns best.
- Does your child learn best by moving?
- Can your child sit at a desk and stay focused?
- Does your student resist reading at all costs?
- Can she follow multi-step directions?
- The answer to that question may reveal a working memory or processing challenge.
Understanding how your child learns and using that to guide your choices is important.
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2. Use Curriculum as A Tool
The reality is this. There is no perfect homeschool curriculum out there.
Whether it’s a traditional textbook or an online program, no homeschool curriculum will be perfect in every way. It’s just not happening.
That means we homeschool teachers must embrace the idea that curriculum is a learning tool. We must use it as such.
This means we need to manipulate it to serve the needs of our specific students. You’re the boss of the curriculum. It’s not the other way around.
You’re the boss of the curriculum. It’s not the other way around.
Pass The Curriculum Test?
So, what does it mean to be the boss of the curriculum? How do you use the curriculum as a tool?
And how does this impact what digital curriculum to choose? Well, when choosing an online homeschool curriculum, look at some key variables. I recommend the following criteria to assess the effectiveness of any curriculum.
Even if a program doesn’t pass the test as is, don’t stop there. Start to think about how you can modify the curriculum with these variables in mind.
3. Time: Short Lessons
When choosing online learning programs for kids with ADHD or other learning differences, always consider time.
Look for programs that offer short lessons. At a minimum, make sure the curriculum is set up in a way that they can be broken up into shorter lessons.
Less is more in learning. Short lessons are key to making learning manageable and achievable.
A five-minute lesson received and processed by a student will yield more fruit than fighting through a long stressful one.
4. Get Rid of Timers
Speaking of time, let’s talk about timers. Get rid of them.
While timers can sometimes motivate kids, they can be just as damaging to others. Get rid of them if they cause anxiety and stress for your child.
Choose a curriculum that gives you the ability to remove timers.
Timers are often extremely stressful for kids and adults. This is especially true when learning a new or hard concept.
Don’t buy into the “timed test mentality” to increase speed and fluency. It could backfire. High levels of anxiety block access to learning. It’s NOT worth it.
5. Grades Need to Be Adjustable
When considering a program make sure you can modify scores and grades. Kids with unique learning styles such as ADHD, autism, or dyslexia work much harder than neurotypical kids.
There is nothing more defeating than working your butt off only to see a failing score.
Homeschooling is about real learning. Not passing a test or receiving a specific grade.
You need to be able to remove previous scores so that your child can achieve a score reflective of their mastery.
Remember, the goal is to motivate learning. We do this by setting kids up for success rather than reminding them of previous failures.
Remove old scores and once they “get it”, their final scores will reflect their ultimate achievement.
6. Hard Copies Are Essential
Look for programs that allow you to print hard copies of any texts or assignments. For example, Teaching Textbooks has a printable PDF of their textbook. With CTC Math, you can print all worksheets.
Reading from a screen and reading from a paper are not the same thing.
7. Clear and to the Point
Circling back to short lessons, make sure the teachings are clear and to the point.
Don’t waste your child’s cognitive fuel on superfluous input that detracts from the learning objective.
8. Rate of Speech
Also, consider the rate of speech when choosing any digital curriculum. Too many teachers and educational YouTube programs are way too FAST.
Consider SciShow Kids, a popular science video series on Youtube. While the videos have their strengths, the speaker’s rate-of-speech is too fast for many learners (and adults).
Just because a child “hears” the words of a lesson, doesn’t mean they can process the information.
Slow those videos down by modifying the rate-of-speech in the settings. Language and auditory processing issues are crucial to learning effectively. To learn more about auditory and language processing issues, check out Reading, Writing & Relationships.
9. Clutter-Free Design
Look for a clutter-free and simplistic design in your homeschool lessons. This is essential for those who struggle with visual discrimination.
Reduce visual input for the brain to tease and process through.
10. Consider Visual Learners
Many neurodivergent kids (ADHD, autism, dyslexia, etc) are visual learners. Visual input is essential for language-based concepts. In other words, vocabulary needs to be supported with visuals.
Use a tool like Quizlet for spelling and vocabulary practice for all subjects (including history, science, math, etc).
Quizlet has a new option to add images for every word or concept. Use that function to support long-term learning.
Learn more about the value of a clutter-free design for ADHD brains.
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11. Consider Your Child’s Emotional Needs
Depending upon your child’s emotional regulation needs and the concepts being taught, modify your level of involvement. Specifically, focus on:
- Your child’s emotional state at the time of the lesson. What’s your child’s level of anxiety, stress, cognitive capacity, etc at that exact moment?
- Difficulty level:
How challenging is this concept for this child? Note that even if your child got the concept yesterday, does not mean that it’s fluent in the brain yet. Repetition and patience are key. - Number of skills: How many concepts and steps are involved in a particular problem? Let’s look at long division as an example.
Long Division Is A LOT
One long division problem is NOT one simple problem. Long division requires integration of multiple skills and concepts that are often NOT fluent.
- Long division requires fluency in…
- Multiplication facts,
- Division facts, subtraction rules
- Visual processing,
- Working memory (remembering the steps involved)
- Fine motor control, etc.
When working on any skill, offer support if your child struggles to integrate every component. This applies whether it’s long division or spelling.
Save Time, Stress, and Cash with The FREE Homeschool Curriculum Planning Guide!
12. Identify Learning Barriers
Another important concept to remember when homeschooling any struggling student is to identify learning barriers.
When your kid has challenges with a subject or concept, look for learning barriers.
- Fine motor weaknesses,
- Eye tracking issues,
- Auditory, speech, and language processing,
- Executive functioning issues
And please know this. Many kids will NOT have a diagnosis and still struggle with these areas (hint… adults do too.)
Learn more about the value of a clutter-free design for ADHD brains.
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13. Remove Learning Barriers
Once you’ve identified learning barriers impacting your child’s learning, it’s important to remove them.
The following 5 learning barriers can be addressed as described below.
- Fine Motor Weaknesses?
- Scribe for your child
- Write math problems,
- Have your student spell orally, etc.
- Scribe for your child
- Auditory or Language-based Challenges?
- Support the child with verbal cues as she works through math problems,
- Gradually have your child tell you the steps involved while you work through the process at their direction.
- Note that this requires A LOT of effort. Orally directing the math problem requires greater processing and retention. Teaching is the highest form of learning.
- Slowly hand over reigns step by step.
- Partner With Your Child:
- Depending upon your child’s needs, work through questions one-by-one together. Use one sheet of paper for each problem. Write the problem in large text.
- Offer Extra Video Based Tutorials:
- Kahn Academy or Mathantics, for example
- When needed, support concepts with extra video-based tutorials.
- By doing this, you remove your need to choose the correct verbiage.
- Kahn Academy or Mathantics, for example
- Hard Copies Are Crucial:
- Always have hard-copy texts and support tools (maps, reference charts, etc.). Reading from a screen is often not effective and can lead to a dysregulated nervous system.
14. Resist the Urge to Stay “On Schedule”
Finally, this applies to textbook-based or online curriculum.
RESIST THE URGE TO STAY ON SCHEDULE.
If your child is struggling with a concept, the last thing you should do is push for more too soon. Take a deep breath, assess the situation, remove learning barriers, and know this.
IT DOES NOT TAKE 12 YEARS TO LEARN TO READ, WRITE, OR UNDERSTAND MATH CONCEPTS.
The worst thing we homeschool parents do (this includes me), is stress out over artificial benchmarks that have nothing to do with our specific kids’ needs.
15. Stay Involved with Online Curriculum
Often, homeschool parents choose an online curriculum to take something off our already slammed plates. I get it and am in that with you.
However, rather than leave the kids on their own, it’s important to stay engaged. As with any curriculum, an online homeschool curriculum is still a teaching tool.
Recap: How to Choose an Online Curriculum
In the end, remember this. When choosing an online homeschool curriculum know that you are the best advocate for your child.
That means you’re the boss of the curriculum. Always modify the curriculum to meet the needs of your child.
So, what online or video-based curriculum tools do you use in your homeschool? Even better, how do you modify them for your students with special learning needs?
Related Posts:
CTC Math Review: Why It Works for ADHD and Autism
The Right Homeschool Curriculum for ADHD Students
9 Best Math Videos for Kids That They’ll Want to Watch
21 Math Strategies Every Homeschool Mom Should Know!
Best Homeschool Math for Struggling Students
The Ultimate Guide: How to Help a Struggling Reader at Home!
Save Time, Stress, and Cash with The FREE Homeschool Curriculum Planning Guide!
About the Author:
Lindsay is a trauma-informed educator with a Master’s Degree in Teaching. Her mission is to support moms to equip neurodivergent kids (ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, Anxiety) to thrive as exactly who they’ve been created to be. Wait until you hear the story that led to it all…
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a nominal fee from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your support. See my disclosure policy for more info.
Thank you so much for sharing these points to remember, especially in planning the curriculum for children with special needs. There are also activities that might be good to try and see if it helps them.
Yay! So glad to hear that these variables to consider with online homeschool curriculum resonate with you! Have a wonderful school year!