Homeschooling Methods:
School at Home/Structured

This is the traditional school transplanted to the home. It's what you generally think of when someone says "school." Families will select a curriculum that covers all subject areas, often with teacher plans, quizzes, and tests. These families will often have scheduled "school days" and even subject periods. You may hear this referred to as "school in a box." It provides the generally expected documentation of student achievement with tests and grades. Parents have structured feedback as to whether or not the children or learning."

Structure homeschooling appeals to new homeschooing families since the curriculum provides everything the parents need to teach school. Parents don't have to worry about "missing" a topic or "gaps" in their children's education. It can also be a source of stress when families find they are not keeping up with the curriculum timeline. Structured schooling can be expensive with the purchase of curriculum for each student and teacher oversight. Many homeschooling families start with a very structured approach and tend to relaxed as they become more experienced.

Structured homeschooling doesn't require a purchased set of curriculum. In Texas, the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)--the state curriculum's scope and sequence--is available on the Texas Education Agency Website. You can find your own resources, books from the library, videos, museum trips, to meet each of the TEKS objectives. You can also take the same approach using national or internal standards.

Many experienced families may take a structured approach for an individual child or perhaps for just one subject. It generally depends on the need the students.

Curriculum

HomesSchoolReviews.com-Homeschool Curriculum Reviews

Homeschooler's Curriculum Swap

Standards

Mid-Content Research for Education and Learning

EDsitement Reference Shelf Standards

National Science Education Standards

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Standards

National Standards for History Education

National Standards for Art Education