Choosing Homeschool Curriculum is like Choosing a Smart Phone

I love my new smart phone. My wonderful, wonderful droid. Will my smart phone make me smarter? I don't know, but I can say it's the phone rated the best by my friends. It has internet access so I can answer Gold Care Club member questions even when I'm handling family emergencies. It has internet access so I can always know what is going on with my business. I can write my blog posts and articles while sitting in a waiting room. It keeps track of all my phone calls so I won't lose anyone on Wednesdays. In other words, it's perfect.

However, mom can't figure out how to use it.

If I gave this phone to my mom, it would be decidedly NOT perfect. We bought her the Jitterbug phone. It does nothing except place calls. No internet. No emails. No camera! You don't have to scroll, or hit forward and backward arrows. When you open the phone it gives you a dial tone. You touch the name of the person you want to call. If you get confused, dial "O" and the operator will assist you. You can say "Call Karen" and the operator will know exactly who Karen is. It's the right phone for mom.

The Droid or the Jitterbug? The perfect phone is the one that FITS.

Homeschooler's curriculum is like that too. It doesn't matter who rates something as the "best" product out there. If your child can't use it, then it will go to waste. Your child won't be able to learn from a product that isn't a good fit. Rated highly or not, if it doesn't make sense, then they won't learn.

Instead of looking for the "Best" curriculum, look for the one that is the "Best Fit." That will help them learn. Even if they learn 50% with the best curriculum, if they learn 80% with a mediocre curriculum they will still come out ahead.

My Droid is perfect. The Jitterbug is right for mom. Search for the right fit curriculum for your child. Let the experts worry about which one is perfect, while you focus on learning in your child.

Article Source: http://www.bizymoms.com/expert-advice

Let Lee Binz, The HomeScholar guide you on how to create an effective homeschool curriculum. Learn how she and her husband helped their two boys earn full-tuition scholarships by providing them superior www.thehomescholar.com/homeschooling-resources.php">homeschool resources. Discover more at www.thehomescholar.com/">www.TheHomeScholar.com.

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