{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"\uac00\uc815 \uad50\uc721\uc744 \uc704\ud55c North Carolinians","provider_url":"https:\/\/nche.com\/ko","author_name":"WhitneyCrowell","author_url":"https:\/\/nche.com\/ko\/author\/whitneycrowell\/","title":"To Choose the Right Curriculum, Ask the Right Questions - North Carolinians for Home Education","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"Xe8GJhK2oT\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nche.com\/ko\/choose-the-right-curriculum-ask-the-right-questions\/\">\uc62c\ubc14\ub978 \ucee4\ub9ac\ud058\ub7fc\uc744 \uc120\ud0dd\ud558\ub824\uba74 \uc62c\ubc14\ub978 \uc9c8\ubb38\uc744 \ud558\uc2ed\uc2dc\uc624.<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/nche.com\/ko\/choose-the-right-curriculum-ask-the-right-questions\/embed\/#?secret=Xe8GJhK2oT\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"\u201c&quot;\uc62c\ubc14\ub978 \uad50\uc721\uacfc\uc815\uc744 \uc120\ud0dd\ud558\ub824\uba74 \uc62c\ubc14\ub978 \uc9c8\ubb38\uc744 \ud558\uc138\uc694&quot; - \ub178\uc2a4\uce90\ub864\ub77c\uc774\ub098 \ud648\uc2a4\ucfe8\ub9c1 \ud611\ud68c\" data-secret=\"Xe8GJhK2oT\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/nche.com\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/nche.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/CranfordFall20Thumbnail.jpg","thumbnail_width":600,"thumbnail_height":315,"description":"[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;3.22&#8243;][et_pb_row column_structure=&#8221;2_3,1_3&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;3.25&#8243; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;2_3&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;3.25&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;|||&#8221; custom_padding__hover=&#8221;|||&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;3.27.4&#8243; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221;]Fall 2020\/ Whitney Cranford Crowell The summer that my husband and I decided to finally take the plunge and homeschool our eight-year-old daughter, I was on top of the world. I entertained cozy fantasies of us at our kitchen table, huddled over shared pages like two old-fashioned schoolgirls sharing a primer, then venturing outside to explore the world around us. I envisioned long talks and long walks and memorizing poetry while classical music hummed serenely in the background. Most of all, being the colossal nerd that I am, I imagined every corner of our home piled with the most perfect selection of books possible\u2014classic literature and colorful encyclopedias and, best of all, a cornucopia of curriculum that would empower me to give her my dream education. And then the Rainbow Resource catalog arrived. If you\u2019ve been around the block a few times, you\u2019re probably familiar with Rainbow Resource and its catalog, but if you\u2019re new to the homeschooling scene or you\u2019ve only perused the company\u2019s website, you might not fully appreciate my devastation. If you\u2019re of a certain age, you\u2019ll get the picture with these two words: \u201cphone book.\u201d We\u2019re talking three inches of wafer-thin newsprint covered front-to-back in ten-point Times New Roman with hardly a photograph in sight. The curriculum choices that that one catalog contained may not have numbered in the hundreds of thousands, but it might as well have. To say I was immediately overwhelmed is a serious understatement. I plummeted from the peak of a mountain of living books and math manipulatives to being buried underneath the pile in five seconds flat! I eventually dug my way out and have gone on to successfully school both my daughter and her younger brother (although not, admittedly, always in keeping with my fantasy). But every summer, I watch the new homeschoolers stream into our state and local homeschooling communities, shining and smiling and spiritedly waving their NOIs. And they all ask the same question: What\u2019s the best curriculum? Like me, they usually end up buried under an avalanche of information. Hordes of well-meaning veterans and even a handful of the less experienced descend to vociferously push their favorite packages and programs like barkers at a street fair. But a list of fifty-eight suggested curricula that may or may not suit a family\u2019s needs or style is scarcely more useful than a catalog roughly the size of the US tax code. The truth is that everything in that monstrosity was best\u2014for somebody\u2014but not necessarily for me. One of the things I\u2019ve learned since my initial encounter with the infamous catalog is that, whether you\u2019re searching for curriculum or trying to educate your children, asking the right questions is key. Wrong questions always get you wrong (or at least unhelpful) answers. Unfortunately, \u201cWhat\u2019s the best curriculum?\u201d is almost always the wrong question. Instead, I suggest a slight variation: \u201cHow do I find the curriculum that best suits my student?\u201d This is the question that will get you closer to figuring out what best looks like for you and your family. But although this question will point you in the right direction, it doesn\u2019t do much to narrow down the choices. For that, we need\u2014you guessed it\u2014more questions. I offer you some things to think about that might help narrow your choices for any specific subject. Curriculum is not a magic bullet, but a tool, and knowing exactly what you want your curriculum to do for you will help you sort through the myriad of options. Keep in mind that these choices aren&#8217;t binary; most programs will include elements of all criteria but will focus in one direction or another. The difference is one of degree, not kind, and no type is better than another. Choose what works best for your student. MATH Spiral or mastery? Spiral programs introduce only a small amount of new information each lesson, alternating among several concepts at a time (e.g., skip counting by 2\u2019s on one day, telling time the next, measuring in inches on the third), and provide lots of mixed reviews. Mastery programs focus on a single concept (e.g., fractions) until they are completely mastered for that level, then move to a new concept. Traditional or conceptual? Conceptual programs (sometimes incorrectly dubbed Common Core) focus on helping the student discover the why behind the math. They will often teach several variations for solving problems before finally teaching the standard algorithm. Traditional programs focus on the how of problem-solving and are generally much quicker to introduce standard algorithms. SCIENCE Experimental or concept-based? This question really comes down to one thing: Do you want to learn about scientific concepts, or do you want to learn to do science? Almost all science curricula will include some reading and writing, and some experimentation. The question is which emphasis do you want? HISTORY Contextual or topical? Contextual history programs teach historical events as part of an overarching narrative, where all history is in the context of a greater timeline, often following a three-or four-year history cycle and covering lots of ground. Topical history programs focus on specific places or periods (e.g., American history, state history, colonial era), having a narrower focus, but drilling down in more detail. READING Phonics or whole language? Phonetic-based programs focus on teaching the rules for the sounds of various letter combinations and helping the student break apart words in order to read them. Whole language programs rely more on the use of sight words and visual memory. For older readers, keep in mind that a reading program is not strictly necessary. Simply reading, discussing, and occasionally writing about good books is enough for most elementary and middle-grade students. Formal literary analysis can wait until high school. SPELLING Phonetic or traditional? Phonetic spelling programs apply a similar process to encoding words as phonics programs apply to decoding them. The rules for various letter and letter-combination sounds are taught, and [&hellip;]"}