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One of the first challenges all homeschool families face is the choice of curriculums. The homeschool world has changed dramatically over the last few decades. 20 years ago homeschoolers had two basic choices; shop the same publishers as the public and private schools, or use a Christian based curriculum. Today, the options are endless, and the opinions are many. For a new homeschooling family, all of the choices can be overwhelming. A solution that many parents are opting for is developing their own curriculum around the child's interests. If the task of finding the perfect curriculum has proved fruitless for you, below you will find 6 basic things to consider while developing your own curriculum.

1. Know your child. This means to go beyond knowing their favorite color, cartoon, and dinner. To really get to know who your child is, who they aspire to become, their strengths and weaknesses, their abilities and challenges; a parent MUST spend quality and quantity time with their child. Play with them, read with them, sing and dance with them, explore and discover with them. There are three main areas to have understanding in that are imperative to developing a curriculum around the child. These areas are: the child's learning style, teaching methods that actually work for them, and of course their interests. Tests and assessments can be helpful to discover these bents of your children, but they are not necessary. You can discover as much, if not more, as the assessments will uncover by spending time with your child. Does she shut down when she sees a page full of numbers? Does she get excited when art supplies are brought out? Does a concept seem to stick when he can get messy with it?

Some parents seem to have photogenic memories when it comes to their children. However, most of us don't, so a journal comes in handy. As your child grows, develops, and discovers himself; his needs, abilities, and interests will change. A journal can be your place to chart this growth and expansion, and will serve you well when it comes time to reorganize the curriculum. In it, keep notes of resources used and liked, ones that ended up being useless, and ones you would like to purchase if borrowed. Also, keep notes of areas your child struggled in and areas she excelled in.

2. Know yourself. It might not sound like a big deal, but knowing yourself will help you tremendously as you develop a curriculum around your child's interests. If you tend to be more structured and schedule

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