How I Choose Our Homeschool Curriculum - Part 2

So we are back for day 6 of the Ultimate Blog challenge and day 2 of my discussion about how I choose our homeschool curriculum.

If you read the blog yesterday, these were the last things I had to say:

      "We have the lists of what we need, so we know what we are looking for and      possibly what vendors will have those items.  Then we go back to our hotel room that evening and have a frank discussion of what we saw."  

We discuss the merits of the choices.  We look at any literature we may have collected from the vendors.  Sometimes we look online at the vendor's website or possibly Cathy Duffy's site to confirm our thoughts about the curriculum.  Then we start making new lists.  This time we typically pick 3 to 5 choices per subject that we want to investigate further.  We have a good idea of what will work for our family.  Day 2 of the convention is spent examining in depth curriculum.  This is where things get really serious.  If a vendor does not have time or interest in talking to us, most likely we will eliminate that selection.  I understand that vendors are busy and we go to conventions that have a ton of people.  But if I stand in a booth watching new people walk in and be helped, it turns me off to that vendor.  

Of course, if the vendor acknowledges me and indicates they will be with me when they finish with the current customer, I can understand that and will wait patiently.  So typically on day 2, my husband and I spend time looking and comparing together.  Other parts of the day, he has a list of items he is responsible for looking at while I have my list of items.  This is where we break our initial lists down further.  We look at the materials closely and with our children and our lifestyle in mind.  then that night we go back to our hotel room and again evaluate what we saw and learned that day.  Sometimes, we bring a child or some of the children into the discussion since our children are older.  It helps to have their opinions occasionally.  Other times, we just make executive decisions.  Finally day 3 comes around (if there are 3 days in the convention) and purchases have to be made.  If there are only 2 days for the convention (like the one for CHAP in Pennsylvania), then day 2 changes to the day purchases are made.  Usually by the time the CHAP convention rolls around we have already attended at least one other convention, so we have already looked at a lot of the material and are really just trying to fill in gaps.

Day 3 we have carts and items to place materials in.  This is also the day that everyone is called to action.  If we have a lot of material to buy, my husband and I may split the list and make purchases accordingly.  Other times, we find it faster to stay together - that way we can make runs to the van or hotel room if necessary to unload things.  With 4 children we can acquire quite a bit.  Plus we usually end up adding in some extra items for my husband's Ministry collection or for my personal library.

I love when I can purchase books or materials and actually bring them home with me.  However, that doesn't always happen.  Sometime we have to order the materials and wait for them to arrive.  But when the boxes start being delivered, it is a fantastic day.  I hope you enjoyed reading a little about how we pick our homeschool curriculum.

We begin