Originally appeared in a homeschool support group newsletter in May 2008.

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“In the spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love” (Locksley Hall. Line 19 by Alfred Lord Tennyson). And in spring, a homeschooling mom's thoughts turn to next year's lesson plans—and catalogs, curriculum fairs, and homeschool conferences. Unlike the pioneering homeschoolers who had few resources available to them, we have a vast sea of choices when selecting school books and supplies for our children. How do we know what to teach and when to teach it? What should we cover at each stage of our children's education?

One of my favorite planning resources is Rebecca Rupp's Home Learning Year by Year: How to Design a Homeschool Curriculum from Preschool Through High School. She opens her book by stating, “There is no effective one-size-fits-all mode of education.” Every child is an individual, and homeschooling allows parents to custom-fit their lessons to their children's individual skills and interests.

All homeschooling parents know this and yet fret over whether their children are learning the basics and don't have holes in their education. This is where Rupp's book can help. She explains that while a standardized classroom curriculum may not work for your children, it can serve as a reference point and guide. Her book synthesizes the public school curricula of all fifty states and draws from various private sources and innovative educational organizations. Each chapter enumerates the standard goals for each grade and suggests resources to help parents achieve these academic goals.

The preschool chapter lists books, catalogs, magazines, software, and websites for both parents and children. For each of the school grades, the author covers Language Arts, Mathematics, History and Geography, Science, Foreign Language, Art, Music, and Health and Physical Education. The core subjects are broken down into subcategories. For instance, Language Arts includes Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking Skills, and Study Skills. Mathematics, Science, and History are also divided into subtopics.

The fourth-grade chapter, for example, starts with the Language Arts section. Under the subtitle Reading, the author begins with an introduction paragraph and suggests three literature curricula. Next, she states specific goals, such as “3. Define elements of figurative language.” Below this, she lists five types of figurative language and descriptions of different types of poetry. Then, she offers two books and two websites about poetry as resources.

To avoid repetition, Rupp references previous entries for some subjects. For instance, under fourth grade Foreign Language, she refers the reader to the kindergarten chapter where foreign language resources are listed.

This book contains five appendices: Technology, Textbooks and Resources, Lesson Plans, Book Lists, and Distance Learning. These appendices direct you to various resources, many having websites. An index concludes the book.

To use this book, you simply turn to the grade you want to study. For instance, my son will be in fourth grade next year. So, I will begin my planning by reading the fourth-grade chapter. I will also review some sections in the previous chapters to check for any areas that we've missed. As I consider these goals, I keep in mind that they are only guidelines and reflect the objectives of the public schools and might not coincide with my educational plans for my son. Yet, I often find the skill lists helpful in knowing what my son should know at a given level.

When you need assistance in navigating through the educational ocean, use this book as your compass. ( )

I quite like this book as a general guide of what is typically taught within a school year. I did initially find it somewhat overwhelming as there was so much presented for each grade. ( )

This is a good starting point for designing a homeschool curriculum as it describes major topics that should be covered in each subject at each grade. ( )

A great guide for both beginner and longer term homeschoolers alike. While the title implies it is only about designing a curriculum, it is also a good guide to know if your child is hitting the right developmental/educational stages which can be a concern for some homeschooling parents.

Whether you are a confident long term planner, or just starting out in the world of homeschooling (or even only just thinking about it) you are sure to find some handy ideas and resources in this book.

As this book is full of references to publications and websites, it is always a good idea to buy the most up-to-date version wherever possible. ( )