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How to Prepare for a Curriculum Fair
3/15/2005
It's that time of year again. Curriculum fairs. You're not sure if you love them or hate them. Oh no doubt, most of you think, "Oh, I can't wait. I just love looking at all the stuff." Sure you do, but do you like making decisions about what to buy?
I remember while I was still living in BC how I would look forward to these events. It was a chance to meet homeschooling friends and to look at this program and that book. But I also remember arriving in the Vendor's Hall and after only 10 or 15 minutes thinking, "This is too much. I don't know where to start! I can't tell if this is what I want! Almost everything looks great!" As a result I would often walk away, not having purchased anything or very little, or purchasing items that looked great but in reality were "fluff." That is, until I learned some strategies.
The time to prepare for curriculum fairs is weeks in advance. Start with your oldest child or the child for whom you feel you need to make the most changes. Consider the child's age and determine what you feel that child should accomplish during the next year. What are the most important things that need to be attended to? Jot down your thoughts – believe me, if you just store your thoughts in your brain, and not on paper, at the crucial time your mind will go blank. Take the time to write things down. Grab your curriculum manual (and if you don't have one, that may be the one best investment you make this year) and see what programs there are that may help you and your child. If you don't have a curriculum manual then look through several catalogues and look at what might be available to meet those needs. Decide which things you would like to take a good look at during the fair and also write one or two points down as to why you think they might be good (or why you think they might be weak). Then, when you go to the fair, you can look at the material, consult your notes to see if it does meet your needs and make some notes so you can mull it over at home (or make your purchase if you feel confident). Do this with those items that need definite attention.
When you see someone at the fair considering a program that you have used, by all means kindly make a comment about it. If the person seems interested in your comments then let them know why you did or didn't like a program. This will help them understand just what kind of program it is. You may make a comment for example, that it has too many crafts and fun things to do and not enough "hard core" information. The person you are speaking to may love that and therefore decide to purchase it anyway, or she may think that's absolutely not what she wants. We don't need to have opinions and comments on everything, but by the same token I think it is helpful when we share thoughts and ideas. We are all trying to do the best we can and we should be willing to gather and share whenever possible.
After you have made a list of top priorities, make another list of things you know you certainly want. For example, you are happy with Saxon and LLAL so you plan to order the next one in the series. Make lists, or again you will forget things. Also, if you would like a few extras or some resource materials to make things interesting, jot it down so you can see what might fill that need. Sometimes you won't be sure just what it is you want. You just know you are looking for some "fun science" or a grammar workbook that your child can do more or less independently. Look around at the fair to see if something will fit the bill. If not, leave it, it was an extra and something might come along at a later date.
I feel strongly that we should be making our most important purchase decisions at this time of the year while we are still in the midst of teaching. If we leave it until the end of the school year, we will have forgotten some of our frustrations or joys with a program and we may end up repeating frustrations or dropping things we had wanted to continue. If we leave it until even later then by the time August rolls around things will have become totally foggy and we will feel pressured to hurry and get the order in and deprive ourselves of time to really think it through.
Besides, if you spend the time and energy now, you can finish the school year without the thought looming that you still have to decide what to get , and you can sit back and enjoy your summer. ....now isn't that a novel idea?
So:
- Look through catalogues at home.
- Make lists of things you would like to see.
- Prioritize your list.
- When you enter exhibit hall give yourself 5- 10 min to walk by and see which exhibitors are around and note those you want to spend most of your time at.
- Ask questions – have you used it?
– is it designed for homeschoolers?
–can it be used with multi-age levels?
– can a student use it independently?
– does it require any other material? – eg manipulatives, novels, notebooks etc.
- Avoid impulse buying.
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