An Associated Press article which has been appearing around various Internet news sources addresses the question of curriculum with a look at unschooling:
At ABC News: Home-School Options: Curriculum or Not? by Carole Feldman, Associated Press Writer:
“Some home-school parents create their own curriculum for their kids. “There should never be a set curriculum,” said [Janice] Hedin. “Every child is so unique. Our goal as parents is to custom design the education that fits our children.”
The writer interviewed Home Education Magazine co-publisher Helen Hegener, who is also Director of the American Homeschool Association:
As a first step, parents new to home schooling should check out their state’s laws. Helen Hegener, director of the American Homeschool Association, noted that there is a wide variety in state requirements.
The usual statisics were quoted:
The National Center of Education Statistics reported last April that about 1.5 million American children were home-schooled in 2007, representing 2.9 percent of the school-age population. The number of home-school children increased by 74 percent since 1999. The upward trend is believed to be continuing.
The article also appears at MSNBC’s Today Show and other news sites.