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So, you homeschool?

I usually don’t introduce this topic in conversation. Homeschooling is a personal and very involved choice. There is no one better qualified to make this decision for you than you! And with that being said, even though I don’t introduce this topic, it comes up naturally and often as people observe my life and get to know me. All I can talk about is what I know. Often, people simply have lots of questions, and most of those questions start with curriculum. “What curriculum do you use?”, is the number one question I receive. It is a hard question to answer, and I am aware that what I use or do, may or may not be what another mom chooses for her home. Maybe we can journey together through this question.

Decisions

I have 3 children, and the current season for our family is homeschooling all of them. After having our first child, I asked myself the question about homeschooling after watching other moms struggle with getting their young sons to like school. In observing my own son, he really liked noise, movement and getting dirty. The thought that he would need to learn to read while also having to be still didn’t sit well with me. He wasn’t interested in coloring, and could barely hold a crayon or a fork. Then son #2 came along 17 months later. The same questions and general uneasiness surrounding the traditional preschool to public school route grew in my mind. These questions were the prompting of my Heavenly Father. He loves to direct my paths!

My granddaddy said, “Whatever you learn about parenting the first child, just throw it out the window, because it’s not gonna work on the second.” Those are profound words of wisdom. With 3 kids in my home, I observe they are each unique and endowed with their own superpowers. The way I see it, as their mother, it is my job to know them for who they are: the whole messy package! Here is what I know so far: my oldest child is “The Pioneer”, my middle is “The Discerner”, and my youngest is “The Adapter”. There are strengths and weaknesses in each of them, and strengths and weaknesses in me. This is what makes the curriculum question so tough and difficult to answer. Don’t you remember when you were in school that some subjects, schedules and teachers just jived? While others were difficult and seemed to tire you out? The amazing up-side to homeschooling is that I am in charge. This is also the dismaying down-side.

Wait for it…

Becoming a mother happened for me later in life, and to tell the truth, I felt I was too old to waste any time. So, I really didn’t start homeschooling officially until I could include my middle with my oldest. I just didn’t want to repeat things. I did the things that I saw most moms doing…shapes, colors, counting, a lot of talking, but as far as registering with my state and declaring my intent to homeschool, I just waited. Curriculum was on the far away horizon, and I spent my days living life, finding routines that worked for us, making memories and managing a home with 2 energetic boys.

Choices, Choices, Choices

I had an inkling that there were an abundance of curriculum choices, and oh. my. word. That first online search was overwhelming. Endless pages of endless options. And all of the choices claimed to be the best. My response? Realizing that the decision to homeschool actually flowed from the life of Another, and that this decision of mine was actually an act of obedience to Him, I simply stopped looking. Maybe I was paralyzed, but as I look back, I think I was just willing to wait. And as my Father would have it, I was part of a Moms group at my church, and that’s where my first-ever curriculum came from. Another mother asked if I was thinking of homeschooling, and she offered a preschool curriculum that she had used and finished. (I found that a lot of homeschooling families hang on to their stuff to pass along.) The interesting thing about that curriculum, was I learned I was living a lifestyle of schooling. So many of the lessons were actually just scripted conversations that I was already having with the boys as we lived our life. We talked about the things we saw as we went to the grocery store, the gas station, the zoo, and the construction site. We also observed and talked about the people we encountered. And then I realized, our life is the curriculum. And my philosophy for homeschooling was made apparent to me: My kids would learn to read in order to read the Bible. And that would be the framework for all of our other learning. I want my children to love learning, understand that all learning is not the same, and see the reality of the Scriptures come alive in their own life.

Evaluation

Do I think it’s wrong to follow a curriculum? No. Do I have curriculum? Yes. Does the curriculum make choices for me that I should be making for my kids? No. Have I started a curriculum and stopped it? Yes. We could talk for hours about curriculum, and come up with different answers. This is where I encourage you to stop. Listen. Find the rhythms of your own home and family. Does your child need an actual book to follow, or could this subject be taught better through informal, hands-on lessons? Do YOU need help in a subject, and prefer to hand off instruction to a DVD driven course, or a friend who is better informed in this particular area? Precious reader, these questions are best answered between you and the One who created you. Are you aware of your own strengths and weaknesses? I know Someone who knows me better than I know myself, and I trust Him to guide me into these answers…one homeschooling year at at time, and for each of my children.

Formal curriculum should only be a part of the plan you have, not dictate it. And if you can simplify your philosophy, your “why” of homeschooling, every other decision will be guided by that simplicity. If you have questions about homeschool, don’t be shy. Ask away. And when you receive the many different, nuanced answers, get with the One who created you, and come up with your own answer. He really does love to direct your paths.

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