the perfect homeschool curriculum
Wednesday, February 11, 2009 at 12:05PM 
There is so much variety out there in the homeschooling world — classical, Charlotte Mason, Montessori, Reggio Emilia, Waldorf, Enki, Saxon, Thomas Jefferson, unit studies, unschooling, literature-based, and a whole host of boxed curricula to choose from.
The enormous variety of choices — not to mention the people you meet in the homeschooling community with such strong opinions — can lead to analysis paralysis.
You may find yourself seeking and seeking, sampling and trying out, always wondering, like a 53-year-old divorced man on Match.com, if there isn’t something maybe a little bit better just around the next corner.
We read a bit of truth that another person says and it resonates with us as something we already believe to be true, so we take that as a sign that this is meant for us … until we read further and find something that jars, so we take that as a sign it isn’t meant for us after all.
If you ask your five-year-old child what they want to study for their project, they may very enthusiastically shout out suggestions: “boats! giraffes! BACON!”
If you instead quietly document how they play, what they talk about, what draws their interest again and again, you may come up with something entirely different, something more authentic (based on how they actually interact with the world, and not what seemed interesting in that moment you asked).
In the same way, before we go out to pull a homeschool curriculum off the shelf, we should spend some quiet time documenting our own thoughts, feelings, values, and goals — the things we already know to be true.
Then we can go out and explore what’s out there, the work that has already been done by someone else. And we can hold it up against our own personal compass and see how it fits. But we should feel free to take what works for us and discard the rest. Take the ideas that fit with what we want to accomplish, consider the ideas that we aren’t sure about and be open to trying things out, but simply set aside what doesn’t fit with what we know to be true.
Because the perfect homeschool curriculum is the one that is perfect for you, and there’s only one you. So it is highly unlikely that you will find an off-the-rack solution that fits like a glove.
All of these approaches are made of ideas, and ideas are endlessly malleable and transmutable. You can break these approaches apart like LEGO creations and fit ideas together in a new way, a way that works for you.
Trust yourself.
A joyful life is an individual creation that cannot be copied from a recipe. — Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, 1990
Reader Comments (59)
thank you, so very much. might that we all be and become the little sponges our kids are trying to teach US to emulate...
That said, my son loves the story work in Enki. But math wasn't challenging enough for him, and I couldn't keep up with the circle and movement activity once we had a new baby. So what? We still use the stories. If I'm feeling energetic, I haul out one of the games/manipulatives to play with. We went in another direction with math. He's investigating All Things Space as an offshoot of his Jupiter project. There's not one educational philosophy I've come across that I agree with wholeheartedly and/or can implement in full. Like you said, we make our own. It's been a learning process for all of us.
amy, there are *so many purists* out there who revile you for not following their approach down to the letter. i’m convinced this is because people *need* to know that they are doing the “right thing” (like there’s One Right Thing) and if you pick and choose from the buffet, then you are making them feel less sure of their choice. blind followers don’t inspire me. people with real experiences who can share what has worked for them and let you find your own way are rare.
thank you, teri! ;^)
Lovely ideas. Thanks for sharing.
I would love to share this link with you for a new book we just got:
http://www.amazon.com/My-Map-Book-Sara-Fanelli/dp/0060264551/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234385785&sr=8-1
'My Map Book' - check t out when you have time
LX
lynn, hey, that’s what wisdom is! things we learned the hard way. ;^)
anna, thank you! (and sometimes we do the wave. ;^)
brynn, philosophy has a way of becoming curriculum. i think this same need to trust ourselves applies to making life choices -- we’re tempted to pick something up whole and say “yes, this will do!” when really we need to be finding our own path. we are inspired by the life someone else leads and think “that’s what i want!” when really, we need to tease out what it is about their life that appeals to us and stop trying to be another person. we deserve a unique, custom life!
i think you are right about labels — they are a shortcut for identifying each other, and we use them to say something about ourselves and to fit in with the group we want to fit in with. it’s hard to step out and be yourself.
thank you, lynn, and the book looks wonderful — i can’t wait to get a hold of it!
Is it really okay if my boys spend most of their time playing Legos and talking about Legos?:)
thanks for so much encouragement and inspiration.
nancy, i guess that’s up to you! :^)
gonzomama, starting early is wonderful! and thank you. :^)
Although we don't currently follow any curriculum, and I don't see us doing so in the near future, I would imagine that if we did pick one I would have to put my own learning style and processing aside and pick what would work best for her... not for me (as a learner). Finding a happy medium with my ablity to process it enough to "teach" it and her desire to take part in the whole thing.
Any thoughts on meshing two different styles when choosing learning tools?
Smiles!
Thanks for the insights!