Jun. 5, 2007 - The Decisive Homeschooler
This morning I sat over coffee looking out at the rain, thanking God for leading me to the Winter Promise curriculum for my family. I was putting together our materials for the week, and enjoying the simplicity of following the lesson plans.
I use a 3 ring binder to hold what we need for the week in plastic pocket dividers- the lesson plan page for the week, the timeline figures, maps, Make Your Own History pages, etc. I slide read-alouds and readers into their own pocket, too, to prevent me from losing them! I appreciate having everything in one place, and after having used a rigorous curriculum (it took 4 3" binders just to hold the lesson plans!) I rejoice in this simplicity.
This morning the Lord was showing me why this system works for me. In a nutshell, it works because it narrows the amount of decisions I have to make each day in running our homeschool. I have friends who use no curriculum, and this works beautifully for them. They are able to make a million decisions a day for each and every child in their homeschool. They pick which books each child will read next; pick which passages their child will use for copywork; create a spelling list from scratch. . .well, you get the picture. I could never do that. I would suffer what I joking call "Squirrel in the Road Syndrome." Yes, I would dash frantically from one extreme to the other, and eventually be road kill!
When I've tried other methods, particularly unit studies, we've had some small successes. Yet more often than not, I felt like. . .well, like I feel when I eat at Subway. It is an eatery I strive to avoid. Why? I simply can't make the decisions necessary to build a sandwich. White or wheat? Mayo, mustard? Which vegetables do you want?" Ugh! I end up tearfully saying, "Can you just make it like the picture in number 3? If I like it, I'll order it again. If not, I won't."
A friend and I studied Russian together in college. She was able to spend a summer in Russia and later her host family came to visit in New Hampshire. She took them to grocery shop at Shaws. They were in the pet food aisle when the Mama finally broke down in tears. She simply couldn't believe that there were so many choices for pet food. An overhwelming abundance of choices for dogs, when she came from a land of hungry people and limited material goods. The Lord brought that to mind, because it is often how I feel about the outrageous number of materials being marketed to homeschoolers. I pray sincerely for peace for all new homeschooling moms who must make a thousand decisions just to get started. It is wearying.
What can a homeschool mom do to avoid being a Squirrel in the Road? She can be a decisive homeschooler. This means eliminating many options and steeling herself to not be tempted by methods and programs her friends are using, when she knows in her heart it isn't right for her. For me, it means avoiding the computer and catalogs when I am experiencing the turbulent indecisiveness of PMS for several days a month. It also means being decisive by delegating and not reinventing the wheel in every academic area for every child. What helps you to be a decisive homeschooler? |
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Jun. 5, 2007 - Thank you for sharing...
Nothing scares me worse than needing to make a snap judgement about what to use. In that way we are alike... I would be a bad candidate for building my own curriculum from scratch because I would be second guessing myself constantly.
There is also a certain amount of loyalty in my mindset, which I have had to release so that I can make a few small tweaks or adjustments to personalize our program. My box-checking mentality can get in the way if I am not careful.