Before I begin our "day in the life..." entries, I wanted to take some time to outline our personal homeschool ideals.  As you can tell from the title, our "schooling" would most likely fit in the eclectic category.  I've heard many varied and complicated definitions of eclectic homeschooling, but to us it's pretty simple.  We choose our resources with a certain end in mind.  I'll explain more in a minute, but first a disclaimer:

 

I am certainly not going to look down upon other homeschoolers who use an across-the-board, pre-packaged curriculum.  I truly believe that God gave each of our families specific traits so that different curricula work for different families.  I also believe that even within the same family, different choices are going to be needed at different times.  But for us, eclectic homeschooling and the freedoms that go with it are exactly what our family needs. 

 

So what exactly does eclectic homeschooling look like?  Well, in planning for the next year I begin with the end in mind.  The first things to consider is what people in authority are going to require from us.  (Otherwise known as the School Board and Daddy!  )  Then I take a look at where my child is academically, emotionally, spiritually, and compare that with where I want them to be at the end of the year, and choose my resources from those goals.

 

Am I worried about gaps?  No, not a bit.  There are always going to be gaps.  There is no text available that covers every subject at a comprehensive level.  It just isn't possible.  What I do want is for my child to love to learn and how to educate his or herself.  Once these things are ingrained, anything else can be picked up at any time it's needed.

 

This will be our fifth year homeschooling, so I'm not an expert at this by any means.  But I have found some freedoms in eclectic homeschooling that I want to mention:

 

1) Freedom to make your own schedule- You want to have two heavy science days to take advantage of a certain project?  Go for it!  You plan it yourself so you don't feel the guilt of getting "behind" on someone else's schedule because your children were learning something else.  Or worse yet, you miss the chance to get some amazing hands-on learning because you're a slave to the curriculum instead of the other way around.

 

2) Freedom to tailor your curriculum to your child- So Johnny needs to learn basic grammar, but is reading well above grade level?  Skip the packaged language arts curriculum, buy a grammar book and move through it as quickly as Johnny needs, not as quickly as someone else tells you to.

 

3) Freedom to chase rabbit trails- This is probably my favorite of the list.  The most productive days for us are when we get interested in something we just can't let go of.  When we read The Apple and the Arrow, I looked up William Tell on the internet, and found the William Tell overture.  A couple more clicks of the mouse, and we're watching a YouTube video of a guy who can play the William Tell overture on his hands.  The kids loved it!  Frivolous, you think?  Just last week we were watching something where a lady was singing a certain tune...Ben piped up and said, "Hey, Mom, that's the William Tell Overture!"  If you enjoy it, it's gonna stick!

 

4) Freedom to take advantage of the library- There is absolutely no better resource for homeschoolers than their public library.  Rather than reading about the Civil War in a textbook, round up your crew and take them to check out a few books.  A great historical novel will lead to a nonfiction book will lead to a website search will lead to a Civil War nut buff.  I should know.  I'm married to one.

 

The library has so many other advantages as well.  It's a great habit to keep throughout life for any lover of learning.  It's also a great responsibility to teach children to take care of things. 

 

5) Freedom to build relationships- I know that if my children were using pre-packaged curricula, their time together would be more limited.  As it is, I can choose certain topics to teach to them together.  Some of my greatest mommy-moments are when I hear Ben & Lily pretending to be characters in a book we've read together.

 

For more information on eclectic homeschooling, check out Eclectic Homeschooline Online or the HOMEschool Fellowship Message Board.

 

I'm excited to keep tabs on our day tomorrow and share it with you!