Searching for True Education - Part 3 - The Curricula Battle

“Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” - William Butler Yeats

One of the most used phrases in the homeschool community that I have read is... don't do "school at home".  In other words, don't copy what the school does, the way they do it.  I can understand that because the way the school works is not proving to be the BEST way.  However, when that is all you know, and what you are comfortable with, it takes some time and some experimentation to see what is going to work for your family.  

I have experimented and experimented.  My poor daughter, Laura, is my guinea pig.  She is the one I try everything out on.  I guess I'm lucky she is somewhat easy going or she would have rebelled and lashed back at me by now.  The first year I brought her home, I pretty much copied the school's system.  I added lots of reading aloud and Bible stories, but the other subjects were all similar to the school... except as Christian based as I could make them.  The second year I tried some Charlotte Mason curriculum, but went to trusty workbooks when the Charlotte Mason philosophies were a little too different for me.  It wasn't the way I had been educated.  Even though I wanted different, the actual application of different made me feel that my child wasn't receiving a "good enough" education.  She thought it was different too, and after three years of public school and a year of "school at home", was afraid she wasn't doing things right.

Well, we burned out on the workbooks fairly quickly.  I tried to spice them up, but having to add stuff only made the burnout worse.  So, after a lot of research, we adjusted back to Charlotte Mason style.  

 

There is so much available out there for homeschoolers!  When I hear the stories of pioneer homeschoolers that had almost nothing available to them, even from Christian schools, to use to educate their children, I am grateful for all the options open to us.   Those options can be totally overwhelming though.  It takes some focus on defining how you want to educate your children, what your priorities are,  and some learning about how your own children learn to get to a place where you can honestly say most of the options won't work for you. 

I have been blessed with years where I could afford hundreds of dollars for curriculum, and could buy brand new.  Then I have been blessed with years where I could only piece it all together, or buy a little here and there.  Yes, I said blessed, because the lessons you learn about teaching when you have to piece it together are many.  I learned how to create unit studies, how to find the best books at the library through the jumble of pop culture rubbish.  

One of the greatest lessons when you can't afford an extravagant curriculum is how to make sure your money goes to things that are most important.  For instance, having a quality math program on hand is important.  Buying Christian materials that your library just isn't going to have is important.  I have been in the spot where I had to make some tough choices about what I could afford.  I have baked bread for months on end to sell at the farmer's market, just to afford my daughter's high school curriculum.  I have found amazing deals on Ebay, and spent the little money I had, only to have the wrong stuff arrive, or materials where half of it is missing.  While this is rare, it has happened.  It always seems to happen when I am in a situation where I can't afford to re-purchase the materials.

I enjoy, like anyone would, buying new.  It is like Christmas morning when "Box Day" arrives, and delivery man drops off the box or boxes loaded with books and materials.  We've had a couple of those days.  It is so fun!  I spend days going through the stuff.  The girls enjoy looking through all the new books.  I find room on shelves for the materials.  It's great!  If I could do it every year, I would.  I had made the decision that I would buy materials at tax time every year so that I could afford the best.  Then, this tax year rolled around.  God had convicted me that it was time to pay off as much debt as possible.  By the time we did that, money for homeschool was very limited.   The good news... we only owe on our house with the exception of our regular bills (utilities, insurance, etc.).  The bad news... I won't be able to afford that $900 hundred dollar curriculum for 7th grade and that $200 curriculum for Kindergarten.

Where once I would have felt panic in my heart, this year I have peace.  I did what God told me to do and I am trusting Him to provide.  There is a weight off of my shoulders with the debt paid down.  It is worth piecing things together to make sure that our finances are in order.  With my older two girls in college, the money coming into our family to support them will be stopping.  That is a large chunk, and I want to ensure that I can continue to remain home where I can homeschool my younger children. God has come through for us a lot this past year in many areas.  I have to trust that He will come through with homeschooling.  

I did feel led to purchase e-readers for our home.  Laura has a very basic Nook.  I have a Nook Color. With it, I can download so many free or cheap books for school!  With curriculum sites online such as Ambleside Online and An Old Fashioned Education, I know that I can provide my children with a quality curriculum.  I love Heart of Dakota, which I have used for the last couple of years.  This curriculum costs, but if God wants me to use this particular curriculum, the money will arrive that I need. 

 

Either way, that curriculum battle that I always waged in my heart is not there any longer.   It has taken years for the fear of "Am I doing enough" to fade.  It "grass is always greener" syndrome isn't there this year either.  Goodness, I think I have tried nearly every type of education there is with the exception of Unschooling.... and I have been tempted many times to try that too!  I have learned that it is very nice to have the money to buy a program where everything is included and the plan is all laid out for you.  However, that can be inflexible too.  You have to use the books listed.  You have to pretty much keep the schedule laid out.  When I couldn't read aloud for two weeks because of illness, I was totally behind in our Storytime.  I still haven't caught up.  It just got to the point where I had to assign the reading to Laura cause I couldn't do it. 

Wherever direction God sends us this year, I am praying that His will for our homeschool be brought to fruition.  I am praying that He guide me daily, that He bring available the materials He wants us to use.  I am praying that He remains the foundation and the focus of our schooling, since we are doing all of this for His Glory.