Out of the Box

"Every curriculum makes a great servant and a terrible master."

I started my homeschooling journey using a boxed curriculum. It came with all the books and an open-and-go teacher's manual with lots and lots of boxes to check off to assure me I was educating my children properly. As time went on we couldn't keep up with all the box checking. At family dinner time dad would ask the kids what they learned during school and their replies were blank stares. Tears from the kids, as well as from me, along with their mounting resistance to lessons, brought me to a hard stop. Something had to change.

I don't think there is a "one size fits all" way of educating at home, but I do think there are some universal and natural laws that we can work with to effectively tap into a person's natural interest in learning. I wanted to spark that flame and nurture it and, thankfully, I discovered the Charlotte Mason method.

The first book I read that gave me a good introduction was "For the Children's Sake" by Susan Schaeffer. It was freedom from the box!  I began to develop my why from just wanting my kids to be home to wanting to really teach them. It grew to include priorities of character and relationship over task and busy work, comprehension over speed and a variety of subjects rich with meaning over dull, lifeless facts. My kids responded almost instantly to the shift and tears were replaced with, "school is fun!"

The Charlotte Mason method is not a magic wand. My kids still whine and complain at times and I don't have an open-and-go curriculum. But the freedom and sparks of joy from engaged learning are worth the work to stay out of the box.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

"Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow."

Helen Keller

Homeschooling- Finding Your Why

"We who teach should make it clear to ourselves that our aim in education is less conduct than character; conduct may be arrived at as we have seen by indirect routes, but it is of value to the world only as it has its source in character."

(Charlotte Mason Volume 6, chapter 8)

I've been homeschooling since my youngest was school age. He's now 14. My initial decision came from the main driving factor that after years of infertility, loss and finally adoption, I couldn't fathom sending him away to school for 8 hours a day when I wanted to be with him as much as possible. So I entered the world of homeschool. I don't regret my choice in educating at home but my "why" has grown over the years.

What I do wish someone would have told me all those years ago was to take time to consider the end goal of my child as person. We as parents have but a short window to guide and cultivate what is natural to every born person and that influence can be heightened if we as the guide have a clearer map to travel by.

If you are considering homeschooling or have been for years, I think this exercise is well worth the effort. When I began working out my "why" for homeschooling it changed our family culture in many positive ways. I continue to reassess and clarify my "why" as it helps keep my focus clearer and I am at peace knowing it will always be growing and changing just as my family does.

Some questions to consider:

*Do I want to copy the public school system? If no, can it look different?

*Can the love of learning be the focus and what methods best cultivate this?

*Is there more to education than just learning facts and taking tests?

*What foundations do I want my child to have when they leave home?