Curriculum catalogs are daily arriving in the mail. Registration forms for endless amounts of homeschool conventions are joining them. I hear the excitement in blog world about curriculum ordering time! It’s landing upon us. There are coupons, ads, and free shipping deals everywhere.
There are SO many choices. They all kind of scare me, honestly. There is a trap out there of endless planning and purchasing curriculum. I have seen it and don’t want it to become the focus of school for us. I love party planning and event planning. Believe me, sitting in that trap, would be quite comfortable for me. Looking through catalogs and living online for hours is not out of the question. Choosing from all the bright new shiny books, fun educational helps, charts, planners…and what about all the extras involved with electives, field trips and art? I’m hyperventilating just thinking about it.
The bottom line is this. The end result hopefully will be the same with whatever method or curriculum company you choose. Learning. So, how much does it REALLY matter? I have no answer for this, unfortunately.
I have read that if a curriculum isn’t working. Stop using it and try something new. I have to say, I am not sure I agree with that 100% of the time. Especially when you are new to homeschooling. Simply because it could usher you right into this trap of never really getting to the learning aspect. Maybe down the line if I had more years of experience behind me, I could see this being the case.
A big lesson I have learned after my extensive 113 days of homeschooling behind me is: Don’t forget to TEACH. After all this is homeSCHOOL. Don’t get caught up too much in the how, where, when, and why. If you do you may never actually get to looking at the “what” of it. Homeschooling is not simply about the curriculum. Learning how to balance both teacher and mom, how to integrate school into our home, help my children through the adjustment of being at home, and deal with the new found relationship dynamics in my home. These are at the top of my priority list, for now. The way I figure it, there are EXPERTS who are writing and producing all of these fab books and programs. They have sometimes hundreds of years behind them. I’m pretty sure they are all gonna work, right?
Curriculum is important, do not get me wrong. It just needs to be in the correct place on the priority list. It’s too easy to become consumed. Being overwhelmed will make me lose sight of all of the valuable things.
School days march on. Vacation is staring at me. I can hear it calling…
Now there is just 56 school days left until summer.
interesting . i don’t home school my 4 kids but i wish i could. i’m not home a lot of the time to put the effort into it, but our public schools are failing our kids, IMO.
my 9 year old is autistic and falling through the cracks at school. we’re trying to work with him more at home, but you only have so much time…
Alas, I am too late for your advice! I’m on the other side and have piles and piles of books that I’ve bought…and can’t get rid of them. *sigh* I love books but am too lazy to do anything to clear out the old to make room for the new. To do it over…I would buy A LOT less!!
Stacy
I know! I’ve been there. I agree…if it’s been out there for awhile it’s gonna work right? I just would hate to spend all that money and have it be a program that we don’t like! Ugh! That’s where I’m stuck (among other things). I recently was made aware of timberdoodle.com. I don’t know if doing everything on the computer would ultimately work for my kid, but I like the idea of it. Sonlight is on my list too!
Here’s to making a decision
Hi
Thanks for coming by my blog! Yours is a lot of fun!
Swati
Thanks for following Mungee and Me through Friday Follow. I am in awe that you are homeschooling your children and have another one on the way. I can’t get it together enough to make dinner one night a week on average. I hope eventually I will find my way like you have. How do you find balance?
Sonlight is a good multi age program. I loved the reading out loud together. I love literature in general and some of the best days we’ve had homeschooling is sharing the books in Sonlight’s program. We even “sucked in” the plumber one day — he happened to be working on the dishwasher while we were reading and just couldn’t resist joining in on our discussion!
Darcy, Cheantelle has used Sonlight more extensively and “by the book” than me — I’ve dabbled in it. So if you want some advice on that particular one, she’d be a good one to ask. Also, she and I are using South Sutter charter if you still want info on that! Sonlight also works out well cost wise in that many of their books are available from the library.