Homeschool Momma Overwhelm
Homeschool Overwhelm
Home educating our
children has been one of my greatest blessing and challenges. I struggle with selecting the “perfect”
curriculum for our kids. I compound that
struggle by picking apart every little thing I like and dislike about each one
I pick, and I have picked plenty!
Let’s just say right
this very moment in my house we have not 1, not 2 but 9 learning to read options! We have 6 math options, 7 history/social
science options, 5 science options, at least 5 language arts options, 4
preschool options plus 2 foreign languages.
You think I’m indecisive
don’t you…you might be right…you might not be.
You see I am educated in the ways of modern education. I went through public school, 4 years of
college, taught in public school… shoot I even went back to school to get my M.Ed
in CURRICULUM, Instruction and Assessment.
You would think all that dang education (and debt) makes me well
equipped to pick curriculum for my students.
It doesn’t mean a hill of beans!
You see my kids (or yours) don’t fit a box or a standard. God designed each of them uniquely. Their talents, their learning styles, their strengths,
and their weaknesses are all designed by God.
I will never pick the “perfect” curriculum because it doesn’t exist.
“We do the best with
the options we have, and God will do the rest.”
Oh, how easy that statement is to say and how difficult it is to live. I still am swimming in a sea of curriculum
options. I must change my mindset…my
husband on the other hand lives this mindset daily. Needless to say, he doesn’t understand my conundrum.
Our school year starts
in less than 2 weeks, YIKES! Have I finalized
my choices? NO!!! A sweet friend asked me last week at dinner what
I had decided…because said friend already had nailed hers down…I just stared blankly
at her for a moment. My
deer-in-headlight answer…something we already own. My husband rolled his eyes…more books arrived
this week.
Another dear friend and
I were discussing options and she mentioned she hadn’t even started looking for
next year…my anxiety began to twitch…she rattles off a few things she is
interested in looking at more closely…I offer her my copies to explore, because
yes, I owned them all.
We live in a unique
time to home educate our children. We probably
live in the most accommodating time of the last 100 years to chose home education. We have a plethora of options, support, and
community to rely on. We aren’t bound to
just a few publishers who tweak classroom packages for the homeschool. We have whole million-dollar companies
dedicated to us!! And there is the
problem…they are all vying for our attention, our money, and our loyalty.
So how do you
decide? Pray! Once you have finished praying…you might have
to do it again and again especially if you are like me pouring out your heart
in prayer but not yielding to listen. Once
I slowed down and yielded to what HE was trying to guide me to…I realized a few
things…
1.
It is more
important that my home be Christ-centered, than a school centered.
2.
Children
for centuries have learned in multi-age groups.
Mommas you know that your tag-a-along picks up on things long before
your bigs because they have heard the lessons…sometimes repeatedly.
3.
Learning isn’t
always neat and tidy, nor does it always look like textbooks and worksheets
4.
Our children
must be able to communicate well in written and oral language. They need to be well read and able to express
themselves, defend their faith and move people with their passion.
5.
We have to
prioritize relationships over test scores.
Does this mean we are
not going to have structured learning?
NO!!! I am NOT an unschooler by any means. It means that I have a few days before I have
to nail things down. I am going to sit
back and enjoy some time exploring and perusing rabbit trails. I am going to pray. I am going to discuss it further with my
husband and together we will decide on a plan to fit our family, our life and
most of all focus on our faith in Christ Jesus.
Until we meet again may
God bless you real good,
Caci