My Macbook has recently become a dear friend. It is here I pour out my soul, letting the words flow from my heart to the page. Writing has always been a pleasure to me; I enjoy getting the thoughts and feelings and ideas onto paper. It’s also something that comes more naturally to me, by the grace of God, so I excelled in school, even when I was presented with a less appealing assignment. Usually I could get away with writing one or two drafts of an essay and get an A.
I mention my love of writing because as a homeschooling mom, the pressure to pick a philosophy and a curriculum weighs on me every year. So far writing in particular has been dismal at best. What I find so enjoyable my almost-5th-grader could care less about. Her passions are art and piano. She’s getting interested in popular music. She’s become a voracious reader, by the grace of God. Yet her thoughts don’t flow from her head to the page as easily as they do for me and I struggle to find a way to bring this medium to her.
Homeschooling a child with such different natural talents than my own has brought challenges I never expected. I cannot simply pick what I would enjoy. And funny enough, my love for writing has come about in spite of public education. The only enjoyable writing experience I remember was in middle school. We had to write a descriptive paragraph. I found pouring over the thesaurus and bringing that ship cabin to life brought me immense joy, probably because I was reading a lot of Stephen King at the time. He enjoys a good description!
So that’s what I want for my kids. I want them to enjoy “school,” to not groan as they pull their chair out around the dining table but curl up as we embark on learning together. How can I make this happen? As I begin to read Real Learning Revisited by Elizabeth Foss, I once again ponder what it is that I want out of this experience of education in our home.
There are so many philosophies! Charlotte Mason and Classical seem to be at separate ends of the spectrum. Math has to be taught! Do I want a rigorous writing program? Can I teach grammar through a living book? So many questions encircle my brain, and heart, as I consider how this next year will go. Each year seems to bring with it its own flavor, its own events, its own possibilities and limitations. No two years in my homeschool have thus looked the same. Is it because I am still searching for the philosophy that feeds my soul while educating my children at the same time?
Everything about Charlotte Mason pulls me in, and then I get overwhelmed by all of the books! Usually our budget won’t allow for me to do all things CM. Then I hear talk of college prep and critical thinking. I love the grammar, logic, and rhetoric stages. That makes so much sense, and I tend to be skeptical of “new” educational theories, as so much of the world is constantly trying to reinvent the wheel; meanwhile, the wheel has been perfected and is ready to use! Is that the case with Classical education?
And then there are the personalities of each child. One child may enjoy a Charlotte Mason education. Other children may yearn for a workbook and concrete boxes to check. How can I merge different personalities along with my own?
These are questions that haunt me as I begin my homeschool planning for Fall. I have three months: three months to rest, to reflect, to consider. But ultimately I must decide. I must pray and trust, knowing that God will fill in the gaps, that these are His souls to do with as He sees fit. My failures will not be wasted and my successes will not be my own.
If this post relates to you, let me know in the comments. Homeschooling is not for the weak or the lazy. Most homeschoolers vehemently love their children and want their children to succeed in life. Yet, defining what a “successful education” is is that first step many of us skip, at least I did, because the cries from others and the busyness of life can outpace our thoughts. We need peace and prayer to make these decisions. In the end, any choice will work, because homeschool is 90% about love and 10% about work. And as I said, most homeschoolers choose this path completely out of love.
Question: What subject did you enjoy or excel at (can be one without the other) during your formative years?
Here are some books I’m currently reading as I ponder these questions:
I was good at almost every school subject, but I loved to write. Poetry mostly and then I started a short story in middle school. Not sure when I stopped writing creatively, but I miss it dearly.
I homeschool my eight-year-old son, and I lean heavily Charlotte Mason myself. What I have found helps is not to get stuck in a box of being a purist or a perfectionist. I add in some curricula that wouldn’t be considered CM, but I adhere to the short time blocks even with those. I think with her method of short, focused lessons, we can have the best of both worlds, all the beauty of the arts and nature as well as the “rigors” of math, logic etc. I plug my choices (LA, math, science) into a CM schedule while making sure to still bring in the arts and nature study as well.
I’m so happy you will be sharing your thoughts here!
I think it’s possible for some moms to become preoccupied with having to put a label on their homeschooling technique. I know when I first started, I felt that I had to research all the different methods and then clearly define what our homeschooling philosophy was. It was stressful! I felt so much peace when I was like, you know what? I’m just going to find a curriculum that works for us, and go from there. So that’s what we did. Our family uses Seton, and it’s been working great. My daughter does better with structure and “box checking” ( as do I!). Charlotte Mason appealed to me, too; but like you, the amount of books was overwhelming! So we use all Seton, and then I let my daughter pick out books on whatever she’s interested in, and we read them together. She’ll write her own stories and pictures on the topic. It’s fun for her.
But anyway! Homeschooling is definitely a huge blessing, and like you said, not for the lazy!
I’m not even homeschooling yet because my daughter is only 3 1/2, but it is totally my intention to homeschool her. And I’m already overwhelmed by theories and curriculum. I also have a masters degree in nursing education so I probably look at it differently anyway. What I’m already struggling with is similar to you – I don’t want to do things I didn’t enjoy in school. I did not at all like most of the “classic” children’s literature. And I don’t want to read it to her now either! So I’ve really come to the conclusion that we will do what God leads us to do and what works for us. I’m really trying to not let society dictate what and how I teach my daughter or when I teach it. We’ll see how that works out once we’re in the thick of it 😆. For now, any books she wants to read we read and we work on fine motor and just learning through play. And maybe a workbook page or 2 or 10 😉 or whenever she wants to stop.
Have you considered MODG enrollment. It really seemed to be the perfect mix for our family. It was enough to stay on track but not so much it felt overwhelming of oppressive. Testing correlates with grade level so, only a yearly test for K-2 on just reading /writing /math. quartlery testing for 3-5 on only reading/writing /math. Also you can change out curriculum and your consultant can help you use your curriculum choice in a “classical”way. I switch their math/spelling for teaching textbooks and Seton spelling. Also they have online classes for things that you might not want to teach or have difficulty teaching. I enrolled my oldest in their Latin class this year because I have no experience with Latin. I didn’t teach a thing and he excelled in their once a week class. If money is a concern, know that you can pay monthly (how I do it), also they have financial aid for enrollment and for online classes. Also about 70 percent of the curriculum books I would say could be use with a second student!. Also much of their curriculum is purely books which could be bought used. I’m not trying to talk you into anything it has just been such a wonderful fit for our family.and your homeschool method and struggles(that you have shared) seem similar to mine. after a year of MODG I just know I’m in it with them for the long haul. Yes I might not use each and every book they recommend but God,willingly I plan to stick with them through highschool. It’s also nice knowing that highschool is taken care of and if I am unable to teach a specific subject that MODG online courses are there to help . Okay sorry I sound like an infomercial for MODG!🤣