Don't Let Your Curriculum "Own You"

When I first started homeschooling, I reverted to what I knew: the methods of the public school classroom.  Each child had their work area (we couldn't afford individual desks, so seats at the kitchen table served just as well).  We said the Pledge of Allegiance each day.  I bought a boxed curriculum that laid out what I should share with my children, day by day.  We had scheduled hours.  We had recess.

It wasn't too long before we jettisoned all of that, and found our own way.

One benefit of homeschooling is the ability to customize your child's education.  It's okay to follow the suggested timelines, scope, and methods of whatever curriculum you use. 

But when the curriculum starts to "own you," to hem your children in, to bore them, to squash creative moments because they don't fit in the schedule, it's time to break free.

• Is the weather nice? Go for a bike ride, even during scheduled school hours.  Especially in the winter around here, you need to seize the day(light). 

• Is someone sick?  Have a "let's watch documentary videos day."  Your kids will absorb some history and information, and you can count it as school.

• Are your kids burned out on the workbooks you are using?  Try skipping ahead and letting them "test out" of information they already know.  Don't kill the joy of learning with brain-numbing repetition. 

• Is a child falling behind?  Don't keep plowing through the material at the scheduled pace.  Go over the lesson again.  Find other books, curriculum, websites that teach the material in a way different from what you've been doing.  Sometimes it just take a different approach to unlock a concept in your child's brain.  Sometimes my kids have been behind in a subject all year, only to "get it" the next year.  Don't give up!

• Have a "cultural education" afternoon.  My son was the only student in his community college class who understood a reference to the movie, "The Princess Bride."  I know several teens who wouldn't know the reference to the phrase, "To boldly go where no man has gone before."  These details may seem trivial, yet without them our children will miss cultural references in the books they read, jokes they are told, movies they watch, or professors they hear.  From Indigo Montoya to Captain Kirk, you'll do your kids a favor by filling them in on some of these things.

• Taking a break from the day-in, day-out schedule can revitalize your kids' interest in learning, and refresh you as well.  Don't let the curriculum "own you" or determine how your school flows.

Remember why you're doing this in the first place, and take advantage of the flexibility.  Let me know how this works for you!