- Be Brave
- Plan Ahead
- Be Flexible
- Use What You Have (and What You Can Find Online)
- Use Your Local Library
- Put It Together
It’s very popular in both healthy eating and frugal living
circles these days to advocate buying “ingredients,” rather than packages of
food-type products. Personally, I believe the same approach applies to homeschooling.
Think of all those expensive, planned-for-you curricula as
boxes of macaroni and cheese. Now, they may be lovely, all-natural, organic
macaroni and cheese and might be worth it if your family is really in a rush
for dinner now and then. But I’m pretty sure we all know you can make truly
great mac ‘n cheese with some simple ingredients. Most of us think it tastes at
least as good as the boxed stuff (maybe better), and it costs a fraction of the
price.
If, like me, you grew up on the stuff in the blue box,
buying ingredients instead of that shiny, familiar package can be very
intimidating. Using the box provides consistent, if not exciting, results. And
it doesn’t require much from us. We can be pretty sure of getting it right
every time of we just follow the directions printed on the back.
I’m sure most of us who are parents understand that our
children’s education is something extremely valuable and important. And there
is certainly a sense of security in being able to rely on someone else to tell
us how to do it correctly. In other words, since most of us probably went to
brick-and-mortar schools for our own educations, the idea that education is
something defined by an outside authority offers just as much ease and security
as that store-bought pasta side dish.
Personally, I think that explains the appeal of the huge
variety of all-in-one curriculum packages available to homeschoolers. I’ve
certainly felt the pull myself, now and then. It seems so comforting, so easy
to let someone else tell me just what my children need to learn, when and how
they need to learn it, especially if they are accommodating enough to sell me
all the supplies in one, neat box.
I never know whether I feel amused or saddened when I hear
of people who don’t seem to know how to do anything without a product to help
them.For example, there was the woman who posted on an online message board in a panic, because she had planned baked potatoes for that night’s dinner, but she was out of aluminum foil. She truly didn’t know that wrapping the potatoes was not a necessary part of the process. I honestly can’t imagine growing all the way into adulthood and not knowing this simple fact. But the thing that bemuses me almost more is the idea that she was so scared to just try baking those potatoes without the foil. She, apparently, didn’t know how to “be brave.”
And just like there are many ways to cook a potato, I don’t
believe there is any one “right” way to educate your children. The "best" curricula or educational method or philosophy for your kids is the one that works for you and for them. You have to be comfortable teaching, and they have to be able to learn and, we hope, enjoy the learning.
I believe that designing your own curricula, using materials that won't make you panic or stress about your budget, can make those things happen for your family. And I hope that I can be helpful with advice about how to do it.