I already had some experience with Saxon Math and I knew
that was the route I wanted to go. I used it once before and I loved how
comprehensive it was, so math was easily taken care of. But what about the other subjects? Science, History,
Language Arts, Writing, Art, etc.; how was I going to find something that
worked for my family? Coming up with these subjects on my own was terrifying,
so I turned to my “experts”. They each had their own ideas of how it should be
done. I had one friend who was a big fan of the Thomas Jefferson Style mingled
with Charlotte Mason. I had one friend who was big into Kimber Academy. And
then I had a sister in law who was very eclectic. Some of them would give me books to read: Charlotte
Mason, Thomas Jefferson, Well-Trained Mind, etc. They would tell me I needed to
pick a style of learning/teaching; something I didn’t understand. I was pretty
one track minded, I just need a curriculum. How could I even think about a style? I didn’t
even understand what that meant. I just
wanted to know what to teach.
I was very blessed to have a friend with some resources, who
was able to through together a homeschooling conference for me (and other newly
starting out HSers). She gathered a
bunch of different speakers who talked about the different styles of
homeschooling. There was one for Thomas Jefferson, one for Charlotte Mason, one
for Unit Studies, and Kimber Academy, and some others I don’t remember too
well. She also had a speaker, Glen
Kimber, who spoke on homeschooling in general; he was by far my favorite.
I loved how each speaker explained the main points of “their”
style and then how they implicate it in their homes. Then afterwards, I was
able to thumb through some of the curriculum to get a feel for what the curriculum
was like. I learned that although I liked unit studies for some things, maybe
not as a complete way of learning. I learned that although Kimber Academy was
nice for some, it didn’t really click with my personality. I learned that there were parts of Thomas
Jefferson (TJ ed) and Charlotte Mason style that I loved, but I really couldn’t
commit to either one. I realized that I am just an eclectic type person, and
chose to pick and choose to do some TJed, some CM, and some Well-Trained Mind.
My favorite piece of information that I gathered from the
Conference came from Dr. Kimber. He said many wonderful things that I still
ponder upon today, but the thing that stood out most was “It takes a good three
years to get your groove in homeschooling”. I don’t know if those were his
exact words, but it is close. This
helped me so much the first couple of years, because I realized that it didn’t
have to be perfect to start out. I might try something and it may not work out,
but each year is a growing process. Each
year you get a little closer to finding your niche in how to go about it for
your family and what curriculum to use. This knowledge took a lot of pressure off of
my shoulders and helped me relax. We
took it slow and HAVE found what works for us.
In the end, I chose curriculum most similar to my sweet
sister-in-law. After my careful research and her tips on what she used and what
she wished she used, I chose curriculum that was very close to hers. Hey we are
family for a reason, similar personalities in certain aspects. That first year I chose Saxon for Math,
Apologia for Science, I Love America and Rainbow Book of American History for
history, Abeka Language for Language Arts, Spelling Power for spelling, some
random penmanship books, etc. There were
things I liked, some things I didn’t, some things the kids didn’t like, and
some things I thought we could improve on.
The thing I love about homeschooling is knowing where my
kids are in their learning, knowing their strengths, and knowing their weaknesses.
I like that if something isn’t working I can change to something that will
work. I like that there is so much to choose from and that there is something
out there for every personality and every type of learner. I like that I don’t
have to settle for mediocre, and that I GET TO CHOOSE what is right for my
children. I like living on MY schedule and that I can choose our days off and
not rely on someone else’s schedule. I found that life is easier for my family,
we are happier, and we spend more time together quantity wise and quality wise.
We have had so much fun with our field trips and learning so far. We have grown
through the years and we have found our groove. We have tried different types
of curriculums, we have come back to some of our originals, and we have found
some that work better for us. We have
thrived!
We are still growing and changing and improving each year.
It has been a wonderful journey for us. The number one thing I have found was to
include God. I have learned to pray
before buying any curriculum, and it has saved us tons of money. Through
prayer, I have been guided to buy curriculum that I originally had no interest
in, and it has become some of my favorites.
Through prayer, I have also been guided to not buy certain curriculum
that I thought I would like, which I am sure has saved me a ton of money
because I know God knows my personality and he knows what will and won’t work
for us. There have been three times only that I didn’t pray about certain
curriculum, because I was overly confident thinking I knew I would love it.
Each time I have bought without praying for direction first, I have HATED what
I bought. They were expensive mistakes,
even if I can resale them in the end. I don’t have a lot of money to spend, and
most of what I buy needs to be an investment.
When I waste money on curriculum that doesn’t work for us it annoys me
to no end. So my greatest advice I could give anyone starting out is this:
Pray, Pray, Pray. Pray for guidance for your family’s needs. Pray about your curriculum.
Pray for help to know how to get started. And pray to know His will. God knows
you better than anyone else, even better than you know yourself, and he can
guide you to know how to teach your family in the best way that will bring you
the most success and joy.
Good Luck in your personal adventures.
