How to Simplify the Curriculum
Let’s get a little practical. Most of us take on way too much in our homeschools. Education becomes a series of checkboxes and canned activities in an effort to prove that learning is happening, even when it isn’t.
We feel turbulent when we try to facilitate this kind of frenzied, quantifiable learning.
Oftentimes, we either become disconnected slave drivers or we give up altogether, accepting the illusion that happy, healthy relationships and rigorous home education simply cannot coexist.
There is another way.
It boils down to stepping off the crazy train, rethinking the model we are operating under, and intentionally setting out to participate in slow, sane education.
Today let’s start by taking on just three principles that can help us think about how we can simplify the curriculum we’ve either purchased or created for our children.
3 principles
- Do less.
- Integrate.
- Understand the limitations of published resources.
1. Do less
(Brilliant, eh? That’s why you come here: for my groundbreaking genius.) ;)
I’m serious, though: track fewer subjects. Who says you need to do math, writing, literature, science, history, foreign language, religion, vocabulary, handwriting, art, music, and poetry all year long?
Here’s a little secret: you don’t. And chances are, if you are trying to do all of those subjects, you very likely aren’t doing a very good job at any of them.
Yes, we want a wide and generous education for our children. We want them to have a broad understanding of the big beautiful world, of the tragic failures and glorious breakthroughs in history, the lyrical beauty of prose and poetry, the order and art of mathematics…
But as Dr. Perrin explains in his webinar, Multum non Multa, true breadth is achieved through depth. Our children get a broad education when they go deep into a few carefully selected subjects, not when they dabble in ten.
What most curricular models provide today is a survey of everything and mastery in nothing, so our children get an education that is a mile wide and an inch deep.
That’s not true education. We need to lead our children out of the shallows in order to dive in deep.
We’ll get into the “how” of choosing subjects a bit more when we talk about simplifying the schedule, but for now, realize that almost all of us are tracking too many subjects and would do well to pare this down and go deeper, rather than wider.
It’s important that we select carefully when we take on this principle. If we are only going to focus on a few things, we’ll want to make sure they are very very good things, right? (Notice I didn’t say “best.”
That’s because the homeschooling mother’s quest for the “best” is crazy-making all on its own. That’s not the way to teaching from rest!).
Select carefully, yes. But don’t be obsessive about it.
2. Integrate
Realize that when you are reading aloud from The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, you are not just doing literature.
If you read it slowly, enjoying it, taking time to contemplate the ideas and discuss them with your kids, you are taking on history, geography, writing, vocabulary, theology and philosophy as well.
We’re not dabbling. We’re wrestling.
I think of integration as a kind of curricular power punch. I want to choose published resources and subjects that are going to give me a lot of bang for my buck, so I try to think carefully before I add anything to our docket.
How much value will this book/curriculum/assignment add? Is it going to add enough value to be worth the time it will take to engage with?
This is why in our family we choose to study Latin, prioritize reading aloud over almost everything else, and why I’m not a fan of time-consuming “hands-on” projects that eat up entire afternoons without allowing for mastery of material or engagement with big ideas.
This is going to look a little different for everybody, but the principle remains: our lives are, by nature, integrated. Our school day should reflect that.
3. Understand the limitations of curriculum
The key here is to remember that curriculum is not something you buy. Those printed resources you use (that you used to call curriculum, like the math text or the handwriting workbook) are there to help you teach your students.
Remember that the published resources are to be wielded by you, not to rule over you.
Whether or not you purchase an open-and-go curriculum doesn’t really matter.
You can pretty much forget all the heated discussions about whether you are caving in to school-at-home if you use traditional workbooks or a straight-from-the-box curriculum.
I know successful homeschooling families that use textbooks, and successful homeschooling families that eschew them. I don’t think that’s a relevant debate to be having if we want to teach from rest and become happy, content, peaceful and effective homeschooling moms.
You are teaching your living, breathing, made-in-the-Image-of-God students.
The resources are there to help you do that. It’s that simple, we just forget when we get all wrapped up in “getting through” all the math lessons before the end of May, or finishing every science experiment in the book before we call it good and move on.
It doesn’t really matter how far in the book we get. What matters is what happens in the mind and heart of our student. And for that matter, in ourselves.
You know this. I know this. But we’ve got to start living it. We are all spinning our wheels because we are frantically trying to “get through” published curriculum as if turning the last page in the book by the beginning of summer vacation will somehow mean that our children learned something.
Truth is, they do learn something from that. But it’s not at all the message we want them to internalize.
We are teaching people, not books. We need to understand the limitations of curriculum. We need to stop trying to make it something that it’s not, expecting it to do what it was never intended to deliver.
Do less.
Integrate.
Understand the limitations of curriculum.
I discuss a few more principles in the book, but this is a good start.
I’m not sure how I stumbled on you but I did. It was in a frantic end of winter break search for how to engage my amazing 10 year old daughter In-N-Out homeschool. You see, we started in November pulling our theee school aged kids out of Catholic school after our middle got a concussion by a bully on the playground. After three years of working with the school we said enough and pulled him. Then the parish wouldn’t let him complete his sacraments on time (no room for him in parish RE). So, we pulled everyone and my oldest (10) was excited to come home. We’ve contemplated homeschool since she was little. BUT, she’s stressed and sad and confused by a lack of rigorous schedule and I’m at a loss. She’s done nothing but cook for a month and I’ve let everything else go for her. I’ve spent the last few days trying to figure out how to add more structure and challenge for her when I stumbled on your site which confirms my gut instinct that making homeschool more like school for her isn’t the answer. I’m going to try to get her into your 31 day challenge to see if I can reignite her voracious reading and try to relax and have her relax too. In all our struggles I really feel like God has been guiding me and I’ve tried to just let Him lead me in all my sadness. He led me here tonight. Thanks! ❤️❤️
Please help, this sounds wonderful, but how are you fitting this in? I have six as well, and recently I feel this just isn’t going well. I cant get through science, geography, history, literature, spelling and arithmetic everyday. I would love to read a loud, do arithmetic and history, literature. What is your schedule? Just need advice.
Ugh, thank you for this article. I really need to remember all of this as I’m getting nervous about planning this coming school year. I am the ” need to finish the book and then can start Sumer mom”. It has always proven to be unrealistic to me and causes disappointment in myself. Thank you again.
Hi Sarah!
Thank you for this post and the many great things you are doing. We had entered a stage of not reading a-loud and I thank you for helping us get back on track. My question is about Latin. My daughter (13) is wanting to study it. Do you have any recommendations? Thank you for your time!
Steph🙂
Have you checked out the resources from Classical Academic Press? Brandy Vencel recommends Visual Latin.
What are the subjects you’ve chosen? Or, if you do some part year, which ones do you do this with and in what schedule? Thanks!
What would u use for an 11 year old boys
❤❤❤ this! As a mom of 7, with the oldest 5 being “grades K-6th” I seriously need to be sure to keep things simple, or I’ll lose any remaining sanity! I desperately want our schooling time together to be a blessing to all involved, so I’m definitely looking forward to learning more on this topic of keeping homeschooling simple. I don’t want days filled with tears. I want days filled with REAL learning, memory making, laughing, & love.
This is very much like I have been doing for 6 years but now I have a
13 year old and high school requirements coming up. Does this change for your teen?
I love this Sarah, and pretty much everything that I have read of yours yet. I have finally found someone whom I resonate with, that integrates both God & simplicity into their homeschooling. Thank you for sharing yourself, and the takents that God has blessed you with. xoxo
This is the best article I’ve read on this subject. Thank you for bringing some new perspective to it.
I love this!
“It doesn’t really matter how far in the book we get. What matters is what happens in the mind and heart of our student. And for that matter, in ourselves”
I love your book Teaching from Rest!! 💞
I noticed you use the word integrated, which I have always thought this to be so true.
I see that you use Latin and I have a child who truly wants to learn Latin, but I as mom don’t wish to add another book to our list of subjects, so this article speaks to my heart.
Would you happen to have a suggestion on how you do Latin and grammar? Are they integrated or what you use, is it integrated?
Thank You Sarah for all of your tips and encouragement while spreading lots of peace and rest for weary and panicked moms like me.
I like what you have to say here! I have an only child who is in 10th grade this year. How do I apply this to high school? She is almost 16 and has a comprehension issue. Every year I try to get curriculum that I think she can handle and sometimes I fail! Every year is frustration and last year was just awful. Teen hormones!! ARRRGGGkHHH!!! I couldn’t wait to be done with it!! I tried helping her to understand her history book by asking her to summarize each page but I think she resented that. Maybe if I read her assigned reading and write out comprehension questions? I’m already not looking forward to this year and I hate that I have this attitude. Yes I know that I have to change it before she picks up on it!!!
I do not care for hands-on projects. Thanks for letting me feel okay with that.
Thank you for all that you do! Do you have experience with Little Angel Reader Catholic Phonics program? How would you compare/contrast that to All Aboit Reading?
Thanks Sarah. 👍
Thanks for the encouragement! I started to try to plan out my week and God stopped me (again!) before I went on total overload. That everyday handing my schedule over and just trying to have my kids learn things, then realizing they have been learning things the whole time! Just with reading some of the books we have been reading before bed! It’s amazing what they take in when they are fully plugged in and I forget we are hitting more subjects than I originally thought. Again, thanks for the encouragement!
This is great. Can’t wait for the book! — and the whole using resources as RESOURCES rather than the curriculum? TOTALLY. Now… how to translate this to school systems where we are also striving for depth rather than breadth… and teaching children, not curriculum… yet we continue to struggle because the checklist doesn’t magic-away… integration is intriguing and clearly essential… but how to do it in a way that doesn’t blur the nuances but rather connect and deepen understanding?
Excellent advice. Integrating is one of my favorite teaching tools. Using a good novel to teach many different subjects makes the learning fun and easy. Some of my faves are To Kill a Mockingbird, Robinson Crusoe, and The Secret Garden. You can even glean science and sociology from those. :)
hola sara nesecito de tu ayuda para la para el grado 8 y grado 11 para trabajar en casa
You’re right on point, Sarah! Especially the “do less.” I don’t see the point of having too many subjects but not having to master even one. Absolutely agree with you on everything. You just made homeschooling a little easier for moms like me. Thanks for these great reminders!
this is incredibly timely! Just today I was stressing that we may not get through our math book by May 15 like I planned last summer and I’m freaking out like the kids are going to forget every concept if they don’t finish by MY date. Simultaneously I’m planning next school year with nearly double the workload as this year! Thank you for sharing this. I’m gonna scrap my plan for next year and really ponder on this post for a few days to rethink my strategy.
This post was extremely helpful and FREEING! I spend so much time feeling like a slave to my curriculum, and this was a helpful reminder that I RULE it, it doesn’t rule me! I loved your comment, “we’re not teaching books, we’re teaching children!
I echo Melinda’s question. I have one child that does not read with her free time. Somehow she wiggles out of it. I have had to lighten the schedule for me to do some recuperating and “restoring” recently, but I don’t see that she makes wise choices when she is given more freedom. She is 10. Then when I’m out of commission physically, I am not good at staying on top of things to make sure she is making better choices. She often chooses to make up a craft, or make an elaborate snack, or beg to go on Webkinz (hate to admit that). But then she looks up from her activity totally overwhelmed at the mess she’s made and it adds more drama and work to bring things back to order…. Don’t know if you have one of these types of kids…I’m praying for wisdom!
I LOVE this series. I'm new around here and it sounds like you writw my thoughts. I WANT to cultivate learning, simplify and learn DEEP. We've been doing that to some extent. The problem is sometimes when I ease up all of a sudden my boys turn into crazy selfish people and act like picking up socks might just kill them or writing one verse as copy work is a punishment. I keep the schedule light but they complain about it. They don't even realize it's light! Makes me want to drop them at the school down the street and laugh when they're doing homework until bedtime (not really—that would make me cry. I'd write a note to the teacher telling her how appalling it is that kids have *that* much work *after* they sat in school all day). Sigh. I think ungratefulness and laziness are the two things I don't want to see in my kids, but it's what I see so often. If the 11 year weeps over wrighting a single IEW paragraph in a week, how do we simplify the cirriculum??
My recent post Naming the Year ~Tefillah
Oh boy, I hear you on this! I'm going to have to think on it more, because I think there is a real danger when we “lighten” things up of cultivating some bad character traits and work ethic in our kids. Actually, I think I need to pick the brain of some moms of older kids to see what they have to say about this…
My recent post First Thoughts on Next Year
Hi, so, I am just sitting here….on the edge of my seat…You know that part that says: “This is killing me, wrapping up this post right here- I have so much more to say.” Well, as I read that, I said aloud…”no, this post can't be finished!” I NEED you to finish saying it. This is where I am. I am a SLAVE to my curriculum. I am the queen of “MOVE ON TO YOUR NEXT THING”–check, check, check. I need help, an intervention. I am feeling you here….tell me more is coming. :D I know that sounds dramatic. And while i am being very real…i am also laughing at how dramatic that may seem. haha. Anyway, I really do need this homeschooling from the state of Rest series. Ask my 2 sister in laws…i have texted them at least 4 quotes already….i am only just following, I jumped over from the RESTORE workshop! (Thank you for that podcast!) Mom of 5, ages 11-19months. I am drowning here, desperately holding onto my MODG curriculum to keep me afloat…but it mocks me as I look and see that it says to” ask 12 more catechism questions! quiz another stanza of poetry. Retell that to me one more time…etc etc…the monotany never ends!!….HELP! Okay, i am alright. but really. Sigh. Now that I sound like a complete lunatic, anyhoo…(although if you knew me, you'd see my humor sprinkled throughout! ;) )
More is coming. :)
I'm glad you like the series (and the podcast- that was my first one ever). :)
MODG. I think it's a great baseline but maybe you'll feel more free to jiggle around with it a bit if you remember that Laura herself says that not one of her children followed that exact plan? She used those materials with her kids, of course, but she says she didn't follow the syllabus as its laid out with a single one of her children. I like to remember that about curriculum writers. :) I love to hear that they don't follow their own plans. :) I really like her book Teaching Tips and Techniques (which I think you can get from Emmanuel Books)- have you seen it?
My recent post A Few Things of Varying Importance (okay, well I think they're all important)
Just the encouragement I needed to hear today! Thank you, I love your blog, you have a new fan!
My recent post The Jewish Online School
I agree with this! I became a first-time homeschooling mom this past year when our daughter was not able to get into the classical academy in our city due to lack of space (the school purposely keeps its class sizes small and families with siblings all ready enrolled get first preference). I was lucky enough that the school also produces a homeschooling curriculum and so that's what we jumped into. I'm naturally a pretty creative person, but I knew that I did not want to try to tackle the internet and make a curriculum myself. What I needed was structure and a plan – and this curriculum does just that. It is a boxed curriculum, but I feel that it does just what you said – a mastery of a few subject well, rather than a survey of everything. And at the same time, the curriculum guide itself encourages you to add or subtract depending on your own needs and not to drive yourself crazy. I am so amazed at what my daughter has learned this year and the fact I can stay sane when I realized I don't have to teach her everything in Kindergarten!
like Camilla above, your post got me thinking and reflecting on how our days go and where our values lie. my response became longer than a comment and turned into a post over at my place:
http://onedeepdrawer.wordpress.com/2014/03/10/the…
peace keep you, dear one.
My recent post the hands-on, contemplative homeschool
Ummmm, did you hear my brain gearing up to start thinking about next year's curriculum?
I always start planning about this time – I think it's in part a wish to escape mentally from the current year, which still needs to be finished! But I have been pondering how things can be different for us next year. I love your practical advice here and will be praying about doing less.
Another idea of yours that has helped me is implementing looping in my school day. I have a 6th grader, 4th grader, K/1st grader, just-turned-5-year old, and almost 2 toddler. I put all five of them on a loop so that every morning, I work one-on-one with the next one on the loop first. I am loving this because I know that even my non-school age kids are getting my undivided attention on a regular basis (please tell me I'm not the only mama who feels like my littlest ones are largely left to themselves because I am so busy schooling the bigger ones!) and the loop idea frees me from stressing when my day totally goes down the drain and I don't get to anyone.
I love this post! You put into words what I have been feeling in my heart for quite some time. Slowly, I have been implementing a different approach to our school day and the change has been noticed by us all. At the end of the day, we still have kindness leftover. Before, we burned up our energy with grouchiness and looked forward to going to opposite corners when the last lesson was finished. Thank you for this series. I helps to know this old dog can learn knew tricks.
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Sarah, your series is so well-written and such a blessing to many, I'm sure. I understand what you mean when you say you feel you could write a book in this area. I feel the same way. I am so amazed at how eloquent you are and able to package this in such a tidy, 3-point plan that is flexible for all of us! I am passionate about “rest” and “simplifying,” so I had to meditate on this and mull it over, and then instead of making an obnoxiously long comment, I had to write my own post with my testimony and examples in this area: http://growing-in-truth.blogspot.com/2014/03/no-p…. But I linked you several times. I look forward to this series each week. I checked for it several times Wednesday morning before you put it up! :-) God bless you! I pray you and the babies are through your thrush battle, and starting to enjoy some sunshine and warmer weather! LOVED your video clip on FB of Posy telling you she was “all done” with her nap (and that she didn't wan to take one!). She would know, right? How cute it is when they start talking, speaking their mind, and putting it in complete sentences. Such an exciting time of watching their God-given personality bloom right before our eyes! Good way to start your Spring, right? –love, and prayers, Camilla
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Thank you very much, Dear Sarah!
You are a bless!
big hug
;)
Thank you so much. This post has me inspired for next school year already (which is saying a LOT considering we are in the final stretch of this year and I am ready for summer!). I also wanted to let you know that the St. Andrew novena was a beautiful experience for me during Advent this past year. Although no baby came of it, still we hope for whatever God's will lays before us.
Lovely post!
You know I'm very simple in our homeschool. When my now toddler was born all I did for his first year was math and read aloud. Now, 2.5 years later, all we do is math and read aloud, with a side of Latin and Writing & Rhetoric as it fits in the day around said toddler. But my 4th grader has learned so, so much and our discussions have become so much richer because I'm not rushing to get to the next thing on the list. Thinning out like this was such a blessing for us all.
I really thought as he neared 5th I'd be adding more back into our schedule. I know he coud handle more, and so could I. But, surprise, surprise, I'll be having a baby this fall (I'm shocked, very shocked, given our history). So it looks like it will be another couple years of math and reading aloud for us!
New baby?! Squeeeeee!!! Congratulations! :)
Sarah Mackenzie
Amongst Lovely Things
Thank you thank you. Yes, I get this and I would do well to live it better. However, I know from reading your blog for a few years now, that you are a list-maker. So, I hope you'll get to that in this series? How does a list-maker NOT finish a math textbook????!!!
Well, in the case of math, we do finish it- we just don't stress to finish it in a prescribed amount of time. As for everything else…. I remind myself (400 times a day, it seems) that the list is my servant, not my master. I serve one Master and He makes it very very clear what my priorities are supposed to be (in this case: the child, not the book; in other cases: the husband, not the dishes, etc.)
Make your lists! I love making lists! And then I give it to God at the end of the day, quite undone.
Note this, from St. Edith Stein:
“And when night comes, and retrospect shows that everything was patchwork and much which one had planned left undone, when so many things rouse shame and regret, then take all as it is, lay it in God's hands, and offer it up to him. In this way we will be able to rest in him, actually to rest, and to begin the new day like a new life.”
My recent post How to Simplify the Curriculum
oh this Edith Stein quote! what a treasure! thank you for sharing it…could be the epigraph of this post.
My recent post the hands-on, contemplative homeschool
Such great food for thought. Thank you!
I love this series! Thank you!
Yes! Yes! Thank you, Sarah! This is wild truth that my heart needed to hear. I will soak in this now for a long while…let is sink down deep.
Because of Jesus~
Ooh. I love this post! Good, good stuff, Sarah. You are so wise my friend. So so wise. This year has been the year I have truly learned my limitations. I was smiling at your comment about reading aloud to the mother with all the youngsters– that is so me right now. Even though I have a few older, my younger ones are the ones who make all the noise. The reading aloud portion of this is what spoke to me personally (we reeeally need to get back to doing it all. the. time.) but I wanted to compliment you on your wisdom in clearly having prayed over these topics you're writing about. I needed to enroll in a program, get a (very experienced) advisor, and make appointments with her to learn what you're so plainly stating here. The BEST thing she has said to me all year was in response to my question: “What if we don't finish the book?” (You can fill in the blank here with any text book, I'm speaking of religion and math) Her response: “What do you think is going to happen?” I knew the answer already: Nothing. You keep on keepin' on. And you just move through things. And what else? God's never going to ask why we never got to Chapter Whatever. He's just not. We've also learned to stop and watch. And THAT is when the actually loving of learning happens. Some of our best days this year have been watching the hundreds of birds visit our little bird sanctuary outside our kitchen window. The kids built it and boy, did those birds come. And they love it. Now we know the names of all the birds on our property and hopefully we'll learn more come spring. I think sometimes I just get so excited for them to learn everything that I want them to learn it all at once because I feel like they're going to be gone before I know it. Then, poof! I'll be all alone, studying the feeding habits of the Eastern Towhee. Thanks for this great post. I'll be coming back to it for sure.
Now, if you could just sit in my living room and remind me of this. We simplified this year and I really love it, the kids seem to be doing well, and the baby and toddler aren't starved for attention. The problem I'm having is being content that this is “enough”. I wasn't always this way, but sometime in the past 3 years my love for lists has crept into our schooling…not a good combo.
My recent post Hold the phone- It's Lent Already?
Oh I don't think I'd ditch the lists completely. I love my lists. :) Maybe just put a lot less on them?
My recent post A Few Things of Varying Importance (okay, well I think they're all important)
Excellent Post/Series, Sarah! I have not commented for a while but never miss a post! I pray for and think of you daily. I also appreciate/enjoy your wonderful photography, especially the children! Do what's best for you and take care of yourself, but know that I don't believe you could write a post that is too long! We are here to read every word. Blessings, Sheryl in PO
“It doesn't really matter how far in the book we get. What matters is what happens in the mind and heart of our student. And for that matter, in ourselves.”
Well, this is the heart of the matter, isn't it? I recently read The Living Page by Laurie Bestvater, which echoes so much of what you've said here. One passage that particularly resonated with me was this:
“What if education was primarily concerned with shaping our hopes and passions — our visions of 'the good life'…What if education wasn't first and foremost about what we know, but about what we love?”
There is so much excellent (and poor) curriculum out there. There is so much guilt unintentionally (I hope) served when the “best” or newest choices aren't tried. Personally, I feel like it's getting harder to homeschool each year because the choices we have now too often lead to confusion, confidence-loss, and ultimately loss of FAITH…in oneself, one's choices, one's purpose.
I'm SO on-board with a return to rest, faith, simplicity, and love in my homeschooling. God wants me to love my children, teach them to love others, and allow them to learn to love learning. And I can only do this from a state of rest & grace. Simple.
LOVE this post & this series! Thank you for facilitating the discussion :)
I need to read The Living Page! Everyone I've heard talk about it has praised it highly.
My recent post A Few Things of Varying Importance (okay, well I think they're all important)
I love these kinds of post, talk away! :)
I really struggle with this. There is so much good stuff out there! And then I get overwhelmed and we reach hardly any of the “good stuff” and pare down to Religion, Reading, and Math.
I can't wait to hear the rest of this. Thank you!!
Sarah,
I'm a new reader of your blog:) First, thank you for your diligence in getting these blog posts up so regularly. As I've taken days to click around your blog, I've been encouraged and challenged as a home school mom:) Good things for sure! This idea of teaching, really living, from a state of rest has resonated with me in these past few weeks. As I engage in more deliberate self-care, I find that I am able to operate from the overflow of Christ's strength, peace, and power. So thanks for your hard work and willingness to share what you're learning with us!
Yes! Please write a book!! (in your spare time, hahaha!) Honestly, this series is such a treasure chest.
You instantly made me feel better today about skipping Math (for the 3rd day in a row) in favor of doing more “out of the box” activities with the kids – essays on Antarctica, reading and discussing from a child's devotional book (conversation which blossomed into a little junior-apologetics!), and getting the whole kit and kooboodle out to Mass on Ash Wednesday. None of that would have happened if I had stayed on the crazy train, trying to check off the tidy curriculum boxes today!
Quick question for you – I am wondering if you have any ideas/tips on how to handle extracurriculurs – whether it be sports, clubs etc. Also, do you utilize any local co-ops or in home tutors? Thanks!
Yes, we attend a co-op at our church once each week, and we are especially blessed because this year I was off the hook for teaching anything. Next year I'll be contributing more than babies. ;) Attending the co-op means I don't do science at home (outside of reading aloud from the Apologia book) or Latin for my oldest. That's pretty huge. I also have a friend coming to my house once a week to teach my kids history/literature (I know! Help started falling from the sky when I had the twins. Really.)
I'm becoming a fan of delegating subjects out. I think we have this tendency as homeschooling moms to think that just because we *can* teach something, we *should.* It's pretty ridiculous, when you think about it.
I struggle with extracurriculars. Right now we allow the girls to do dance and piano (they both go at the same time, once a week for each activity), and for my son to do taekwondo and soccer. I really love the opportunities the kids have to be doing interesting and engaging things outside of our home, so I do value extracurriculars. I just hate how they eat into family time! Dinner time is sacred. It drives me nuts to mess with it for the sake of someone's sports practice. I'm not sure I have any advice out side of the obvious “be very very very picky.” We aren't going to be doing the same lineup of activities next year for this reason. Some of our current choices are taking too much from the family peace to be worth it. :(
My recent post A Few Things of Varying Importance (okay, well I think they're all important)
Yes!!! Love this a lot Sarah – thanks for singin' it out loud!! xo
This is excellent and something I had to do this year. I felt like a traitor when I bought some spelling and grammar workbooks. Workbooks were something I looked down on for so long, but there was no way I could avoid it anymore. I needed them to help simplify what we were doing. After that I started to simply everything and it has been working beautifully. more independent work and some one on one. Everyone gets me and I get them and time to fold the laundry!
I want to write more too but I have an appointment I have to go to. Looking forward to the rest of this series.
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Two words…awesome and amazing :-)
I SO want to hop off of the crazy train! It is like you were looking into my soul and speaking from my heart, Sarah! I too tend to vacillate between getting in what I feel like is a good grove and then becoming a slave driver and then getting burned out and feeling like giving up altogether. I too find, that when I do give in to Him and let Him lead us, it all does fall into place and my boys really enjoy it and seem to learn so much more that way. I am tired of feeling rushed from one thing to the next. I look at how it must feel to them some days and it doesn't seem enjoyable that way. I love the idea that someone mentioned about putting away curriculum. I have a good sized home library and these days it is more like it is taunting me at times then helping me. I think I am going to down size and see how that goes :-)
Thanks for the great series and like the others said…no worries about a long post ;)
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I have no doubt a book is in your future, my dear :) Or at least it should be!
This is such a helpful reminder. I think it's high time I admit defeat on history. They know way more about it than I do just from their reading and CDs and field trips but I always feel guilty that we aren't “doing” some sort of curriculum. I gave up the guilt long ago on science, at least :) I love the advice on doing something well. I'm definitely not there yet (lately I'm battling laziness and the February blahs that are seeping into March) but I agree. I admit, the idea of depth is intimidating to me. Growing up we learned a little about a lot and I don't know if I feel confident in my own depth of knowledge or even how to find the proper resources to go in depth. But that's where I have to just leave it in God's hands and trust that He will provide.
And the turtle shot is perfection.
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10 years into homeschooling and I still struggle with this! I too live in a state where we have to teach certain subjects, and I get so caught up in that. Then when I start relaxing about it, high school years hit and I panic about “doing it right for college acceptance” just when the teens are RIPE for going deep and really getting into things. *sigh* It's a fine line that I wobble all around, veering off the path wildly one way and then the other. We put the youngest 4 in school this year (bringing 3 of them home next year) which has taught me A LOT – mainly that all you are saying about rest is a good an necessary thing. I was doing fine with them at home, even when I thought I wasn't (at least comparatively to the schools, and that's what was driving my craziness at the time).
I'm also so super impressed that you can use words like eschew on months and months of no sleep. :D :D
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Yes, high school. Andrew Pudewa always says that high school is where the learning has a potential to get really deep and wonderful, but we ruin it by forcing our kids to do a smattering of a zillion different subjects instead (ok, he doesn't use those words, but same idea). ;)
Eschew. :) Ha!
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Sarah, do you happen to have a link to an article by Andrew on this topic? I just graduated my first high schooler and I have 2 more currently in high school with 4 more down the road. I have struggled with trying to balance the joy of learning with ‘getting it all done’. It’s tough.
Gosh, I don’t. I think I’ve just heard him say that in talks. I distinctly remember him saying it in the Freedomship Education talk he gave here locally- not sure if it’s part of his recorded version or not, but that talk is here:
http://iew.com/shop/products/freedomship-education-paradigm-andrew-pudewa
Yes! I agree with all of this in theory! But my oldest is in high school and the next is fast approaching and then I wonder if they will be prepared enough!! I would love to hear more about how to handle the high school years!!!
Thank you for this series as well. I have incorporated your suggestions for reading aloud to my children. We are reading Pinocchio together and they love it. It is working really well with the varying ages of my four children. My children are 6, 4, almost 3, and 9 months. I found that since we recently had a baby, the thought of having a formal curriculum was really stressing me out, but at times, I also wonder if I am doing enough. These posts have really helped me practically as well as spiritually and mentally as I go about each day. Going deep into a few important subjects is something that I will definitely take away from this. For example, my son is currently playing chess a lot. This approach will give him the opportunity to dive in as deep and take off with this as far as he wants to go with it.
Chess is excellent! Power punch! :) I am so impressed that you are able to read aloud with those ages of children. If it gets too hard, remember that audio books are fantastic, too. The Thornton Burgess books at booksshouldbefree.com would be great, I think.
My recent post How to Simplify the Curriculum
God must have put a bug in your ear!!! I was stressing a little because next year will be our first year homeschooling !!!!thank you again for this post! I was getting a little discouraged and feeling guilty about pulling them out of Catholic school. But I know this will work for our family if it's Gods will!! Thank you
I'll be praying for you. Taking the first step is the hardest. :) (Okay, the next step is hard too, but I'll pray for you!)
My recent post How to Simplify the Curriculum
Thank you so much for this Sarah. I'm on my 7th year of homeschooling am now JUST learning the lesson to “do less” We actually just switched to more “box” curriculum this year….before I was more ecletric, except I was trying to do way, way, way too much and our school day stretched far into the afternoon and we were all stressed and worn out.
I also love your thought about only doing activties or things which add value. I feel so much better now about skipping al those long projects and experiments which may be fun and you get a cool “thing” to show off at the end, but that don't really add a lot of value or teach the material.
I love…thank you!!
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Sarah, I agree wholeheartedly. I read a few months ago another homeschooling mom saying she got more done when she had less curricula on her shelves. That really struck me, and I got rid of a lot of stuff. It has made me much more peaceful just looking at a pared down amount of books, etc. I think when I try to do too many things, nothing really is accomplished. I find my children learn better when we focus on a few subjects per day, as opposed to several. Thanks for the post!
Lovely post Sarah, and good reminders even for us veterans ;-)
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Sarah, this is a great post. Very, very wise. And don't fear the longer length…I will happily read a longish post:)
What struck me in particular is the idea that we are teaching people, not curriculum. In other words, if we start first with the child in front of us and say “I am teaching you, using this material” we get a different outcome than when we start with the book and say “I am teaching this book to you, the child.” Then the book is the master, and we get anxious about getting through a particular lesson, finishing the book, etc. If the child and his needs are first, we use the book in a more useful way and are not slaves to it. Does that make sense?
Thank you for starting this discussion in my head! I am going to be thoughtfully paring down my plans:)
Wow. This exactly. Start with the child. I think pretty much that's what I was trying to say, but you distilled it beautifully here.
These posts are so great!!! Don't ever apologize for the length! Every word has been a gift.
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I do agree that combining subjects creatively and integrating whenever possible is key. Many states, including mine (MD), have a specific list of subjects that must be taught in our homeschools. The option to skip isn't really there, so creativity in combining is important and can prove to be a challenge, especially in the early years. I have found that it gets easier as the years, and experience, accumulate. Thank you for such a wealth of inspiration!
Irina
Right, so I think those of us in stricter states have to be a little more creative about how we “hit” subjects. That's an excellent point.
My recent post How to Simplify the Curriculum
Thank you for this series. My head is spinning, so much to take in. Thank you!
Hi Sarah…
I am loving…and learning…with this series. We are similar in that Math and Latin along with reading aloud are key to our day and we then we schedule science (more like taking a walk and looking around!), history (lots of living books), spelling/grammar, and writing accordingly. I don't have a set schedule for those…opportunities seem to present themselves as we go along. It took many years to learn this.
Blessings~
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