The Secret to Finding the Right Curriculum For Your Homeschool
Parents new to homeschooling can get mired down in all the choices of curriculum. Which one is the best one for our family? Which curriculum will help my child achieve her highest potential?
British educational reformer Charlotte Mason taught that parents must have a fully thought out method of education before they begin a curriculum or they will fail to fulfill the promise that is within their children.
What is this promise? Just this: To grow to maturity in full possession of their innate abilities and be able to use those abilities in the service of God, family and community.
Does that seem like a tall order to you? It doesn't have to be. The secret is in creating a road map for yourself by doing two things:
1. Create a clear picture of what you want your child to be at the end of her learning.
2. Find a homeschool curriculum and method that best matches the picture you have created.
An Important Exercise
Do this: Picture in vivid detail what your child is like grown. What are the qualities, the character traits, the activities you would like to see your child doing? Write all this down in as much detail as you can.
Yes, it will take effort, but you will only need to do this once. When I did it, it produced a radical readjustment of my thinking. Good thing, as I was locked into traditional educational methods and could only imagine my daughter doing well in college. When I got the full Technicolor picture of character, life skills, enjoyments, spiritual growth, and, yes, doing well in college it changed the whole direction of our homeschool.
Finding the Right Method and Curriculum
Once you have done the above exercise you have a much clearer idea of what you and your child need for a homeschool curriculum.
Do you see your child doing outdoors activities most of the time? Does your child work best with things read aloud or does he like to work independently? Are the classics important to your and your family?
Study the Internet for the different methods of homeschooling. You will see that there are several different approaches: Charlotte Mason, classical, unschooling, eclectic and traditional are the main styles. Some, such as the Charlotte Mason method, work well with all learning styles. Choose the one that promises to best help you achieve the picture you have created of your child as a grownup
Keep the written description of your child in a special place. Read it once in awhile to make sure your still on the right track. You will find after a few years, that your child will have gone a long ways towards fulfilling the promise that is within him.
About the Author
If you want to learn more about homeschooling and the Charlotte Mason method, read Sheila's article “Seven Keys of Learning”. Download it free here: http://www.livingbookscurriculum.com/7keys.html
Sheila Carroll helps homeschooling parents use living books and Charlotte Mason’s methods to produce outstanding results in learning. http://www.livingbookscurriculum.com/
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