When I first began thinking of homeschooling, my primary reasoning was for my ADHD child who, simply put, does not fit inside the box that public school creates. We would study spelling words while she rolled back and forth on her roller skates, read her assigned books hanging upside down in the dining room chair, struggle through math problems because it required her to sit down and focus all of her attention on that one problem. And when Friday came, she cried. She did not want to go to school. She did not want to take her weekly tests. She dreaded knowing she would be required to be still, be quiet, and knew she most likely would bring home a poor grade, despite the hours spent doing homework and studying. This child was 6. SIX.
I wanted my children to enjoy learning, to have time to play and truly cherish their childhoods. I envisioned their education being what they wanted it to be and to focus on what they were interested in. But it is difficult to get away from the “school” mindset. Initially, I began looking for full curriculums. I wanted to be sure all basis were covered, that they remained “on track” with where they would be in the public school system, and to feel like I was doing what I was supposed to be doing. Thankfully, in my research I discovered that a “one-size fits all” curriculum was not what was best for my children. That research taught me that our homeschool style is considered Eclectic.
We choose to piece together the parts that work for us, utilizing free resources such as Khan Academy; monthly subscriptions like IXL, and Night Zookeeper; and we will register for a few classes specific to each of their interests through Outschool. Because I work full-time, our core subjects of Math, Language Arts and Reading/Spelling will be primarily online through these resources. The girls can complete this work at their own pace while hanging out with Memaw during the work days. Together, in the afternoons or on the weekends, we will study Science, Social Studies, and Bible together. We will take advantage of days off work to explore and take “field trips” to further educate ourselves on the things the girls are interested in at that time.
For us, the ability to be flexible and complete studies in our own time frame is very important. We get work done when we are able and we don’t sweat it when our schedule doesn’t work out as planned. When I chose to homeschool my children, I knew I wanted to provide them with a laid back schedule, cater to their interests, and avoid subjects that do not align with out views or are altogether unnecessary for my children to expend their energy on. We have been very happy with the decisions we’ve made and feel like our girls are absolutely thriving outside of the public school system.
