Eclectic: The Best Of All Worlds...Er, Approaches

We are an eclectic homeschooling family, which simply means that we select what we think is "the best" of all the various approaches, "the best" of all the curriculum choices, and "the best" way to schedule our school day and year. By "the best", we don't mean that we have our nose up in the air and looking down on all the other available choices. We mean "the best fit" for our family, our circumstances, and our efforts.

I like the "work smarter, not harder" motto. So, it makes sense to only use what you find works for your children's learning abilities, your budget, your teaching style, and your "hope to achieve" goals. There are many things to take into account when planning your homeschool year. What worked this year may not work at all next year. Each child has different interests they should be allowed to pursue. As your family grows, so will the way you homeschool change.

How eclectic are we? Well, let's see...From the Charlotte Mason approach we love daily journaling (especially science observations), nature studies and books (our library is about to outgrow our home!). From the Classical approach, we think it's important to teach your children to learn for themselves. From the Delight Directed approach, we feel it's not only important to allow your child to pursue their personal interest but that "hands-on" learning is fun! We incorporate a lot of the kids' 4-H projects into our homeschooling experience. From the Principle approach, we think our children should learn the truth about our country's history and how/why America was founded. Our faith, beliefs, and moral values are a big part of our homeschooling. We use traditional textbooks (some ordered from the same companies the public schools use). We do not use any one prepackaged grade level curriculum. We incorporate unit studies sometimes while pursuing the child's interest, sometimes to cover an event, holiday, or country, and sometimes based on a book (like the American Girl series). We use dictionaries and the National Spelling Bee website for spelling and vocabulary words. We drive our librarian crazy tracking down books for us. And the technology and ease of finding homeschool resources, many of them free, makes the internet an invaluable tool.

The one school approach that we are not a fan of is the "Unschooling Approach". For some it may work out great and their children have gone on to earn college degrees and have fantastic jobs. That being said, we have met families who are claiming to be homeschooling but in reality refuse to send their children to public school but have literally "turned the kids loose" and do not accomplish anything in the sense of educating their children. Perhaps as a child gets older and matures, a completely student-directed approach may work. Maybe my children are the exceptions, but starting in kindergarten they need to be guided into their studies and "taught" their subjects. Otherwise, the Sisney H.O.U.S.E. kindergarten would be a day full of playing with "My Little Ponies" and singing along with Craig Morgan. Those things are fine at appropriate times.

Everyone has a different style and personality. Your homeschooling experience will reflect that. Just do your research. When (and it is when, not if) you try something that does not work, don't think of it as a failure. Make a note - whether mental or on paper - of why you think it didn't work then ponder on it until you find the next possible solution to try. Sometimes, it really is a matter of trial-and-error. The important thing is to not keep pushing down a "dead end" path. Just because something worked great for another family doesn't mean it has to be your approach, too.