As a second generation homeschooler, you would think that when I jumped into this learning adventure I would have at least had the basics figured out. Right?!?! Like, I should at least know the homeschool styles that would best suit my family. But, no.
The truth is, I was homeschooled in a very public-school-at-home type manner. Yes, we used homeschool books, but the majority of those were textbooks that were made for a traditional classroom. I, however, was not made for that type of learning.
It took me a while to figure things out, and knowing my homeschool style from day one would have saved me some money on curriculum. One thing I’ve discovered in my ten years of homeschooling is that much of what works well is learned through trial and error.
While it is helpful to know your homeschool styles, take heart if you are uncertain about the perfect one. Learn from my not-so cautionary tale of finding my homeschool style.
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My Classical Education Fail
Every story needs a great beginning, and ours begins in a classical charter school. My oldest son spent kindergarten chained to a desk in a Classical Charter school. The elitism and superiority ran strong in this school. Naturally, I thought classical was THE superior educational method to use. Afterall, the school constantly told everyone how great they were.
I was an all in, true believer in the superiority of a classical education.
I feel like I need to add a side note: If you love classical education, then I think that is wonderful for you. Unless you are in this particular charter school, then I’m not sure we can be friends (I’m kind of joking).
Trying to mimic the superior style of education from this charter school lasted until around October. I guess you could say it was a raging success. Well, it was a raging something anyway.
Traditional Homeschooling
October of that fateful first grade year brings our story to the more traditional methods of homeschooling. I always say, we tend to revert to what we know, and that is definitely true in this story. While this method put me more in my comfort zone, it didn’t give me the warm-fuzzy feelings I wanted to enjoy while learning with my son.
I will say though, that the traditional workbook type curriculum made life easier. This is the year that my youngest was in preschool 4 afternoons a week. The structure of traditional homeschooling enabled me to give him attention before sending him off into the great wide world of preschool.
Back to the warm fuzzies. Traditional homeschooling didn’t provide the homeschool experience I was after. Academically, we were laying a strong foundation, but it wasn’t the pretty picture I created in my head.
My Father’s World Homeschool Curriculum
Let’s move our story ahead to homeschooling year two. The oldest is now in second grade and the youngest is in kindergarten and homeschooling too. After doing tons of research and reading curriculum reviews, I settled on My Father’s World.
My Father’s World was much closer to what I was looking for. I still had some insecurity about the loosey-goosey language arts methods, so I ended up ditching MFW language arts for Language Lessons Through Literature, which is classical. I know, I know. It was actually really great but I still struggled to get my head around the non-traditional methods.
This was a really great homeschool year, but there were some weaknesses in this all in one curriculum. I found My Father’s World too preachy. I don’t think my second grader and kindergartener need to be told they may go to H-E-double-hockey-sticks. At least save that until they are stinky teenagers and not sweet little munchkins.
Despite the preachiness, I had every intention of continuing with My Father’s World. Until I read the teacher’s manual for the next level. It described a missionary getting martyred, right down to the river of blood that flowed on the ground. My oldest would have cried and my youngest would have thought it hilarious. It was a big no from me.
Charlotte Mason Education
Charlotte Mason education resonated with me from the beginning, but I was not confident in the gentleness of the skills subjects. The idea of ditching textbooks for real literature appeals to the warm fuzzy side of me. And the feast of beautiful content like poetry, music, and art and nature study are all appealing.
While I can’t say I jumped fully on board with Charlotte Mason, her influence is apparent in My Homeschool with a View. I mean, I don’t walk around wearing my WWCD (What Would Charlotte Do) bracelet that I reference before making homeschool decisions. I do try to educate my kids as whole people. For one child, that means living books and narration. For another, it looks more like workbooks. I am learning to teach the child, and not the method.
And that is a great segue into the next part of the story.
Eclectic Homeschooling
I finally settled on, not settling on anything. I’ve learned to embrace being an eclectic homeschooler. As I said before, we are Charlotte Mason influenced, and how much that influence plays a role varies from year to year.
You can look through this blog and see how our homeschool evolves and changes from year to year. Don’t be afraid to try new stuff or to switch curriculum or methods as needed. You don’t have a debt of loyalty to pay to any method or curriculum. Do what works for you. Create your own style. Embrace eclectic.
Modern Day Homeschooling
My homeschool adventure has had many twists and turns and changes over time. I am about to have two high schoolers. It feels like I can see the homeschool finish line and am prepping my victory lap.
My oldest is probably going to do dual enrollment and start college next year. My youngest is still a get school done and get outdoors kind of kid. For each of them, different aspects of Charlotte Mason homeschooling works.
The oldest is a reader and learning through living books has been a joy to him. The youngest loves nature study, hymns, art, composers and poetry. They have both been enriched by different methods of education and it works for us.
This post is all about homeschool styles.
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