My blogging friend Jimmie just posted about Flexibility in Homeschool Curriculum and asked for readers to share their thoughts on this subject. Rather than post a long reply on her blog, I decided to write my own post explaining my philosophy on this subject.
I was in my second year of college when I was struck with the fact that knowledge is not divided into neat little topics, but that it is overlapping and interconnected. I was thrilled to be able to use the facts learned in my economics class to add to the discussion that took place in my politics class and to be able to talk about that discussion in my contemporary social problems class. It thrilled me to see how all these individual facts could be put together and used in real life.
I have tried to give my children that same type of experience in their education. I want them to come face to face with the overlapping of subject areas on a regular basis and to practice applying their knowledge as they aquire it. I want them to use their writing skills to record what they learn in science, to use research skills to learn the geography of the places they study in history, to use cooking skills as they prepare a traditional meal from a country we have talked about. I don’t want them to see their lives as something to be spent in gathering education, but to see education as a tool to enrich their lives. I don’t want them to see learning as something they have to get done every day. I want them to enjoy it and see a purpose in it. That’s why I believe it is so important to be flexible with our curriculum, rather than forcing my children to engage in pointless busy work.
I’ve never been very concerned about following a scope and sequence and I’ve only given an occasional fleeting thought to the idea that I might be leaving "gaps" in their education. Each year I make a plan, and every day we follow the plan, but there is flexability within the plan. What is important to me is that they enjoy learning and that they have the tools they need in order to be able to aquire any future knowledge they may need in life. Our yearly lesson plans cover math, science, language arts, history or geography, and art, with other subjects being added as they strike our fancy. But how those subjects are taught and what part of those subjects we focus on is adaptable.
When it comes to planning our school year, I take into account four factors:
1. interests (Usually this is based on my interest. I try to do divisions by "gade" as seldom as possible, and with several kids in each "class", it works better for me to chose what we study. But there are exceptions to this rule.)
2. ability level (this mostly affects subjects like language arts and math)
3. available resources (what can I use that I already have on hand or what opportunities are available right now)
4. chronlogy (mostly for history, but this also affects subjects like science where some concepts build on others)
Like Jimmie, I also use the wish list feature on several websites to "collect" items that look interesting or that I read about on various groups or web pages, until I narrow down my selections. I also go through book recomendations from various catalogs and use my library’s online search engine to locate complementary books. I don’t often plan literature books into our studies, but I do bring piles of books home from the library about the subjects we are studying and allow my children to read them for enjoyment. Because we rarely watch television (only use it for watching movies) and they don’t have video games or spend time on the computer, they love having new books to read.
My curriculum choices are based on ease of use, the author’s worldview, and enjoyment level. I have a couple of curriculum favorites that I like to stick to- Mystery of History and Apologia Science- but I often supplement even those subjects. Sometimes we add fun projects, lapbooks, or notebooking to our studies. Sometimes we mix in a second complimentary curriculum. And sometimes all we do is read and do oral narrations.
Although I do have that general plan for what we want to cover each year, I never make it through without some serious adjustments to the plan. Sometimes these adjustments come about because we are presented with a one time educational opportunity that is too good to pass up and I want to capatalize on it as fully as possible. Other times, the plan just isn’t working for one or more of my children. Sometime this involves a change in what is being taught, and sometimes it only means a change in how it is taught. Sometimes I just get bored with a topic. (It’s hard to keep the children excited about a subject that makes you yawn.) Occasionally, we decide to learn about a current interest one of the children has developed. Sometimes our studies go slower than planned . . . or faster. I rarely give tests because I don’t believe it is about how many facts they retain, but about the process of learning- and I can tell if they know what they need to anyway, without giving tests.
However, as my children are getting older and beginning high school, I am having to make a few changes. In order to get into college, they are required to take certain classes. And these classes need to be documented. Grades must be given. (The whole process goes against my natural inclination to let learning happen without the artificial constraints of the schooling process. But discipline is also a part of life, and part of discipline is doing things that need to be done even if you don’t feel like it. Even tests and schedules can teach useful lessons.) So I have come up with a standard curriculum for highschool based on our states graduation requirements. But even this is adaptable to some degree, based on the course of study that each individual child plans to pursue.
Flexibility is an absolute must if you want your children to remain excited about learning. The secret is to take one day at a time while still keeping an eye on the future. Know where you want to end up and take the steps you need to take to get there, but make necessary adjustments to the details. Trust that God knew what He was doing when He placed your children in your home and have the confidence to do what you believe is best for them.
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Melissa Telling