Not “One Size Fits All”

If you know me in real life, you know I love the Charlotte Mason philosophy. I love the gentle art of learning. I love the focused time each day to work on what some may consider “academics”. And the time to explore nature, study composers and artists. I love reading living books rather than dry textbooks. Yes, all these things make the Charlotte Mason philosophy very appealing to me. And I encourage others to help their children form connections, develop an inquisitive mind, and explore their surroundings.

But, does that mean that my way is the only way to homeschool? That every homeschool should look alike? I hope I have never sent that message although I think I may have at times. Homeschooling is not a one size fits all kind of education. It is an education that meets the need of the child. Each child. And each family. And that cannot possibly look the same in every family. Or even for every child in the same family.

 

Let me give you an example.

Hope has always loved reading. She showed an interest in learning to read at the age of 4. None of my other children showed an interest that early. But she is around reading and “school” of some kind all day as various ones prepare for their college classes, exams, etc.  So we started using My Father’s World Kindergarten with her at the age of 4.

Now we used ABeka reading with all of my other children. I have to say personally I am not fond of many of ABeka’s materials for our family but they have a very solid foundation in reading. My Father’s World (which I really like by the way) for kindergarten was more of a preschool program to me. It moved way too slow for the eagerness Hope had to learn to read. And it did not incorporate much math, which I feel is important for us. As I started looking into other reading programs I could not find one that taught reading in the same sequence ABeka does. And I like that sequence for us.  So I asked myself (after talking with my very wise homeschooling neighbor) why didn’t I just use what I know would work well for Hope? And I realized I was so caught up in following a philosophy, and ABeka does not fit into that philosophy, that I was ignoring the needs of my child in this area. So I bought the Handbook of Reading at a used sale and ordered Letters and Sounds. Hope just turned 5 in March. I am so glad I found that MFW K is more of what I wanted for preschool than for K. We will be doing what I consider Kindergarten this year, although Hope is already reading and spelling short vowel words.

Now, one of my other children struggled with learning to read. MFW would have been perfect for her for kindergarten. Because it moved at the pace she needed. So don’t let my opinion of MFW K cloud your thinking. It is just that, an opinion, based on the needs of my child at the time.

I am realizing that it is okay if others want to go with a more traditional method, a Charlotte Mason approach, unschooling, any of the other many methods, or a combination of several methods. It may be what works in their family at that time. Or maybe it is the only way they know to homeschool and they just need time to find what does and does not work in their homeschool. But we can all learn from each other. We can take what works for our family, leave what doesn’t, and make our homeschool unique.  Because as I am learning, there is no one size fits all when it comes to education.

                   

I hope to go into this year learning and growing as a homeschool parent. I want to encourage other homeschoolers, but I don’t want to make them feel their choices are wrong or not as good as the choices I have made. I am making choices based on our family, our needs, and our experiences. And I want to encourage others to do the same. 

What are you finding works in your homeschool?