To Learn or NOT to Learn - That is the question :)

Counting, arithmetic, geometry, algebra, mathematical thinking, reading stories, reading informational text, reading visualizations, creating visualizations, writing stories, writing paragraphs, writing essays, writing comparison/analytical responses, 2nd language, music, art, art appreciation, culture, ancient civilizations, World Wars, Discovery of America, Slavery, birth of America, biology, chemistry, physics, environmental science, geology, forensics, how to drive, car maintenance, video editing, word processing, keyboarding, use of technology, test-taking, collaboration, time management, project management, cursive, character development, sex education, Biblical/Belief foundations, discipline, home economics, economics, money management, job skills, investments, cooking, cleaning, yard work, gardening, and the list goes on…

Overwhelmed yet? Of course you are…as are most of us.  It’s why we ask, “What do I do, there is TOO much to learn?”

I don’t know if this offers any comfort, but EVERY teacher I have ever worked with felt this way.

• High school Chemistry Teacher - Too many ideas/ standards to build a good chemistry base in a year.
• 6th Grade Teacher - Too many subjects and ideas to prepare for Junior High.
• 2nd Grade Teacher - Too much to learn and they are still writing so slowly… we can only go so fast.

The question we really want to ask is what can we SKIP? Is there anything we don’t HAVE to learn?

One of the luxuries of homeschooling is that you, the parent, gets to make this decision. What are we going to Learn and what are we going to skip?

At first, this may seem scary. The responsibility is entirely in my hands… AHHH! Thoughts cloud your mind like, “I don’t want to screw up my child,” “I want them ready for college,” or “I feel more comfortable following the curriculum because we have to do testing.”

All good questions… But let’s try this one. How can I INTEGRATE and CUSTOMIZE in a way that allows me the security that I’m covering what I need to, but with all the FREEDOM I wanted from homeschooling.

• I’m supposed to cover Ancient Civilizations, but I don’t want to cover Ancient China.  Instead I want to cover the ancient civilizations (Egypt and Babylon) that impacted the people of Israel so I can integrate Biblical history.
• My children aren’t interested in geology, but they are intrigued by bugs. We are going to skip plate tectonics and instead study Entomology (bug science).
• My child loves fancy fonts for her crafts. Instead of cursive she is going to learn to write her letters in a fancy font of her choosing.

The options are only limited by your imagination and know-how… which is good news. Because both of these things, YOU can LEARN!  (Especially with my help). :)

I know what you’re thinking… but what about testing? I’m in a charter and I’m responsible for their standards.

TRUE… their standards, but not HOW to learn them.

First… there are no tests on some things like cursive, keyboarding, sharing or money management. You get to choose which of these things you incorporate into your homeschool. 

Second… you can learn something like geometry through gardening, fence building, home repair or furniture arrangement. Thus you can integrate ideas and concepts you HAVE to learn with ideas and concepts you WANT to learn.

Third… some skills are used in multiple contexts giving you TOTAL freedom on how you develop those skills i.e. writing paragraphs or reading for comprehension. Instead of reading the paragraphs in the curriculum, read texts about rainforests or marine animals.

Recently, one of my clients wanted to incorporate her daughter’s curiosity about Pompeii into her learning experiences. We considered her goals around multiple paragraph writing (both informational and story), project and time management, science of volcanoes, map-making and reading, using text features in writing, and researching on-line. We wove together about 5-8 options and then let her daughter decide which she wanted to do. It’s been very rewarding to see the engagement and excitement that she brings to the table every morning for her work because we INTEGRATED and CUSTOMIZED.

To Learn or NOT To Learn… that is the BIG question.  And the answer is within reach.  Come share your to learn or NOT to learn questions in Homeschooling HUB.

Jill