Homeschooling and
Second-Guessing
Homeschooling and second-guessing sometimes go hand-in-hand. Homeschool expert Terri Camp explains how she makes curriculum (and other) homeschool choices.
I met Terri Camp at a writers' conference a few years ago. I bought her book "I’m Going to be the Greatest Mom Ever...Even if it Kills Me!" and found it to be both humorous and honest. Her book "If It Weren’t For Eve, I’d Be A Perfect Wife" provides the same kind of insight delivered with funny anecdotes. As a home school mom of eight, Terri has much wisdom as well as many laughs to share. Read her article below to discover ways to be flexible when making home school decisions thereby greatly reducing the "homeschooling and second-guessing" phenomenon.
Homeschooling and Second-Guessing
by Terri Camp
As homeschool moms, we face decisions and dilemmas that may affect the future of our children, sometimes it seems on a daily basis. Initially our dilemma stems from wanting to find the best curricula for our children. We attend conventions, talk to people who have gone before us, and ultimately settle on the item we have been most sold on. Sometimes it may be massive textbooks. Sometimes perhaps we go with simple paper and pencils and library books. And sometimes we even choose to wait for our child to explore his world and use his natural curiosity to educate himself. With the rise of homeschooling in America has come also a natural progression of products for every style of child, and every style of parent. This can also be confusing for us. Homeschooling and second-guessing? Yes, even the seasoned home schoolers second-guess if they have chosen the right method for their children. I am not immune to the second-guess game. I have a library full of the best stuff on the market. Some I chose with the best of intentions. Some I chose because the speaker was powerful, dynamic, and made me think that if I had this perfect curriculum, my child would, dare I say, be nearly perfect. For teaching my children to read I have used the full gamut of homeschool products. I used Alpha-Omega, ABeka, Pathway Readers, Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, and the Bible. I have started them at five-years-old, and delayed them until they were ready. So far, the oldest five can all read. I guess one of those things was the right way. I have lamented about a child’s atrocious spelling. I have broken pencils over a child not understanding a math problem. I did not break it over the child’s head! I broke it on the floor in the bathroom where I was also nursing a sick child at the time. Perhaps it was just too much stress. I have cried out to my husband that I just did not understand why one of the kids did not think Latin was fun! I thought it was fun. What is wrong with this child? "Or is it the curriculum?" I wonder. Couldn’t be the teacher. We’ll rule that one out right away. I mean after all, I was fun, used all the learning styles I could think of, made up silly stories to go along with the phrases, wrote on the white board in her favorite color. I even gave her a spiral notebook to use. Still she didn’t like Latin. She also didn’t find great favor with a classic book I had chosen for her to read. She appealed to her dad who said she didn’t have to read it. Is it okay to get a new principal midstream? I pondered the thought for a second, then decided he was probably better than most so I would keep him on staff. He told me I was being inflexible with her. My mouth dropped open. I am the most flexible homeschool mom there is. Show me a more flexible mom and I will show you a gymnast! But, after thinking about it, I realized that he was right. I wanted her to read the book because other kids were reading the book. I wanted her to read the book because I thought it would help her to read something that was full of sarcasm. I wanted her to fall in love with French Revolutionary history. She didn’t want to. She didn’t care about it. And the book was just plain hard to read. So I changed my plan for her. By the time I had begun the formal education of my fourth child, I had become quite relaxed with the whole thing. I didn’t force stuff on him. I didn’t make him read right away. I allowed him to fly through his Saxon math books without holding him back. One of the greatest elements of being a homeschooling mom is that we know our children’s strengths and we know their weaknesses. This can also be one of our greatest challenges as well. Homeschooling and second-guessing often go hand-in-hand. But, they don't need to if you allow yourself to be flexible when making homeschool decisions.
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