Homeschooling

We have homeschooled now for 14 years, here are a few things that I have found out along the way. When our oldest hit High School we knew that a sacrifice might need to be made regarding our youngest curriculum. We choose to enroll her in COVA and it really has been a blessing, I know that it isn't for every family but it has been a good choice for ours.

This year our oldest entered in to the wonderful world of higher educations. One thing that I would encourage all of my homeschooling friends to do is have their child attend some college courses during the last two years of high school. It really has been quite an adjustment to make and making that adjustment while still living at home has been such a blessing for our daughter.

The other change that will be happening in the fall is that we are going back to Sonlight for our youngest though I like COVA and the ease of responsibilities our youngest just isn't happy with it and she found herself bored and not enjoying school any more. I have also found that I would prefer move flexibility in her daily routine, now that we all have additional responsibilities around the ranch.

Tips For Choosing Curriculum

These are the main things I consider when I choose a curriculum

1. MY TIME
Will the curriculum take more time to implement than I will be able to give it.  I find it important to be realistic about time.  If I do not have time because I am unorganized than I need to work on that first.  But if I don’t have time because of my families needs, then I would not want to buy it no matter how wonderful it sounds!.  There have been times when I didn't consider this, and the most wonderful sounding curriculum ended up on eBay unused! 

2. MEETING THE CHILDS NEED
It is important for me to evaluate each of my children yearly and see what their need are and if there are any subjects that they need improvement.  This is a big job, but an important one.  The time spent on researching what is available and considering whether or not it will fit the need, is never wasted.  After enough experience over the years I am now better able to make that decision.  For the first few years it was mostly a case of trial and error. 

3. WILL THIS FIT INTO OUR HOME LIFE
A curriculum should never rule our life.  Some curriculums seem to take so much time that other things in our home got neglected because of school.  I have read articles that say that this is to be expected.  But I do not agree with this.  Caring for our home and keeping the daily operations of a home should not, in my opinion, be neglected.  This is important lesson that our children needed to learn too.  If I value the home by making it a priority than they will learn to value it too.