Do you have a  particular homeschooling method or style?  Are you  using a  Charlotte Mason, Unit study,  Classical, Textbook,  Principle,  Unschooler, or eclectic approach?  If you are like me you may be unsure, and may say you are drawn to an eclectic homeschooling style.  My dilemma is that I like a bit about every single approach, and refuse to commit to one and make it my own.
Even if I choose a certain curriculum,  I end up only liking some aspects in it,  so I’m  often anxious to “tweak”  it a bit.  For example,  when my boys were younger we used a science curriculum called “Considering God’s Creation.”   We loved the songs,  loved the text, agreed with the message,  but found some of the projects to be a waste of time.  We adjusted it to fit our style.  Same thing for our phonics program.  For phonics we combined “Alphabet Island“, Abeka, and the wisdom of Ruth Beechick.  We probably threw in some Susan Wise Bauer as well.  It accomplished our goal  though and everybody learned to read!!  I guess that’s the beauty of homeschooling…….we have the freedom to adjust the curriculum to fit our family.
When I first read about  Charlotte Mason, I was so impressed.  It seemed so healthy and balanced. We used nature journals and went for walks in the mornings.  We tried to cultivate good habits like she suggested.  Some of them stuck but many didn’t.  We live in the desert……can you imagine spending the 5  hours a day outside in the desert heat as Charlotte recommends ?  I can barely step outside to get the mail!!  I had to remind myself that Charlotte came from Victorian England.  Things were quite different then,  and children could play outside all day in safety. Plus,  it was probably nice and cool and overcast.  My boys learned to cook,  play the piano, draw and make a really good cup of tea. Then I realized they were not little girls!!  I began to ask my husband to teach them to use a bow & arrow, fix things around the house,  and do “manly things” before I turned them into…..well anyway we’ve added some other projects and are working though our Contenders of the Faith curriculum.  Contenders of the Faith are sort of like Boy Scout manuals except from a very Christian perspective.  Read more...