sahm99 Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 I am torturing myself over curriculum-decisions. Again. It is worse this time of the year. And it is certainly worse when I have time to hang around the WTM-forums. (We are on a 10-day vacation...I have LOTS of time on my hand:tongue_smilie:) But I have been in this homeschooling business for over 4 years. I should know my way around. And, yet, I find myself researching, second-guessing, changing curricula much more than is good for me and my peace of mind. It seems to never stop... I am driven by this never-ending search for "THE thing", fueled by my insecurities concerning the efficiency of (our) homeschooling and facilitated by access to all the material I want. How do you "make yourself stop looking"? When do you decide that good is enough and that the search for "perfect" is doing more harm than good? How much time (years...) did it take you, veteran home-schoolers, before you were un-shakably at peace with your course... I am looking forward to reading about your "journey to zen"!:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 I pretty much had "it" after about four years, but we had to streamline at that point because of family needs, so that eliminated a lot of choices for me. I had to go with scripted, cost-effective materials, and that was that. I pretty much bought materials from the same vendors year-by-year for awhile. The curriculum scramble ended. Now with them being almost as tall as I am, I've found that they love outsourced classes and actually work harder that way than they do for me. My older one needs a real Latin teacher at this point too, not just a mom who is trying really hard. So I buy the books and add a few bits-and-pieces of my own, and that's it. I also will be working nearly full-time in the fall (mostly from home thankfully), so it is a win-win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Lulu* Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 I have really suffered from this in the past. The search for the *perfect* curriculum, the *perfect* schedule, the *perfect* schoolroom. Last year I finally forced myself to acknowledge that there is no such thing as perfect. Even if there was, my children are changing constantly and so are their needs, *perfect* wouldn't be perfect for more than a fleeting moment. It also helps that another homeschool mom I am friends with regularly reminds me that it is better to consistently use one mediocre curriculum than have a bunch sitting on the shelf unused. (Bouncing from one curriculum/schedule/method/etc. to the next can really get in the way of consistent schooling.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 I am torturing myself over curriculum-decisions. Again.It is worse this time of the year. And it is certainly worse when I have time to hang around the WTM-forums. (We are on a 10-day vacation...I have LOTS of time on my hand:tongue_smilie:) But I have been in this homeschooling business for over 4 years. I should know my way around. And, yet, I find myself researching, second-guessing, changing curricula much more than is good for me and my peace of mind. It seems to never stop... I am driven by this never-ending search for "THE thing", fueled by my insecurities concerning the efficiency of (our) homeschooling and facilitated by access to all the material I want. How do you "make yourself stop looking"? When do you decide that good is enough and that the search for "perfect" is doing more harm than good? How much time (years...) did it take you, veteran home-schoolers, before you were un-shakably at peace with your course... I am looking forward to reading about your "journey to zen"!:D Maybe when you post a thread like this, it is part of you saying, "Enough!" :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Lulu* Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 I forgot to say- I created my own curriculum for years because I was so perfectionistic. :001_rolleyes: Now I look for a curriculum that can come reasonably close to what I would have tried to create, and then plan to tweak it if I need to. I also try to pick a curriculum that I feel will be adaptable for most of my children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 I pretty much had "it" after about four years, but we had to streamline at that point because of family needs, so that eliminated a lot of choices for me. I had to go with scripted, cost-effective materials, and that was that. I pretty much bought materials from the same vendors year-by-year for awhile. The curriculum scramble ended. Now with them being almost as tall as I am, I've found that they love outsourced classes and actually work harder that way than they do for me. My older one needs a real Latin teacher at this point too, not just a mom who is trying really hard. So I buy the books and add a few bits-and-pieces of my own, and that's it. I also will be working nearly full-time in the fall (mostly from home thankfully), so it is a win-win. Can you please share the materials you have chosen. :bigear: enquiring minds..... I also work from home, and I am chronically I'll...in the middle of a flare that I am praying is in total remission by fall. I also had to choose very planned out materials for this coming year, as I just do not have it in me to write my own plans this summer. I am settling, But I hope I am settling on the best that is out there for my kids.... My 13 yo dd will be doing Sonlight core W with General Science. My 7 & 9 yo boys will be using Heart of Dakota Preparing Hearts Both of these are one year world histories We will bbe using CLE for math, la and reading Since my oldest has not done Latin yet, they will all be doing Latina Christiana 1&2 with dvd's And then art and music using God and the History of Art, And BF Histiry of Classical Music which both span world hx in one year. Faithe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sahm99 Posted June 9, 2011 Author Share Posted June 9, 2011 Oh, no, Faithe!!! This thread is for people, who do NOT want to hear about new curricula:lol::lol::lol: Note to self: I will NOT read GVA's answer...no, I will NOT!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvasMom Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 I need to subscribe to this thread! My nail biting issue this year is writing. The boy is doing WWE which I'm fine with. The girl is going to be in 8th grade and we've got her doing SL Core 100, RS 7, and an essay writing class through out coop. We're doing WS 3 this summer. I have WS 4, IEW US History, and CW for older beginners in my shopping carts trying to decide if I need one of them too and which one. She's starting 8th grade!! Next year is HIGH SCHOOL and what if she's not up to speed on writing?!?! AHHHHHHHHHHH!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Personally, one of the biggest ways I've found to stop looking and buying is to stay off of the K-8 board. That place cost me several hundred dollars the first six months I was a member. I've also been at it a while. Dd is entering 7th grade and did a year of preschool. So this is our 8th year homeschooling. Unless a company goes out of business, we've got everything covered for a couple more years at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 I never got over curriculum addiction in 7.5 years of homeschooling, but it did get better once i had tried a whole heap of things. But there was always something else. I think a huge motivation for me to keep trying new things was having a son who just plain struggled with everything- so I was always trying to find the perfect fit for him, and never could. Or it would work for a while and then not. Eventually I had to pull back for financial reasons- but then selling off a few things could always make the money to buy something new I wanted. I think it is fueled by insecurity, and a sense that the curriculum is doing the work for you. I am sure plenty of kids are independent, and the curriculum makes a huge difference, but for my son, he needed my help so much that I really don't think the curriculum mattered as much as I wanted it to. We just needed to keep going, consistently- which we did- but I changed curriculum too often, hoping it would make the big difference. I dont know the answer- I never found it- but my confidence in myself did grow over the years. I do remember seeing a quote by an ex homeschooling dad who was popular for a few years- who said that all this curriculum buying and experimenting is understandable and can be looked at from the perspective of our "teacher"training. Most of us arent school teachers. We are brand new at this stuff. We havent spent 3-5 years studying before being unleashed onto our kids- we are right in there boots and all learning on the fly. All the study, the obsessive research, and the curriculum buying, is part of our training, because we want to do such a good job and we dont want to stuff up our kids lives, yet we have so little experience- each year, at least with our oldest, we are starting fresh. I can relate to that and after reading that felt a little more gentle on myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenpatty Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 LOL, we've been homeschooling for about 8 years now & I am just now understanding & feeling comfortable with what works best for us! I spent the first 7 years switching from one thing to another. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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