Our Educational Philosophy

It's late, I know, but I'm so glad that I got this done! I feel like I have a firm grasp on the direction that we are going in. Funny thing is, we are already using curriculum that hits most of these requirements - but one major thing is lacking - thought provoking discussion and strong Biblical Worldview.

So I will continue on this journey and you are welcome to walk alongside me.

Here's our Educational Philosophy:

To know the Savior and have a strong Biblical worldview are our primary reasons for homeschooling. We want them to have a heart to serve others and their families, having the skills necessary to provide for their family (our sons) or run a home efficiently (our daughter); meaning they also must be hard workers. We want them to love learning and be able to teach themselves anything they desire to know or learn. In the process of their education we want to help them find their special gifts and talents as well as have strong reading and communication skills.

Although I have a lot of experience homeschooling, I’m not exactly sure how much confidence I have. I think I have more confidence than discipline, which is something I need to work on. Thus, I need more structure and routine.

While I enjoy preparing for our school year, I’d rather spend the time directly with my children and enjoying learning together. I’d prefer that much of the planning and thinking be done for me. I may like unit studies, but the reality is that school won’t happen if unit studies are our primary method of education. I also have littler ones to think about, and will have a kindergartener soon. With a nursing baby, and no way of really knowing if God will bless us with another baby in the next year or so, I need to steer towards more of the planning or at least thought processes being done for me.

I’m not terribly thrifty when it comes to curriculum. I can be pretty thrifty with most other things throughout the year, but with the right planning, I’m not really limited on what I can spend on curriculum, within reason. Big P doesn’t mind spending the money as long as we use it! I always sell what we won't use again of the previous year's curriculum, giving me some of the money I need for the next year.

Our belief in the Lord Jesus Christ is the primary reason we Homeschool, so I would say that the majority of our curriculum needs to encourage a strong Biblical worldview. It’s an area that I know we want to see our children very strong in and our plan is to focus on it very strongly in Junior and Senior high.

So I would add this to my philosophy:

I have children with various learning styles and I love spending time with them individually but would like the majority of our learning to be done together with real books and thought provoking discussion. Although unit studies would be ideal for this type of learning, I need to look to something that has more of the planning done for me, because of time constraints, but that also incorporates ideas based on Charlotte Mason’s or classical education. With proper planning and budgeting, I’m able to purchase what we need for learning.