One of the best pieces of wisdom I’ve received as a homeschooler is this – make the curriculum work for YOU, not the other way around.
Curriculum is your tool, not your boss. Not much can make you feel more overwhelmed than looking at a workbook and thinking you have to finish every single page. So, why do we feel compelled to think that success only lies in finishing the book?
Often, I think we look at the resource (which is our tool) as something that must be used in its entirety in order to be used effectively. And I understand why, because I struggled to overcome this misunderstanding for years…and I still do, in all honesty. When I opened our books, and started asking myself why I feel like I have to do everything here, this is what I discovered:
A scope and sequence is there to help you, not to be the one and only schedule that will work.
I began homeschooling with the belief that the scope and sequence was the one and only way to make the curriculum work. I mean, I liked it because setting a deadline motivates me! So having the scope and sequence was appealing because I knew when we’d start and when we’d finish. Boom. Done.
However, within a few weeks we would find ourselves stressed out for missing days and not moving along as the schedule said we should. The scope and sequence is there as a recommendation, not as a requirement. Take it with a grain of salt. Fit it into your homeschool life as best fits. For us, that meant if the scope and sequence suggested a 5 day a week approach, and we function on a 4 day a week schedule, I condensed a couple days or completely eliminated some pages altogether. I made it work for us. And that’s the way it’s intended.
The pages are so well done, I hate to skip anything.
Oh my goodness, homeschool curriculum is SO well done! Beautiful pages, colorful and vibrant, well thought out workbooks, and textbooks that are worthy for the home library forever. So much goodness can be bundled up in a curriculum, it can be hard to pass anything up.
I’ve totally been there, several times! I wanted to squeeze out every nugget of information and use up of every single page. And I still do, so I have to ask myself, “what is most beneficial for my child?” For our family, we hardly ever complete a full week of scope and sequence as they lay it out. Again, it’s making it work for you without guilting yourself into doing it all (especially if ALL of it is too much).
I paid for it, so I might as well use it.
Don’t we all want as much bang for our buck as we can get? It’s true, if we buy it, we should use it, right!? But remember, curriculum is designed to give you more than enough information. It’s often created with too much in mind, giving you a lot to choose from, because after all, it’s a tool to help you, not dictate over you.
But I hate to throw away pages. It’s hard but a fact that I came to realize when it comes to purchasing curriculum…some of it just isn’t going to be used. For a long time I would save those skipped pages, thinking we’d use them for a review day or something. It’s a great idea! But, we just never got back to them. I simply had to learn that like leftovers in the fridge, sometimes you have to throw them out 🙂 (or give them to someone who might benefit, if you have someone like that in your life!)
But remind yourself often – just because you’re not completing every page doesn’t mean you’re failing or setting your child behind. Curriculum is your tool, make it work for YOU and your family!
Happy homeschooling!
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