Then, I got a little irritated with the plethora of "stuff " I have in boxes that I forgot I had. I got more irritated with the amount of money I have spent over the last nine years of homeschooling.
Then, I prayed some more, because that irritation is not healthy. Live and learn... right?
Then... as God tends to do, I was given a very basic plan. I was led to ideas and encouragement and guidance from a homeschooling mama that has walked the path much longer than me. I came across, once again, the words of wisdom from Sherry Hayes at Mom Delights.
I figured it up. Without including paper, pencils, pens, crayons, and other supplies, I have spent easily $8000-$9000 dollars homeschooling curricula over the last nine years. Granted, that was for four different children, but that figure still seems astronomical to me. Some years I only spent a few hundred. Other years I blew a couple thousand. Some years I used the library more often, and other years I bought boxes of books and workbooks and schedules and plans.
Is it worth it? It was, while I was learning how to homeschool and dealing with life's ups and downs. When I was trying various methods, I enjoyed trying the various curricula that went along with the methods. Then life would weigh me down and I would switch to things that weren't as teacher intensive, such as workbooks.
I have crates full of materials in my storage closet, evidence of all my dabblings. I own a lot of stuff for homeschooling. I have just a few dollars to make it to payday, but I have CRATES overflowing with stuff I don't use and only tried or used for one child but not the others.
This was the cause of the irritation. Here I was, surrounded by piles of books and workbooks that costs me thousands of dollars, and I was struggling to plan this upcoming year. I didn't want to do any of it! The pressure to do the right thing, to use the perfect curriculum, to create this amazing education for my children had been overwhelming. Too many times I had bought into the lie that I just needed to find the "perfect" curriculum. The result was a lot of stuff that didn't live up to its promises.
And I no longer want to spend more money to try something else. The thought makes me nauseous. For awhile I considered the fact that maybe, since I have tried so many different things, the problem was me and couldn't be fixed with a curriculum. And, to a degree, that was true. The problem was I was never content, and always saw the grass as greener in someone else's curriculum yard.
But, the truth is that I have graduated two students. I studied and researched and gained nine years' of experience in teaching my children. And I didn't threaten to send a child to public school more than a couple times last school year. It used to be a weekly thing.
Most homeschooling mamas spend a lot of money at first, and then spend less and less as they learn that they don't need to buy the expensive stuff. For me, it has taken a bit longer. I have homeschooled all grades now up till college. I have homeschooled during unemployment. I have homeschooled while sick, while recovering from surgery, while dealing with personal and family crisis moments. Sometimes I could spend a lot of time planning and, at other times, I was lucky to get out of bed. Every family should do what works for them. But what isn't working for me is spending big bucks any longer. Even if I have the money, it seems crazy.
There are simpler, less expensive options that are just as solid and wonderful to use in homeschooling. There are so many free options online. There is a library five minutes away... and fifteen minutes away... and twenty minutes away. Basically, there are libraries if I need them. There is the wonderful world of Google Books, which allows me to print public domain books to use in my school.
And then there is the world of notebooking, journaling, and all the enriching ideas of Charlotte Mason. I looked through what I had, what I could easily obtain, and what was free online, such as Easy Peasy Homeschooling. Did I really need to purchase a bunch more?
On my bookshelves are the years of the curriculum that my older daughters completed. It's nice... and I might get back to it since I own it. But this year, I wanted my daughter to have a year of working on math, Reading and writing, art, music, and her own interests. Yes, I am going to let her dig into what she wants to study. Hopefully it won't be a year of only cats and volcanoes, but if it is, she should be an expert by the time the school year is over.
And so, off to the store I went to purchase composition notebooks while they are the back to school sale price. I grabbed my McGuffey Readers off the shelf and began planning. The planning is flowing now.. I am content with the direction my homeschool is headed. Delight-directed studies, books from the library, morning time with devotions, McGuffey readers, some mixed math, Long's Language Lessons, some Easy Peasy; progress is being made. Finally! And this is just for the fifth grader!
Ideas are flowing for my upcoming senior also. She will be in her own McGuffey reader, learning from Hawthorne, Dickens, and more! She is reading some great English literature with the McGuffey reader for her senior year. And she will be jumping into a drawing class, forensics, and some accounting.
I'm going to miss homeschooling her. She was my first student. She came home at age nine from third grade in public school. I was crazy, and many told me so. Now, I can freely admit that I don't regret one moment and would do it all again! Even the money spent on curriculum was worth it.
Every article and post I ever came across about saving money on homeschooling always talks about using the internet, using public domain materials, taking advantage of the library... but I always felt like the plans I could come up with weren't as good as the pre-planned ones. However, I would buy these excellent materials, and then tweak them. I would take out the project that seemed to be busy work with no real learning. I would add in more reading. I would swap out the recommended math and English. By the time I was done, it didn't really resemble the plans I paid for, so what was the point of spending all that money?
And then the doubts and stress would begin. Was I doing enough? Was the program "Christian" enough? Was the child engaged? Were they bored and losing their love of learning? Was I failing? Shouldn't I just stick to traditional materials? Was I giving them the best?
Then, I would spend more money to "supplement" or to change nearly everything. Insecurity is expensive. And when that wasn't what I wanted, I would swap back or try something else.
Luckily, the daughter that went through most of my "experiments" is smart, capable, and adaptable. She has made it to her senior year and is doing well! The classes she has taken where the computer does the grading have held high scores, just like her work that I grade.
I am praying this year will be a bit more relaxed. I have my own college classes I will be doing, and I need time to focus. This year will have "Morning Time." My Morning Time will give me the ability to complete read alouds, Bible time, and even help my girls with assignments before I jump into my own class work. This, I pray, will help me to spend an hour or so every morning focusing on my girls and feeding into their hearts and spirits. I'll be available anytime, but a dedicated time to ensure I am covering some things I want to do with my daughters seems vital with a busy schedule.
I am excited about this upcoming school year. I wouldn't trade homeschooling. And, I love that the path I have found seems to be more affordable and relaxed. New school year, here we come! (Well, in a couple more weeks😊.)
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