10 Reasons We are Eclectic, Relaxed Homeschoolers

If you have read the "About Me" section of this blog, you know that I consider us eclectic homeschoolers.  I have also always considered us "relaxed" homeschoolers, meaning that we are not school-at-homers, but not quite unschoolers either.  Being certified as a Montessori teacher (primary level, AKA: pre-school) I started out homeschooling thinking that we would use the Montessori method.  I quickly discovered, however, that the more money and/or time I spent on Montessori materials, the less likely my kids were to use them.  They're contrary like that.  But that doesn't mean that I abandoned the philosophies that drew me to the Montessori method in the first place.  And I found many of the same philosophies in other methods as well, such Charlotte Mason, and to a greater extent, Thomas Jefferson Education.

So these are the top 10 reasons we homeschool the way we do:

1. We prefer an individualized education.  No two people are exactly alike, so why should their education be exactly alike?  Everyone has their own unique combination of strengths and weaknesses, interests and aptitudes.  Education should reflect that.
2. No boring textbooks.  Nothing kills interest like a dull, dry textbook.  I think back to how much I hated science and history in school, and it was because of the boring textbooks.  Once I was out of school and started learning from real-life sources and "living books", I found that science and history are two of my favorite subjects!
3. We are more relaxed in the early years.  Young children learn by playing.  My children always made it abundantly clear when I started being too structured and formal for them.  So I would take a deep breath, remember why we were homeschooling in the first place, and "follow the child".
4. They naturally will start to get more serious about their studies as they get older, particularly in their areas of interest.  They are also more open to working on areas of weaknesses, as they are able to envision goals for their lives (even if they just want to go to college, but don't have any plans beyond that, for example) and can see where that area (read: math) may be helpful. 
5. I try to follow my children's interests.  We are all more likely to remember what we are interested in.  Yes, that makes more work for me.  But I would rather spend my time inspiring them to want to learn something than forcing them to do something they don't want to do, because then they're just going through the motions and not really learning anyway.  Then it's just a big waste of time and effort for us all.  And yes, sometimes in life we all have to do things we don't really want to do - ask my kids about cleaning the bathroom.
6. I love the flexibility this allows us.  We are not tied to any arbitrarily imposed schedules or a canned curriculum's lesson plan.  We can take a day off if it's nice out and we want to meet some friends for a hike, or go for a field trip, or even if we're all out of sorts and just need to get out of the house.  Or if we're learning about xyz and it's just not grabbing us, we can drop it, and either come back to it later, or not at all, depending on what it is.  If it's something like fractions, we come back to it later, because they will need to know how to work with fractions at some point in their lives.  But they didn't seem all that interested in watching the hawks on the hawk-cam fledge.  I don't think their lives will be negatively impacted for not having seen it, even if I thought it was pretty cool.
7. We want our children to be life-long learners.  By following their interests, often on their own, they are learning life habits of, well, learning, which is something we want them to see the value in continuing. 
8. We want our children to learn how to think, not just what to think.  This is definitely a work in progress, and probably always will be.  So often in traditional schools, the emphasis is on memorizing and spitting the information back out on the test.  We want them to be able to apply that information, rather than just memorizing it.
9. Books, lots of books.  If we are going to learn by reading living books rather than textbooks, we end up having lots of them around.  And I love books and reading!
10. I have time to pursue my own learning.  When they were younger, they spent less time on academics, and now that they're older, they work more independently.  This allows me time to read and do activities of my own interests, like writing a blog.

What are some of the reasons you homeschool the way you do?

This post is linked to Top Ten Tuesday at  http://www.manylittleblessings.com/