Y’all are too worried about what curriculum you are going to use.

Read that again.

Homeschooling little people under the age of 9, which is most of the mail and messages I have been receiving lately regarding coming to homeschooling in place of using a school district’s online school, actually isn’t as much about curriculum as you think.

It’s about rhythm.

It’s about being outside, and movement that develops the gross and fine motor skills and hand eye coordination and eye tracking needing for academics.

It’s about being together and reading great books (yes, there are book lists by grade on this blog).

It’s about cooking together and doing chores together and gardening and singing together.

So, we kind of all know the popular mainstream choices for this age group – probably the ones I hear most includes Blossom and Root, Torchlight, Build Your Library, Moving Beyond the Page.  People find All About Reading and All About Spelling, and Beast Academy for math helpful.  You need a program, there is one out there for you! IEveryone has their personal favorites. If you are into Waldorf homeschooling, there aren’t actually too many options; the major ones have been around for years – Earthschooling, Christopherus, Live Education, Waldorf Essentials.  And of course, you can always put together a line of study from your library or used bookstore!

But don’t mistake curriculum only for homeschooling.  Homeschooling is about forging a family identity as a team, about learning to work together, about being able to know each other intimately and joyfully.  It shouldn’t be about just cramming in that last workbook page.

Establish a rhythm that involves warm meals you prepare together and clean up together, outside time, daily work like gardening, bread baking with kneading, arts and crafts with cutting and modeling, free play,  singing and creating music, free reading and reading together.  That’s what it is about.  Have the wonderful conversations and also know when to turn those wonderful conversations off and go have fun together.

Whatever curriculum y’all choose will be fine and if it’s not, you can change it.  What is much more important is the beautiful family legacy you are creating together.  Your first grader will grow up and be able to do what they want; our oldest is off to college at her top choice.  It happens, and it happens beyond the pages of any curriculum you pull out.

Love one another and find the joy,

Carrie