Second Guessing Curriculum Choice

I think second guessing decisions is really normal, but really frustrating. I have been HSing since the beginning and with each year I gain confidence because I know myself, and my teaching style, as well as my kids more, but those “is this the best?” questions still come up.

For me committing for the year helped a lot. Even if I had to adjust, tweak, or maybe not use exactly as written, but I committed to using it for the year and not jumping around during the year helped a lot.

Don’t worry about “holes” or “what if they miss…” they will never get to everything, and that is ok 🙂 As an adult I am always learning, no rush to get to it all in school.

There will always be another great “don’t miss this…” type lists, ideas or books. Don’t worry about trying to get to everything. It can’t be done 🙂

If your student is reading a book that is just hard, maybe the style or topic, talk to them about it. Maybe offer to find an audio version and sometimes just set it aside and move on. I was HSed growing up and I will never forget when I was to read “The Scarlet Letter” I was in highschool and I tried so hard but I just really did not like it at all, could not stay focused and did not enjoy it. It was the first book that I just really disliked. I know it is considered a classic, so forgive me those that like it 😉 I talked to my mom about it and after talking she let me set it aside and read a different book. Sometimes things really don’t work, but she did not get a new curriculium, just grabbed a different book for that section.

The year often starts out a bit rough. I say it is like finding your sea legs. This is our 10th year and even for us there is that adjustment. Start out slowly if needed, just a few subjects, work with your kids to find a schedule that works for them and you. They are older and this is a great time to be working on creating their own schedules, with your assistance.

Not sure if any of that helps, just a few things I have to remind myself of often when the grass starts looking greener on the other side 🙂

you may also find you need to substitute some of the books for him to get the most out of it. Thats perfectly acceptable. Often I’ve found curriculum support pages will have had questions about substitutions asked before and there are lists. Im on the Charlotte Mason Special Needs Facebook pages and lots of folks here ask about slightly lower level, or significantly lower level, substitutions for various books for the students who need something lighter to grasp the point.