Listen.......Can you hear it?............It's a convoy of mini vans.............As each van parks, moms jump out and start suiting up with backpacks, baby carriers, strollers, empty luggage, and pocketbooks.
It's spring and the beginning of the Homeschool-Convention-and-Curriculum-Buying season.
As one browses through a homeschool magazine, one of the first things that pops out is an ad. In this ad is a child that is well-groomed, in an orderly home, is smiling (mom is usually looking on and smiling as well) and doing her school work with a joyful heart.
What we must remember is - this is an advertisement that highly paid marketers put together so we will buy their product. I'm not saying the product isn't good. It might be great for your family, but how many used curriculum sales have you gone to where there is curriculum that has the first few pages used or it's not been used at all? Sometimes we get sucked in to thinking that this book, unit study, curriculum, etc. is all we need and things will be sunshine and roses for next school year.
I really think the advertisements of this sort are just as dangerous to homeschool moms as the advertisements we try to protect our teens from. You know the ones with the beautifully, perfect, air-brushed models. When our teens are exposed to that, they think that is how they must look to be happy. The bar is set to an unreachable height.
A good friend of mine started homeschooling her girls just this past January. It is exciting to see her go through this transition with her girls. She has been attending the Charlotte Mason discussion groups and has embraced her philosophy full force. Her observations at a recent used curriculum sale are very insightful and I wanted to share them here.
Another friend advises to pray about your homeschool before, during and after purchasing curriculum. I think this is very sound advice.
Finally, I just came across this blog post and wanted to share it as well.
Don't we all go through this at some point in our homeschooling lives?
Planning for a new academic year can be exciting. You have a clean slate and a fresh start for things hoped for. Do your research and keep in mind that every family is different. For that matter every child is different. Find what fits your situation best and keep in mind that because something works for someone elses family doesn't mean that it will work for yours.
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