3 Reasons Why Eclectic Homeschooling Is The Best

We’ve all had those days. The ones where we’ve taken nothing out for dinner, been out all day at co-op, and now we have to feed this hungry family. We stare into the refrigerator, wondering how we’re going to pull this off. How can you make a dinner out of some leftover chicken, wilted lettuce, and a stalk of celery?

Yet, somehow we do because we’re moms and this is part of the job description. We turn that chicken and a little cheese into the best enchiladas our family has ever tasted. Nevermind that we’ll never be able to recreate it the same way again. Who cares, everyone eats, and we didn’t order pizza.

Eclectic homeschooling is very similar. We take a bit from here and a little from there and in doing so create a unique homeschool suited to our families intellectual taste buds. So how do you know if eclectic homeschooling is for you?

 

You’re Not a Fan of Boxes

Eclectic homeschooling is perfect for the family that doesn’t like boxes. Maybe you don’t cook from a box, or fit in a box, and you don’t want to learn from a box.

There isn’t enough freedom in all those boxes.

When you’re an eclectic homeschooler, you might peek in the boxes to see what looks good, but you would never want to commit to everything in the box.

Just like when you’re throwing together that dinner, you look to see what combination of things sounds appealing to your particular family.

The Rules of Eclectic Homeschooling

The rules of eclectic homeschooling are that there aren’t any rules.

We often opted out of the traditional education system because we weren’t fond of all the rules, yet so many homeschoolers become enamored with a particular homeschool method and begin to be bound by endless rules. Eclectic homeschooling means not worrying about the rules and thinking more about your goals.

You can study Latin and not be a classical homeschooler.

It’s okay to enjoy nature study and not subscribed to Charlotte Mason’s entire methodology.

Math workbooks can be very handy, and they don’t mean you are a traditional, school-at-home homeschooler.

We often feel as if we have to pick a path and success is only guaranteed if we never deviate. However, we choose to homeschool, which places us on a less traveled road no matter what method we may or may not follow.

So don’t feel bound by the homeschool purists that proclaim their particular method is the obvious path to success. They are many paths and many definitions of success.

 

Courageous Eclectic Homeschooling

The homeschool purists are a vocal bunch. It can make those of us that subscribe to something less defined feel uncomfortable at times. No one likes to be told they’re doing it wrong, and the idea that we could be homeschooling wrong can send a mom into a full-fledged panic.

So eclectic homeschoolers have to be courageous.

You might shake a bit in your boots when you tell your classical homeschooling mom friend you aren’t studying Latin. Maybe you hide the fact that you haven’t touched a nature journal in a year when you Charlotte Mason friend meets you at the park.

It’s okay to be nervous but find your courage. Latin and nature journals are not homeschooling requirements!

Embrace Eclectic Homeschooling

When we first being homeschooling, we feel the pressure to research and choose one method. Montessori or Waldorf? Unschooling or Classical?

However, over time we loosen our grip on methods and realize that our homeschooling should reflect not only ourselves but our children.

We add a pinch of classical, maybe a dash of unschooling, and create a masterpiece that no one else can recreate.

Just like those enchiladas.

 

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