How and Why to Use an Eclectic Approach to Homeschooling

Not to get all philosophical and serious on you, but I want to share what the term “HOMESCHOOLING” means to me…

Homeschooling means

YOU GET TO DECIDE

which subjects to teach,

when to teach them,

how to teach them….

**and even by whom.**

**That’s right! In my opinion, homeschooling DOES NOT mean that YOU must teach every subject to every kid every single day!**

If you are tired of teaching it all, frustrated with your curriculum, or feeling inadequate in certain subjects, READ that again.

**Homeschooling DOES NOT mean that YOU must teach every subject to every kid every single day!**

YOU GET TO DECIDE

which subjects to teach,

when to teach them,

how to teach them….

**and even by whom.**

I’ve been homeschooling for more than a decade, not that it has been perfect by any means, but I will say it has been successful so far. We started in PreK and are about to enter 11th Grade. Eeks! And, I truly believe our success has been in no small part to the ECLECTIC APPROACH we use. Which, is why I want to share with you how and why to use an eclectic approach to homeschooling.

WHAT is an ECLECTIC APPROACH to homeschooling?

Just like with most things in the homeschool world, there are several opinions of what defines an ECLECTIC APPROACH. So, it’s important to realize there is no set definition, but, this is how I define it:

“a PURPOSEFUL, PLANNED OUT approach to selecting DIFFERENT RESOURCES to teach SPECIFIC TOPICS“

Others might say it’s simply piecing together different curriculum, and that is part of it. But it’s not random. It’s not haphazard. It’s VERY PURPOSEFUL.

And yes, it’s piecing things together. It doesn’t come in one big organized box. It’s not a n open and go curriculum that has so many easy, wonderful perks. And it’s not an all-in-one online option like Bob Jones homeschool that ranks at the top for its ease of planning and use. It’s going to be more work than those. You might need to create your own syllabus or use a printable pacing guide. It’s figuring out the best RESOURCE for your kid for each subject.

And by RESOURCE, I mean

which BOOKS to use,

which CLASSES to outsource,

which EXPERIENCES to make available and even

which additional PEOPLE to bring into your homeschool.

That’s the WHAT.

WHY would you want to use an ECLECTIC APPROACH to homeschooling?

I have three basic reasons to share.

REASON ONE: An ECLECTIC APPROACH to homeschooling allows you to fully customize your child’s education.

This is by far the biggest reason we use this approach and why I suggest it to other homeschool moms.

It allows you to very carefully and with great purpose, customize your child’s education in several areas:

to their learning style*
to their strengths and struggles
to their interests and aspirations
to your family’s schedule

*If you don’t know your student’s learning style, here is a learning style quiz for kids.

REASON TWO: Using an ECLECTIC APPROACH to homeschooling makes it easier to reassess and readjust as needed.

If you have been homeschooling for more than a minute, you know that you will never get your curriculum choices 100% correct on the first try. Using an eclectic approach makes it easier to stop what you’re doing, reassess how things are going, modify as needed and continue on your merry way. But, if your history assignments are tied into your language arts curriculum, and one of those is not working for your family, you may need to toss them both. But, by using an eclectic approach, you can handle any necessary changes piece by piece.

REASON THREE: Using an ECLECTIC APPROACH to homeschooling can be less expensive.

This reason to use an eclectic approach is just a MAYBE; it is no longer true for me but it might be true for you! When I first started choosing curriculum using an eclectic approach, I loved searching eBay and local sales groups to find the best deals for my choices. I even kept a running tally for years to show my husband how much I spent vs. how much we could’ve spent if we had purchased new. But, if you are using a big boxed curriculum or using 85 pieces from one company, it might be a lot harder to find those pieces used, on sale or available separately. But, as fun as that was to do years ago, it took a lot of time, energy and effort. And, now I just buy it all new. So, like I said, this is a MAYBE.

Addiontally, if you spend the time picking and choosing each piece of curriculum for each subject, you can take better advantage of free homeschool curriculum by looking at each free option and seeing if it will fit. If it does, yay!

That covers the WHY.

HOW do you use an ECLECTIC APPROACH to homeschooling?

I have six simple steps that I suggest.

STEP ONE: Assess your child’s learning style. {Go here for a learning style questionnaire.}

STEP TWO: Assess YOUR learning style. {Go here for a learning style questionnaire.}

STEP THREE: Determine your budget.

STEP FOUR: Find your curriculum choices. {Go here for a great website of curricula reviews!)

STEP FIVE: Start!

STEP SIX: Reassess and readjust as needed AND keep going!

It really is that simple. Assess your child. Assess yourself. Determine what you can spend. Find your curriculum. Start. Reassess and readjust as needed.