I Ditched My Science Curriculum and You Can Too!

by Valorie Delp | More from this Blogger

12 Nov 2007 06:49 AM

I really admire people who home schooled when home schooling wasn't quite legal and when you had to get very creative with your resources. I have never doubted my ability to educate my children well but when the issue comes up (as it frequently does when talking about Alex) I often talk about how there are so many resources and curriculums out there now, that it's not important that I know the ins and outs of chemistry. We'll get there and I assure people that I don't have to make it up.

I don't have to make it up, but I decided that I wanted to. So this week, I ditched my son's curriculum (and by ditched I mean that I moved it to the 'science' part of the library in our house and not that I tossed it out) and I didn't bother ordering my daughter's new stuff. Instead, I went to Barnes and Noble and got the Usborne Internet Linked Science Encyclopedia and a book by Janice Van Cleave on science experiments. . .something about oozing and fizzing and slim. I'm sure the kids will love it.

The plan is to go through the encyclopedia and its related links one section at a time and do a lab from the other book at least once per week. If you're particularly tied to your curriculum you may think I've lost my mind, but I have not. We come from a long line of science-types and truth be told, I couldn't find anything that taught stuff my kids didn't already know.

My purpose in sharing this little insight into our home schooling with you is not to recommend everyone go out and ditch their curriculum. Rather, it's to tell you that you can ditch your curriculum. If it's not working sell it on e-bay, give it away but whatever you do, don't be tied down to it. You can even take a curriculum and use part of it (so that frugal person inside of you doesn't cringe at wasting the money). But if it's not working you don't have to keep it--really.

And even if you ditch your curriculum, your kids will come out okay.

Learn more about Valorie Delp

Hello everybody! My name is Valorie and I am one busy lady! When I'm not writing or editing for families, I am busy trying to get my brood of 5 in line.

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Andrea Hermitt (5512) 16 Nov 2007 08:44 AM

My kids used to tell people that we didn't do science as there was not "this is science time". They thought all the museum trips and workshops, and observing nature was fun!

Valorie Delp (49340) 16 Nov 2007 09:02 AM

Yeah. . .I had to teach my 6 year old to tell people he did school at home as opposed to, "I just have fun at home all day. I don't really do school." Ahem. . .that one got us in trouble with social services in the emergency room once! LOL