Fitting into the mold

I've been thinking lately about what type of homeschool family we are.  What philosophy we mostly follow.  Because it does matter, you know.  Apparently you must choose a philosophy and stay there forever and ever and never lean or sway.  At least, that's the feeling I've been getting off of some folks lately.  And I know that people really just want you to validate their own decisions.  They just want you to tell them that what they are doing is right.  But what you are doing may not be right for me.

I've written before about who we are.  So I think I have finally figured out what we are.

We are a classical, Charlotte Mason, unschooling family.

How do you like that?  I'm pretty sure I managed to swing from both ends of the pendulum with that one.   But I decided that I have to stop beating myself up for not neatly fitting into some preset mold that just doesn't work for us.  There are three very different children in my house.  We started out with a classical model with my oldest (though we didn't know that's what it was at the time), and  he really struggled with it.  In the past two years, we've participated in a Classical Conversations community, and my middle daughter is thriving.  The youngest goes through the motions, but enjoys the fine arts parts the best.

I was berating myself the other day about not being stricter with my oldest, not forcing a more classical model on him, when he walked into my room and announced, "Mom, I have a complaint about one of the CC history sentences."  He went on to tell me that he thought it was not sufficient for the battle of Midway to get a mere mention in a sentence because it played such an important role in the success of the US during World War II.  And he continued by giving me all the specifics I didn't want to know.  :-)  Hmmm, crazy thing but he's learning on his own because he's following up on his own interests.  A little unschooling if you please.

Then there's the youngest who is still struggling to learn to read on her own, but has an phenomenal comprehension and vocabulary because she loves nothing more than to sit and be read to.  It doesn't matter what the book is.  Charlotte Mason, anyone?

Isn't it a wonderful thing, though, that we don't have to fit into one mold.  I mean, sure it would be much easier if you could cookie cutter everything and make everything fit everyone, but I am so glad that my children are all so different.  Because it's their differences that make them who they are.  J with his wisdom and knowledge of self, S with her mercy and grace, B with her joy and flexibility.  They each play such an important role in our family and in my life.

And for whatever it's worth, this is my weekly wrap-up.  Because it pretty much wraps up where my brain has been all week.  LOL