Eclectic Homeschooling

Learning about cultures around the world.

$STEM emphasis$

Play and Learning Combine

We start off formal schooling with long school days that are a mix of informal and formal activities. Projects, games, informal learning, and activities are an important part of our schooling. As the child grows, formal learning replaces some of the informal parts of school without much of an increase to the school day.

Learning Multiple Languages

We take a dabbling approach to languages in elementary school learning the basics of Arabic, Mandarin, French, and Greek. In middle school we cut back to two languages. As a household who loves the world, we seek to teach our children how to communicate with a good portion of it.

Learning about cultures around the world.

We believe it is important to explore people and places far from home so we can understand and appreciate those who are different from us.

Learning about God

We seek to help all our children have a strong personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Bypassing most of the typical children's materials that teach character and guidelines for living, we teach the finished work of the cross and how our motivation and actions toward others should come from a place of love.

STEM emphasis

Science is well-loved in our household. With children who desire to go into STEM fields, we have chosen a rigorous science and math education to prepare our children for future studies.

"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." - William Butler Yeats

Welcome to Eclectic Homeschooling! We have been homeschooling for 9 years and currently have children in 8th grade, 6th grade, and 2nd grade. A personalized education is something I value, so each child is challenged at the appropriate level and in a way appropriate for the child's learning style. At least that is my goal. It doesn't always work so smoothly. In this education journey, I want my children to arrive at adulthood with these four things:

A good education that will prepare my children for whatever they want to do in life.
The desire to treat all people with love and kindness.
A love for God.
A good relationship with parents and siblings.

Take a peek at some of our posts.

Reading List

A reading list that covers middle school and high school

A list of picture books sorted according to their reading levels.

Take this quiz to see what kind of homeschooling methods might fit best.

A clickable list of the unit studies we have shared on this blog.

Find out if you or your child is a sequential learner, a global learner, an auditory learner, a visual learner, a creative learner, a read/write learner, an interpersonal learner, a kinesthetic learner, or a logical learner.

Our homeschooling approach

Most school years I have completed all of my general plans by May and then I spend a few months working on creating unit studies and meshing our eclectic resources into something that is open and go. Not so this year! I will manage to get something together soon. Our…

3 Ways Homeschooling Helps You Be Present for Your Kids

One of the things I like about homeschooling is that it makes it easier to be present for your kids. Homeschooling your children doesn’t mean that you will be present for them though. You can be around your children all day every day without being present. Being present is all…

Homeschooling on Your Own Terms

When it comes to homeschooling there is no magic method. Your children are unique and your family is unlike any other family. So you won’t find some special method or approach that is best. You need to find a way to make homeschooling work for you. Put away any preconceived…

Childhood Exuberance

The brightness and exuberance of children is a beautiful thing. I wish I could bottle it and share it with the world. I was feeling a bit down and overwhelmed this past week. Sometimes God uses the people around us to inject some joy into our busy lives. This week,…

Homeschooling Isn’t Easy

I lost it one day last week. Arguing, whining, and complaining were in great supply. I had had enough and before I blew up, I stood up and walked away – much to my children’s surprise. I took a break to cool down and when I came back my…

7 Tips for Parenting Tweens and Teens

Parenting teens and tweens is not for the faint of heart. Parenting in general is not easy, but the tween and teen years can be particularly challenging. I’m new to parenting teens and I’m attempting to figure it out as we go. My older kids are currently aged 12 and…

Movies as Literature Curriculum Review

Movies as Literature is a different approach to literature reading and analysis. The curriculum is designed to be used as a one year high school English course or it can be used to supplement studies from middle school through high school. We chose the latter. We have been using parts…

Stop Homeschooling and Get Those Children Socialized!

Stop homeschooling and get your children socialized! How many homeschooling parents have heard those sentiments? Dare I say all have? Few argue with the idea that homeschooling children perform better educationally, but there looms the idea that homeschooled children will grow up to be freaks who cannot get along with…

Free Physics Videos

As I was putting together a conceptual physics study for my son, I stumbled upon an amazing free resource on Youtube. My son is using an older edition Conceptual Physics textbook by Paul Hewitt. I wanted to find some videos to go along with each chapter to help my son…

The ABCs of Homeschooling

Adaptation Homeschooling requires adapting. There will always be instances where something won’t work in the way you expected or in the way a book says it should. Adapting the situation and learning to fit your child is necessary. Bold Homeschooling is bold. It takes courage to do something different…