Tidal-Schooling 🌊 (the homeschool approach you might not have heard of)

in case you're looking for a change for Fall 2023

Hi there! For some, the end of this school year brings with it big questions about the next, and in the past month I’ve been asked more and more questions about homeschooling. Family Scripts is written for every kind of family, but if this is a relevant topic for you, here’s my elevator-pitch for my favorite approach to school and schedules.

The biggest question I get asked regarding homeschooling is curriculum, but I think what’s more important than the books you spend money on is figuring out your educational philosophy or approach. Most schools offer one kind of approach—traditional schooling—but when you homeschool, you have freedom to think outside the box. I’ll briefly summarize some approaches below, but my favorite educational mindset is called tidal schooling.

The phrase was coined by blogger Melissa Wiley in 2006 and your family might already be living out this concept. I love the way Melissa describes it: “There is a rhythm to the way learning happens here; there are upbeats and downbeats; there is an ebb and flow.”

Reality is: life happens. We might feel like life gets in the way of learning, but it’s really an opportunity to enhance or even drive your family’s learning.

For example, in the past few weeks, we’ve done less bookwork than our typical objectives because:
-a downcast family member made a last-minute visit and we were able to cheer him up
-the weather has been extra gorgeous
-we spent time with a dear friend from out of town
-we reorganized some rooms in our house to maximize efficiency
-our pet rat was pregnant and gave birth to three pups
-my husband and the kids are really deep into reading the Chronicles of Narnia
-it’s warm enough to visit creeks and they’re not crowded yet

Every single one of those experiences is more of a learning opportunity than whatever my kids’ workbooks can offer…and I really like their workbooks. (More on that later.)

I choose to homeschool year-round because I want to have a lot of freedom to follow the weather, too. When I was in school, it always bothered me when I was stuck in a classroom during the best weather, but when I had school off for the summer, I still ended up indoors because Florida summer is impossible to bear 😅 Tidal schooling allows us to do more schoolwork when the weather is crummy, and ditch the books for extended time in nature when the weather is great. We plan our weeks and even friend hangouts around the weather.

I view “tidal schooling” on a large, seasons-of-life scale, too. We’ve had long stretches where we spent less time on formal schooling because, well, I just couldn’t figure out how to make it work. Some moms can still homeschool consistently while nursing a baby and managing a toddler, but I always struggled, especially since one of my kids has some learning difficulties that require a huge amount of patience and focus. We basically unschooled for the many years when I had babies in tow, and that was still a great education. One phrase I held onto the whole time was “Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire.” The goal isn’t learning facts or keeping up with other kids their age. The goal is to spark a lifelong love for learning.

Now my youngest is 2, and the tides have shifted to where we can spend more time working on spelling, geography, habits, long division, astronomy, piano, etc. Even if the kids don’t remember the facts that their learning-pail gets filled with, the act of filling the pail is something I want to prioritize. I use workbooks now because I want them to have the crucial life skill of self-discipline. Also, my kids enjoy some structure. It feels safe. And they like tracking progress.

So here’s how we do it:

On Saturday or Sunday, I write out what we hope to accomplish that week and put it on the whiteboard. The kids can fill in their circles throughout the week and double up on lessons if they feel like it. We go into town or hang out with friends at least twice a week, and on afternoons when we are at home, we have a “siesta time” where the kids have unstructured play/rest and I get to work on my own projects.

We’ve never filled in all our circles or gotten everything done that we wanted to. No guilt! The aim is progress and it’s satisfying to watch your family make progress, to move forward imperfectly.

What About Curriculum?

As I said earlier, figuring out the approach that works best for your family is more important than figuring out the curriculum. You can take a quiz here that might help you get started. However, most approaches do still require some kind of curriculum, so here’s a brief overview.

Cathy Duffy curricula reviews are helpful and seem to be fairly objective. I don’t have enough experience to fully recommend any of the curricula below, but here are some examples of choosing your curricula based off the learning approach you prefer.

A traditional approach to schooling would lead you to one of the curricula brands that look more like school-at-home. I was homeschooled using Abeka curriculum and it worked well for me because I liked doing schoolwork. However, this approach does not work well for all kids, especially boys, and a lot of the “traditional” homeschool curricula programs offer what I would consider a skewed, whitewashed view of history.
Charlotte Mason is an approach focused on literature and nature, so it can pretty much be free, utilizing books from the library. Ambleside Online lays it all out for you for free and includes titles of the books you can go through with your kids.
The Classical method has an approach that aims to be timeless and prepare your kids to think critically and communicate clearly as they grow older. Classical Conversations co-ops include the curriculum you would use and they can help keep you on track and find community.
The Montessori method is a child-centered, hands-on approach that ideally involves multiple age groups. When your kids are younger, it’s more about being intentional with their toys and involving them in everyday life. As they get older, curricula such as Child of the Redwoods or Shiller Math aim to help you implement this philosophy at home, but like I said I can’t personally vouch for them.

Why I Love the Eclectic Approach

An eclectic approach means you pick and choose whatever looks good to you. This is what I’ve chosen, and our curricula choices each year have evolved as I figure out what’s worked and what doesn’t. Last year we tried doing some classes on the computer because I thought it’d be easier for me and enjoyable for the kids…but for us it was neither and we disliked it.

I love the eclectic approach because not all of my kids progress in a straightforward way; one child needs 2nd grade Language Arts and 4th grade math, but exceeds age level in other areas (such as abstract concepts, economics, practical skills, etc.) The kids tell people that they’re in whatever grade level is on their math book, but they know that their education is customized to what they need for each topic.

• We read lots of books, do lots of field trips using a reciprocal museum pass, and practice life skills.

• Instead of team sports, we hike together and try to stay active in general.

• Ideally I could pay for piano lessons for everyone, but we use Hal Leonard-style piano books and note stickers on our keyboard so the kids can make progress on their own.

• The older kids are each required to help with food prep four times a week, and they really enjoy it.

• I really like The Good and the Beautiful for Language Arts, Math, Science unit studies, and some other electives. Each lesson incorporates creative ways to help your kids interact with the lesson and all things good and beautiful. The curriculum lives up to its name and infuses fine art as often as possible. Younger math levels include a box of fun manipulatives, and math lessons for 4th grade and up provide a QR code that links to an ~8-minute video lesson from a dynamic teacher. The Good and Beautiful app has games and other learning aids that utilize tech. I’m picky about curriculum but honestly such a fan of this one, particularly for elementary-aged kids (see below.)

• A lot of people hate this curriculum, but I’ve used it to teach three (soon four) kids how to read! Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons is boring and ugly as heck but it works, and it’s cool that you can use the same $17 book to teach one of the most essential life skills to so many people!

I don’t give them tests, quizzes, or grades. Some of their subjects do include end-of-unit assessments, but there’s no focus on numbers. That’s just not something that’s important to me or that I feel there will be an equivalent for when they go into the real world.

A Warning/Encouragement for Younger Kids

Younger kids don’t need curricula; they need play and readalouds. Eagerness to educate your child well is a beautiful thing, but don’t let it crowd out the beautiful freedoms available to you when your child is still young. In Finland, kids don’t even start compulsory education until age 7. There isn’t a rush. Read aloud, go outside, enjoy each other, and share with your children a love for learning. Light the fire.

Plus, curricula for young kids tends to be a ripoff anyway…even from great brands! Let them play. ☺️

State Requirements

In the U.S., every state has different requirements, and almost all government websites about those requirements use confusing and intimidating language 😅 However, it’s really not that hard to homeschool in America, even in the stricter states. Ask experienced homeschoolers in your state to explain what you actually need to do. For example, the state of Tennessee requires me to keep attendance for at least 4 hours per day, 180 days per year. That sounds serious to keep track of! But…my children live in my home, and simply doing life together is educationally valuable. So…that requirement is met quite easily ✅

Don’t Underestimate the Value of a Homeschool Convention

Homeschool conventions can teach you a ton and encourage you massively. To me, Sarah Mackenzie is the queen of the homeschool world because she consistently has the best advice in such a lighthearted, relatable, yet super-knowledgeable way. Her books Teaching from Rest and The Read-Aloud Family are massively helpful, as well as her podcast Read-Aloud Revival.

If you can make it to a Great Homeschool Convention next year, try to make a getaway trip out of it and enjoy learning from your choice of hundreds of talks, checking out the expo hall and leafing through curricula for yourself, and hanging out in whatever cool city is hosting it 😉

I hope this was helpful!

If you want more, last year I wrote two posts about homeschooling (Questions to Ask About Education and Reimagining Homeschool) and I had some great conversations about homeschooling with Tania from Why Would Anyone? and Olivia from For the Love of Words. But the best resource, of course, is experienced homeschool moms in your area! As much as I hate Facebook, Facebook groups can be a great way to connect.

I hope this was helpful! Feel free to ask questions in the comments or share this with someone who is thinking about homeschooling and feeling overwhelmed. It’s not supposed to be scary, and it’s very very empowering (and fun) to take on this task.

I hope this helps!

Warmly,

Hope from Family Scripts

P.S. This is the last Wednesday post before the once-a-week schedule starting Monday.