The path
that lead me to Christ Centered Curriculum
This
is the time I have been waiting for… my oldest child has turned 5 and will
officially begin kindergarten in our homeschool. Don’t get me wrong. I’m a
teacher. Teaching is in my blood. It’s my passion. My boy has been learning
since the day he was born and I’m proud of his academic knowledge. He’s a
pretty smart kid. But, for me, this is different. This is kindergarten.
Initially,
I wasn’t really looking for a curriculum. I have GOBS (this is a literal amount
meaning Grand, Opulent, Bountiful Supply) of teaching materials from my
former days as a public school kindergarten teacher, but there was one area my
materials were deficient. Biblical lessons.
We
probably have about 5 Bible Story books, but I haven’t really been happy with
them either. The information has been so watered down in them. It makes for an
uninteresting and more importantly a difficult to relate to or learn from kind
of story.
So
I started my search… I looked at as many Christian based curriculums I could
find. Based on my research and the samples I looked at I found some that seemed
very worksheet based, some that told Bible stories in the same watered down
style, and some surprisingly didn’t seem to focus much on God at all. At this
point, I didn’t really know exactly what I wanted, but the curriculums I looked
at didn’t feel like what I was hungry; I was blind.
I
asked the few people that I know that homeschool what curriculums they were
familiar with or would recommend, but they named some of the same ones I wasn’t
impressed with. I was disheartened. While I can’t say that I specifically
prayed for God to guide me, it was definitely a prayer that was in my heart.
Looking back, I should have stopped relying on my own research and asked God to
lead me, but thank goodness we have a gracious God that knew what I was looking
for even when I didn’t have a clue.
Somehow,
going from link to link one day, I landed upon this article written by Doreen
Claggett, “God-Centered Education vs.
Child-Centered Education.” This article challenged many of the educational beliefs that I
had formed over the years as a classroom teacher and even more so those that I
had formed through my research of the best homeschooling practices. But… I know
God was working in my heart, because the statements she made, many which
contradicted my own teaching philosophies, began to make sense. It’s like the
scales fell away from my eyes and I was no longer blind.
What challenged my teaching
philosophies:
1. A God-centered education begins with memorization and develops
into understanding, not just through experiences. Sorry unschoolers, this
applies to you. Honestly, I’ve dabbled in unschooling my children, allowing
them to just learn through the experiences we provide them with as we travel
around the country, but the best experiences are the ones that we studied about
beforehand. Providing children with a multitude of experiences is a wonderful
thing for their background knowledge, but the experiences themselves do not
provide a deep and lasting education. Taking the time to learn about a
historical site, animal habitat, landform, or any other educational opportunity
before your child experiences it, and better yet discovering the connection to
God will enlighten their minds so much more.
2.
In a God-centered education,
the teacher is the imparter of knowledge, not the facilitator. Again, this contradictor the
facilitator push from the public school system. I think in an effort to try to move
away from the boring lecture, as usual the pendulum swung to the other extreme.
But, if you think about it, little ones absorb knowledge from the ones they
talk to and when they discuss thoughts and concept. The teacher is the one with
the knowledge. Around a table or while sitting on a couch together, that
information can be passed from the teacher to the student. Memorization is the
beginning of a journey toward understanding. We don’t have to wait until the
child is “developmentally ready” to understand a concept before we introduce it
to them. Before that time, they have the ability to memorize the information
until the light bulb goes on. Claggett says,
“…we need to
recognize that the appetite that is fed the most will grow the most. The more
"fun, fun, fun" is incorporated into education---and children's daily
lives---the more likely they will crave "the world and all that is in
it" (1 John 2:15-17). Normally, when the fun-and-games stop, so does the
learning. How then can we expect to instill a delight in God and lifelong
learning if He seems dull in comparison to worldly pleasures? And how then will
that ultimately affect His command to study to show ourselves approved unto Him
(2 Tim. 2:15)?”
3.
A God-centered education is
structured to work first, then play; not play as work. This conclusion made me widen
my eyes! I am all about playing games and having fun learning. They’re little
kids. They want to play. They need to play. Right? Yes, but they can play after
they work. Not everything we do in life is fun as children or adults. We need
to instill from an early age a dedicated attitude. One that is committed to
accomplishing something no matter how boring or difficult it is, because it is
worth it. Once done, we can thank God for His help throughout the struggle,
enjoy a feeling of accomplishment, and celebrate with a time of play. This is
what we as mature adults do. We should encourage our children to learn the
importance to getting a job finished, rather than satisfy their own desires of
having fun. Yes, they may be young, but they can do it at their own level and
they should be trained from an early age, because self-discipline,
self-control, and self-denial are difficult concepts that take a long time to
master.
Why I chose Christ Centered
Curriculum:
After
reading this article, I clicked on the various tabs at the top to read more and
more. I learned about the Christ Centered Curriculum, but I wanted to know
more. I found samples some from the Christ
Centered Curriculum website and some from other online sources. I fell in
love with the way scripture and principles of God where woven through each
lesson. I wanted to learn even more so I purchased the book, “Never Too Early” by Doreen Claggett, which I
highly recommend for you to read. The book shares a great deal of insight that
I feel is important to know beforehand about the curriculum and how to use it
properly. To me, this doesn’t seem to be
a curriculum that you just buy and get started with because over the years most
of us have heard the statements of the world so often that we accept them as
truths. I know I did. You know the statement, “Not everything on the internet
is true.” Well… that’s true. Our source for information should come from the Bible.
It’s not out of date and with a little help, we can find the answers to our
questions on how God wants us to educate our children.
Is it everything I hoped for?
I
don’t know yet. I’ve purchased the Complete Math + Phonics Package B, which
includes Package A resources (created for older 3 year olds… Lily Anne) and
Package B resources (created for older 4s and 5 year olds… Caleb). Some of it
will be a review for him as he already knows most of his numbers to 100,
recognizes all letter names, letter sounds, many sight words, and is beginning
to read cvc words, but I wanted to go with this package because scripture is
tied to each concept. This is what we will be focusing on this year.
When
the school year is over, I plan to do a review on the Christ Centered
Curriculum to let you know if it was everything I was looking for in a
curriculum.
Do
you use Christ Centered Curriculum? Have you in the past? Did it work for your
family? If not, did you research how it was created to begin with and why? I’d
love to hear from you.
An Enlightening Statement:
God
centered education was designed from the begin by the Hebrews so that “Scripture
was the starting point of instruction; it was never tacked on.”
God
Bless You on Your Learning Journey ~
Side Note: Do you love the First Day of School sign on the Cover photo? It is made by my friend Gillette Smith and she does great work! It's actually a front and back sign with the back being the Last Day of School! If you're interested in more information about buying one (great for traditional school as well as homeschoolers!) contact her: Gillettepsmith@gmail.com
