Homeschooling Beyond the Curriculum

Type "homeschool curriculum" into Google and you'll discover two things. First, your spell checker doesn't think homeschool is a word and second, there are nearly 2 million resources for people who are actively adding it to their daily vocabulary. The question becomes less where do to begin and instead morphs into where to stop? Don't panic! A curriculum will fall into place after you've adopted one simple realization: a curriculum is merely the means towards preparing your child for what he or she wants to do in life.

One of your primary reasons for homeschooling is after all a desire to encourage and nurture each of your children's unique talents and interests. Instead of thinking about mastering particular subjects, structure your planning around life skills and adapt the basic subjects to their ultimate goals. This allows your child to run a lemonade stand, volunteer at a local museum, organize a clothing drive, start a petition and many other real-life activities that incorporate both knowledge and skills.

Here are six crucial skill-sets your child should practice regularly and which are necessary for every career:

1) READING. We need to isolate arguments, recognize key phrases, incomplete thoughts, hidden agendas and so forth. Skilled readers move from information to actions quickly.

2) COMMUNICATION SKILLS. Today's fast based world emphasizes both writing (anything from emails to blogs) and speaking (from one-on-one meetings to large public forums).

3) COMPUTER SKILLS. Nowadays everyone is expected to know the mechanics of email, blogs, spreadsheets and flyers, and basic web design.

4) PUBLIC RELATIONS. We all use basic social skills in our interactions with others and a concern for those who are having problems with our company's policies or are less fortunate than we are is crucial.

5) DEDICATION. We have to be responsible and be willing to go the extra mile in whatever we choose to do. Frustration is merely an obstacle blocking our way forward.

6) CREATIVITY. Developing new products, innovative approaches to current situations or problems, infusing beauty into everyday items are things everyone from the flower arranger to the CEO of a business must know.

Education ideally prepares us in these six major life skill-areas and your task as your child's teacher is to change these skills into habits. How you go about learning them can take many forms, but think outside of the book! People who have a wide variety of interests and experiences are happier at what they do (because they have chosen from many options), are more likely to bring enormous energy to their tasks (because they enjoy what they do) and are going to be the leaders of their companies (because they have the vision and initiative to succeed). Ultimately much information can be looked up in an encyclopedia, but the knowledge of how to be successful will drive a child's future.