Type B Homeschool, Type A, or something in between?

Are You a Type A or Type B Homeschool Mom?

Teacher’s Education Caters to the Type A personality

Going through my teacher’s education, I learned that there was a specific way to teach in the classroom.  We all learned how to teach children to read, write and figure math.  My professors presented multiple strategies for keeping control in a classroom and nipping discipline issues.  I remember the day that we learned how to make a lesson plan.  I cheered and groaned at the same time.  Lesson planning created my greatest teaching fear,  and I finally could figure out how to do it.  But, on the other hand, we took the long way around to create them.  We needed to include our entire philosophy of education and every level of Bloom’s taxonomy in each plan.  That was hard!

This specific method of teaching caters to the Type A personality.  It teaches how to make a plan and stick to that plan.  It demonstrated the ONE right way to teach each child.  I learned that if I follow the suggestions and guidelines that I was given then I would succeed as a teacher.  

I learned to teach according to the Type A personality

Once I received my own classroom, I discovered that the curriculum that was provided by my school did most of the planning for me.  I worked hard to make sure that my lesson plans were complete each week, and I loved it.  Imagining how each particular lesson would proceed and the ease with which my students would learn, I attacked my plans with gusto.  I tried hard to keep the parents of my students informed of the activities in my classroom.  Whenever anyone would suggest a different way of teaching I would try to incorporate that idea into my routine. I believed that if I could just fit into that model of teaching, then my students would all learn and I would have success.

Type A teachers (and homeschoolers) plan to work and work their plan.  They implement a certain curriculum and schedule and try their best to stick to it.  If a problem arises in the classroom, then they work hard to find a solution.  A plus B always equals C.  If I could just find the right way to teach each student, then I would find success as a teacher.

Type A teaching left me with limited success

But I met a limited success.  I would spin around in circles trying to find the perfect solution to whatever issue I was having.  Reading books and talking to other teachers, I searched for the exact right way to teach my class, the exact right way to keep control of my classroom.  I would find something that would seem to work and then implement that solution immediately.

That solution would work for awhile but would inevitably fail, so I would search for another one.  After several tries discouragement settled in, and I gave up trying for awhile.  I let go of my attention to detail and flew by the seat of my pants.  I would add more movies to my class, and have more DEAR and read aloud time.  The bare essentials of my curriculum would get finished, but the extras I let slip.

I fell into a cycle of plan till I drop, guilt, and then pick it back up again

After a while, I would feel guilty for not teaching the curriculum and knew that the kids just couldn’t really be learning anything.  So I would double down again and increase my efforts to make my plan and follow it to the letter.  I entered the roller coaster again, looking for that perfect answer.

This cycle followed me into my homeschool routine.  I try my best to make a schedule, write my plans for the days and weeks, and stick to that schedule.  I operate under the belief that my kids can only learn when I am on the ball, following my rigid curriculum and schedule.

But I can’t keep going with that rigid schedule forever.  It’s too much, and when I get wound too tight, the relationships with my kids start to suffer.  I have to let go.  I picture myself as a rubber band, stretched to my breaking point.  I go hard and stretch myself until I break, then I am unable to continue.  I take a day off, and then another, and another, until I feel guilty for abandoning my kids and then determine to get back on track.

How can I break this cycle?

This cycle frustrates me so much.  Why can’t I just stay on track?  Isn’t there a happy medium between these two extremes?  In my research, I found an article that encouraged me more than anything that I have read before.  I had never heard of Type B homeschooling, but when I read this article, it gave me hope.  It let me know that I wasn’t alone in how I homeschool.

Are You a Type B Homeschooler?

Type B homeschoolers do not adhere to a rigid schedule.  A Type B homeschooler is not a typical homeschool mom.  She doesn’t replicate school at home.  School can happen in any form.  A deep conversation with a child, learning science from nature or from a favorite video, or spontaneous learning activities are just as legitimate as learning from a curriculum.  But it is so easy to fall into the trap that says learning can only happen with a curriculum and a rigid schedule.  I still find myself falling into that trap on a pretty consistent basis.

I am not a complete Type A homeschool mom nor a complete Type B homeschool mom

But even though I identified with this article, it did not completely describe me.  I love planning, and after my excursion into unschooling, I feel firmly convinced that my children and I need some sort of structure around us. I have spent most of my teaching career trying to fit myself into being a Type A teacher.  I know that now I would rather exhibit the characteristics of a Type B teacher.  But if I have to go with a label, I am going to describe myself as a Type “Me” homeschool mom.  The way I homeschool may not be right for anyone else, but as much as possible, I want to make it right for myself and my children.

Now, I am excited to plan the next school year.  I am tired of riding the same old roller coaster, winding myself up so tight that I break.  So this year, I am going to give myself the structure that I need, while also granting the freedom to keep my household and myself from winding too tight.

Our basic structure for this summer:

For this summer, my structure will include reading, writing, science, Bible, and history.

• Bible

– we are going to study the Bible together.  I am going to use Danika Cooley’s Bible Road Trip curriculum.  In addition, we will all spend time individually studying God’s Word for ourselves.  But most of our learning has come from the discussions that we have about God’s Word.  Those are unplanned, and we will continue to have them.

• Reading

– Our local library has a summer reading program.  Bear Bear has already decided that she wants to participate, and Super Stuffy is now too old, but we will be visiting the library on a weekly basis.  I will also be introducing a summer reading challenge to my kids, but that will be completely voluntary.

• Science and History

– I will leave both of these subjects in the hands of my children.  We have tried curriculum in both of these subjects without success.  On our trips to the library, we will choose living history and science books to read together according to their interests.  I will give them the option to read them on their own or I will read the books to them.

• Writing

– My kids have not had writing up to this point beyond their spelling and handwriting.  Now, our writing will take two forms:  First, I will be using the Student Writing Intensive lessons from IEW. These lessons are simple, easy to implement, and only take a few minutes each day.  The other part of our writing will be notebooking.  I have tried notebooking without much success in the past, but I think that now is the time to try it again.  When we read history and science, I will require my kids to write a small summary on a notebook page.  Starting with just one or two sentences per reading, this will ease my children into writing more.  

This may seem like a lot of structure, but for me, this provides the outer boundaries that I believe we all need to excel in our work.  Inside these boundaries, all three of us have many choices.  Finally, this year, I want to break away from the crazy roller coaster of trying to fit inside a Type A homeschool personality.  Finally, this year, I want to find the homeschool routine that works for us.

Are you a Type A or type B homeschool mom?  Do you fit somewhere in between?

How about you?  Do you identify with this eclectic sort of homeschooling?  Leave me a comment below and tell me how you homeschool.  Do you identify more with the Type A homeschooler, or the Type B?