The "Best" homeschool curriculum

This past weekend I was very blessed to be able to see two friends that I hadn't seen in a year+. It seems that true friends only take moments to be able to jump in and have serious discussions. Both are older than me and "veterans" in mothering, homemaking and homeschooling, yet still have some younger children. Their loving smiles and gentle words melted my rough insides. I picked their brains on so many issues and soaked in their wisdom.

"How do you deal with _______ issue in children?"
"How do you get your children to cheerfully help when there is work to do?"
"What homeschool curriculums do you use?"
"How do you make butter from raw milk?"
"How do you make a homemade healing salve?"

Sometimes they had encouraging words that I needed to hear right then, even if they didn't have a specific answer. Sometimes they gave more detailed directions (i.e. making butter, buttermilk, etc. from raw milk).

Most of their words were just plain wisdom. For instance, in my zeal to be the best homeschool mother, I have been on a seemingly never-ending quest for the "best" homeschool curriculum. It just seems to me that there must be one on the market that would teach my children everything in an easy format and fit our parameters for a Biblically based curriculum. I have been afraid that if I just pulled different curriculums together that I would miss some important thing that my children had to know. I wanted a one-size-fits-all program with simple directions and minimal preparation on my part. These ladies told me, "There are holes in every curriculum. You just need to find which ones fit your home, and each child the best."

I've been thinking about this ever since. Why didn't I get it before? Every curriculum, either in public, private or homeschool, is going to miss something. We can't know it all. We won't know everything in our lifetimes, much less in the 15 some years we are in "school".

It has put the pressure off. The focus is more on finding the curriculum that fits us and will instill a love for learning and critical thinking throughout our lives. They can't and won't learn everything there is to learn, but they can have the skills to learn what they need and want to know.

I have so much to learn, but I am eternally grateful for God's gift of wisdom that is passed down from those that have gone before me.