“But it’s too much reading!”
“But ______ [fill in the blank with Campfire or any of your other favorites] has so much reading!”
We all want the best of both worlds—an “easy” homeschool experience and a top-notch education. But, let’s be real: we can’t have our cake and eat it too.
Think about it: in public/private school, students spend about 40-60 minutes in each class–reading, discussing, working, or listening to teachers. That adds up over the day, right?
Top-Notch Education with Simplicity
Guess what? Whether your child is in public, private, or homeschool, they need to hit a certain number of hours per subject to get that end-of-year school credit. Thankfully, with homeschool, you can still hit the requirements of your state and have a top-notch education (in a way that doesn’t conform to the “traditional” forms of instruction).
Now, let’s talk Campfire. Sometimes, parents say there is “too much” reading in the curriculum. Let’s break it down for you:
- Our main lesson content? It clocks in at approximately 2,500 words. That’s ~15-20 minutes of reading per DAY. That’s it! When it goes longer, we have you split the lesson in two.
- Obviously, there is more to the lesson than just reading, but the reading aloud portion is ~15 – 20 minutes. The rest of the time is spent in directed discussion, taking notes, experimenting, showing that the education was absorbed through multiple learning styles, perfecting the education, visual representations, Campfire making things “fun,” and more.
We know some parents hope for less reading, but we all must realize: if we cut down the educational reading or material, it wouldn’t meet education standards, let alone give your child the solid learning they deserve. It would NOT be the best of both worlds. It would be cheating, and it would be a disservice to your family.
Campfire units are set up perfectly to allow for the least amount of effort necessary from the parent while ALSO giving your children a robust education. It really is the best of both worlds.
The Extras
Yes, we have extras—SYW pages, Core Connections (for all school subjects), discussion prompts, and optional learning extensions (which is where your child expands and applies their learning, to bring you up to the core curriculum standards). This can double or triple the educational content. However, these options are just that: OPTIONAL. If you want that robust education, use these sections to dive deeper (for a university-aspiring or super passionate student). Skip them if you don’t.
But honestly, if ~20 minutes of reading a day feels like too much, let’s remember: you’re their teacher. Teaching takes time, and 20 minutes of reading? That’s more than reasonable. Even an hour is reasonable, when covering all school subjects.
Modeling Behavior for our Children
Yes, it can be hard at times. It’s hard for public and private school teachers, too (we aren’t endorsing that model of education, but are using it as a comparison). This is what we signed up for when we signed up for homeschool—being their teacher. Thankfully, with Campfire, you get to have a lot of fun as the “student” too, since our units are designed for all ages. With Campfire, the whole family gets to learn together. We do the hard work for you.
Campfire isn’t just about sitting still and reading. We’re all about breaking things up with interactive activities, hands-on learning, and creative, visual lessons and discussions, etc.
It’s normal to wish learning was easier, so we could do less, but if we want our family to get a great education, we’ve got to put in the effort. This is our chance to model for our children the hard work a great education demands.
After all, we’re in this together, shaping their future! Let’s keep encouraging one another because it’s a hard journey all of us parents are on!