My daughter often shows dissatisfaction with any history textbook she comes across. Over the years we have used several different books but her complaints were always the same. She insisted the text was not detailed enough. While I assigned historical fiction, biographies and documentaries, she still showed dissatisfaction with all the material she was surely missing. I explained that there was no possible way to cover all of history into one book that covers one year of learning. I suggested she find a period of history she was especially interested in to study indepthly. She then looked at me quizzically and explained that she would then miss out on even more if she only focused on one aspect. Happy she was curious about history but frustrated with this conversation I simply told her that there was no way she could major in every topic.
I realized later that my concern about gaps in education was much like her complaints of her history books. Homeschooling moms go through great pains to be sure they are providing the best curriculum and books for their children. The focus on that is so much that the fear of gaps in education takes over and the need to fill the bookcases with three different spelling books and five different math books is almost over powering.
Step back, take a breath, and relax. There will always be gaps in education. If you send your child to public school…gaps. If you send your child to private school…gaps. If you use a textbook…gaps. If you use historical fiction…gaps. No matter what your choice of education style, method, or choice your child will have gaps in his education. You simply cannot teach everything.
What can you do? You can focus on providing the best education for your child’s individual needs. You cannot cover every subject indepthly but you can prioritize what you want to teach your child. Allow your child the freedom to be creative and choose an educational path as he gets older. Always re-evaluate your curriculum, method and style but keep focused on your goals and not what your child might be missing.