Polar Star, Vanguard, and Over scheduling

Home School Groups - Without them I am not homeschooling

For the past 11 years our family has participated in a home schooling group called Polar Star.  It has enabled me to continue to home school our children beyond elementary school.  It has provided a peer group and family friends for all of us.  As our children have gotten older we've also supported each other at mission farewells, weddings and baby showers.  It has provided an amazing community that in some ways seems somewhat Zion like.

It has not been perfect.  We've had a few falling outs at times.  We've had some children struggle or become a bit apathetic but all in all it's been amazing.  The classes are mostly based on either a historical time period, such as the American Revolution, Leadership or Shakespeare.  Our kids have learned how to study and work hard through these classes.

However, for the past few years we have noticed that the feel of our group has changed a bit.  The spiritual element seems to have taken a back seat to trying to cover all of the topics and subjects that a high school diploma requires as we have become involved with a part-time charter school.  It's a loss that I have felt keenly.  So I have started on a journey to see if I could figure out what was missing.

I have investigating another home school group called Vanguard.  These groups are based on the idea that we should use principles as the starting point.  It also involves lots of thinking, pondering, praying and planning on the part of the mom-mentors who take on a week each month.  I love how they plan for their group individually.  I think that the Lord really helps them to find things that their individual kids need to read, think about, write about, discuss and present about.  I love how everything that is brought to the table is welcome and there aren't any impossible feeling lists that have to be checked off.

But yet I feel that our rigorous classes through Polar Star are amazing to complete.  It teaches all those who complete them that they can do REALLY hard things.  But sometimes they are just to hard.

I'm not sure which direction we should go with Polar Star.  I want both things - but I also want my youth to not be driven like little burros up and down the Grand Canyon of Education.

What to do ....