- Aug 29, 2025
Slow and Steady Wins the Race: An Alternative Philosophy for Academic Excellence
- Bernadette Galvin
- Homeschooling
- 0 comments
Homeschooling in the early years can feel like a race. We may see other families moving quickly through reading programs, mastering math facts, or filling their schedules with activities, and suddenly we feel like we’re already behind. But the truth is, childhood isn’t a sprint. It’s a long, winding path—and our little ones don’t need to rush down it.
When we slow down, give lessons time to sink in, and allow space for wonder, children not only learn better but enjoy learning more. The small, steady steps taken day after day—reading good books, practicing a single new letter sound, noticing God’s creation on a morning walk—are what truly build a strong foundation.
And that is exactly the goal of early childhood education: a strong foundation. Foundational learning isn’t always quantifiable. It’s the bedrock that will support the extensive growth that follows, the invisible framework for new concepts to rest on and the structural supports needed to understand and apply knowledge.
Slow and steady homeschooling isn’t about doing more, or less. It’s about choosing an intentional pace that nurtures strong roots for all future learning and anchors our children in faith. For me, it’s not a formula but a guiding philosophy. Its something I return to when I feel the pressure to rush or lose perspective
🦥 What Slow and Steady Homeschooling Is (and Isn’t)
Slow and steady doesn’t mean being unproductive. It means giving children space to grow at their God-given pace, trusting that steady progress will bear more fruit than racing ahead.
It also doesn’t mean tossing aside academic standards or taking the easy way out. On the contrary, being intentional takes a surprising amount of forethought—which I’ll be honest, I don’t always find easy.
At its heart, “slow and steady” homeschooling means you’re:
Prioritizing depth over speed.
Recognizing that the process of learning is just as important as the outcome.
Being thoughtful about your family’s goals, values, and culture, rather than being swept up in outside pressures or fads.
For me, “slow and steady” looks like setting goals that make sense for our family, while remembering not to force our children into a mold shaped by comparison, fads, or fear.
It’s easy to slip into fear-based homeschooling. Nervously clinging to schedules, comparing our children to others, and trying to prove ourselves. But that only leads to stress and discouragement. Instead, slow and steady homeschooling seeks to nurture growth with peace, faith, and purpose, choosing long-term fruit over short-term appearances.
🧮 Why This Matters in Early Childhood
Anyone who has had a toddler knows there’s no rushing them. Those early steps into independence—putting on shoes, washing hands, “helping” make breakfast—require time and patience. But in that slowness, there is deep learning happening. Even as they grow, preschoolers and early elementary aged children continues to progress in the similar manner.
The truth is, early childhood education already is slow and steady. We simply need to cooperate with that rhythm rather than fight against it. When we push too hard, we risk stifling curiosity, joy, and natural readiness.
Maria Montessori famously said, “Play is the work of the child.” Her concept of the “absorbent mind” reminds us that children learn continuously through play, observation, and imitation, often in ways that don’t look like “schoolwork” at all.
Homeschooling gives us the gift of working with nature instead of against it. But it’s also easy to forget this when we feel outside pressure to keep up with school standards or get ahead. Let’s not lose sight of one of the key reasons many of us chose homeschooling in the first place: to adapt to our children’s needs, personalities, and God-given pace of growth.
🌼 The Benefits of a Slower Pace
Choosing a slower pace isn’t only about reducing stress (though that’s a gift in itself). It brings with it deep, lasting benefits for children and families:
🌿 Working with nature: respecting each child’s God-given developmental pace.
📚 Deeper learning: mastery over memorization.
🎨 More joy: room for curiosity, creativity, and wonder.
🕊️ Less stress: peace in the home fosters a healthier environment for retention and growth.
🧱 A stronger foundation: slow steps build lasting understanding.
These are the kinds of benefits that don’t always show up on paper, but they shape the whole person intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually.
There are also very tangible benefits as well. It may seem counter intuitive, but when we consistently stick to a slower, but steadier, schedule, I am amazed at how much the kids learn. We actually complete more of our curriculum and do more of the ‘extra’ stuff that we typically don’t have time for, simply by not taking on too much.
🐢 Practical Ways to Slow Down
I’ll be honest: I’m not naturally a scheduled person. I tend to be motivated in spurts, which doesn’t naturally lend itself to steadiness. But I’ve found that intentionally applying a few simple principles can create a homeschool rhythm that is restful, concise, and consistent—without making me feel like I have to “catch up” later.
Here are a few ways to put “slow and steady” into practice:
Short, focused lessons: prioritize quality over quantity.
Gentle rhythms, not strict schedules: structure without rigidity.
Build in space for rest, play, and the outdoors: essential for whole-person growth.
Revisit skills: review and repeat rather than racing to check off boxes.
Prioritize what truly matters: sometimes that means choosing a playdate, family devotion, or an opportunity to serve others over “one more lesson.”
It’s not about adding more, but about stripping away what’s unnecessary so we can focus on what matters most. And truthfully? Some days it works beautifully, and other days I’m still scrambling. But even on the messy days, it helps to have an outline to fall back on.
🕊️ Faith as the Anchor
The spiritual life teaches us that growth always takes time. Seeds don’t sprout overnight, virtues don’t appear instantly, and sanctity isn’t achieved by performative effort. Rather, each of these is built in daily acts of faithfulness. Education works the same way.
Whether it’s learning to read or growing in patience, the process unfolds at its own pace. And that’s good. Education is more than grade-level benchmarks. It’s the formation of the whole person, a preparation for eternity.
As Catholic homeschoolers, we remember: our children are God’s first. Our role is to nurture them—academically, spiritually, and emotionally—in a way that leads them closer to Him. Rather than see our children as blank slates to fill with information, it helps to recognize that they are more like a seeds, holding the potential of their wholeness within them and just needing to be nurtured and guided towards their God given destination.
As Catholic homeschoolers, we remember that our children belong to God first. Our role is to nurture them—academically, spiritually, and emotionally—so that they grow closer to Him. They are not blank slates waiting to be filled with information, but living seeds already carrying the potential He has in store for them, needing only to be tended and guided toward that destination. As St. Paul writes, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth” (1 Cor. 3:6).
And on the days I fall short (which are many), I remind myself that God fills in the gaps. My role is to be faithful, not flawless. After all, it is faithfulness, not speed, that is the true measure of homeschool success.
💭 Closing Thoughts
If you’ve wondered if your ‘doing enough’ as homeschoolers, the slow and steady approach may be reassuring to you. It’s not sloth on one side or busyness on the other. It’s the balanced middle way: peace, purpose, and perseverance.
Homeschooling will likely still feel full, especially with younger siblings in the mix. But the gift of a steady approach is that it adapts to the whole family’s needs. By faithfully working through lessons day by day, you’ll find you’re never truly “behind.”
I want to be clear, though: I don’t write this as someone who has mastered this approach. Our days still get messy, the plan sometimes falls apart, and there are seasons where things feel more chaotic than peaceful. These reflections are simply the philosophy I return to when making choices for our family—a compass that helps me discern what to do next, even when the day doesn’t go as planned.
So if your homeschool feels imperfect, you’re in good company. The goal isn’t perfection; it’s faithfulness. Little by little, slow and steady, God uses our small efforts to build something far greater than we could ever accomplish on our own.