Types of Homeschooling
Take this quiz to find your preferred homeschooling method!
The Textbook or Traditional Approach
This is a very common approach to home schooling and includes graded textbooks or workbooks that cover each subject. It can be described as “bringing school home.” Teacher’s manuals, tests and record keeping materials are usually available with the curriculum. Worktext programs are along the same lines, except that the textbooks are written as consumable workbooks. These programs allow more independent study and require minimal teacher preparation and supervision.
Video programs are available, and they are actual classroom instruction on video that your child watches and then does the assigned work, just like the children on the classroom video. Traditional curricula is also available on computer, through satellite schools, on CD Rom and through the internet.
Video programs are available, and they are actual classroom instruction on video that your child watches and then does the assigned work, just like the children on the classroom video. Traditional curricula is also available on computer, through satellite schools, on CD Rom and through the internet.
The Living Books Approach
This approach advocates studying most subjects by the reading of “living books” as opposed to textbooks. This approach is based on the writings and philosophy of Charlotte Mason and Ruth Beechick. Mason’s approach to academics was to teach children the basic “3 Rs”, then expose them to the best sources of knowledge for all other subjects. This is accomplished by using living books that make the subject come alive. Typically biographies, historical fiction and great literature are used to educate children.
Unschooling Approach or Relaxed Home educators
This type of schooling was made popular by John Holt, who believed that traditional schooling inhibits a child’s creativity and enthusiasm to learn. He promoted the idea of allowing children the freedom to pursue whatever interests they might have, doing all their learning naturally in real life situations. He thought children learned best when they had more access to the real world. This approach allows children to pursue their own interests with parental support and guidance.
Unit Studies Approach
The Unit Studies approach to education is to study one topic at a time and then learn all you can about that subject by looking at it in all different ways. As an example, if the current study is about baseball, it may include researching the history of baseball, reading biographies about great baseball players, writing a report about baseball, going to a baseball game, researching and read ing books about baseball equipment, figuring out baseball statistics, playing a baseball game, organizing (alphabetically) baseball cards, and so on. With this approach , children of different ages can learn together, and many subjects are covered together. There are many good prewritten unit studies, and many resources for writing your own unit studies.
Classical Education
The Classical Approach draws from teaching methods that have been around throughout history. Many home educators have been looking back through history to see how great scholars of the past were educated, and have found that the Classical Approach, which includes three stages, called the trivium, were used. The three stages are the Grammar Stage (K-4), the Logic Stage (4-8), and the Rhetoric Stage (9-12). Usually it is a rigorous curriculum used by highly motivated parents and children.
The Jessamine County Home Educator's Association willingly allowed us to repost the following thoughts on homeschool styles. THANK YOU JCHEA!!!