What’s My Educational Approach or Homeschool Style?

What is it?

• “School at home”

How does it work?

• Textbooks
• Parent teaching “to” the child
• Classroom set up at home
• Follows grade level on most subjects

Schedule?

• Routine and schedule similar to traditional schools

What is it?

• Homeschool curriculum already assembled for you—you can use it right out of the box!
• For use “as is”
• Complete curriculum—covers all subjects (usually for a specific grade level for one year)

How does it work?

• Planned for you
• Simply open the curriculum and follow the provided lesson plans

Schedule?

• Routine and schedules set by curriculum publisher for daily and weekly goals
• Weekly tests, drills, and guided plans provided by publisher

What is it?

• Ancient three-part process of training the mind called “The Trivium”
  • Early years or Grammar Stage: Absorbing facts
  • Middle grades or Dialectic Stage: Learn to think
  • High school or Rhetoric Stage: Learn to express thoughts

How does it work?

• By studying classical history, great books, western philosophy, Latin, science, math, and fine arts.

Schedule?

• Generally disciplined and routine
• Lots of memorization, Socratic discussion, and reading

What is it?

• “Education is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a Life.” —Charlotte Mason
• Atmosphere—a cultivated home life
• Discipline—developing good habits and character
• Life—academics characterized by living books and ideas vs. learning raw facts

How does it work?

• Using “living books” to guide and teach subjects
• Very limited use of curriculum or textbooks
• Nature, composers, handcrafts, and artist studies
• “Build relationships” with great authors, composers, thinkers, etc., through “living books”

Schedule?

• Short lessons
• Varied lessons
• Lots of read-alouds and individual reading
• Relaxed with emphasis on refreshed minds for each subject and using home life as an important part of the atmosphere

What is it?

• Developed by Dr. Maria Montessori
• Child-directed
• Prepared environments that promote learning
• Hands-on learning
• Incorporate home life as a part of learning
• Mixed-age collaborative approach

How does it work?

• Carefully prepared child-centered home design to promote learning
• Hands-on learning alongside all ages
• Uses Montessori materials such as these.
• Typically focused on preschool through elementary years, but can be adapted for upper levels

Schedule?

• Gentle & relaxed, mixed with consistent and predictable routine
• Incorporates home life as important part of daily routine
• Emphasizes including all ages in learning routines, with children teaching each other

What is it?

• Created by Rudolph Steiner
• Emphasis on spiritual and child as a whole person
• Topics and skills taught on seven-year cycles as child development affects learning
• Experience should be facilitated before the learning of concepts
• Teaching must be creative and artistic

How does it work?

• “Main lessons” guide other subjects which are built off main lessons
• Teacher introduces concepts through lots of stories and examples
• Lots of hands-on learning
• Lots of art, handcrafts, and songs
• Mythology and storytelling

Schedule?

• Rhythm of days and seasons important anchor for schedules
• Seasons and holidays celebrated and emphasized
• Often combined with Montessori or Charlotte Mason approaches which all offer relaxed but predictable daily routines

What is it?

• Incorporates several subjects together while exploring a specific topic/theme.
• Integrates a range of learning activities and materials—from field trips, medieval banquets, and costumes to model-building, timelines, and science projects to books and curriculum—unified around a main theme.
• Parent- and/or child-directed/interest-led.

How does it work?

• Capitalizes on kids’ natural bent towards patterns, themes, and interest-driven learning motivation.
• Adaptable to different learning preferences and challenges.
• Stretches curriculum dollars: kids learn same topics together, but each child is assigned work to fit their age and ability.
• Lots of creative hands-on activities make learning more memorable.
• Use for a season, semester, a year—or just supplement specific subject.
• Easily integrate into other educational approaches.
• Options: use a complete curriculum package based around unit studies, choose individual unit study curriculum or create your own!

Schedule?

• Ideal for teaching multiple ages and levels simultaneously.
• Maximizes parent’s prep and instruction time.
• Many unit study curriculum packages rotate through specific subjects/topics or a specific historical timeline regularly (such as every 3–7 years) so that children usually get to interact with a topic first at an introductory level and later at a deeper level.

There are many names to this approach—it's even called self-directed—its definition can vary and it can take on your own family’s flavor! You can do a quick internet search to find a number of helpful descriptions.

What is it?

• Child-directed/interest-led learning
• “Life without school”
• Trust children will be motivated to learn

How does it work?

• No curriculum
• No tests
• Supports natural learning and facilitates learning of topics child is interested in

Schedule?

• No set schedule
• Freedom to set any schedule that works for child and family

What is it?

• Integrates many different educational philosophies and curriculum approaches
• Freedom to choose favorite parts of different educational approaches

How does it work?

• Review other educational philosophies and curriculum approaches
• Choose what works for you from each philosophy—and discard what doesn’t.

Schedule?

• Freedom to set up schedule that fits the educational philosophy being followed for each subject