What’s the RIGHT way to homeschool?? Whoa…now that’s a loaded question if I’ve ever heard one…and boy have I heard THIS one more times than I can count! Though the years, and even now as we go on about our homeschooling life, I often have other mamas ask me for my input on “how” to homeschool their kids properly. So many are wondering if they can handle it. Others say they would homeschool but they don’t know how. Still more tell me that they just don’t feel like they would be able to meet their kids’ needs. For those who have already begun the homeschooling journey, the question most frequently asked of me is “How many hours per day do I need to devote to schooling?”
All of these questions and concerns are answered simply: THERE IS NOT ONE “MOST CORRECT” WAY TO HOMESCHOOL YOUR CHILDREN. One more time for those who need to hear it…there’s not just one way!!!!! Homeschooling looks different for every family, and for every child. If you are already a homeschooling family, chances are really good that school looks super different at your house than it does at my house, or at anyone else’s house, for that matter. And if your family is considering making the leap to become a part of the homeschool community, I want to emphasize to you to not try to replicate someone else’s design for educating their kids.
One of the many beauties of homeschooling that you get to choose the method, or methods, that works best for your family…even for each individual child. You get to tailor each child’s education to his/her specific needs, and to your needs as a parent. There are many methods that are popular, but I will list off a few of the most common. Just so you know, I have used various methods with my own children…and I have changed methods to grow with them and to adapt to our family’s changing needs. What a wonderful thing to be able to do!!
Popular Methods of Homeschooling
- Classical: emphasis on learning Greek and Latin, classic literature, masterpieces, focus on facts/data/logic/critical thinking/rhetoric, self-expression, is very rigorous and “academic”, schooling follows a historical timeline and most things are learned in the order they happened, takes much time, great for older students
- Charlotte Mason: lots of time spent outdoors, focus on nature journals/walks/exploring, emphasizes observation/memorization/narration, reading includes “living books”/classics/biographies/poetry, shorter periods of time spent, best for Kindergarten-6th graders
- Montessori: lots of physical movement, focus on creativity and interest-based learning, lots of unstructured time and manipulatives, perfect for preschool/early education/special needs children
- Unschooling: freeform learning, student centered, rigorous instruction is very rare but sometimes included for reading and math, very adaptable, explorative/student can learn about anything they want, diversity in learning is fostered, works well for “de-schooling”/transitioning from traditional school to homeschool, works best for younger students (although older students feeling “burned out” on traditional school will benefit from the change temporarily)
- School-At-Home: very traditional approach to learning, has formal standards to be met, often uses “pre-packaged” complete curriculum, can be expensive, highly structured/inflexible, time intensive, parallels traditional/public schooling, most often has teachers to check in with and submit work to/deadlines/tests, can work well for those homeschooling temporarily with plans to return to the traditional school environment, better for older students
- Unit Studies: utilizes thematic learning plans, students learn about one topic through all subjects, less study time because of content overlap, students respond well/feels like less work for them, works well to combine with other methods, can be adapted for all grade levels
- Eclectic Education: *MOST POPULAR* method, uses multiple methodologies at once, can have both structured and unstructured time on different days, very flexible, lots of resources available, works well for all grades
That’s a lot of options, right? If you are thinking about homeschooling and feeling overwhelmed with all of the choices, don’t despair! Read over those options again, paying close attention to which one makes you feel peaceful and calm. Which one makes you dream a little, smile, or be excited? Thats the one to start with!! And an awesome thing to know is that if you decide to change methods later on, YOU CAN! You can switch at your own leisure, without asking permission, and without feeling guilty. Ahhh freedom!
If you already homeschool, which method or methods do you use? When our kids were little, I utilized the Charlotte Mason method, unschooling, and unit studies the most. As they grew, we transitioned toward a blend of Charlotte Mason, unit studies, and classical. Now that they’re much older, we use primarily classical (minus the emphasis on Greek/Latin…we do Spanish as our foreign language), with some unit studies for high interest things. I love that we can tweak each method to be exactly what we need it to be!!
Now that the popular methods have been laid out for you, I hope it has cleared up some of your concerns and questions. My goal is always to bring encouragement and joy to everyone, and I pray that though sharing these tidbits of knowledge today, you have gained those two elements. One final thought for you, my dear mamas…Always look for the joy in your homeschooling adventures, and your children will learn to do the same!
Lastly, I do have some personal favorite publishers. I do not use just one publisher for all subjects. I like to mix and match to get our schooling exactly the way we like it. Here’s my short list of favorite publishers:
And if you’d like to read any of my favorite non-curriculum homeschooling books geared toward parents, here’s another list of favorites for you!
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