What’s Your Style?
To steal from the famous quote by Forest Gump, homeschoolers are kind of like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get. There are so many different types of homeschoolers each with ideas and opinions that are completely right & true FOR THEIR FAMILIES. There are some that will swear by one method or curriculum and others that completely reject that one for whatever reason and embrace another approach and refuse to use any formal curriculum what-so-ever and what’s amazing about both is that each will produce amazing kids that turn out to be very productive members of society. The following is a very, very brief overview of some of the homeschool styles or approaches that I hear about most often. A simple google search for any of these will give you loads more information on any given style (and then some)! As I said in an earlier post, of all the styles of homeschooling, the best one is the one (or combination) that works for you & your kids.
Classical You could probably say that this is the oldest & time-tested method of homeschooling and is very popular among many of the homeschoolers I know. It follows an education pattern called the Trivium along with the use of Great Books of influential ideas. The Trivium follows three stages of learning starting out with the Grammar Stage (absorbing information & memorization), then moving into the Dialect/Logic Stage (focusing on discussion & debate and the “why’s” behind information), concluding with the Rhetoric Stage (becoming independent thinkers; using effective speaking and writing). You can find more information on the classical model here: https://classicalacademicpress.com
Charlotte Mason This approach to learning utilizes rich literature and Living Books rather than text books along with nature study and art & music appreciation. The goal is to nurture a love of learning that will produce life long habits. For more information on this style of homeschooling visit https://simplycharlottemason.com.
Traditional (School-at-Home) The name says it all. School-at-Home is probably what you’re used to seeing in a classroom within the school setting. This method uses the read, then answer questions type of teaching obviously with the use of textbooks and workbooks. There is a plethora of curricula available for use in the traditional homeschool. A few that I’ve used are https://www.abeka.com, https://www.bjupresshomeschool.com and https://iew.com.
Unschooling For as many different types of homeschooling styles there are, there are just as many definitions and names for the method most frequently referred to as “unschooling”. Simply put, unschooling is interest/child led learning. There is no set curriculum and whatever sparks the child’s curiosity is what is studied. If the child is interested in trains, they learn all about trains. If they decide the solar system is something worth checking out, that’s where they go!
Unit Studies From what I hear as I talk with several of my homeschool friends, unit studies are becoming more & more popular. I can understand why since you take a topic or theme and dive deep into it. Every subject is incorporated into that particular topic. Depending on which curriculum you choose, you may need to supplement with an additional math curriculum. One new and increasingly popular curriculum choice for unit studies is https://gatherroundhomeschool.com.
Eclectic These homeschoolers are often known as “relaxed” homeschoolers. They use different methodologies with no loyalty to a certain curriculum or method. They pick & choose, mix & match whatever works for each child. These folks are often a combination of all of the above methods. Traditional curriculum for math, some Charlotte Mason for history and a little unschooling for science and so on.
There’s no right or wrong choice when deciding on your homeschool approach. In homeschooling, you have the freedom to do what’s best for your kids and that goes for HOW you homeschool. I’m not going to lie, at the start of our school year, we are a very disciplined and structured mix of traditional, Charlotte Mason with some unit studies thrown in and probably even some methods no one has even heard of…Eclectic if we had to choose a label. Then, by the end of the year, we are very dedicated unschoolers. That’s the beauty of this homeschooling adventure…you do what works and what’s best for your family.
