Methods of Homeschooling

Traditional(School at Home)- This is a textbook workbook method of instruction which usually involves turning a room in the home into a classroom and administering test, quizzes, and grading work.

Classical Education- The Classical Education model is based off the Trivium which is a three prong learning cycle. The phases of the Classical Education Trivium are the Grammar phase or sometimes refered to as Poll Parrot phase, then the Logic or Dialectic phase, and lastly the Rhetoric phase. It may be easier to look at it in terms of Elementary, Middle, and High School but the Classical model is more than your typical grade level learning approach. Its more level based learning than grade level based learning. Classical Education is training the mind to be lifelong independent learners by presenting methods and materials that flow with the natural patterns of development. Each phase builds upon the skills mastered in the one before. Charlotte Mason- Charlotte Mason was a British educator who lived in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Her method, the Charlotte Mason method, is centered around the idea that education is three-pronged: Education is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a Life. By Atmosphere, Charlotte meant the surroundings in which the child grows up. A child absorbs a lot from his home environment. Charlotte believed that atmosphere makes up one-third of a childs education. By Discipline, Charlotte meant the discipline of good habits and specifically habits of character. Cultivating good habits in your childs life make up another third of his education. The other third of education, Life, applies to academics. Charlotte believed that we should give children living thoughts and ideas, not just dry facts. All of her methods for teaching the various school subjects are built around that concept. For example, Charlottes students used living books rather than dry textbooks. Living books are usually written in story form by one author who has a passion for the subject. A living book makes the subject come alive.She taught spelling by using passages from great books that communicate great ideas rather than just a list of words. She encouraged spending time outdoors, interacting with Gods creation firsthand and learning the living ways of nature. Unit Study- The unit study approach is taking a central theme like "horses" or "Civil War" and links all or most of the subjects (literature, history, etc) back to that central theme. For example you have a unit on horses. A unit study on horses could include the book Black Beauty for literature, a study of how horses were brought to the New World and how they influenced changes for history, where different breeds of horses originated from for geography,

have words like "hoof", "stirrup", and "main" on the spelling list, and make either a lapbook or notebook to go along with it. Unit Studies add interest to learning and many times children learn the subject more in depth as a result. Unit studies can be found on the internet for free or bought from curriculum resources, but many times you just can't find what you are looking for in a unit study. So you can write your own unit study. There various templates you can find online. Delight Directed- The Delight Directed Approach is an approach which allows a spark of interest of a child to direct further studies in a natural way. As the child examines and explores his/her area of interest, they will naturally employ the tools of learning: reading, researching, explaining, and writing, in some degree. This approach follows the idea that once there is motivation to explore an interest, parents can direct, encourage, suggest ideas, and discuss ways to further pursue the interest.

Unschooling- This is also known as interest driven, child-led, natural, organic, eclectic, or self-directed learning. Lately, the term "unschooling" has come to be associated with the type of homeschooling that doesn't use a fixed curriculum. Certainly these interests can lead to reading texts, taking courses, or doing projects, but the important difference is that these activities were chosen and engaged in freely by the learner. They were not dictated to the learner through curricular mandate to be done at a specific time and place, though parents with a more hands-on approach to unschooling certainly can influence and guide their children's choices.

Eclectic Homeschooling- Exactly the way it sounds eclectic homeschooling is a mix of various methods and curriculum. For quite a few homeschool families they have found that not just one particular method suited the needs of their student so they choose to pick and choose the most useful ones and created there own program. Montessori- Montessori is an educational approach developed by Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori (18701952). Montessori education is characterized by an emphasis on independence, freedom within limits, and respect for a childs natural psychological development.Student choose from activities within a prescribed range of options that include uninterrupted blocks of work time a "discovery" model, where students learn concepts from working with materials, rather than by direct instructionspecialized educational materials developed by Montessori and her collaborators.