Homeschooling Methods Part I
Homeschooling Methods Part I
There are many different educational methodologies used in homeschooling today. It can be quite overwhelming trying to choose what method you want to use with your family. Below are some of the most commonly used methods just to help you get started. If you are interested in any particular method, you should do more comprehensive research on your own.
Please note that many of these methods may overlap. Also, one family may use different methods for different subjects. For example, they may use a unit study approach for the bulk of their subjects but use a worktext for mathematics. Please don't feel that you need to be limited to one approach. The purpose of this page is to help you have a small insight into the various methods to help you begin your search for the perfect homeschooling approach for your family.
Please note that it is impossible to include all resources for every method. We have tried to list the most commonly used resources. If you feel that we need to add a resource to this list, please e-mail us with the resources and the heading under which it should be included.
Structured Curricula Traditional/Conventional
This method grew out of the need to institutionalize education. It assumes that everyone needs to know the same thing. Textbooks, lectures, tests, and grades are commonly used with this method. Many of the popular homeschooling curricula of this method are also used in Christian schools. These materials can be accelerated or normal paced. Materials don't usually cover topics in depth, but usually cover them more surfacely giving a broad general knowledge
Weaknesses: Least homeschool friendly method which generally lacks flexibility. There is more busy work than a homeschooler generally needs. It doesn't respond to the child's interest and frequently doesn't teach thinking and reasoning skills.
Strengths: This method is very familiar to us. It requires less retraining to use. Many first timers will feel more comfortable with this method. Although it doesn't cover many topics in depth, it does cover them all in a systematic way.
Some of the most commonly used resources:
| A Beka Book, Inc. | Home Study International |
| Bob Jones University Press | Seton Home Study |
| Calvert School | University of Nebraska-Lincoln |
| Christian Liberty Press/Academy |
|
Unschooling
Writer: John Holt, (one of the founders of the modern, homeschool movement)
John Holt's philosophy is that a child's natural curiosity and desire to learn is destroyed by the usual methods of teaching. The child needs access to more of the real world, time to think over experiences, to use their imagination, and to play, They need advice, roadmaps, and guidebooks to get where they want to go and learn what they want to know. The child can be trusted to direct his/her own learning. This method is also known as relaxed homeschooling or flexible homeschooling. The belief is that the child's natural curiosity about the world and natural desire to learn should be the motivating factor in education. They believe it is the parent's job to guide and help the children explore and pursue their own interests at their own pace
Methods would be that the parents would need to model a life on interests' exploration, and allow children to be involved in adult activities, surround a child with the rich environment of books and resources, and respond with careful attention to a child's questions, interests and concerns.
From John Holt's book Learning All the Time "The one thing we can be sure of, or surest of, is that children have a passionate desire to understand as much of the world as they can even what they cannot see and touch and as far as possible to acquire some kind of skill, competence, and control in it and over it. Now this desire, this need to understand the world and be able to do things in it, the things the big people, do is so strong that we could probably call it biological. I can sum up in five to seven words what I eventually learned as a teacher: The seven word version is: 'Learning is not the product of teaching.' The five word version is 'Teaching does not make learning.' As I mentioned before, organized education operates on the assumption that children learn only when, only what, and only because we teach them. This is not true; it is very close to 100% false."
Other Excellent Books: (check the library)
The Big Book of Home Learning by Mary Pride
Christian Home Educators Curriculum Manual: Elementary Grades by Cathy Duffy
Christian Home Educators Curriculum Manual: Junior and Senior High by Cathy Duffy
How to Home School, A Practical Approach by Gayle Graham
The Ultimate Guide To Homeschooling by Debra Bell
The Way They Learn by Cynthia Tobias
Worktext/Program Instruction
Worktext/workbook materials contain the instructions and the work in the same book; the student writes directly in the book. These are usually easy to use and inexpensive. They are especially nice for something like math during the early years where the students don't have to copy down every problem. Workbooks can be used with lots of philosophies depending on how you use them, but they are more closely aligned with the conventional/traditional method.
Program Instruction is what is used primarily in computer programs where you have immediate feedback on getting the answer right or wrong. The philosophy here is the quicker the student has feedback on how they are doing, the better they are able to learn the material. This method does work well for some things.
Strengths: Easy to use for the parent and the student. Many times they are inexpensive and can be used with different approaches.
Weakness:: Boring / not challenging. They deter the development of reasoning because they don't ask the why's and the how's.
Some Resources:
| ACE School of Tomorrow | Alpha Omega Publications, Inc. |
Unit Studies / Integrated Approach
The philosophy behind this method is that all knowledge is interrelated and is learned more easily and remembered longer if presented in a related way. In this method instead of 8-10 subjects being studied separately, they are blended together and centered around some common theme. A unit study usually covers all the subjects except reading and math. As the student gets older and older there are more subjects that a unit study will not cover. The younger the student, the more material/subjects that can be covered, the older the student the more that you will be pulling out to do separate studies. For example you can't teach foreign language systematically using this method. Skills that need to be learned systematically cannot be learned in a unit study, but all our content areas, science, social studies, history, and those types of subjects, can all be integrated into the unit study approach.
Unit Studies mean that all subjects point back to the topic of the unit study. The theory here is that repetition builds retention, and students have a "big-picture memory file" for topics giving them a fuller understanding. They also claim that it allows greater discovery for the student causing them to be better thinkers. Here there are no textbooks and workbooks and this method heavily stresses activities, which means they usually require significant prep time. Unit studies can be used for all children at all different levels, tailoring it to their own level which can help build family togetherness. Some examples are KONOS, based on character traits, and The Weaver based on Biblical passages. Many people also make up their own unit studies.
Resources
| KONOS, Inc. | The Weaver Curriculum |
Literature Based Curricula
This method relies on "real" books with some help from teaching manuals. There is very little workbook or textbook work, but there is some structure. All of the reading ties together in various subjects, but it requires less prep time than a unit study. These types of materials could be used with the Charlotte Mason method listed above.
| Beautiful Feet Books | Greenleaf Press |
| Five in a Row | Sonlight Curriculum |
Early Academics
Writers: Richard Fugate and Dorren Claggett
The philosophy of this type of educational method is that you need to start academics early. If you don't start early disciplining the educational part of the child's life, the child will be behind. You need to start academics early or they won't be where they need to be later. Resistance to doing school is seen as a discipline problem. Methods are the child starts doing school work early, as young as two or three. A short time is set aside every day and the instruments that are used are workbooks, oral instruction, visual aids, and manipulatives.