Erin (yes, from TOS Crew) brought lots of information to my blog in this Guest Post! I learned a few things about myself from reading this and I hope you do, too! ~Kelli
With a degree in Elementary Education I entered homeschooling with a bit of a handicap. All the book knowledge did fortify my confidence and direction in teaching my children, but I fell easily into the all-too-common trap of recreating school at home.
I realized that I had a lot to learn about myself, my children, and homeschooling.
What I thought was THE way – textbooks — turned out to be just one fish in the sea of choices. The terms began swimming in my head – unschooling, Charlotte Mason, Classical, textbook based, eclectic, living books, unit studies.
Over time, I have now dabbled in many, and settled on the preferred homeschool model, the eclectic mix that best suits our family. Very few, if any, homeschoolers follow one philosophy strictly. Most may borrow heavily from one, but also incorporate varying degrees of others as well.
It’s allowed. Your child will be just fine if you mix and match. And, they will thrive even if you switch your philosophy at various stages and progressions.
Each method builds on unique philosophies, carries those out through different practices, and will draw most active participants to a successful graduation. Most likely, you can learn a bit from any given approach. While various sites and individuals will categorize and group these methods differently, they generally fall into these categories:
Classical – Now with a growing movement of Co-ops to draw support (Classical Conversations, among others), Classical homeschooling continues to expand. The Bluedorns at Trivium Pursuit have lots of great information and resources for the Classical homeschool. Basically, Classical homeschool views the student as moving through three stages:
Grammar ~ Through about age 12. Focus on memory work and developing observation and thinking skills. Emphasis on learning Latin as well.
Logic ~ Early teen years. Building on the knowledge of the early years, the student now learns greater reasoning abilities to question and evaluate the information.
Rhetoric ~ Upper teens. Now the student applies all earlier knowledge and questioning to defend and express their conclusions and beliefs.
Personal impressions: I appreciate the emphasis on memory (although not every child will thrive in this area), learning a bit of Latin (builds a greater command of the English language), and delayed formal education (HAVE FUN with your little kids especially).
Charlotte Mason – Charlotte Mason lived over 100 years ago in Britain and her teaching and extensive writing has founded a movement of learning with extensive impact on the modern homeschool movement. As Simply Charlotte Mason puts her philosophy, “Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life.” A Charlotte Mason education seeks to create an atmosphere of learning through living books (as opposed to text books) and exploration, establish a discipline of learning through “laying down the rails” of good habits, and the discussion and interaction with others throughout life experiences.
Personal impressions: In the last couple years we have added more and more Charlotte Mason to our school day. We love the nature study, the wonderful books, the group conversations about what we have learned and explored. Nothing beats an afternoon reading and discussing on a blanket in the shade while the little ones play nearby.
Unit Studies – Unit studies caught my eye first as they involve pulling everything into one theme and usually incorporate lots of hands on activities. We enjoyed KONOS as we explored this method. Typically, kids of all ages work together listening and learning together at their various levels of ability and learn about the current topic through reading, writing, science, history, and sometimes even math and grammar.
Personal impressions: I LOVED when we used unit studies, but I could not keep up with the prep required to pull it off at the level I wanted (you know — add in three kids, a pregnancy, a full time job, and housework and things don’t quite happen the way you need them to). So, we use unit studies occasionally, usually culminating with a lapbook to remember our learning.
Unschooling – sometimes lumped with Delight Directed or relaxed schooling. Unschooling covers a broad spectrum of families. Some let their child call the shots of what to study, when to study, and how far to go. Others allow their children to simply choose the topics they study and the parent still determines the process and expectations. The focus in this type of schooling is the child’s interests, and capitalizing on their fascination to encourage learning. Sallie recently wrote an article on Heart of the Matter Online that shares her experience with a Delight Directed model of homeschooling.
Personal impression: For my family this did not offer enough structure to our day and year. We do some Delight Directed learning in the summer time when our school schedule is lighter. I and a couple of my kids in particular need clearer boundaries and goals to enjoy our learning experience.
Some methods will not click with your personality, your time frame, your children’s needs, your husband’s goals, or some other unique aspect of your homeschool situation. Whichever way you choose, enjoy the journey, love your kids, and keep your personal goals in mind. There is no clear cut right or wrong method, but some you may find right or wrong for you. Find what works and ignore what your neighbors or in-laws think.
Other sites with further information:
- The Curriculum Choice
- Homeschool Curriculum for Life
~ Erin Lasky enjoys the daily challenge of mentoring five young lives including two boys and three girls ranging from four to twelve. First and foremost she wants them to each enter adulthood with a passion for following Christ as well as a love for learning. She blogs at Delighting In His Richness and has started a website to connect Chicago area homeschoolers as well.
Technorati Tags: Erin,Crew,Guest,Post,Kelli,degree,Elementary,Education,knowledge,direction,children,Charlotte,Mason,Classical,unit,Over,Very,philosophy,Most,method,graduation,individuals,movement,Bluedorns,Trivium,Pursuit,student,Grammar,Through,Focus,memory,observation,Emphasis,Latin,Logic,Rhetoric,Upper,teens,beliefs,Personal,impressions,area,English,language,kids,Britain,impact,atmosphere,life,text,exploration,discussion,interaction,nature,afternoon,theme,activities,KONOS,topic,science,history,math,spectrum,Some,parent,expectations,interests,fascination,Sallie,article,Heart,Matter,Online,boundaries,needs,husband,aspect,situation,Find,Curriculum,Choice,About,Homeschool,Network,Lasky,passion,Christ,Chicago,Philosophies,degrees,progressions,participants,methods,categories,Conversations,skills,conclusions,rails,topics,goals,homeschoolers,three
