Summer is almost over and families are starting to prepare for the coming school year…ahhh…you can almost smell the newly sharpened pencils 🙂
As a student, I really had no idea that my mom had a teaching philosophy or what it was. We just went about our school day. When I started thinking about homeschooling my own kids (thankfully I started thinking about it early) I realized I needed to figure out my own philosophy. I also wanted to understand my husbands approach so we could meld them together. I didn’t want a one woman show but I also knew that I couldn’t just do it his way and last (we are very different in personality). As I read books, listened to podcasts, talked to trusted, veteran homeschool moms and just evaluated myself and how I learn and teach I started to hone my philosophy and learn to blend my husbands with my own. I also realized WHY it is so important to have a philosophy in the first place…
- It goes a LONG way in helping you plan your homeschool year. If you have no idea what approach your prefer then the curriculum world is a VERY vast library of choices and you need to consider them all!! Knowing your philosophy helps you narrow the choices and make plans for what extracurricular activities you want to add.
- You will be a better teacher. For the most part, unless your child has specific special needs, kids are good at learning and most curriculum options will work. This is why you need to choose something that excites YOU as the teacher. You can make modifications to a curriculum as you learn more about your kids and get more experience but ultimately if you hate school so will your students.
- It helps you better understand your purpose for homeschooling. Is academics your main reason for homeschooling? Freedom to follow interests? Character building? All of the above? Your philosophy and purpose go hand in hand.
Whatever you choose remember this – you are NOT trying to recreate public school at home. There is a reason you feel homeschooling is best for your family so don’t try to do all the old stuff in a new place. Trying to recreate school at home is the quickest way to burn out, be frustrated and bust your budget.Â
There is an amazing amount of freedom within homeschooling- take advantage of it!
Charlotte Mason –Â This is the one that most resonates with me.
- Charlotte Mason was a British educator in the late 1800’s who believed that you must educate the whole person.
- Living books are a huge part of the CM philosophy. These are books that make the subject come alive and are usually in a narrative style. Unlike a traditional textbook, a living book doesn’t just list facts and dates, it tells a story so you are learning, maybe without even realizing it.
- No “twaddle” – this is a term that CM coined to talk about books and teaching that is abridge, dumbed down, or foolish.
- The CM approach focuses on giving children a rich childhood and parents are encouraged to focus on play and habit training in the early years and not to start “school” until 6 years old. This may be shocking for those trained in early childhood education (like myself) but I have seen the benefits with my own eyes. Young children really do learn through play! You can also develop many good habits during this time since you aren’t stressing about when they will learn to read etc. Note – this doesn’t mean you keep children from what we think of as skills learned in a traditional pre-k setting IF (and that is key) they have interest and are ready. Know your child.
- Short lessons when you do start “formal schooling”. 10-20 minutes per subject for younger children and a bit longer as they get older. Structured mornings and unstructured afternoons focusing on learning through play are typical but you can adapt this idea to your schedule.
- No formal tests. Children use narration to show what they have learned. This may take many forms – answering questions loud, summarizing in pictures, acting out what they learned, using play dough or legos to recreate what they learned about or writing out their own version. This allows children to tell in their own words, what they have learned.
- You will often hear CM users talk about “Spreading the feast” which means exposing children to a wide variety of subjects through various means -art, music, crafts, foreign language, etc.
- Subjects are not presented in the usual text book manner. You may teach art by hanging up some classic works by Monet around your home and talking about them or having the children try and copy them. Be creative!
- Nature Studies are a key part of the CM approach. Having ample time to explore the outdoors helps children grow, learn about the world around them and engage with it. CM once said “Never be within doors when you can rightly be without.”
- CM resources:
Classical – If my husband were in charge of all the teaching in our homeschool this is the approach that would excite him. As I mentioned, we do incorporate this approach in our homeschool so that it is a balance from both parents.
- This approach started in the middle ages and involves teaching based on three stages of learning – grammar, logic and rhetoric. Younger children begin with the grammar stage, in this stage they devour facts through memorization. In the dialectic stage, children ask many questions as they sort and evaluate these facts. In the rhetoric stage, teenagers synthesize their knowledge and apply it.
- The trivium is a key part of learning. There are 5 parts/tools:Â reason, record, research, relate, and rhetoric.
- Literature intensive- like CM, the Classical approach uses good literature as a core component to learning. Early in their schooling, children are introduced to great works and encouraged to make connections between subjects.
- Memorization is used especially in the early stages to help children gather facts which they will synthesize as they grow.
- Repetition of information is used as students study some of the same information but at different ages, the goal is for them to be able to see something new each time as they grow in their knowledge.
- Learning a foreign language (most often an ancient one ie. greek, latin, etc) is encouraged and students are introduced to challenging subjects early but in a way that they can take in.
- Students start earlier than in CM. Some groups like Classical Conversations (a coop style for those pursuing the classical approach) as early as 3 years old. Again, know your child and what they are ready for.
Resources for the Classical approach:
Unit Studies – take a specific area of interest and uses it as a catalyst to develop an in-depth study.
- This approach allows for students to dig deeper on topics they really want to learn about. For example as a young girl I loved horses. My mom did a unit study with me all about horses. Every aspect of my school work had something to do with horses. I read books like National Velvet, Justin Morgan had a Horse & Black Beauty. For science I learned about and memorized the anatomy of a horse. I learned about all the different breeds and how to care for them. We went on a field trip and saw a ferrier. It was a great experience and one I remember to this day.
- This approach is popular with large families because you can easily adapt the activities to various grade levels.
- Hands on activities
- Unit studies are all in one programs so typically you have all you need for each subject in one book. Sometimes you will need to buy an extra math curriculum.
- Basically, take an interest and expound upon it until you have exhausted the curiosity of your child. You can do this with a specific topic or even a specific book (Little House on the Prairie, Narnia…)
Unit Study resources:
- Konos (the first unit study homeschool curriculum)
- Five in a Row
- Tapestry of Grace
- TRISMS
- Amanda Bennett- Unit Studies Made Easy
Unschooling – also called “delight directed learning” or “child led learning”.
- Founded by John Holt in the 1970’s the idea is that children will best learn subjects like math, science, history in the same way they learn to walk and talk – naturally and as they have interest.
- Follow the interests of your child in that season or maybe that day as you go about your life.
- This approach does not use a set curriculum or any scheduled or formal lesson plans. NOTE – If this philosophy resonates with you, keep in mind that in order to stay within the legal guidelines for homeschooling in Texas I recommend you make a few modifications. Because the state requires ” curriculum must be in visual form (e.g., books, workbooks, video monitor).” It is wise to have a visual record of your school time in case (God forbid) your family were to ever have any issues with CPS etc. A planner with record of what you have done and saving portions of your children’s work is probably sufficient.
- Hands on
- Engages curiosity
- Can be adapted to multiple ages
- Somewhat teacher intensive as there are no guides etc. (Yay for Pinterest!)
Unschooling resources:
Traditional Textbooks – What most people think of when they think about school.
- Uses textbooks to convey information.
- Structured in style.
- Easy to see progress and set lesson plans.
- Uses traditional tests to measure students comprehension.
- Many curriculum providers have all in one options you can buy by grade.
- This is not a sub-par option. Some people truly do well with a traditional approach. It can also be a great option for new homeschoolers who aren’t ready to try something new. If you resonate with this style, embrace it just remember to add activities, field trips etc to keep things active and fun. Just because you use traditional textbooks doesn’t mean you have to have a boring school time 🙂
Traditional textbook resources:
- Cathy Duffy Reviews
- Christian Liberty
- Abeka
- ACE (these small workbooks are also a great option for students who need extra help with specific areas)
- BJU Press
- Alpha Omega
- Pearson Homeschool
Special Needs: I would like to include information on homeschooling children with special needs since this has a profound effect on your philosophy.
Depending on how severe the need for modification you may be able to simply take one of the above philosophies and alter it for your family. If you need something designed specifically for students with special needs, have no fear! There are resources for you.
Special Needs resources:
- Texas Home School Coalition’s Special Needs Nook
- Memoria Press
- Little Giant Steps
- Special Needs Homeschooling
- Year Round Homeschooling
- Special Needs FB Support group
- Cathy Duffy
Mary James with Smoothing the Way is a great resource if you have more questions on homeschooling. Feel free to comment here and ask me any questions you have too.
Feel free to buy through my affiliate links to help make this blog earn its keep 🙂
