Homeschoolers cover an entire spectrum of different educational methods. On the one end, you have unschoolers, families that believe in self- or child-led learning. Relying on real world experiences, they learn by living. On the other end of the spectrum, you find parents who have "school at home." They may set up a classroom environment, use structured curriculums, and rely on schedules to keep things moving smoothly. And of course, there is everything in between. There are as many different ways to homeschool as there are homeschoolers. Explore the different methods, ideas, and approaches that make the homeschooling experience so rich.
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| Learning Styles |
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Knowing your child's learning style can help you teach him or her in the best way possible. Explore these diverse ways of learning and get tips on the best way to help your child grasp and learn new material.
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| Eclectic Homeschooling |
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What do you call the homeschooler who doesn't necessarily subscribe to a certain homeschooling method? Well, the term eclectic fits just perfectly. Eclectic homeschooling involves a diverse and unique approach to learning at home.
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| Unschooling |
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Unschooling is more than just not going to school. It is following your child's interests to get the most out of learning through living.
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| Montessori |
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The Montessori approach to education can work very well in the home environment. Learn about incorporating Montessori techniques at home, national support organizations, and how to find resources and materials.
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| Waldorf |
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Explore the Waldorf philosophy of education and see how it can be integrated into learning in the home.
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| Classical/Trivium |
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The classical method of education, based on the Trivium, is a traditional model of learning and teaching. Read more about this method and find out how homeschoolers are using it to teach their children at home.
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| Charlotte Mason |
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Charlotte Mason's philosophy and model of teaching can be used with great success in the home. Explore this method and find ways to incorporate this teaching and learning style into your homeschool.
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| Moore Formula |
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Dr. Raymond and Dorothy Moore were pioneers in the homeschooling movement and have given generations of homeschoolers inspiration, know-how, and ideas that make learning at home fun, less stressful, and more rewarding. Learn more about their philosophy of education and their methods with these resources.
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| Unit Studies |
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Unit studies are a creative and dynamic way to integrate core subjects into topical learning. They can excite interest in your child and can help you cover a number of subjects in a shorter amount of time. Learn more about unit studies and how to incorporate them into your own homeschooling methods.
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| Co-Ops |
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What do you do when you are overwhelmed and feel like you can't do everything all by yourself? Join a co-op! Co-ops pull together the resources, strengths, and gifts of several people to help provide a more diverse, complete, and rewarding educational experience for your children.
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| Online Programs |
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A virtual school in general refers to a program in which your child is at home, but takes courses over the Internet. These virtual schools offer online programs and often full curricula. They are usually administered by a public or private school. Thus, children enrolled in these programs are effectively enrolled in a school and skirt the definition of a homeschooled student. There are some controversies regarding these programs, but they do provide an alternative that is appropriate for some families. Learn more about how these programs work, what to expect, and how to get the most out of them.
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| Vocational Training |
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Vocational training offers teenagers and yound adults the opportunity to learn a trade, often with on-the-job training.
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| Community Colleges |
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Many community colleges around the country have opened their doors to homeschooled teenagers, giving them an opportunity to start their college careers early, to gain classroom experience and college credit, to challenge them with more difficult materials, and to expand their horizons. Many parents look to community colleges to provide instruction in materials that they are not well suited to teach themselves.
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Against School |
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John Taylor Gatto |
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This essay was written for the Harper's Magazine forum, "School on a Hill." John Taylor Gatto discusses how public education cripples our kids and why. |
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Literature Alive |
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Literature Alive! is an email group list for the literary website of the same name. This list seeks to encourage and support parents who have a love for literature and a desire to share good wholesome books with their children. Its purpose is to develop the art and excitment of using great living literature in a learning lifestyle. This group will share information on how to turn a living book into a cherished book within the home. Different literature study methods enhanced by Charlotte Mason's writing will be discussed: lapbooks, notebooks, journals, book clubs, reading settings, etc. |
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A Comparison of Traditional and Natural Learning |
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Kathleen McCurdy |
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This is a chart that explores the differences between traditional and natural learning. It compares how the child and parent are viewed, how learning occurs, the role of textbooks and curriculum, how learning disabilities fit in, and how various school subjects are viewed. |
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Can a Christian Be an Unschooler? |
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Patrick Farenga |
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Unschooling is an educational approach, an attitude towards learning. It refers to the ways in which we use books, materials, and experiences to learn and grow. The type of underlying structure you have inside yourself, your goals, value system, discipline, whether you watch TV or call parents by their first names, whether you use a patriarchal, democratic, or any other type of family structure, are not unschooling issues; they are parenting issues. Whether unschoolers or not, every parent must deal with these issues. Homeschoolers can agree on matters of how children learn and can even share a similar homeschooling style without agreeing on all of those personal issues; Christians can be unschoolers.
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Know Your Students: Identify Their Personal Learning Styles |
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Inge P. Cannon, HSLDA |
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Educators have many ways of defining and describing the way people process information including learning personalities, modalities, and styles. The simplest to understand and apply involves three categories: lookers, listeners, and movers. It is helpful for a teaching parent to know his own learning style as well as the preferred learning style of each child in the family for several reasons. |
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