One of the best things about homeschooling is that you don't have to recreate school at home; in fact, in most cases you shouldn't recreate school at home. You have the freedom to allow your children to learn in ways that aren't possible in an institutional setting, so learn more about what might work best for your family. Consider how your children learn. Home is not school and does not need the same structure. There are many homeschooling styles; take some time to look into how each works.
While you are exploring, take the opportunity for your children and yourself to go through a period of deschooling before you jump into homeschooling, especially if your child was previously in public school. There is an adjustment period that a child (and often the parent) goes through when leaving school and beginning homeschooling.
To fully benefit from homeschooling, a child has to let go of the school culture as the norm. This is deschooling, and it is a crucial part of beginning homeschooling after a period of time spent in a classroom. This period is a great time to explore the homeschooling methods and learning styles if you haven't already done so.
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Related Reading
What Is Distance Learning?
One of the greatest things about homeschooling is having the freedom to experience education in a way that works best for your student and family. Often, this means enjoying educational models or philosophies that are uniquely designed to fit your family’s needs. One such model is distance learning.
Education Hybrids: Is this homeschooling?
In some states, there are various hybrid education models due to families combining some elements of homeschooling with classes and programs offered by public schools, private schools, charter schools, colleges, and online schools. Often called "homeschool hybrids," these education hybrids may take the form of part-time enrollment at a traditional local public school for a class or two while homeschooling, participation in extracurricular activities and/or sports at a local school while homeschooling, university model schools (usually private) that students attend two or three days a week while learning at home the rest of the time, and more...
Are You a Type B Homeschooler?
I don’t particularly love labels—they can be too general or cause assumptions and are likely not 100% accurate. That said, labels can be helpful when you’re searching for information on various topics. Google is better when you’re using key words, which is how I heard of Type B homeschooling a few years ago. A good old Google search brought me to a few articles, which I read and breathed a sigh of relief. I felt like I discovered a secret society of homeschoolers. I was not alone. Fast forward to this past summer, when a good friend and I ...
The Online Curriculum Advantage
What’s the capital of Montana? How many teaspoons are in a quarter cup? How long do rhinoceroses live? If your homeschool student asked you one of these questions, you’d most likely answer, “look it up.” Your student would probably sit down at their computer or pull out their tablet or phone to do so. In today’s day and age, the thirst for knowledge is almost unquenchable and going online to learn is as natural as breathing. That’s why it’s a wonder that families balk at the idea of using online curriculum in their homeschool.
Ask Jeanne: Online Homeschool Program?
The first few weeks of school this year haven't gone well for Cheryl, and she wrote to me for help deciding whether to homeschool her 7th and 11th graders who are in negative school situations. I wanted to answer a specific part of her question in greater detail: I have never homeschooled and I need advice. I thought of doing the online homeschool called . Please help!
Considering Homeschooling? Find the Right Fit.
Homeschooling is all about finding the right fit: finding what works for each child, for the homeschooling parent, and for the family’s lifestyle and values. Luckily, homeschooling has gained mainstream popularity in the last decade and the resources for homeschoolers have exploded into a veritable feast of choices.
School Choice
I support school choice. Unlike politicians who advocate school choice, I am not referring to vouchers and tax credits. No, when I say school choice, I am referring to the right and responsibility that each parent has to direct the education of their own children. As a homeschooler, you may think it's obvious that an editor of a homeschool newsletter would support school choice. To that, I would ask you to consider what school choice means to you and whether you truly support school choice for other parents no matter what their choices are.
Transcripts and Delight-Directed Learning
Some people just aren't textbook people! What do you do if your homeschooler learns by living, instead of studying textbooks? What if your child soaks up knowledge like a sponge, without being directed in any way? Can you still create a serious-looking high school transcript?
Unschooling - Education Outside the Box
To understand unschooling, you really have to look back at the history of education and homeschooling. The standard used to be for children to be taught in the home. However, by the mid '70s, homeschooling was nearly extinct. Over 99% of school-aged children in the United States were attending institutional classroom schools. By that point, people seemed to have forgotten that children had ever been successfully educated without going to school. Slowly, though, an increasing number of parents began to recognize that they were in a battle for their children's hearts, minds, and time. They saw the control that the ...
Introduction to Waldorf Homeschooling
Despite the fact that there are over 100 Waldorf schools and kindergartens in the USA (and about 1000 more in countries as diverse as Mexico, Latvia, France, Germany, Israel, India and Egypt), Waldorf education is not well known. Indeed, amongst homeschoolers, those of us who work with Waldorf are almost invisible! My hope is to address this imbalance and to help get the word out about a form of education which others might find beneficial to their children.
Definition For Classical Education
Classical education uses specific terminology—grammar, rhetoric, and logic—for the three stages of learning. The Trivium combines these terms with knowledge, understanding, and wisdom to create Trivium terminology. Learn more about each stage and how they fit with a child's development.
Awakening the Soul Through Liberal Education (Charlotte Mason Method)
A liberal education awakens the soul of a child. Liberal means a full and generous curriculum. After a thirty-year experiment, educationalist Charlotte Mason (1842-1923) said, "I believe the ardor for knowledge in the children of this mining village is a phenomenon that indicates new possibilities... To find that the children of a mining population were equally responsive seemed to open a new hope for the world. It may be that the souls of all children are waiting for the call of knowledge to awaken them to delightful living."
Charlotte Mason In a Nutshell
Charlotte Mason was a big thinker who had a very high view of children. So let me start out by saying that I don't believe anyone could ever fit Charlotte Mason's ideas, methods and philosophies into an actual nutshell (I just thought it made a good title for this article). Miss Mason's ideas were so broad and far reaching, it took six large volumes to contain her writings on just the topic of education. With that said, here's a very brief overview of a handful of Charlotte Mason's most familiar ideas.
Introduction to the Unit Study Approach
Unit studies, sometimes called thematic units or integrated studies, are very popular with homeschoolers. Unit studies usually use a hands-on approach for effective learning. The child learns by actually experiencing or discovering through different methods and activities, rather than just reading a chapter from a textbook. Studies show that children using unit-study methods retain 45% more than those using a traditional approach.
Waiting For Unschooling To Work
Remarkably, the best homeschooling advice I received came when my first child was a baby. My friend Barb, an experienced homeschooling mom who loaned me stacks of Home Education Magazine and Growing Without Schooling, told me that to homeschool I only had to "provide a rich environment, involve children in everyday living, and help find answers to their questions." That sounded very simple, and it is; the challenge is in trusting that such a plan is enough.
Eclectic Homeschooling
I am now beginning my fifteenth year in homeschooling so I feel well qualified to tell you how our homeschool has evolved into the eclectic approach. My oldest daughter, Laura, graduated from homeschool high school in 2002 and from a one year Bible college in 2003.However, I am still homeschooling my son Stephen, aged 15 for tenth grade and my daughter Mary aged 10 for fourth grade. Over the years I have tried many different curriculums and eventually I just learned to stick with what works for both myself and my children. I also learned that there is no such thing ...
The Steiner Waldorf Approach to Education
The Steiner Waldorf approach to education emphasizes on the use of practical, artistic and conceptual elements into education. This method of education was established by Rudolf Steiner, the founder of a philosophy called anthrophosophy. The Steiner Waldorf approach is based on the fact that the role of imagination in learning is integral for the development of creative and analytical thinking. This educational approach is aimed at providing an environment where young people can develop free thinking, which can be a basis for developing their own personalities as responsible individuals by fulfilling their destiny.
