Determining the Homeschool Style that fit our Family (part 3)

After 7 years of homeschooling, I have noticed that many new homeschoolers have a tendency to immediately begin worrying about curriculum, what to use with their children and how to make sure they are keeping in step with all their children would learn in certain grades if they were in public school. While this is somewhat natural, and I have had to guard against this myself, I believe it is putting the cart before the horse. There are at least as many different ways to homeschool as there are people reading this, so before worrying about specific curriculum choices it would be well to READ EVERYTHING YOU CAN GET YOUR HANDS ON ABOUT DIFFERENT HOMESCHOOLING STYLES (no, I'm not really shouting, just capitalizing for emphasis!!).

What people may not realize is that every single textbook, every single curriculum ~ yes, even math ~ is written from either a particular worldview or the viewpoint that their approach is the "right" way to teach that particular subject. Sometimes the approach is subtle and seemingly hidden, but often it is very identifiable if you know what to look for. When you go to a homeschool conference or bookfair it is easy to be overwhelmed with the sheer number of choices! Which is something I'm grateful for, as our predecessors had very little choice when it came to homeschool curriculum. But if you know what style of homeschooling you're aiming for, and what your goals are ahead of time, you can confidently walk past those vendors that offer materials not in line with your style and goals, and focus only on those that do.

So what are the major homeschooling styles?

This has been ably addressed by those much more expert than I, so I will only briefly highlight a few here. An excellent resource that describes all the homeschooling styles in great detail and even gives you a checklist to know if this is the style for you, is the book 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum by Cathy Duffy. Love, love, love this book!

The traditional style includes using textbooks and/or workbooks, and will use a distinct book for each subject area. These books are usually written for use in regular school classrooms. This approach enables a home school to function much like a regular public or private classroom. Some people find this method easier for record keeping, scheduling, and accountability.

The Charlotte Mason approach is named for its founder, a British school teacher who lived during the late 1800's, early 1900's. After years of experience, she determined that there were better ways of teaching children than traditional methods. To quote Cathy Duffy, "she believed in a child's innate ability and desire to learn and the need for teachers to restrain themselves from controlling all learning. She was not an advocate of unschooling, but of directed learning as well as teaching a child self discipline and good habits." This approach is characterized by lots of outdoor nature study, the use of narration (telling back) after reading/learning, and the reading of quality literature. An excellent resource for learning more about this homeschooling style is The Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola.

The classical style is based on models that go all the way back to the Ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. Every subject area is taught in three stages that coincide with a child's development. The grammar stage involves the basic structure, skills and knowledge of any subject (for math that would include learning basic math facts, for grammar learning parts of speech, for history learning the names of major events and people, etc). The logic or dialectic stage builds on this foundation, and students begin analyzing information and making connections. The rhetoric stage builds on this even further, the students have assimilated knowledge, thought about what they have learned, and can now express their own ideas through speech and writing at what would likely be considered adult levels. This style is characterized by the reading of "real books" and by socratic discussions. A wonderful book that details this approach is Teaching the Trivium, Christian Homeschooling in a Classical Style.

The Unit Study approach is based on a theme that is used across subject areas. Rather than studying each subject separately, information is integrated and taught within the unifying theme. This style is characterized by the use of "real books" as well as hands on activities, and a high degree of direct parent involvement.

There are several other styles as well, including relaxed homeschooling, unschooling, literature based, and the eclectic approach, which is a combination of two or more of the above philosophies. Many homeschoolers I know, including myself, would fall into this category!

When we began homeschooling with only younger children, my two primary goals were to have lots of time to be outside, and to read lots of good books. So the Charlotte Mason style really appealed to me. We would read, and talk about what we were reading. We would go on a walk in the neighborhood and talk about what we saw. I consciously steered clear of many workbooks in the early years, and also tried to pick classic children's books to read to the kids that had stood the test of time. If it was published before 1960 we probably read it!

The unit study approach also appealed to me, and as I did more reading and studying about learning styles, the classical style also resonated with me. Over the years this has merged into the mostly classical but eclectic style that our family has today. Because we are first learning foundational skills in all subject areas and then building on them as our children grow (the classical model), our children may not know all the same things at the same time as their institutionally schooled counterparts, and vice versa. And this is okay! There are no curriculum police that are going to come to our door and demand to know why we didn't study a certain thing at a certain time. We are free to chart our own course. How I thank God for that!

I think the main reason that the classical model has come to fit us so well, is that my hubby and I are not as concerned with which FACTS our children remember from their school experience, as that they be able to THINK for themselves. That they will be able to take in information, recognize whether it is truth or falsehood, process it, think creatively about it, and articulate its truth or error in an effective way that edifies or persuades others. This is our number one educational/life goal.

We were thrilled to find Tapestry of Grace about this time two years ago. Tapestry is a Biblically based classical curriculum, that allows all our children to study the same time period of history together, each at their own level or stage of learning. Our 5 year old and just turned 8 year old are at the lower grammar level, our 9 year old is at the upper grammar level, and our 11 year old is just entering the dialectic stage. It has been thrilling this past school year to see the progression of stages as each of our children has read (or been read to), discussed, and written or narrated about the same material. Marcia Somerville, author of Tapestry, always says "read, think, write." We try to do this every day!

As well as being a classical curriculum, Tapestry also incorporates the unit study approach. There are hands on activities listed as options for each week, as well as vocabulary words that relate to the history and literature being read, and map work that coincides with history. Of course, the parent/teacher is free to pick and choose which of these things to utilize, and what to ignore. Something else I have to repeat to myself frequently is that "I am the master of the curriculum, not its slave." New homeschoolers, or those considering homeschooling, repeat after me......"I do not have to do it all."

We switched from Sonlight to Tapestry two years ago, and it has definitely been the right fit for us! But just because something works for us doesn't mean it will work well for you. Each family is so unique and has their own goals and dynamic. So please do read and think and pray, and then decide with God's help on your own special style!