# Homeschool teaching styles

Most of the homeschool methods are variations on two possible themes:

1. Give them as many high-quality approaches to learning as their minds are capable of handling, then make sure they sufficiently understand it.
2. Provide them as much freedom as possible to learn and develop on their own, with some amount of input to guide them along their journey.

One of the most important discussions revolves around "deschooling" by removing the formalized structures that imply a school/life dichotomy.

- Check out homeschool conventions, message boards, and online discussions before committing to any particular curriculum.

There are many homeschool books, curricula, styles, opinions, and philosophies, more than you'll *ever* need.

You can typically adapt your routines *beyond* your children to accommodate their education:

- [Cooking](cooking.md) is an excellent time to teach counting and writing (by naming foods).
- If you [grow plants](horticulture.md), they can learn chemistry (through the soil).
- If you have [pets](fun-pets.md) or [raise livestock](agriculture.md), they can learn biology at the same time.
- [Auto repair](autos.md) is a great time to teach shapes and geometry.
- If you're willing to [get creative](mind-creativity.md), *every* mundane task can become an educational experience for your child.
- While it's *highly* chaotic, almost all play time with siblings can be directed to educational ends as well.

**School-At-Home** (aka **traditional**) homeschooling is the "stereotypical" homeschooling approach most parents use when they don't know any better:

- Use a boxed curriculum with textbooks, study schedules, grades, and record-keeping like a standardized classroom.
- This takes a *lot* of (potentially unnecessary) work and has the highest burnout rate.
- However, this means they know *exactly* what to teach and when.
- School-at-home is literally the *worst* way to homeschool because it's the burden of a standardized classroom on the parent, minus the benefits of socially interacting with their peers.
- One advantage is that the extra direct involvement with the student will mean education can be 4 hours a day instead of the typical 5--7 hours of a classroom.

**Classical** homeschool teaches children to learn for themselves:

- The Classical model has been around since the Middle Ages, and possibly longer.
  - **Traditional** homeschool was derived *from* Classical, and a classroom setting typically uses a watered-down version of it.
- There are 5 tools of learning called the Trivium: Reason, Record, Research, Relate, and Rhetoric.
- It transitions through several stages:
  1. Younger children begin with math and literacy.
  2. Then, there's an emphasis on grammar
  3. Then, move to a dialectic stage with reading, study, and research.
  4. Finally, the rhetoric stage emphasizes [communication](people-conversation.md).
- The curriculum is *highly* structured, with every hour accounted-for.
  - This requires a *lot* of rigor on both parents and children (and therefore risks of burnout), and requires educators who know how to communicate clearly.
  - For this reason, most Classical homeschooling is performed with groups of people who can [specialize](jobs-specialization.md) in the different domains.
- The method tends to create "History Notebooks", which can be popular with **eclectic** styles. The most popular on the Classical approach is [The Well-Trained Mind](https://www.amazon.com/Well-Trained-Mind-Classical-Education-Fourth/dp/0393253627).

**Charlotte Mason** homeschooling (est. ~1892) emphasizes time to play, create, and be involved in real-life situations:

- The style was created by the British educator Charlotte Mason within a series of lectures that blossomed within the next few decades into a full curriculum.
  - It deviates from the **Classical** approach by incorporating more time outdoors, with students encouraged to keep a nature journal.
- The style opposes "tabula rasa" (that children are blank containers waiting to be filled with information) but are persons who deserve respect in their own right. Charlotte Mason believed in the motto "I am, I can, I ought, I will":
  - I am a person of great value.
  - I can do everything required of me.
  - I ought to serve others.
  - I will [choose](people-decisions.md) to do [what's right](morality.md), even when I don't want to.
- It delays formal instruction until age 6 when children are developmentally ready.
- Children will explore "living books" by taking nature walks to learn biology, visiting art museums to understand the arts, and learn aspects of geography, history, and literature similarly.
- Instead of formalized testing, children are drilled on the subject via narration and discussion.
- The style is much more social than other approaches and has various support groups and sites online.

**Montessori method** (est. 1897) involves adapting children's interests and activities instead of formal teaching methods:

- Maria Montessori began the idea from learning [educational theory](education.md) at the University of Rome, with 2 presumptions:
  1. Psychological [self-construction](values.md) in both adults and children happens through interacting with [our environment](reality.md).
  2. Children (especially under age 6) have an innate, predetermined path for their psychological development.
- While many things use the Montessori name (since it's not [trademarked](legal-ip.md)), the [Association Montessori Internationale](https://montessori-ami.org/) and [American Montessori Society](https://amshq.org/) have a few required elements:
  - Mixed-age classrooms (e.g., 0-3, 6-9, 9-12, 12-15, 15-18), with 30-36 month to 6-year-old being most common.
  - The student chooses their activity from a prescribed list of options.
  - Uninterrupted blocks of work time, ideally 3 hours long.
  - Where students learn by working with concepts more than direct instruction (constructivist/discovery model).
  - Specialized educational materials are made from natural materials (e.g., wood) instead of plastic.
  - Materials are organized intentionally by subject area, are accessible to children, and scaled downward to their size.
  - A trained teacher is experienced at observing a child's characteristics, tendencies, innate talents, and abilities.

**Waldorf** (aka **Steiner education**, est. 1919) homeschooling believes in educating the whole child with the frequent mantra "head, heart, and hands":

- Waldorf's style was founded through a German school from Rudolf Steiner's spiritualized [philosophy](philosophy.md) of [anthroposophy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthroposophy) with the frequent mantra "head, heart and hands".
  - Head means [thinking](understanding.md) clearly and independently.
  - Heart means the student having [emotional connection](mind-feelings.md) with their work and the world at large.
  - Hands means the willingness to take action to [achieve goals](results.md) and [contribute to the world](meaning.md).
- In practice, it's like Charlotte Mason, but has a far more secular approach with more holistic elements.
- In the early stage, there's an emphasis on [arts and crafts](mind-creativity.md), music, and movement, and nature.
- Waldorf style believes in rigorous academics, but *only* after the child is developmentally ready. Formal academics, especially reading, is delayed until age 7.
- Older children are taught to develop [self-awareness](awareness.md) and [reason](logic.md) things out for themselves.
- One key detail is that it's *very* anti-[technology](technology.md).

**Multiple Intelligences** (est. 1983) homeschooling derives off the belief that every person has a form of [intelligence](understanding.md) that sits on multiple spectra:

- The theory is based on Howard Gardner's Harvard essay and book [Frames of Mind](https://www.amazon.com/Frames-Mind-Theory-Multiple-Intelligences/dp/0465024335):
  1. [Visual](image.md) and space (visual-spatial)
  2. [Language](language.md) and words (linguistic-verbal)
  3. [Logic](logic.md) and [mathematics](math.md) (logical-mathematical)
  4. [Body movement](fun-sports.md) (body-kinesthetic)
  5. Musical
  6. [Connection with others](people-conversation.md) (interpersonal)
  7. [Awareness](awareness.md) of oneself (intrapersonal)
  8. Ability to explore [the environment](reality.md) (naturalistic, more contentious than the original 7).
  9. Theoretically, other forms that haven't been discovered yet.
- The idea is that everyone is *somehow* intelligent along these spectra, and that children must be taught with methods that match those particular intelligences.
- The method is new enough that there are not many curricula oriented toward it, so it sits more as a "philosophy" to adapt a child's learning than a proper homeschool "method".

**Unit study** (aka **thematic studies**, **integrated approach**) homeschool focuses on one central theme, then combines multiple subjects into one study:

- Every topic is the starting-point for a multidisciplinary exploration, with no pressure for the children to move on.
- It is straightforward to implement with the internet and free tutorials about pretty much anything.

**Unschooling** (aka **natural**, **interest-led** learning, **child-led** learning) uses everyday life experiences without formalized lessons or schedules:

- This comes from believing that [learning](education.md) happens naturally and effortlessly, which requires parents [trusting](understanding-certainty.md) their children.
- Sometimes, critics call it "home-squirreling" from the wayward framing of the conversations.
- Generally, the parents ask the *children* what they are eager to learn that day.
- The children will know how to research and become [experts](jobs-specialization.md) in their areas of interest, but the risk is they may do poorly on grade level assessments, and *will* have a difficult time in a formalized school system later if they pursue it.

**Relaxed/Eclectic** homeschooling tends to have a casual approach:

- Gather various workbooks and content for math and literacy, and take an **unschooling** approach for less formalized subjects (e.g., history).
- Mornings are typically mandatory schoolwork, while afternoons are for hobbies and special projects.
- One *major* advantage of this style is that you can teach them about important details they may need to understand, such as [how to live well](goodlife.md) and [basic life skills](habits.md).

If you know people and are [entrepreneur minded](entrepreneur-1_why.md), you can also start a **schoolhouse** yourself:

1. Find at least 10--15 children who need educating and a *very* intelligent teacher in your community willing to sacrifice their time to educate.
2. Establish a schoolhouse with those children, using a more streamlined version of a homeschool method.
3. As the children grow and the schoolhouse becomes [popular](trends.md), start *separate* schoolhouses headed by other teachers.