Popular Homeschooling Styles Today

While a lot of people seem to think of children gathered around a table writing away feverishly whenever they think of homeschooling, this is not necessarily the way it works. There are various types of homeschooling available today with the following being some of the most popular.

The Charlotte Mason Method

Charlotte Mason, a homeschooler who was both passionate and zealous about making education fun, started a homeschooling movement that is named after her. Herein classical literature, poetry, fine arts, classical music and crafts are emphasized. She also used "living books" (literature that is written by passionate authors) for reading to her students and then she would have them narrate it to them (spoken narration until age siz and written by age 10). Another thing that she truly advocates was the use of a "nature diagy" in which children would draw their observations of nature.

Eclectic Homeschooling

Eclectic homeschooling involves using various homeschool techniques. Parents use their own judgment to decide what would make the best curriculum for their child. As such, these parents must continuously be on the lookout for the products they feel will meet their children's needs. They feel that this is the best way in which to accommodate their child's gifts, temperament, learning style and interests. Oftentimes this means taking lots of field trips and trips to the library too.

Unschooling

John Holt, who was a public school teacher in Boston, laid the foundations for this homeschool method. He believed were able to learn best whenever they are free to learn at their own pace and when their own interests guide them. Herein his message was that children should be "unschooled."

Unschooling is a hands on approach to learning. The parent is to take their cues from the child. There is no specific curriculum, schedule or type of material used. As such, this really is the most unstructured type of homeschooling today.

The Montessori Method

This method of schooling was born in Italy. Here it was observed that children have periods when they are acutely sensitive and thus can concentrate really well. During these periods children will oftentimes repeat activities until they are satisfied with themselves for having done so. In order for this to work though, the environment must be prepared to facilitate learning. The materials that are used are meant to satisfy a child's inner desire for spiritual development. They can be anything from simple to complex in nature but most of them are actually rather expensive.