Project Based Homeschooling

I have spent many years homeschooling and looking back, I might do many things differently, while also doing some things the same. One thing I may have done is provide project based curriculum that would require my homeschoolers to seek information instead of reading it from a textbook. Sure, textbooks are very useful, but in my experience, and with the exception of math, most information can be discovered just as easily as it can be read.

The idea of project based homeschooling came to me as I compiled information to write a series of articles on homeschooling and scouting, where Boy Scouts would have their badge earning project double as homeschool curriculum. Looking at this example, and also thinking about homeschool PACES type curriculum, where the child learns in smaller bites, made me wonder why I hadn't taken this approach in homeschooling my own children.

Of course, I am hardly an innovator in this area of homeschooling. It actually has a name and has been around for many years. Reggio Homeschooling, or the Reggio Emilia Method began in 1960 in rural Italy, where a close knit community started a school that they felt would provide opportunities for the children to "develop their intelligence and prepare for successes in life." http://www.hlnfamily.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1187&Itemid=166 Today, this project based homeschooling is taught to three to six-year-olds in infant toddler programs. But homeschoolers, are beginning to pick on on this project based approach for kids of every age.

Because there is tons of information on the Reggio Approach to homeschooling for younger kids, it would not be hard to get started, provided your kids are young. Reggio Children Magazine As the children get older, the homeschooling parent would need to be a lot more creative.

Project based homeschooling has similarities to lapbooking, science journaling, and unit studies, all successful methods of homeschooling. In each case, the student would participate in learning the subject instead of gleaning from books and lectures. Students can journal, write reports and term papers, build models, interview professionals, and reenact history as different options for project based homeschooling.

To get an idea of different projects to provide homeschoolers of all ages, look through Boy Scout Workbooks as these are very well done and rigorous examples of how to thoroughly cover a project through homeschooling. Also purchase textbooks that includes lots of science project ideas.