There are a dozen popular approaches to how to design a homeschool program for a child. They range from highly structured courses, to no structure at all. Over the past few decades, the many different styles have come to acquire some common names. Here are just three of the possibilities…

School-At-Home

School-At-Home is the general name for the approach most parents will try first. Not knowing what else to do, they’ll look to experts to design the curricula and supply the materials. In essence, it just transfers what is done in public school classrooms into the home. The approach comes complete with study schedules, textbooks and record keeping.

Though not bad as a first step, the approach has two drawbacks. Parents often find themselves getting burned out by the amount of effort required. They find that teaching isn’t as easy as it might have looked at first. They may slack off. They feel uncertain at how to proceed and grow frustrated at the slow progress. Both parent and child suffer and the goal of homeschooling recedes.

Also, they find that the materials are often part of the reason their child wasn’t doing so well in public school. There are many well-meaning, hard working public school teachers, but they are burdened with using required materials. But parents may not know what other materials would be any better. Again they feel frustrated.

In either case, the child’s progress is slowed or halted. At this stage, parents often seek a homeschool alternative, if they don’t give up and opt for public school after all.

Unit Studies

The basic concept of the Unit Studies method is to use the child’s natural interests as a starting point. One of the most obvious observations one can make about an adult is their tendency to show interest in some things and boredom or dislike of other activities. That tendency starts very early in life.

Some individuals prefer to draw, others enjoy mathematics or science. One person will like to be outside, running or exploring nature. Another seeks out books or stays on the computer all day. Those value preferences begin at about age two (younger for some). Taking advantage of, rather than fighting against, those preferences to tailor a homeschool education is the fundamental idea of Unit Studies.

It’s also what public schools, with their ‘one-size-must-fit-all’ approach, one usually geared to the lowest common denominator, can never achieve.

Classical Homeschooling

This method is, like School-At-Home, very structured but the approach and materials are far superior. The reason is that it is based on a superior foundation. The Classical method emulates the individual education provided during the Middle Ages in monasteries. Still, it may be done entirely without religious overtones, and it focuses on developing the mind.

The goal is to teach the student how to think and learn for themselves.

Classical learning programs can be dull, full of rote memorization. But that practice is made interesting by allowing the child to learn in an orderly way. That provides a base that the child can build on, building confidence along the way.

One popular book on the subject, The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer explains the method in detail. It provides a great deal of useful information for parents interested in this approach.

Many parents will stumble at first. They go through a period of trial and error as they seek out and learn the method that serves them and their child best. But most will find in short order an approach that suits their goals and the personality of their individual child.

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