Today, I want to talk about the main homeschool teaching methods that parents choose to teach their children.
If you are looking for a teaching approach that fits with your child's learning style than this should help you. Where it is possible I will be adding links to help you to find more information.
So, let's have a look at our options.
Many homeschool parents have chosen to use distance learning to home educate their children.
Distance learning is based on the child being educated without regular face to face contact with their teacher in a classroom but, through correspondence either online or through mail instead. You are responsible for ensuring that your child is completing the tasks set for them.
You must enrol your children with a registered distance education provider to begin this method of home education. Some say this form of education is separate from homeschooling because the provider will be set out the work and guidelines for you to follow and will be responsible for regulating the program they design. I see that this is the only difference and essentially your child is educated in the home, supervised and supported by the parent so, to me, although I may stir a few feathers, it is still home education.
Distance education has been around for centuries and has been used by many students who are unable to attend a regular school. Many children were taught through a form of distance education in outback Australia using the radio. The first being school of the air which were sent to Alice Springs in 1951. See this link for more information about the School of the Air.
As a homeschool mum I find this method provides me with the freedom to take what I need from many different methods and keep our lessons engaging.
Our mornings are focused more towards the 3 r's, reading, writing and arithmetic. I use textbooks, livingbooks, online education sites, YouTube and hands on materials in our lessons.
Alot of what I use to compliment our mornings are used to compliment our afternoon lessons, where it is applicable. Our afternoon's are aimed more towards the subject goals, theme or topic we are following that term.
Many homeschool parents choose this method in the beginning, because it provides a clear map of learning requirements for the child.
Each subject has its own textbook that are created based around the child's grade level and the relevant national curriculum standards for the subject.
As an example: I chose to use textbooks to help me follow a clear map of curriculum in all subjects last year.
This year I feel more confident teaching science along with a couple of other's and I will be using the unit study method in these subjects.
In math and English I feel a big need for support in following a clear map of curriculum expectations. So, I will be sticking with textbooks in these subjects as our base. This will enable me to fill any gaps in knowledge and support Mr 14's future success when he returns to school next year in year 10.
Charlotte Mason was an educator who taught children in the late 1800's through to the early 1900's. She taught school subjects (including personal care and development) through the use of teachers instructions, living books, nature studies, art appreciation, music appreciation, hands on crafts and experiences.
A great Charlotte Mason treasure trove can be found at Homeschooling downunder. This blog is for all new homeschooler's and a goldmine of knowledge and resources for those of you thinking about implementing the Charlotte Mason method into your lessons.
I use certain areas of the Charlotte Mason method to complement my lessons. I especially enjoy using living books and art appreciation in music and visual arts.
I compliment alot of my lessons using online schooling to help Mr 14 gain a deeper understanding of a subject area and at other times to provide him with more practice in developing a new skill.
My favourite free source of online education are YouTube, Khan academy, Studyladder and Scratch.
You can find links to these sites on a previous post of mine here.
There are online schools like Khan academy covering subjects catering to students of all ages right through to university. A great online education provider I have just begun trying out is www.lynda.com.
As you can see there are so many choices available for us to choose from. It can be very overwhelming at first too. It was for me and still is at times. But, if you are new believe in yourself, because you really can do this! I believe in you!
For those seasoned veterans who are far more knowledgeable in home education than I ever will be, please feel free to add your wisdom in the comments below.
If you are looking for a teaching approach that fits with your child's learning style than this should help you. Where it is possible I will be adding links to help you to find more information.
So, let's have a look at our options.
Distance learning
Many homeschool parents have chosen to use distance learning to home educate their children.Distance learning is based on the child being educated without regular face to face contact with their teacher in a classroom but, through correspondence either online or through mail instead. You are responsible for ensuring that your child is completing the tasks set for them.
You must enrol your children with a registered distance education provider to begin this method of home education. Some say this form of education is separate from homeschooling because the provider will be set out the work and guidelines for you to follow and will be responsible for regulating the program they design. I see that this is the only difference and essentially your child is educated in the home, supervised and supported by the parent so, to me, although I may stir a few feathers, it is still home education.
Distance education has been around for centuries and has been used by many students who are unable to attend a regular school. Many children were taught through a form of distance education in outback Australia using the radio. The first being school of the air which were sent to Alice Springs in 1951. See this link for more information about the School of the Air.
Eclectic
The eclectic method of Homeschooling is where the parent takes parts of a range of teaching methods and molds them to fit their children's learning style.As a homeschool mum I find this method provides me with the freedom to take what I need from many different methods and keep our lessons engaging.
Our mornings are focused more towards the 3 r's, reading, writing and arithmetic. I use textbooks, livingbooks, online education sites, YouTube and hands on materials in our lessons.
Alot of what I use to compliment our mornings are used to compliment our afternoon lessons, where it is applicable. Our afternoon's are aimed more towards the subject goals, theme or topic we are following that term.
Traditional
The Traditional method is a textbook based method.Many homeschool parents choose this method in the beginning, because it provides a clear map of learning requirements for the child.
Each subject has its own textbook that are created based around the child's grade level and the relevant national curriculum standards for the subject.
As an example: I chose to use textbooks to help me follow a clear map of curriculum in all subjects last year.
This year I feel more confident teaching science along with a couple of other's and I will be using the unit study method in these subjects.
In math and English I feel a big need for support in following a clear map of curriculum expectations. So, I will be sticking with textbooks in these subjects as our base. This will enable me to fill any gaps in knowledge and support Mr 14's future success when he returns to school next year in year 10.
Charlotte Mason
Charlotte Mason was an educator who taught children in the late 1800's through to the early 1900's. She taught school subjects (including personal care and development) through the use of teachers instructions, living books, nature studies, art appreciation, music appreciation, hands on crafts and experiences.A great Charlotte Mason treasure trove can be found at Homeschooling downunder. This blog is for all new homeschooler's and a goldmine of knowledge and resources for those of you thinking about implementing the Charlotte Mason method into your lessons.
I use certain areas of the Charlotte Mason method to complement my lessons. I especially enjoy using living books and art appreciation in music and visual arts.
Unit studies
A unit study is typically based around a theme or topic that incorporate a range of subjects and learning styles. It is a very popular method among homeschool families because you are able to adapt the activities and lessons to fit the child's learning style and age. It is a great choice for parents teaching multiple children. For more information about unit studies and how to make your own see Autisticmama.com.Online education
Online education is a form of education often refered to as e-learning. It is delivered over the internet and is available as short courses from top universities around the world for adults and students interested in learning a specific area of study.I compliment alot of my lessons using online schooling to help Mr 14 gain a deeper understanding of a subject area and at other times to provide him with more practice in developing a new skill.
My favourite free source of online education are YouTube, Khan academy, Studyladder and Scratch.
You can find links to these sites on a previous post of mine here.
There are online schools like Khan academy covering subjects catering to students of all ages right through to university. A great online education provider I have just begun trying out is www.lynda.com.
More teaching method's
Links to more information about teaching methods that I, myself have yet to dive into but, you may be interested in using in your homeshool are;- Classical teaching method
- Montessori teaching method
- Waldorf method/ Steiner education (This is an increasingly popular choice of education method.)
As you can see there are so many choices available for us to choose from. It can be very overwhelming at first too. It was for me and still is at times. But, if you are new believe in yourself, because you really can do this! I believe in you!
For those seasoned veterans who are far more knowledgeable in home education than I ever will be, please feel free to add your wisdom in the comments below.
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