This is my sixth and final post on “Teaching Methods.”

The eclectic method of home-schooling may seem self-explanatory, but I think it’s worth taking a look at since the vast majority of home-schoolers are using this method.  While I have no hard data to support that statement, my experience of knowing home-schoolers for over twenty years gives me some basis to say that I believe the most common method used by my fellow home-schoolers is the eclectic method.

While often home-schoolers will start out adopting a more rigid curriculum (the “school-at-home” approach I discussed here), most will quickly find that unsuitable for their purposes.  In my own personal experience, I had been home-schooling for only four months when I realized that duplicating an institutional model in my home was not only counter-productive…it was a disaster! 

I very quickly started relaxing my methods and looking for ways to make our home-school more functional and more interesting for both me AND my daughter.  The next year we participated in a unit studies co-op with several other families.  A year or so later I discovered Greenleaf Press’ Famous Men series.  Throughout the years we have used 4-H programs; my sons were active in Royal Rangers (which I used for part of their curriculum); and I have used a multitude of various workbooks, CD’s, videos, computer programs – a veritable plethora (isn’t that a great word – “plethora”) of materials and experiences to enhance our home-schooling journey.

Over the last few weeks I have discussed various teaching methods you might use in your home-school.  In the eclectic method, you pull from all those methods and more to make your home-schooling experience uniquely yours.  Your children are unique, your family is unique – there is no formula for education, there is no formula for raising a responsible, well-adjusted, academically prepared child.  There are certainly some great resources (hopefully this website is one for you!), there are people who are further along on their journey who can give you advice.  But when it comes down to it, God gave those children to you.  They are unique little (or not so little!) people that God gave into your care so that you could bring your unique gifts to bear: to raise them, to nurture them, and yes, to educate them. 

To recap the various methods I have discussed in this series, there are:

• The Traditional Method
• The Classical Method
• The Unit Studies Method
• The Charlotte Mason Method
• The Unschooling Method
• The Eclectic Method

Someone reading this may say, “Wait a minute, there are other methods of home-schooling that you didn’t cover here!”  This is true.  I tried to focus on the methods I believe are most commonly used by home-schoolers today.  But if you have used another method not mentioned here, would you please share with me and my readers in the comments?

This post is the fifth in a six-part series on “Teaching Methods.”

My first exposure to the concept of unschooling was through a book (that I didn’t read but was familiar with) that detailed the story of the Colfax family.  David and Micki Colfax “unschooled” their four sons in the ’70′s and ’80′s, three of whom received full scholarships to Harvard.  (The Colfaxes did not call it unschooling however – they simply referred to it as “home-schooling.”)

Well today, the popularity of unschooling has grown exponentially…as has the controversy surrounding it apparently.  Unfortunately, the controversy seems to primarily stem from those who really don’t want parents educating their children at all – whether through unschooling or some other method.  I’d like to give a little background on the unschooling “movement,” my thoughts on it, and some links that you can use to get more information in the event this method of home-schooling piques your interest.

John Holt is generally thought to be the “father” of the unschooling movement.  For many years he produced a newletter entitled, “Growing Without Schooling.”  The general philosophy of unschooling is that education should be “delight-directed” i.e., students choose how, when, why, and what they study.

I am going to go out on a limb here (maybe) and suggest that, for many parents, unschooling may seem counterintuitive.  Moreover, I believe that for parents who home-school long-term, the type of teaching method they choose to implement will be, at least in part, a function of their personality and temperament, combined with an understanding of, and adapting to, their child’s particular learning style.

All that being said, I want to acknowledge that I do believe unschooling is a proven teaching method that works.  As I am not an “unschooler” per se (though I do believe some of my methods would be consistent with those used by unschoolers) I am providing links that will give you the opportunity to explore this method yourself.

Before I do that, however, I would like to broach a subject that has recently come to my attention, that of a certain antagonism that some “unschoolers” seem to have towards “home-schoolers.”  My feeling, and I believe this has been the opinion of the home-schooling community for decades, is that unschooling is simply another type of home-schooling, not that there is a “home-schooling camp” and an “unschooling camp.”  (As I pointed out earlier, the Colfax family, widely considered to be unschooling pioneers, merely referred to themselves as home-schoolers.)

Without getting into a long discussion of how this antagonism has come to my attention, I will simply note that, for some reason, some unschoolers are making the assertion that home-schoolers are doing nothing except having “school at home.”  I have actually seen that wording in more than one forum and I have to say as a home-schooler that I find that wording to be, at best, misleading, if not offensive.

If you have been reading my series on “Teaching Methods” (this post is part five of that series) then you know that home-schoolers use a wide variety of methods to reach and teach their children.  I do not believe that because home-schoolers choose to be the ones who direct their child’s education, as opposed to choosing a “child-directed” approach, that it automatically follows that they are simply replicating the institutional system in their homes.  Given the fact that the right of parents to educate their children is constantly being challenged by those who ARE in the institutional system (especially teacher’s unions) I would hope that unschoolers and other home-schoolers would be supporting one another’s choices rather than denigrating them.

What follows is a list of links to websites and books that can help answer any questions you may have about unschooling:

• http://www.holtgws.com/whatisunschoolin.html
• Homeschooling for Excellence by David and Micki Colfax
• Teach Your Own: The John Holt Book of Homeschooling
• Learning All the Time by John Holt
• Real Lives: Eleven Teenagers Who Don’t Go to School Tell Their Own Stories by Grace Llewellyn

Unschooling is certainly another option to consider as you educate yourself regarding the different teaching methods being used by home-schoolers today.  Are you an unschooler?  If you are I would love for you to share your experiences in the comments section.

This post is the fourth in a six-part series on “Teaching Methods.”

Charlotte Mason (January 1, 1842 – January 16, 1923) was a British educator who believed that children learned better through exposure to real books, nature, and life.  She eschewed textbooks in favor of great literature; her students spent a large portion of their time outdoors studying and recording nature; and creativity was also emphasized.  One of the main features of the Charlotte Mason method is its use of “living books.”

I would define “living books” as books that are the kind you would pick up and read for pure enjoyment.  Keep in mind that what you would pick up for enjoyment, and what I would, may very well be two different things.  For the last couple of years, my book of choice is a crime thriller (a whodunnit).  Jeffrey Deaver books, for example.  But I also read books on politics, religion, health, and others.  You might like books about crafts or home decorating or hunting.

I hope it is clear then, that including living books in your curriculum is not complicated.  What are your interests?  What are your children’s interests?  How can you include books on those topics in your curriculum: language arts, science, history, the arts, life skills…

I have particularly found “living books” to be a great foundation for our studies of history and science.  To give some specifics:

1) As I discussed in my post on Traditional Methods, I found early on that, for my family, history textbooks were far too dry…and boring.  I was beside myself with joy (seriously) when I found Greenleaf Press’ series on “Famous Men.”  Greenleaf’s series divides history up into: Old Testament History; History of Ancient Egypt; History of Ancient Greece; History of Ancient Rome; History of the Middle Ages; and The Renaissance and the Reformation.  I love the fact that they teach history chronologically because well…that’s how history happened!   I love that they discuss the famous men (and women) of the particular era AND they pull in “living books” that provide depth and context to what the kids are learning.  I am not going to go into more detail; I plan to do a thorough review of these materials at another time. 

2) Until high school, I find that science is taught much more effectively using the unit studies method and part of the unit studies method involves the use of living books.  If you take a look at the KONOS method of unit studies (which I discussed here) you will find that living books figure prominently.  For many families, the use of “nature notebooks” – something the Charlotte Mason method uses extensively – are also part of their science “curriculum.” 

How else might you use “living books” in your home-school?  As an example, you could build part (or even most) of your curriculum around great literature.  Spend a year delving into books by Charles Dickens, for instance.  Pull out ideas and concepts that are presented in his books and develop a debate topic.  Have your children write book reports or chapter reports.  Have your children illustrate scenes from the books. 

As I pointed out in my post on unit studies, I spent one year with my middle son (then in eighth grade) reading and studying 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea for his language arts, science, and geography.  I had actually not planned it that way.  It was something that just happened “organically” (for some reason bloggers like to use that word a lot so I thought I’d throw it in) – but the point is, it worked!

I would like to leave you with some links you might want to check out if you are interested in learning more about the Charlotte Mason method.  I want to point out (as you might have figured out already) that this method actually dovetails quite well with other methods of home-schooling.  In fact, you can use the principles of the Charlotte Mason method to enhance any home-schooling method you might choose to use.

• http://charlottemasoneducation.com/
• http://simplycharlottemason.com/
• http://www.charlottemason.com/

Any one of these websites can give you a fantastic overview of the Charlotte Mason method and also provide ideas that you can implement in your own home-school program.  I would love it if my readers who have used this method would also share their experiences in the comments!

This post is the third in a six-part series on “Teaching Methods.”

Unit studies is a teaching method that has two particular advantages:

1. It allows you to cover a number of different subjects while focusing on a particular topic, and
2. It allows you to teach those subjects over a broad range of ages and/or grades.  If you are not familiar at all with unit studies, I will explain what I mean.

The particular unit study program which I have had the most experience with is called KONOS.  KONOS is a unit study program that utilizes character traits to teach your child across the various disciplines: history, science, language arts, math and the fine arts, for instance.  Many years ago (1991-92 to be exact) I participated with my daughter in a KONOS co-op.  There were approximately 5 families with 8-10 kids of grade school age (and several more pre-schoolers).  One of the character traits we studied was “obedience.”  And one of the topics we used to study this character trait (to give you an example of how this works) was “Kings and Queens.”

During that unit on “Kings and Queens” we:

• Studied castles
• The children made cardboard swords and shields with a coat-of-arms
• We took a field trip to a medieval festival
• We learned to play chess

- and that is just a few of the things we did over the course of this study (which lasted approximately 12 weeks).  As you can probably tell, the kids had a lot of fun during this study, and moreover, they learned!  Integrated studies such as these help children to make connections across the various disciplines so that the information isn’t learned and then forgotten.  The children are also engaged in the process because they are having fun, so the subjects they are learning are tied to good memories which allows them to retain what they are learning.

While it can be a lot of fun to use unit studies in a co-op environment, you can accomplish the same engaged learning in your own home with your own children, even if their ages vary widely.  Besides that particular co-op group (which met for one school year), I have been involved in a unit study with just one other family, and I have used unit studies with just my own children.  I have even used unit studies with my kids that I created myself.  (One in particular, a unit study on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea I hope to publish as an e-book and make available on this site.)

Here are several unit study programs you might want to look into to use with your own family, or to use in a co-op environment:    

•  KONOS –  as I stated earlier, KONOS is the unit study program which I have used the most and I highly recommend it.  The first volume of the core KONOS curriculum has enough material in it to last several years (if you choose to stretch it out as I did) and includes character traits such as: Attentiveness, Obedience, Orderliness and Honor, just to name a few.
• Weaver Unit Studies – The Weaver Curriculum is a unique unit-based, Bible-centered home-school curriculum.  This family-based curriculum uses the same daily Bible theme as a foundation and then creates lessons for each student.  I have never personally used Weaver but it has been around for quite awhile and is recommended by many in the home-schooling community.
• There are a number of unit studies written by veteran home-schoolers such as Amanda Bennett and Valerie Bendt.
• Create your own unit study!  I have done this several times with topics such as: Astronomy; the Human Body; and others.  It will take a little bit of your time but I can assure you it will be worth it.  If there is a subject you want to tackle and you find the traditional methods less than satisfying, follow these instructions to create your own unit study.

CREATE YOUR OWN UNIT STUDY

1) Start with sitting down and making an outline of the topics you would like to cover in your study.  (For instance, when I created a unit study on the “Human Body” I divided it into systems: the circulatory system, the respiratory system, the nervous system, and so on.)

2)  Then check your local library for books related to the topics you have chosen.  You don’t even have to go to the library…just go online and search the library’s catalog.  Check out the books that you will use either as a source of information or that you will read to your children (or assign them to read).

3) Using your outline that you made, begin to list activities you will do together, as well as activities or assignments you may want your child (or children) to do on their own.  I would suggest that you first have a brainstorming session, then come back and polish your list. 

4) Decide how long you want to take to complete your study (I suggest you plan it out by the week).

5) Most of all, have fun with this!

Finally, of all the advantages unit studies have to offer, one of the most important to me has been simply the moments shared with my children.  Implementing unit studies for any part of your curriculum will give you the opportunity to create fun and fond memories.  Moments like that cannot be analyzed, quantified, or graded – they are simply what makes your family unique, special, and stronger.

If you are a home-schooler who has used unit studies with your own children, won’t you share in the comments section what you have used and how it worked out for your family?

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This post is the second in a six-part series on “Teaching Methods.”

As I discussed in my post: ”Getting Started in Home-Schooling: Part III“  the classical method is based around a revival of Greek and Roman learning where the emphasis is on three elements: grammar, logic and rhetoric – called the “Trivium.”  The classical method is language-focused and integrates subjects for enhanced learning.

The first stage of classical education, the grammar stage, involves the learning of facts.  As we all know, young children are sponges.  The classical method puts that attribute to good use by emphasizing the learning of facts related to phonics, mathematics, grammar, spelling, history, literature, etc.  Classical educators also emphasize the learning of Latin at this stage, believing that young children are better able to learn a foreign language. 

In what would be considered the “middle-school” years, children in a classical program begin to learn the tenets of logic.  The contention is that at this age children want to know “why?”  While I would point out that kids start asking “why” long before this age, they are certainly much more able to understand logical arguments at this point.  The study of logic will apply to all disciplines: writing assignments, for example, will not just consist of reiterating what has been learned but would require giving a cogent argument for a position.  In history, as another example, students may learn about the reasoning behind an event such as why the United States entered the first World War. 

In the final stage of the Trivium – rhetoric - students are expected to be able to speak and write forcefully.  The program of education at this level is very rigorous. 

There are a few more points in regards to the Trivium which are important to note.  One is that all learning in a classical program is thought to be interrelated, i.e., the various subjects are not taught in isolation.  I believe, as many home educators do, that this interrelation of learning is a very productive, and effective, way to teach.  Secondly, a classical education is very much a college-prep education (a good thing, in my opinion).

I should note that I do not use a classical approach.  But I can certainly see the benefits of this approach.  I would like to point you to some resources that can give you more detailed information about this approach to education.  Here are some resources you might want to look into if this teaching method appeals to you:

• The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home (Third Editition) by Susan Wise Bauer and Jesse Wise
• www.triviumpursuit.com is the website of Harvey and Laurie Bluedorn.  The Bluedorn’s approach is not only a classical one but also a decidedly Biblical approach to teaching the Trivium.
• The Case for Classical Christian Education by Douglas Wilson
• You might also want to look online for articles by Dorothy Sayers who wrote what might be thought of as a treatise for classical education called The Lost Tools of Learning.  You can find out more information about her at her Wikipedia page.

As I said, I have not used the classical approach in my own home-schooling experience.  If you have, I would love it if you would share with my readers in the comments section!

This is the first post of a six-part series on “Teaching Methods.”

When we think of traditional methods of home-schooling, we are generally talking about the textbooks and workbooks that we all grew up with.  There would be a textbook for each subject, maybe workbooks for reading comprehension or to work on specific math topics. And as home-schoolers, textbooks and workbooks can certainly be useful tools.  But just like anything else we use as home educators, we should evaluate these tools to determine whether they are best for our children.

What are some reasons we would choose to use these more traditional methods?

• Using textbooks can give us the confidence that we are covering the important and/or essential topics that our children need to learn;
• Using a curriculum publisher’s texts can save us time in lesson preparation (though I would like to note that this is not always the case);
• Using textbooks for some subjects may free the home-schooling parent up to be more “creative” with other subjects;
• Workbooks can be a very useful tool to supplement our curriculum and to focus on specific issues our children may be having with a subject.

I would like to share how I have used textbooks and workbooks with my children as well my “take” on when textbooks are useful tools, and when they are not.

When I started out home-schooling, much of what I did was trial-and-error.  You have to understand that I began home-schooling my children in 1990, long before home-schooling had reached the level of acceptance that it has now.  In addition, the tools available to home-schoolers then were a fraction of what they are now.  And most of what was available was textbooks (usually from Christian textbook publishers such as ABeka and Bob Jones University Press). 

The best resource at that time, in my opinion, was other home-schoolers, and the best piece of advice I received at that time was from a mom who had been home-schooling for a couple of years.  She told me: buy the textbooks but not the teacher’s manuals.  There is a good reason for this: teacher’s manuals are designed to be used by teachers managing a classroom full of children.  They are filled with a lot of busy work and extra “tips” that frankly, all the home-school moms I have ever known can generally come up with on their own.  There does come a time when the teacher’s manuals come in handy, or even become necessary, and that is when your children are getting into the later grade school years and you need the answer keys.  You really do not want to be having to solve 20 long-division problems on your own (and using a calculator does not tell you if your child solved each step in a problem correctly).

As I said, in the beginning my home-school journey involved much trial-and-error.  I tried using textbooks for every subject and found that to be a very unsatisfactory way to teach many subjects.  Over time, my home-schooling philosophy evolved, and as it did, so did my teaching methods.  For some time now I have been using (mostly) the same products.  And I actually use textbooks for only two subjects consistently, though I use workbooks at various times depending on what grade my child is in and what subjects they may need to be introduced to or have reinforced.

The two subjects I use textbooks for, and have consistently through my 20 years of home-schooling, are math and reading.  I am a very strong advocate for using a textbook approach to teaching math, and I also recommend choosing one textbook publisher to teach math, and sticking with it.  My reasoning for this is:

1. Math is one of the few subjects, if not the only subject, that constantly and consistently builds on previously learned information;
2. Sticking with one math program throughout your child’s home-school journey ensures that there will not be gaps or unnecessary review.

When deciding what math program to use I recommend talking to veteran home-schoolers to find out what they have had success with (and what they have used that they didn’t like).  I also recommend getting your hands on those textbooks and reviewing them to see how they present the information, and decide if you think that presentation fits with you and your child.  One of the best ways to get your hands on a variety of textbooks is to attend a curriculum fair.  And I strongly recommend you go to a curriculum fair with the intention of NOT buying any materials.  Why?  Because then you won’t feel pressured to make a purchase before you are really ready.  Peruse various math texts, take notes perhaps, and then go home and, in the comfort of your own home, evaluate those texts and how you feel about them.  Now, it is possible that you may pick up a book and know intuitively, and immediately, that you are holding in your hands the right textbook to teach your son or daughter math, and if you do, feel free to ignore my advice.  Then again, you may be able to get a better deal online for that product so unless the retailer is offering some discounts specifically for that curriculum fair, you may want to wait until you can get home and do some comparison shopping.

My choices for textbooks for Math and Reading:

For the entire twenty years of my home-school career I have used Bob Jones University Press textbooks for teaching my children math from kindergarten through sixth grade.  I believe it teaches math thoroughly and fairly painlessly.  I have also used various products to supplement this program (particularly drills for increasing speed in solving equations). 

Beginning in seventh grade, my children use Saxon Math textbooks.  I start them out in seventh grade with “Algebra ½.”  They follow through the program until they are using the “Advanced Math” text in tenth grade.  By the end of tenth grade they are ready for a College Algebra class that they take at the community college (as part of the dual-enrollment program) in eleventh grade.

I believe Saxon Math provides an excellent program for middle- and senior-high schoolers.  However, I will add that my daughter (who is 25; has a Master’s degree; and has been tutoring students in math for many years) prefers Bob Jones University Press algebra program.  She has used this with some of her students (including a class of three home-schooled eighth-grade boys she taught a few years ago).

I also use textbooks in the grade school years for Reading.  By that I do not mean teaching my children TO read.  I prefer other products for that which I will discuss at a later time.  Rather, I use Bob Jones University Press Reading Texts and “Worktexts” to teach comprehension and vocabulary (and other language arts skills) in the first through fifth grade.  Again, I do not buy the teacher’s manuals, and additionally I do not follow the grades strictly.  For instance, right now my second-grader (my youngest son) is using the third grade reading program.  I expect we will complete the third grade text sometime next year, at which time I will probably buy the fifth grade reading program to use for fourth and fifth grade.  From sixth grade on I no longer use textbooks for language arts. 

My opinion on using textbooks for other subjects:

I said that I would give my opinion on using textbooks for other subjects, and I will do that now (with some trepidation).  I am being somewhat facetious, but I know home-schoolers can get very “territorial” about the curriculum they use.  For instance, some reading this will no doubt be saying there is no reason to use textbooks ever, while others will disagree with my opinion that to use textbooks for subjects such as science and history is a waste of time and counter-productive.

I did start out using textbooks for science and history, mainly because I was following the “school at home” mentality which I discussed in my blog post “What is Home-Schooling?”  After a couple of years I came to the conclusion that: grade-school science textbooks are boring and trite; and history texts teach history out of context in a way that is not conducive to retaining information.

So what have I used to teach science and history?  Well, for many years my main resource for science was 4-H.  You can get free materials from your 4-H extension office and besides these materials being very thorough programs, your children can also earn awards and recognition from completing these projects.  My daughter was very active in 4-H and ultimately attended the state 4-H Congress in twelfth grade.  I also used unit studies for science and even designed my own unit studies (which I will discuss in my upcoming post on unit studies).

For history, I am a huge fan of the Greenleaf Press “Famous Men…” series.  I don’t remember exactly when I was first introduced to Greenleaf Press but it was “love at first sight.”  One of the things that immediately appealed to me was the idea of teaching history chronologically.  I am a very sequential thinker myself, so this concept was just logical to me.  In addition, I believe that teaching history chronologically, and using “living books” to supplement (as the Greenleaf program does) gives context to what your child is learning and helps them to retain the information.

I would like to talk more about some of the workbooks I have used over the years but that will have to wait for another post as this one is already quite long.  Meanwhile, I hope you will take the time to leave your comments on the use of traditional methods of home-schooling.  What has worked for you?  What hasn’t?