by Tomira L. Rosser

Created on: July 05, 2008

Four Methods Used in Homeschooling

What do you think of when you think of homeschooling? Do you get the picture of two, maybe three children sitting around at a table and writing away in workbooks? Do you see the parents of the children nearby, watching and waiting to see if the children need help? Would you believe this is not really the way it goes? In fact, there are several methods to homeschooling. Each method you pick will alter the curriculum and teaching style. There are four methods to pick from, all of them are quite influential and have been found worthwhile homeschooled methods.

The Charlotte Mason Method:

Who is Charlotte Mason and why is she so important in homeschooling? Mason began the homeschooling movement. Once a homeschooled student herself, she was determined and eager to set some sort of foundation for a homeschooling program. One that would be effective while being pleasurable and educational all at once. What were ideas for subjects? Her method laid focus to all the primary subjects and she placed importance on classical literature and music, poetry, fine arts and crafts. Since she was big on classical lierature, she used many kinds of books. Something she called Living Books. Mason's method promotes literature awareness and the child is read to from these living books. After he or she is read to, the child will need to repeat back, in narrative form, what was heard. All this starts when the child is six years of age and by age ten, the child is expected to write those narrations down in a book. Mason was also a promoter of the Nature Diaries. What is this? After a lesson has been taught, the child will need to go to Nature and draw explanations from Nature. By doing this, the child can gain admiration for the surroundings. Mason was a firm believer that good character and behavior was primarily important to the total maturity of the child's individuality.

The Eclectic Homeschooling Method:

This combines several homeschooling methods into one. Parents are given the option to trust their judgments and pick those topics which would be better to teach to their child. These are the parents that continue to look for products that will help teach their homeschooler. The curriculum in this method is constantly being improved. However, the standard curriculum is always on hand and ready. Parents can make changes so it will incorporate the needs of the child as well as their interests. How the child learns and what their interests are will change

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