Recipe of the Week: Master Meatball Recipe
I'm not an expert on homeschooling. We've only been doing it for 3 years now, but it never fails that around this time of year, I get a bunch of emails and questions asking me about homeschooling. What curriculum should I choose and how do you choose a homeschooling style among the most frequently asked.
I think it's important to point out right away that in our home, we aren't trying to create public school at home. Rather, we are trying to create an environment where learning is ingrained in everything we do. This gives us a free hand to incorporate all kinds of skills and learning opportunities in all of our everyday activities. To us, everything is a learning experience. Learning to do household chores is just as important as learning multiplication tables. No matter where you are in life, you are going to have to take care of yourself- cleaning, cooking, taking care of finances. By schooling at home we are able to make sure that our girls' education is far more rounded than just the three R's. Since this is the case, our curriculum covers math, reading, spelling, grammar, history, science, art and PE. In addition to that, we also learn personal finance, household chores, cooking, sewing, crochet, embroidery, cross stitch and more.
So, how do you choose a style of homeschool that's right for your family? That's a pretty easy one, you have to learn what the styles are and align them with your goals as a homeschooler. Here are the basic styles of homeschooling and some basic explanations about them:
Classical- This style follows three stages of learning: grammar in the lower grades, dialect in the middle grades and rhetoric for the high school grades. This style is where you will see families teaching their children latin from an early age and it also follows a chronological study of history and science.
Unit studies- This is where you take the interest of the child and build a study that includes all of the subjects into it. This can be about butterflies, the Romans, sea life, ancient peoples or any other topic that your kids are interested in. This is a nice way to homeschool if you are just starting out, especially if you have just removed your children from public school. It gives the child a chance to slowly get used to schooling in the home and also eases you into teaching your own children. Unit studies can be a lot of fun, but beware that they usually do not incorporate Math and phonics, so you will need to provide those on your own. We do unit studies during the spring, winter and fall breaks so that we continue to learn year round, but in a more relaxed setting.
Charlotte Mason- Charlotte Mason was a woman from England that thought kids needed to learn through living books, nature studies, art, music and a healthy dose of being outdoors and playing. She encourages children learning useful skills, like woodworking, sewing, knitting and other handicrafts, instead of keeping them entertained with mindless pursuits. She encourages curiosity by allowing children to explore and learn by playing and she believed that all children should spend time outside everyday. Amen to that! This is the method that we most closely identify with.
School at home- It is what is sounds like. Basically, you emulate public school as much as possible in your own homes. There is usually a dedicated schoolroom complete with desks, white board and a pretty set, public school like schedule. Children will usually have regular tests and have graded work, as well as working primarily out of text books. A lot of families enjoy the structure and regular schedule that a school at home setting allows you.
Eclectic- This is what we are. We pick and choose elements from different styles of homeschooling and fit them together to create our homeschool style. We are mostly Charlotte Mason, with a bit of classical and unit study thrown in for good measure. I think most homeschoolers are eclectic in style because all styles are not going to work with all kids in all seasons of life. You're going to have to change things up according to what kids are interested in, how they learn and what their particular strengths and weaknesses are. SO don't feel bad about picking and choosing what you want to incorporate into your style- I think that's what makes homeschooling so great!
Unschooling- This is the last style of homeschool and considered the most radical, I think. With this style you essentially let the child led his or her learning by following their interests as far as they want to take them. Unschooling is popular for children who have had a really traumatic public school experience and need time to adjust. I have never explored this style of learning, but it is popular with many families.
Don't worry if your styles change and you find yourself drawn to a style that you weren't interested in before. Growing and adjusting to what suits your children best is the beauty of homeschooling!
After you have chosen a style, you can start to think about how to choose a curriculum. There are a lot of ways to go about that. Start by looking around online and seeing what interests you and what you think your kids might enjoy. If you have children who are active and hands on, look for curriculum that encourages that. If you have children who love to sit for hours and read, color and draw a curriculum that is less active may be what you are looking for. After you find some choices that you think might work, find a curriculum fair to attend so that you can touch, see and have a hands on experience with your choices. The vendors will be more than willing to talk you through their curriculum and answer any questions you might have. Curriculum fairs are also a really great place to purchase your choices since many have heavy discounts or bonus materials if you purchase at the fair. Don't worry about choosing an all inclusive curriculum- adding elements of different ones to create an eclectic blend for your homeschool is just fine.
Next, I think finding some blogs that jive with your style is a great idea. They often have crafts, activities, unit studies and more that will work with what you are doing or explain how to tackle a subject that you aren't sure how to make interesting for your kids. The often offer encouragement and insight into homeschooling that can be a real blessing as well. Blogs are great tools for keeping learning fresh and fun and are just plain fun to read.
The other question I get (a LOT) is how can I keep the cost down? or I want to homeschool my kids, but we're afraid it's too expensive. Ok, I can feel ya here. Some curriculum can cost hundreds of dollars and then you're stuck with them if they end up not working for you. My answer to this is to use free resources whenever possible, buy used curriculum and to minimize your school supply expenses by keeping projects to a minimum. I buy school supplies when they are on sale, and stock up for year long. I will buy a dozen boxes of crayons, boxes of markers, paper, pencils and pens while supplies are cheap and horde them away in my closet for later in the year. This keeps me on budget because I will pay .10 for a box of crayons in September instead of 1.99 in December. Another thing you need to factor in is the fact that you will not be paying for school clothes OR school lunches. Yes, you will still need to eat lunch, but you can re-heat leftovers or make a simple lunch for your kids instead of packing them one or sending money for a hot school lunch. Oh, and unless you need it to be- it doesn't have to be nut free! PB&J can be on the menu again. We get dressed for school most days, but your kids can wear play clothes or whatever they want instead of needing nice clothing for everyday like they would if they attending public school. Let me be clear- I'm not advocating dressing your kids in rags just because you stay home, I'm just saying that school clothes and school clothes shopping needn't be something you need to plan for and pay for if you are homeschooling. Backpacks, lunch pails, school shoes are other items that you aren't going to need to budget in as well.
Using free curriculum and free resources is my most favorite, number one recommended way to save money. There are a lot of resources out there if you just search for "free homeschool resources" on google. From customizable handwriting sheets to entire curriculum- it's all out there and it's free! You'll be amazed at how much is available and how much variety there is.
So, there you have it. You need to decide on your homeschool style, become familiar with different curriculum, find some blogs to encourage and inspire you and then get down to learning! You can make it as involved or as basic as you'd like....it's up to you and your budget. I firmly believe that if you are being led to homeschool, there is a way for you to do it.
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