Our Homeschooling Method

There are so many methods for homeschooling nowadays, so many to pick from, and it can become quite overwhelming to choose.  So this week's Blog Cruise topic is "What is your homeschooling style, and how did you choose for your family?"

Before answering that question, I thought it would be important to review a few of the more popular methods.

Charlotte Mason: This method is based on the writings of a 19th century British educator who felt children should learn from real books with living ideas.  It involves nature, discipline of good habits, narration, and living books.

Classical: This method is based on the Trivium, which is made up of three stages.  The Grammar stage includes memorizing lots of of facts and language, mainly Greek or Latin.  The Dialectic stage involves the study of logic; understanding what has been memorized and asking questions.  Lastly, in the Rhetoric stage the student learns how to present arguments in a persuasive way.

Unit Study Approach: This approach allows a child to learn a subject as a whole instead of just reading chapters in a textbook.  It takes all of the subjects, such as Science, History, and Language Arts, and focuses the lessons around one central theme, say Astronomy. 

Literature Based: This method uses great books as the centerpiece for learning, instead of textbooks. 

Unschooling: Unschooling allows children to learn through their natural life experiences, including child directed play, game play, household responsibilities, work experience, and social interaction, rather than through a more traditional school curriculum.

Eclectic: An Eclectic Homeschooler is one who looks at the different approaches and methods of homeschooling, and takes little from each one.

So the question is, what do we at Our Homeschool Reviews use?  I really like the Charlotte Mason method!  We enjoy nature, do narration almost daily, and use living books in our schooling.  I wouldn't say I adhere to her method completely though.  I also like the Classical Method.  Our daughter is extremely good at memorizing facts, especially if they are to a song.  We've also done unit studies and we definitely use a literature based approach.

Would we be considered Eclectic?  Maybe, I just know that we go with what works.  If it is not working, we switch gears or move to a new curriculum.  That's one reason we love homeschooling, it gives us the flexibility to do what we want!