Philosophy of Home Education
- Create using scripture
- Why you are doing what you are doing
- Clearly state the conviction the Lord has given your family
Learning Styles
There are three basic categories of learning styles: visual, auditory and kinesthetic. It is important to remember when attempting to discover your children’s learning style that they will probably exhibit a few characteristics common to all of the learning styles, but will usually be dominant in one.
Knowing your children’s learning styles, has many benefits:
- Better equips you to teach them
- Prepares you to select curriculum and better tailor your homeschool program
- Helps you choose extracurricular activities
To determine your children’s learning style you may observe what your child likes and enjoys doing most when he/she is playing, interacting or learning. You may also choose to use the results from a Learning Style Assessment.
Teaching Methodologies
Assessing your children’s learning style will be a benefit when you are choosing your teaching methods.
There are many different educational approaches to homeschooling, however, some of the major educational approaches or teaching methods used by homeschoolers are:
- Classical Homeschooling Method
- Charlotte Mason (CM) Living Books Homeschooling MethodÂ
- Literature -Based Homeschooling Method
- Textbook-Based/Traditional Homeschooling Method
- Unit Study Homeschooling Method
- Computer-Based Homeschooling Method
One style is not necessarily better than the other. You may choose one or combine several methods. It’s a matter of identifying what suits your particular family best. Many homeschool parents change their approach as they go along, adjusting where needed and experimenting until they discover what works best. The family’s lifestyle, schedule, and parents own educational goals for their children are major factors in determining which method(s) work best. The family’s lifestyle, schedule, and parents own educational goals for their children are major factors in determining which method(s) work best.
Curriculum
There are unlimited resources available for selecting quality homeschool curriculum that suits your family. It is important to take into account the abilities of each child as well as the specific goals and interest of your family.
Here are some suggested guidelines when choosing curriculum:
- Remember the curriculum should be there to serve you, not to rule you. Feel free to pick and choose what will suit your family and not be driven by the homeschool curriculum itself.
- Not every subject needs a curriculum. Some subjects can be taught simply by reading, writing and discussing.
- Cost is a factor which needs considering. How many children will this curriculum teach and what other alternatives are there?
- How teacher friendly is this curriculum?
- What kind of learning style does the curriculum use?
