At one end of the homeschool-styles spectrum is the most commonly perceived style of homeschooling; it is something which resembles a public or private school but just happens to be conducted in your home. This is often referred to as “school at home.” School at home involves a parent functioning as the teacher and the children serving as pupils in a rather formal and structured setting. There may be an area of the home designated as the classroom and parents usually invest in expensive curriculum from which to teach. Utilizing this form of homeschooling requires a great deal of self-discipline and dedication to hard work from both the parents and the children. Homeschooling families who choose to school at home probably use either Charlotte Mason teaching or a Classical teaching style. They also utilize Unit Studies and would enjoy incorporating Lapbooking into their routines.

At the complete opposite side of that spectrum would be the die-hard unschooler. Unschoolers are extremely difficult to define as they often balk at being labeled or put into any type of specific category, but they generally are identified as following the practice of child-led learning. Unschoolers do not purchase curriculum and they have no classes on a regular or formal basis. Unschooling parents allow their child to learn from the school of life based upon their interests and desires. The fundamental belief of the unschooler is that all children are natural-born learners who, when left to their own devices, will derive every life skill necessary for adulthood by being left to their natural curiosity. This by no means indicates a lazy parent who lets their children live rule-free, though! Most unschooled children will request to be taught skills like reading or math when their interests lead them to it and the unschooling parent trusts that their child will seek assistance when it is needed. Unschoolers spend much of their time using their imagination, developing skills for future vocations and exploring a broad range of topics of interest to them.

Finally, there is the in-between homeschool-styles which most homeschooling families find themselves drawn toward. The gray areas of homeschooling styles are usually called Relaxed or even Eclectic due to their less stringent yet still mainly adult-led teaching methods. Relaxed or Eclectic homeschoolers usually have some type of workbook or curriculum material on hand and most homeschoolers believe children need to be taught letter recognition, reading, math basics, etc., but the amount of time spent doing “book work” vs. hands-on learning varies from family to family and child to child. Relaxed homeschoolers usually will not do testing as they’re not following a strictly mandated curriculum. Some of these families participate in co-ops, enroll their kids in organized sports, and may require a certain amount of book work each day while others are more laid back in the activities in which they engage. The homeschoolers whose styles of teaching fall on this spectrum leave themselves open to the needs of their children while balancing it with their desire to impart classic school-related essentials.

No matter what homeschooling style you choose, remember that you are free to make adjustments as you see fit. This is your program, these are your children. Find the style that works best for you and know that you are in good company as many other families find themselves traversing the spectrum of styles over the course of their homeschooling years. And the style that suits one child may not necessarily work as well for another child. Flexibility is the key as you travel the path to educating your children at home. Find a good fit for you and yours and the rest will fall into place.

Here you will find examples of the homeschool-styles we explained above.  We will continue to add these, as they become available for you.

Charlotte Mason
Charlotte Mason is one the the most popular homeschool-styles.  It was British educator in the late 1800’s. Her observations, experience and philosophy as a teacher has created an entire methodology to homeschooling. In the Charlotte Mason method, there are some basic principals to which the educator should adhere. Some of the basic principals are using “living” books, employing narration in your lessons, working on forming better habits, short lessons for young children and the use of dictation for spelling and grammar. Much use is also made of repetition and practice for mastery in terms of writing and doing copy work. Through the principals espoused by Charlotte Mason, children will absorb lessons better and retain information longer than by simply doing worksheets, etc. The Charlotte Mason methodology actively engages children’s minds and creates relevancy in order to retain the information in the long-term. Click our link to learn more.

Classical
Classical homeschooling styles are based upon a principal of educating children in a manner most suitable to their brain’s capacity for thought and learning based upon a child’s age. Classical instruction essentially says that young kids (elementary aged) learn best by rote memorization, and the early years are best spent creating the foundation of education essentials such as reading, writing, spelling, basic math, etc. By the time a child reaches middle school age, their mind has fairly well mastered the basic facts of their education and is beginning to desire an understanding of broader concepts. The middle school aged child will be instructed on the “big picture” in order to understand the ‘why’ of various processes. Finally, a high school aged child has mastered the building blocks and is now preparing for future learning in college and beyond. The high schooler is best served learning self-expression and will be introduced to more creative outlets.  Click our link to learn more.

Relaxed
The Relaxed homeschool-style usually has no testing or grading, but rather providing an atmosphere of self-education.  Relaxed homeschooling is similar to the eclectic and unschooling style, but they generally have curriculum available to their children. While the children are not expected to devote hours per day sitting at a desk and studying facts from a book, it is often expected that the child will do some kind of tangible school work over the course of the school year. The relaxed style is more of a mindset applied to those who at some point believed homeschool must be run exactly like a public or private school and felt like failures if their school at home was creating more stress than a sense of reward. Relaxing the homeschooling style means regaining the sense of family instead of drawing lines of separation between teacher and pupil.  Click our link to learn more.

Eclectic 
Eclectic homeschool-style is exactly as it sounds, rather than being dedicated to only one style of educating at home or one methodology to teaching, eclectic homeschoolers pull resources and information from a wide range of possibilities to suit their needs and the needs of their children. Unlike unschoolers, eclectic homeschoolers like to use curriculum to ensure their children receive some basic instruction throughout their day, but are open to allowing a lot of free time and imaginative play as well. While the eclectic homeschool style may not fit everyone, no two eclectic homeschoolers is alike in the methodologies they choose to apply. This is perhaps the most versatile and flexible of all homeschooling styles as it is a balance between formal education and radical unschooling.  Click our link to learn more.

Montessori
Montessori (pronounced MON-tuh-SORE-ee) and is an educational approach begun at birth continuing through adulthood. It is based on the needs of the individual child, rather than grade levels. The Montessori method was created by Italian educator Maria Montessori in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In the United States, there are more than 4,000 private Montessori schools and more than 200 public schools with Montessori-styled programs.  Click our link to learn more.

Unit Studies
Unit Studies is a style of homeschooling wherein one particular topic (unit) is chosen to be the focal point of learning. Once a unit has been chosen (this can be selected by the parent, the child or an agreement by both), the homeschool family works together to locate as much information as possible about the subject matter and applies the information gained in a wide variety of ways such as writing reports, creating projects, etc. The essential goal of the unit study is to immerse the child in the subject in order to achieve thorough comprehension and mastery. Unit studies can be used to create a deep sense of understanding for the child and is often used for history and science.  Click our link to learn more.

Lapbooking
Lapbooking is a creative method to creating hands-on learning materials which reinforce recently covered instruction. Often used to wrap-up a unit study, they are usually comprised of a manila file folder although other materials such as cardstock, poster board and oak tag can be used. Within the lapbook, a wide variety of mediums are used to flag key learning points – “minit” or miniature books can be created to contain highlights, hand-crafted items showcasing the subject matter may be included, colorings, drawings, images, poems, narratives, etc. can all be a part of the lapbook. Lapbooks make a nice addition to school portfolios and are fun for kids to make, share with others and look back on subjects they have covered over a period of time.  Click our link to learn more.

Unschooling
Unschooling is also called child-led learning, and is generally identified by a lack of curriculum and formal educational instruction; it is the complete opposite of “school” as most people know it. Unschooling families rely on their child’s natural desire to learn to guide them toward learning necessary life skills and recognize that learning is a lifelong pursuit to be enjoyed by all. The parents serve as a guide in helping their child explore their interests, but generally allow a child’s exploration of a subject be part of the learning process. Forcing subjects or learning upon a child runs against the belief system of the unschooling family although some parents like to gently introduce new subject matter to determine whether or not their children are interested in pursuing that subject.  Click our link to learn more.