Over the last year, homeschooling has taken on new life with the pandemic introducing more families to homeschool life. Homeschooling is increasing in popularity with more co-ops, virtual groups, and resources available to local homeschool families. Whether you are a new, pandemic-inspired homeschool family or a veteran homeschool family with several years under your belt, we celebrate you and your journey!
Homeschooling comes in many varieties and each approach comes with its own set of pros and cons. One major benefit of homeschooling for me and my family has been the ability to teach my children at their own pace. This ensures they have a proper grasp on a subject before moving to the next. This truly helps as many frustrations that arise in school come from a lack of foundation for whatever concepts your child may be struggling with. We also love the flexibility that homeschooling affords us. Homeschooling allows us to create our own schedule in a way that helps us run a successful business while maintaining an excellent work-life balance and keeping family first.
There are several different approaches to homeschooling, let’s talk about a few!
- Traditional Homeschooling: This type of homeschooling involves reproducing the traditional classroom set up at home. Traditional homeschoolers often have desks and chairs set up in a classroom-like setting at home. Many traditional classroom practices such as weekly spelling tests along with pop-quizzes and tests are key to traditional homeschooling.
- Unschooling: This technique allows your child to explore different learning topics as they arrive naturally in life. For instance, teaching a lesson on hurricanes following a recent natural disaster. Unschooling removes a lot of the traditional educational structure. This allows your child to navigate learning on their own terms and at their own pace using the real world as their guide.
- Montessori Homeschooling: The Montessori approach involves self-directed, hands-on learning. These techniques were developed by Maria Montessori, a historical educator whose philosophy has had a lasting impact on child learning and development. This same technique is often taught in preschools and early learning centers and is also available for at-home learning.
- Charlotte Mason Homeschooling: This approach to homeschooling focuses on a more holistic learning experience. Nature, journaling, and attention to the arts and music are staples of the Charlotte Mason curriculum.
- Roadschooling/Worldschooling: Since learning happens everywhere and homeschooling allows you to tailor your learning to suit your environment, some families choose to take their show on the road. Some families choose to travel the country and even the world with a focus on cultural and regional differences that impact learning and the educational process.
{Read More: So You’re Thinking About Homeschooling :: 5 Steps for Getting Started}
Learning happens everywhere and I am sure that is one thing all homeschool families can agree on. No matter the curriculum, learning style, techniques, set-up, or challenges you may encounter we are all working towards a common goal when it comes to homeschooling and that is to educate our children in a way we feel best suited to ensure their future success. Like anything worth achieving, homeschool requires time, effort, and dedication on everyone’s behalf but the results can be amazing and the time spent with your children is priceless.
Celebrate National Homeschool Awareness Month and all the awesome homeschool families out there!
