Homeschooling...Teaching Styles and Curriculum

Once you've gotten your school space organized, it's time to get on to one of the most fun, yet daunting tasks for any homeschooling parent...choosing curriculum.

Before you start looking online and getting overwhelmed at the hundreds of choices available, it's really important to determine your teaching style. There are many different styles of homeschooling, but I'll just highlight the main ones.

There are several different schools of thought in the homeschooling community. Some parents like to teach a Traditional curriculum...essentially the same curriculum (books and workbooks) used in schools, just teaching the information at home.

Other parents opt towards a Classical education that takes advantage of a child's natural ability to soak up information, to give students a firm foundation in all the subjects (History, Science, Literature, Latin, Math, etc.). A classical education relies on the trivium: grammar, logic, and rhetoric. When children are young and can absorb lots of information easily, grammar work is introduced through memory work and songs. As children get older, they learn to make connections between the information they were taught, and the world around them, furthering their critical thinking and problem solving skills.

The Charlotte Mason school of thought is a more gentle approach to learning than the Classical or Traditional styles, and doesn't force children into sitting for long periods of time, and/or memorizing information. The Charlotte Mason approach relies heavily on reading aloud classic literature to indirectly teach the student grammar, handwriting, and reading. Instead of doing science experiments based on scientific laws, children take nature hikes and learn about the world around them. This fosters creativity in learning.

A Blended homeschool blends parts of several different approaches to create a custom curriculum for their child, based on their personality and academic needs.

Once you decide where you lean in your teaching and your child's learning styles, it's time to look at the different options for curriculum. Several sites I've found useful include:

Cathy Duffy Reviews...a huge selection of reviewed curriculum with pros and cons to each.

The Well-Trained Mind...a website based on the popular Classical Learning book by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer

Simply Charlotte Mason...a great resource for families who are looking into the Charlotte Mason style of learning.

I purchase most of my books and resources from Christian Book.com (CBD).
(Not an affiliate link, they just have the best selection of curriculum I've found!)

I hope this is a helpful start for you. If you enjoyed this article, please make sure to Pin It! 




Next time I'll share all the curriculum I'm using for Stinker this year (First Grade)!

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