What is Homeschooling?
Homeschooling is the education of children at home, or another location, other than school. It is most commonly led by a parent, but sometimes homeschooling is conducted by another family member, guardian, online teachers or in some cases a neighbour or friend.
Many homeschool families use individualized, less formal, methods of learning that are not often found in schools. In practice, homeschooling methods vary widely from families that use a traditional curriculum, similar to school, all the way to very open methods, such as unschooling, which allows learners to choose how they learn.
What are the Methods of Homeschooling?
There are many forms of homeschooling. A few of the most popular methods include Charlotte Mason, Montessori, Eclectic, Classical, Traditional and Unschooling. There are also families that practice Worldschooling and Gameschooling. Here are details around a few of the approaches:
Eclectic Homeschooling
This method is a mixture of homeschooling methods. There are no set rules or single curriculum chosen. An eclectic homeschooling family tries and uses various resources and methods depending on the needs of their family. It may be a great way to start homeschooling so that your family can evaluate the many options available and decide what works best. This is the primary method of homeschooling that our family follows.
Unschooling
Unschooling is a less structured form of homeschooling. It allows children to decide what, when and how they would like to learn. Some parents still provide guidance and exposure to different topics, other unschooling parents leave everything up to their children to discover on their own.
Worldschooling
The worldschooling philosophy is that children receive the best education by interacting with the world around them. This typically often involves families traveling together and a child’s learning happens through the various rich experiences gained while globetrotting.
What is Deschooling?
If children initially attended school, it is advisable to start with a “deschooling” phase before starting to homeschool. This process allows children to adjust and decompress from school habits and expectations.
It’s common for children to have a difficult time transitioning from attending school to being homeschooled. At school there were strict schedules, curriculums, and processes that your children followed. They were used to being tested, receiving grades and being compared against their classmates. There was a “right” way of doing everything that often restricted your children from thinking for themselves and exploring their own curiosities.
A deschooling period allows time for your children to “break-free” from this conditioning. The general belief is that you should deschool for a period of one month for every year that your child was in school. However, the duration of deschooling required depends on your child – you may need more or less time. Be honest with your children about what you’re doing, and together, you can decide how to proceed with the deschooling period.
Here are a few ideas on how to spend your time while deschooling:
- Review resources and have plenty of discussions around how homeschooling may work for your family
- Research and join homeschooling groups with other homeschool parents that can assist and support you. Check out our list of parent groups here.
- Spend time outdoors exploring nature and doing fun activities
- Allow your kids to explore their passions such as Lego, crafting or sports
- Have conversations with your children about they liked and didn’t like about school and what things they’d like to do at home
- Identify any needs you think you may want to tackle first with your children, such as helping a child that had been bullied at school or helping your child to read
Once you feel your deschooling period is coming to an end, you can start homeschooling. If you’d like to read more about deschooling, check out this article here.
If you’d like to read in-depth details around various methods of homeschooling, including their benefits and drawbacks, check out this article here.
If you and your family need help with deschooling or homeschooling, contact us now.
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