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Homeschool Programs and Methods Can Be Personalized to Fit YOU and YOUR CHILD'S Style!

This is it!

This, the programs and methods, is the meat of homeschooling. This is what sets us completely apart from the worst public school right on up to the best private facility on the planet.

Personalized style!

You might not know it but you and your children already have a learning style. We are born with it - a way of learning that "clicks' with us, it lets things enter our neural pathways in such a way that it connects! It makes sense! We GET it!

There are basically three types of actual learning styles, auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. To determine which one you and your kids are doesn't require a test that will bombard your e-mail with spam - just think back a little. You'll figure it out.

What we really want to cover on this page is which method will be right for your family. And to be sure - it would be a great mistake to assume all your children will respond equally as well to the same method, so take some time to learn more about the different ones available to you.

Classical Homeschool Education Uses Tried and True Methods to Produce Critical Thinkers and Qualified Speakers

Classical homeschool education has been soaring in popularity over the past decade or so. Based on "The Trivium" this method of homeschool uses Logic, the Arts and Humanities, and Rhetoric to produce young adults that are strong in the analytical thinking department.

Ultimately, to proceed through an entire Trivium, children need to be started in the Classical method from the start of their formal educational years. That way they will be able to incorporate all three stages.

The stages are:

1. Grades K-6: Appropriately called the Grammar stage, students will concentrate on memorization of raw data and facts, grammar and the English language, poems, and foreign languages such as Latin.
2. Grades 7-8: Called the Logic stage, now students shift their attention to a more debate oriented style. They spend time developing arguments and learning how to defend them, critically analyze literature, start algebra and higher math, and begin to think critically.
3. Grades 9-12: Called the Rhetoric stage, students will build upon prior learning and expand their critical thinking skills to write clear forceful position papers with well thought out conclusions. They will plan for their future careers by performing internships.

Classical homeschool education is NOT for every kid. It focuses on LANGUAGE as the main learning style and will all but bring tears to a kid who is a more visual learner. Latin and Logic are taken for several years. It is good for a child who can handle the book study and does not require the messy hands on stuff to get the most out of their education.

Pros of Classical education:

1. Children who are well suited for this method really will get an excellent education which will enable them to succeed in many different areas as adults.
2. Think politicians, and not in a bad way, but as someone who can speak forcefully, write well, and defend a controversial position.
3. There is A LOT of excellent curriculum available if you are willing to spend the money.
4. If you are a Christian this is a double pro because almost all of the excellent curriculum choices are very Christian oriented.

Cons of Classical education:

1. As already mentioned, this style is neither for every child nor every parent.
2. It can be challenging to teach if you have not had a classical education yourself.
3. DVD courses are available but that style is not suited to everyone either.
4. This method can get quite pricey.
5. If you don't start young your child will have to play catch up in the later stages and it is very difficult to start 8th or 9th grade with logic when you haven't been taught to think that way, just ask my daughter.
6. If you are secular and do not wish to modify curriculum - it will be difficult to find excellent classical homeschool materials.

A Literature Based Homeschool Education Uses Stories and Books as the Primary Texts for Learning

Well, literature based homeschool education, like most other methods, is based on several philosophies that basically have one thing in common. Literature.

Literature or story books are used in all methods and programs that claim to be literature based. And that makes sense doesn't it? The concept revolves around the observation that children learn better when they are engaged.

Here is where some programs split - some, like the Charlotte Mason method, prefer that children explore to become engaged, others like the Robinson Curriculum like to hand over the resources and texts to the child and have them concentrate on self determined or independent learning.

I personally like both ideas, especially the self determined stuff.

Stories are chosen for several reasons, but particularly to forge good moral values by experiencing the characters trials and tribulations through literature.

History is taught through the use of historical fiction where character empathy permeates the child's imaginative mind. The Charlotte Mason method also incorporates oral dictation and narration, copy-work, and nature study into the literature based homeschool education. Pros of the literature based method:

Children naturally like to listen and relate to story book characters.

1. This engages them in their own learning without having to depend heavily on text books for information.
2. Children will tend to remember lessons learned through a GOOD story and retain those lessons longer.
3. In high school there are some excellent literature based curriculum that use primary documents for history, and while challenging, these primary documents can bring with them pride in heritage that cannot be replicated.

Cons of the literature based method:

1. Time consuming for both parent and child.
2. Books must be ordered ahead of time or hunted down through the library.
3. Can get expensive, most of them are worth it but beware of the "lesson plan" literature based curriculum. Like unit study lesson plans, these will zap your energy with all the prep time and leave you doing most of the leg work.
4. Some stories that teach good moral values can be dry and boring, thereby deflating the child's enthusiasm.

Don't Be Worried if After Reading Through All the Methods You Gravitate Towards Traditional Homeschool

Traditional homeschool merely means that you and your child prefer a traditional textbook approach. Don't let anyone tell you this is worthless, that you might as well put them back in public school, or that you lack creativity.

That is simply untrue.

Everyone knows that the best part of homeschool is the curriculum, so honestly, even if you decide to go the traditional route, you can make it all your own by the curriculum you choose. PLUS, you already know that Little Moe needs an individualized learning plan and to be allowed to progress at his own best pace, so you're doing fine.

Many new homeschoolers like the idea of traditional methods the first few years. I did the first year. In fact, do you want to know exactly what I did for methods the first year? I found a private school in Pennsylvania that listed all their curriculum for each grade online (we started in 7th remember) and I purchased everything, I mean EVERYTHING, they had on that list.

Some of it, like Vocabulary From Classical Roots, we still use! LOL..so there! It was sort of a classical approach and the next year I did find traditional homeschool publishers, but hey - it worked fine for us.

And it will work fine for you too if this is the method of choice for your homeschool.

In a way - traditional and eclectic methods are very similar. Right now I think I am a traditional textbook eclectic for the most part. I've done a little of everything and I keep what I like and throw out the rest. I like workbooks that are published by homeschool publishers.

I've tried several classroom publishers like Evan-Moor, but in the end it was too time consuming to adapt it for homeschool use.

They were forever wanting me to make copies of workbook pages...it just got annoying because all I wanted to do was write Do Monday or Do Wednesday at the top of the page for that day, rip it out of the book, and set it in his to do pile.

They didn't feel my pain...traditional homeschool...nothin' wrong with that.