There are several ways to homeschool, which are generally referred to as 'styles'. If you're new to home learning, it can be confusing. After all, such stuff is not exactly what you'd called common knowledge. When I started back in 1993, I hadn't heard of any of it -- I thought homeschooling was just, well . . . .  homeschooling. A friend gave me a scrap of paper with somebody's phone number on it and said, "You want to educate your own? Here, call this woman."  I was nervous and scared (What am I DOING?), but oh so lucky. That number went to a now-famous homeschooler by the name of Cafi Cohen. She hosted a Beginners' Workshop, a regular font of information! Cafi explained the kinds, suggested books to read, and then gave me a list of thought-provoking questions to think about before I did anything else:

What were my kids' learning styles?
What was my teaching style?
How much time could we devote each day?
What could our budget handle? 

It was great food for thought. I didn't know the answers at first, but I learned. It was so helpful to have ideas and guidelines before jumping into the ocean of curriculum choices out there.

I've watched the homeschooling market over the years, and that ocean has done nothing but bloom. I thought it was vast in the 90s. Sheesh. It seems everybody's been jumping on the bandwagon. Homeschooling has become a hot market. That has its pros and cons, but honestly, all that marketing yammer coming from all over just makes it more confusing for newcomers. To cut through some of the white noise, I'll suggest the same thing to you that Cafi suggested to me: Talk to those in the trenches, homeschoolers themselves. They've been there, done that, and bought way too many t-shirts. Which, of course, turns them into the best sources for knowing what works, what's overpriced, and what's completely useless.  There are homeschoolers that are now ebayers, which is a fabulous outlet we didn't have back in the day. I'm one of them, and Leaping From the Box is another. You'll find more if you look around. And if you'd like a wide range of opinions, try googling the phrase Home Education Magazine. HEM's been around since the 80's and they're the oldest home education source around. You could also google Rocky Mountain Education Connection. There's an entire 3-hour "Rookie Workshop for New Homeschoolers" online, written by yours truly. Lots of info!

As you shop, remember: don't spend a bushel of money until you know what works for you and yours. Buy used at first. And please keep in mind that you will make mistakes along the way, just as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow. We all do. My own list of goof-ups and blind alleys would fill a small book, at least. I know that there are people who will tell you that you must immediately Choose The Right Homeschooling Whatever and stick with it forever, whether it works or not. They're full of b-o-l-o-g-n-a.  Nobody is perfect right out of the box.

And please don't panic. Your kids will do just fine, despite mistakes. They'll learn just as much from those as they do from textbooks. With all my blunders, I still kept on until mine were accepted into college. As much of a teacher as I thought I wasn't, somehow it worked itself out anyway. I do think I ended up learning more than they did, though.

Okay, on to the main event. I'll be suggesting some of the best homeschool books as we go along. That's another excellent starting point, and most of these can be found right here on ebay.


STYLES OF HOMESCHOOLING

There are basically four:

Traditional
Unit Study
Unschooling
Eclectic


TRADITIONAL:  Just what it sounds like: school at home. Textbooks for every subject, book reports, predetermined school hours, ABCD grades or rubics, probably chalkboards or dry erase boards, etc. Pretty much everything a typical schoolroom would have. Schooling can take place at the kitchen table, in the living room or at each child's quiet place, depending on your house and available space.






UNIT STUDY: This is a single subject (interest) that can take from anywhere from a month to an entire semester to complete. The timeline varies depending on the Unit Study. It could be simple, or complex. For example, you might want to study Apollo 13. That would be simple. Or, NASA itself, which would be complex.  Christmas Traditions would be simple. Christmases Around the World, or Christmas Through the Ages would be complex. Most every Unit will cover the core academics: History, Math, English, Social Studies, Science.  (Science is a tricky subject for most of us, so here's a couple of example questions you could ask the kids: What are most Christmas ornaments made of? Plastic? All right, so how is plastic made? How about glue? Ribbons? Sequins?)







Unschooling: This is what's known as interest-led, child-led or natural learning. On the surface, it looks a lot like Unit Studies, except you don't come up with a pre-planned study idea. Your children come up with them just by living their lives. You know how kids are naturally full of questions every day? Like, why are clouds white, or why does dad snore, or why are my fish floating on top of the water? Therein begins your unschooling day, attempting to answer questions about water condensation, biology and zoology.  And that's just before breakfast. I guarantee you won't know all the answers, and that's fine. Now you get to say, I don't know. How do you think we might find that answer?  You help facilitate their research, and end up being completely surprised with the amazing array of facts, trivia and seemingly unrelated knowledge they come back and teach you.

Does that sound like pie in the sky? Not at all. Compulsory schooling is relatively new. It's only been around for the last 150 years or so. Before that time, and even during it, books were a rare commodity. Folks taught themselves all they needed from common, everyday living. Even after compulsory schooling laws kicked in, kids were only required to attend a few weeks out of the year. You can find lists all over the internet, but here are just a few examples of unschoolers you might have heard of: John Quincy Adams (U.S. President), Alexander Graham Bell (Inventor), Andrew Carnegie (Industrialist), George Washington Carver (Scientist), Winston Churchill (Prime Minister of England), Charles Dickens (Author), and Benjamin Franklin (Statesman, inventor, author).

Now I know the question remains in your mind: Yes, that's all fine and well, those were the olden days -- but what about now?  Do modern day unschoolers get accepted into college, invent things and lead successful lives? Oh my, yes! And that's a whole other guide by itself.




Suggested Reading:

Dumbing Us Down - John Taylor Gatto
Learning All the Time - John Holt
How Children Fail - John Holt
The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education - Grace Llewellyn
The Unschooling Handbook: How to Use the Whole World As Your Child's Classroom - Mary Griffith
Christian Unschooling - Teri J. Brown, with Elissa M Wahl


Happy Homeschooling!