Different Homeschool Styles Explained

When you’re first beginning to research homeschooling, it can be intimidating. Even though I grew up being homeschooled, there was so much I didn’t know – and plenty of things I didn’t even know that I didn’t know. When I started looking into kindergarten curriculum, I thought it would be as simple as preschool had been. But I quickly found that there were a lot more options than I could’ve imagined. It made my head spin. So much of it was classified in certain “homeschooling styles.” There were articles, quizzes and links saying things like “What’s Your Homeschool Style?” or “Finding Our Homeschool Style” and the like. It was all so overwhelming until I could make sense of the different styles to see which ones might be a good fit for our family. I thought it might be helpful to write an article breaking down each of the main styles (some people also refer to them as methods). Let’s dive in!

Public School at Home

This style isn’t necessarily a style. You are completing school exactly as you would at public school, but the work is done at home. This is usually done via internet classes. All the work is the same. This would be a good option for someone who likes the structure and educational style of public school, but prefers (or needs) to keep their child home.

Unschooling

This is a term that scares a lot of people, even homeschoolers. Essentially, this is student led learning. There is no formal lesson time, no set plan in place. The student decides what they learn and when. This doesn’t mean the parent has no hand in the child’s education. For example, when a child expresses interest in reading, the parent would still teach basic phonics, but it’s when the child expresses interest, rather than the parent choosing when to begin learning. There is certainly benefit to this, as children will retain a lot of what they learn when they’re interested and engaged (rather than forced to do school and barely paying attention). However, the lack of structure can be difficult (probably more for the parents than the children) and I’d imagine keeping records could potentially have a learning curve.

Charlotte Mason

This style is based on the methods of an English educator at the turn of the 20th century named – you guessed it! – Charlotte Mason. Charlotte Mason believed that each child was an individual person with their own unique thoughts and personality – not simply an empty vessel to be filled or clay to be shaped into what the adult sees best. Charlotte Mason’s style is very literary based, emphasizing living books (literature that makes the subject come alive). She also believed a child should be given a “feast of ideas” (wide range of subjects) & making lessons brief, both to hold the child’s attention and so they could finish early and have the afternoon to enjoy nature walks, play and pursue their own interests. Some curriculums that draw inspiration from Charlotte Mason are Sonlight, My Father’s World, Simply Charlotte Mason and Ambleside Online (a completely free curriculum).

Unit Studies

Unit studies take one subject and tailors all school subjects around it. For example, if your unit study was about nursery rhymes, you would read the nursery rhymes (literature and possibly phonics), study the country where the nursery rhyme was written (geography), the time period it was written in or the author (history), study an animal in the nursery rhyme (science), etc. Usually unit studies last from 1-6 weeks. This was what we did for the first half of our preschool year. It was so fun, but because I was writing all of the lessons plans and coming up with everything on my own, I quickly burned out and we abandoned it for the second half of the year. There are lots of online resources (especially on Pinterest) for unit studies, but one unit study curriculum is Five in a Row.

Traditional

This is similar to the school at home style in that it is structured similarly to public school. However, this is different in that it is not through a public school and not online (although some companies do offer online, DVD or computerized courses). It is a boxed curriculum that you order. Typically, the entire curriculum comes in a box (though some people prefer to order individual components). Each child gets a completely separate curriculum. This means no combining classes for larger families – but curriculum can be passed down to younger children, The nice part about this option is that it is all inclusive. All the work is done for you and you can just check boxes when work is completed. However this style can be pricey and is difficult to tailor to your child. They also have a reputation of burning families out (both parents and the kids!). Some examples of these curriculums are Alpha Omega, Abeka and Bob Jones University.

Classical

Classical style is based on the classical education in ancient times in Greece. Classical education breaks down learning into three stages called the Trivium. The first stage, called the Grammar stage (elementary), involves learning facts and memorization. The second stage, the Logic stage (middle school and junior high), begins applying logic and reasoning to the basis of memorization and facts. The final stage, Rhetoric (high school), completes the Trivium and emphasizes wisdom and judgment. The goal of this style is to learn to find information, digest it, verify it and communicate it. Some curriculums within this learning style are Tapestry of Grace, Classical Conversations and The Well-Trained Mind.

Waldorf

This style was popularized by Rudolph Steiner in Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It emphasizes holistic learning, not separating subjects from one another and educating the body, spirit and mind. Some other characteristics of this style are the importance placed on imagination, the arts and daily rhythms (rather than schedules). I’ve seen resources on Waldorf education online, but haven’t seen a specific boxed curriculum that works with this style. I think there is a lot of picking and choosing, building your own curriculum.

Montessori

This style emphasizes “errorless learning.” This means that a child is free to learn at their own pace and grow their potential. Montessori uses a lot of hands on learning and prefers to minimize clutter and instead focus on a few beautiful, well made items. There are a lot of Montessori elements present in many homes, especially in the preschool and kindergarten years.

Eclectic

This is exactly what it sounds like. Instead of adhering strictly to a specific style, eclectic homeschoolers pick and choose a little bit of everything. Oftentimes, their choices will change based on whatever is best for their family at this particular time and season. This is a reality for many homeschool families. It’s the Homeschool Style I grew up with, so I had no idea there were so many different styles. I didn’t hear any of these specific style mentioned, because we borrowed a bit from each and it would change year by year, depending on where my sister and I were academically or what our family needed at that given time.

Hopefully this brief overview gives some clarity into the different styles of homeschooling.

What about you? What homeschool style works best for your family? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below! As always, please keep comments respectful.