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 Homeschooling styles (currently 1,221 views) |
| kivrinsmum |
| Posted on: July 7th, 2005, 11:07pm |
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Hi everyone. I haven't posted in a long time, but another set of posts regarding book recommendations got me thinking...As my daughter approaches her 3rd birthday I've been looking harder at practical issues of early childhood homeschooling and the tone I want to set for the future. I've been doing some formal reading, but I'd love to hear some local perspectives on homeschooling styles. For example, I'm really curious about unschooling, and how that works as the children get older and start thinking about a more structured higher edcation. I'm also really interested in the Waldorf approach in the same respect. (And if there are any strict Waldorf families out there I think I have some other questions too).
Also, I'd like to know from any homeschoolers who use a more rigid academic style what curriculum you use, and what you've found successful (or not) in ordering your schedules and lives. How much formal education, how soon?
And! How well does Montessori work at home? I've read a lot about Montessori, but I've never seen it practiced.
Oh, and information you folks have on preschool with a spirited child would be helpful.
Thank you all in advance,
Mary |
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| sagepinon |
| Posted on: July 7th, 2005, 11:35pm |
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Hi Mary,
You and I are in similar boats. My oldest will be 3 in early october. I too have started looking more formally at homeschooling for preschool and perhaps beyond, depending on how it goes. I have been particularly focused on Waldorf, having looked into others briefly, Waldorf resonated with me most. So I have started gathering ideas to use with my daughter starting this Fall, as well as starting to implement the "tone" I would like to establish. Much of what Waldorf recommends for children this age is to not do any "head learning", so talk of home "preschool" is ironic. I could tell you a lot more about Waldorf "preschool" if you're interested, and/or why I am interested in it, but it would be a long email, so perhaps if you want you could email me directly. As for the spirited child, Waldorf does address this ...
One idea; mothering.com has a good discussion of various forms of education (montessori vs. waldorf for example) under their education thread. Its a good place to start to get an overview of the many "alternatives", as well as what critics have to say. I look forward to talking more about how/what we're doing (where are you located?)
Jessica |
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| Admin |
| Posted on: July 9th, 2005, 2:29am |
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Hi Mary, like you I started thinking about different homeschooling styles and the tone I wanted to set early on, when my son was 2. I was very attracted to unschooling, also read about Montessori and Waldorf.
So, I spent some time getting used to, and even beginning to like, the idea that my son might not read early, do math early etc, and maybe that was a good thing. To my great surprise, he showed a very early interest in math and reading, and none in art. Waldorf went out the window, at that point. Later, it also became very apparent that he thrived on structure, and if none was provided, he would create it. This is a kid who will make a "score" chart for himself out of any activity he undertakes, wants to know the exact schedule during the day for when we are going to do what, and so on. So, at that point, the idea of pure unschooling went out the window.
While I think it's a great exercise to think early on about schooling styles and tone, and it was certainly something I enjoyed doing, I've come close to 180 degrees from what initially attracted me to homeschooling. Then again, Ruby is so different from Eric, that something completely different may work best for her. She's about the age of your daughter, and at this point I can't yet make a good guess at what homeschooling style will mesh best with her personality. |
Elizabeth
Mom to Eric (8 ) and Ruby (4.5) |
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| LadyJessica |
| Posted on: July 9th, 2005, 5:59pm |
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I agree with Elizabeth. Every child is different and it is hard to know what will work for your children. In looking at homescholling styles and "curriculum" there are many things out there that I have considered. I have to find something that I am comfortable with, but the big test is how my children respond. I am deffinetely an eclectic homeschooler, taking a little of this and a little of that. You can find some great materials for free or cheap on the internet.
I too like the idea of unschooling, but all my children seem to be very structured by nature. As a result, I have decided for the time being to use a Charlotte Mason approach. Charlotte Mason stresses Reading and narrating the material back following each lesson. However, it is recommended that children do not start formal writing until age 10. This obviously covers Language Arts and can also incorperate other subjects like History based on the books. I especially like that the Charlotte Mason approach supports short indepth lessons and abreviated classroom time. This allows children to have more time for physical activities, extra-curricular activities and time to themselves to read, relax or whatever. Charlotte Mason also incorperates nature journaling to cover some Science.
My twins are very eager to start reading. So, we will be starting Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons in the fall. With it's short lessons and strong phonics backing, it seems ideal for us. At http://www.DonnaYoung.org they even have Handwriting worksheets that go along with the lessons in 100 easy lessons, that we intend to use.
For Math instruction, I am very impressed with Math-U-See and am planning on using that this year. It is a wonderful program that utilizes all the learning styles, but especially geared toward visual and hands on learners. My three oldest all seem to fit into one of the two. I don't know that my youngest will follow them in this, but by what I have heard from people who have used Math-U-See it works well for all. But, it is hard to say if it will be the best option for him.
I am wanting to stress the importance of good character with my children and so, I am currently considering ordering The Core Virtues Program. This is a K-6 Literature Based Program in Character Education. By what I can tell this curriculum would be a good fit with the Charlotte Mason Method. It is literature based and by what I can tell, includes many great books including those on the lives of great historical figures.
In addition to these resources, I use odds and ends from the internet, (free or cheap), workbooks and whatever else seems interesting. We are plannning on participating in the Science Co-Op and continue to do activities with the Homeschool Co-Op. The kids also participate in activities through church and we are looking into other extra-curricular activites for them to participate in. It appears that my daughter is leaning toward Girl Scouts and basketball for the upcoming year, but she has not made the final call yet. I am considering getting the twins involved in some sport, but I will probably put all three of the oldre kids in the Homeschool PE class for the fall.
I don't know if this is of any help to you, but that is what we are looking at for our homeschool. It has taken a lot of time and consideration to come up with our plan and our plans are never finalized. I am always open to new resources and base my decisions on my children. If something is not working or is frustrating for my kids, it is time to give it a break or retire it and find something better for my children. |
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| KBarrera |
| Posted on: July 13th, 2005, 2:02pm |
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I also agree with Elizabeth and Jess. I initially had my own images of what I wanted our homeschooling experience to be and like Elizabeth and Jess, my children had their own ideas of what they wanted it to be. My inital imaginings have morphed into the realities of what my kids needs are and how I can meet them. I would say that with a three year old, simply exploring your environment, participating in a lot of fun community based activities (zoo, aquarium, etc) and carefully watching how she takes in the world would be the best approach. This will help you find the direction that will continue to foster her curiosity and desire to learn. Also carefully filtering her toys and her tv time (if any) would be good. I love Hearhtsong for great quality toys that span a wide age range. My oldest is eight and he loves to play with things we bought our two year old for Christmas this year. I never mind the $ if I know we will get a lot of quality use from it.
Hope that helps. 
Kari B |
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| kivrinsmum |
| Posted on: July 13th, 2005, 9:36pm |
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Thank you everyone. I appreciate that you all took time to tell me about your experiences. I guess I always knew that we would need to be flexible and that our view of homeschooling would change as we got into it. It's nice to know that our expectation fits the experiences of other people who have gone further into this adventure.
Mary |
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| Genevieve |
| Posted on: October 4th, 2005, 7:33am |
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I have certain ideas, but they are open to modification from my son's personality and preferences. *g*
I pretty much like eclectic-classical homeschooling. That is, one of my goals is academic excellence, but I see it in VERY different terms than it would be taught in a classroom--better organized and more rigorous and, at the heart of it, a LOT more fun because it's more interesting! I share some similarities with classical schooling, but I put a much smaller emphasis on drill, copywork, and other exercises of that sort and much more on science, mathematics, fine arts, and living foreign languages.
Homeschoolers can pretty much be sorted into two categories: those homeschooling for primarily philosophical/social reasons and those homeschooling for academic reasons. Many have a mixture of both, as do I, but I'm probably 70% academic and 30% other. *g* As a look at the other side of things, here's my view of a standard institutional education and why I reject it even as--and because--I embrace the goal of educational excellence:
-Much primary "education" attempts to make up for deprived home life by teaching kids things that they would learn from simply existing in a good family, like hygiene and dental care, the roles of the police and fire department, and one's role in the family and community. I don't see a point in wasting time on these areas in a home school.
-Social studies education is generally very, very poor. Instead of actually taching kids about the history, geography, and cultures of the world, primary education presents a few key dates and (often apocryphal) stories over and over again in a vacuum. Middle and high school is often spent cramming basic information that could have been presented years before from dry, boring textbooks instead of studying specific aspects of history more in depth.
-Science often relies on poor curricula that are incoherent, incohesive, and, above all, b-o-r-i-n-g. Concepts are repeated year after year in the primary grades so that kids don't get a decent overview of science until 5th or 6th grade at the earliest.
-Math textbooks are, by and large, pedagogically poor and dull and confuse learning concepts with executung and repeating algorithms. They do not prepare a child at any age for thinking mathematically and logically.
-Language arts is usually pushed aside in the effort to make all the kids literate for at least the first three years. Except in honors classes, "literature" usually means "forcing the kids to read SOMETHING." Books that in a homeschool would be enjoyed as independent reading at a young age are placed in the curriculum at the middle school level and beyond, and the classics are largely ignored. Books are usually read so slowly that the experience is painful even to avid readers, and assignments out of literature textbooks are usually awful.
-Kids go to PE, where they learn to hate physical activity, instead of dirt biking, playing sports they love, getting into dance or martial arts, or whatever suits them.
-Foreign languages aren't taught until kids are too old to learn to speak them easily or fluently!
-Fine arts are also held off until they are difficult for many students to learn.
Some specifics:
For example, a typical course of study for K Social Studies looks like this:
# Meanings of holidays, traditions, and customs
# Understanding and appreciating other cultures
# Individual's role in family, home, school, and community
# Relationship of the individual to the group
# Work and jobs
# Safety rules and symbols
# Basic human needs
# Self-respect and self-awareness
# Awareness of others
# Location of home and school
# Diagram of home and school
In contrast, here are what we are learning in our first year of "social studies":
-Life in the pre-agricultural stone age and ice age
-Egypt: Old, Middle, New Kingdoms and Ptolemy
-Ancient and Classical Mesopotamia: Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Hittites, Canaanites, Philistines, Hebrews, Phoenecians, Medes, Persians
-Monument Builders and Celts
-Barbarians through 500 AD
-Indus River Valley civilizations
-Cretans
-Ancient China
-Mycenaeans, Dorians, Classical Greece, and Hellenic Greece
-Ancient Africa (Kush, Aksum, etc.)
-Rome
We'll celebrate and talk about holidays as they come up. As for the rest, my child knows about the other information just because he lives in a decent family! He doesn't need to be taught a lesson on The Policeman is My Friend or Grown Up People Have Jobs! Instead, he loves reading exciting books on topics from the story of a family's life in Rome to mummy-making to the Minotaur myth--MUCH more interesting and fun! There are days when he'll ask for eight days' worth of reading at one sitting because he likes it so much!
Science is also typically very disorganized in early grades. Again, things typically taught in Kindergarten include:
# Observation of everyday, familiar things
# Common animals and plants
# Interrelationships of animals and plants
# Classification of living things
# Farm animals
# Care of pets
# Like and unlike plants
# Indoor plants
# The sun: our principal source of energy
# Weather and seasons
# Temperature
# Light
# Colors
# Senses
# Earth, moon, stars, planets
# Simple measurement
# Beginning experimentation
This year, we're just reading fun books on "science" topics picked out by my son without regard to any overall plan, but we're reading a lot of them. Since July, we've read books about:
- the planet as an entire system
- sun, moon, and solar system
- horses and ponies, wild dogs, big cats, mammals, monkeys, birds, fish, insects, spiders
- rocks and minerals
- plants
- and more
By the time the "school year" is up, we'll have covered more topics than kids typically do in three years in a normal school, and we haven't even officially started school yet. Will he remember it all? I don't really care at this point. He's just getting his toes wet, so to speak, and at least it will be familiar when we talk about it again at greater depth.
Every approach should be different for the child. Plenty of people see mine as "too formal" already because of my son's age--but they don't know how much he adores it and how often he drags me away from whatever I'm doing to "do school". *g*
I think that the best path for anyone to follow is one that gives your child a solid education and teaches him or her to adore learning. But that doesn't mean that any two paths will look the same! |
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| kivrinsmum |
| Posted on: October 4th, 2005, 5:20pm |
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Genevieve! I love your approach! Back when I was first thinking about homeschooling I had very similar ideas about the whys and hows. I'd love to talk to you some more about your experience when I'm not running out of the house. Would you mind if I emailed you directly?
Mary |
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| Genevieve |
| Posted on: October 4th, 2005, 11:26pm |
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| Go ahead! |
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