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Different types of curriculum/methods of teaching
(This information was copied off of a webpage somewhere but I can't remember where so I apologize that I can't properly reference it.)
[I've included my own comments and resources in square brackets]
The Traditional Approach
The traditional approach is probably the most familiar to you and may be the one you feel most comfortable starting with the first year. Your homeschool will be run much like a traditional school. Textbooks for each grade and subject are used and "follow a scope and sequence that covers each subject in daily increments for a 12 year, 180 days a year academic program. Teacher's manuals, tests, and record keeping materials are usually available that correspond to each of the texts."(Elijah Company Catalog). Some major suppliers of this type of curricula are Abeka, Bob Jones University Press, Christian Liberty Press, and Rod and Staff.
[I don't like using the Traditional Approach because it is not flexible enough to meet the individual needs of each child. It also tends to be quite boring and tedious for the child compared to some more creative literature-based curriculum. I also don't choose this method because the traditional school curriculum is one of the reasons why I choose to homeschool - I don't think it brings out the child's full potential. I like to personally review every book, curriculum, and learning tool and pick-and-choose what I think is the best. BUT if you're new to homeschooling, not interested in doing a lot of research, don't know how to choose resources, or think that the traditional curriculum is fine. I do recommend Calvert. Everything you need comes in one box with detailed lesson plans and schedules. All you need to do is follow the instructions, they'll even tell you what to say. It's very convenient and stress free. I have contemplated using this curriculum several times and may still choose to do so. Calvert is actually considered by most people to be a Classical Education - which it is, but I think of it as traditional in that it is not customizable and uses textbooks and workbooks.]
Worktext/workbook only
A variation of the traditional textbook approach is the worktext or workbook approach also known as programmed instruction. It is designed for students to work independently. A selection is presented followed by questions. There are eight to ten small workbooks (paces, or lifepacs) for each subject in each grade. Suppliers for these materials include School of Tomorrow and Alpha Omega.
The Classical Approach
The classical approach has existed since the middle ages, producing some of the greatest minds in history. It was reborn due to the efforts of Dorthey Sayers, a British writer and historian. She says, "The true end of education is simply this: to teach men how to learn for themselves; and whatever instruction fails to do this is effort spent in vain." The five tools of learning, known as the Trivium, are Reason, Record, Research, Relate and Rhetoric. In the preparing stage, the child learns the three R's. He builds on this with compositions and collections in the Grammar stage. The Dialectic stage emphasizes serious reading, study and research. All the tools come together in the Rhetoric stage with communication as the primary focus. Parents choosing to use this educational approach may find "Recovering The Lost Tools Of Learning", by Douglas Wilson, helpful. Also available is the magazine "Teaching The Trivium" from Trivium Pursuit.
[This is the method I have chosen to use with my children. It is extremely thorough and systematic. Almost all knowledge is presented along the chronological history timeline and is repeated 3 times using a 4-year cycle. The first time through history is presented as great colourful stories, basic facts and a general outline of the knowledge acquired by man. Children focus on absorbing facts and perfecting the tools of learning: reading, writing, grammar, math. The second time through the child asks "why?". Why did this war happen? Why did this civilization fall? Why do the planets maintain their orbit? Children focus on their ability to think logically and critically and to discover the relationship between things. In the third cyle they read original works by the people who made history and formulate their own opinions of right and wrong, why and how and then contribute to the conversation of humanity. They master skills of communication: essay writing, public speaking, presenting an argument in a sequential and logical manner and with sound proof.
By Susan Wise Bauer
(click on the book
to buy it at amazon.ca)
This is an excellent book on how to create your own classical education curriculum. This book gave me the confidence to customize my child's education. It explains how to teach your child from Pre-K to the end of High School and gives the names of all the books and resources to use every step of the way. With this book you can choose which tools to use, what to teach when - it's more work but you're in control. They also have a webpage with more resources and support. The Well-Trained Mind is very popular and followed by a lot of homeschoolers. It is sometimes hard to find the resources they recommend (out of print). There is a high burn-out rate with this curriculum and I havn't heard a lot about children begging for more with this curriculum (meaning: does it instill a love of learning?). If you choose this method, don't try to do all of it. Use it as a tool to find resources helpful in achieving your own educational goals. Don't become a slave to someone else's idea of what should be taught.
Calvert is an excellent choice for those who want a Classical Curriculum to arrive in a box with step-by-step instructions.]
The Unit Study
All subjects usually taught separately are blended in the unit study approach. A topic or theme is studied for one to six weeks with compositions, models, art, music, history reports, literature and possibly science projects all centered around the same topic which could be weather, Mexico, honesty or an endless variety of topics and themes. One study indicates that forty percent more learning takes place when subjects are integrated. Students are usually more motivated and engaged when they can do projects or experiments along with the usual reading and writing assignments, especially if they have input in choosing the topics. Unit studies take more time to organize initially and to gather materials, but since several grades can study the same topic at different levels, it actually takes less teaching time if you have students in several grades than teaching each grade separately. Research and inquiry are encouraged through the many projects. You can develop your own unit study or purchase a prepared one such as Alta Vista, KONOS, The Prairie Primer, TRISMS, Bill Gothard's Advanced Training Institute of America, and Five in a Row.
Charlotte Mason Approach
Charlotte Mason was a turn-of-the century educator in Britain who felt that children were not mere containers waiting to be filled with knowledge but persons in their own right deserving of respect. They should be given time to play, create, and to be involved in real-life situations from which they learn. She states, "There is no sort of knowledge to be gotten in these early years so valuable to children as that which they can get for themselves of the world they live in." Mason's approach involved teaching the basic reading, writing, and arithmetic beginning in the first grade and using a broad range of sources for the other subjects. Her students took nature walks to observe nature, museums for art, and books which she referred to as "Living Books" that made geography, history and literature "come alive". One other aspect was the use of narration and dictation from passages of books and the discussion of books with the teacher. Numerous books on this approach have been written beginning with:
By Charlotte Mason
a six volume set
now available in one book called:
Charlotte Mason's Original Homeschooling Series
Written quite a long time ago, so not easy to read.
(click on the book
to buy it at amazon.ca)
It may be easier to read more contemporary books about how to apply the Charlotte Mason approach to your homeschool, rather than Charlotte Mason's original work. Here are a few of the most popular guides to homeschooling using Charlotte Mason's philosophy of education:
A Charlotte Mason Companion
B y Karen Andreola
An encouraging and practical guide to homeschooling using the Charlotte Mason
method.
(click on the book to buy it at amazon.ca)
A Charlotte Mason
Education
By Catherine Levison
A guide on how to homeschool using
the Charlotte Mason approach.
(click on the book to buy it at amazon.ca)
For the Children's
Sake
By
Susan Schaffer Macaulay
A Christian approach to Charlotte Mason's
philosophy of homeschooling.
(click on the book to buy it at amazon.ca)
[I'm learning more about this method and I'm really interested in it. Children develop a love of learning in this literature-focused method. It is a little too unstructured for me but that's just my style. I'm trying to incorporate it into my curriculum.
Here is a curriculum called Five in a Row which teaches through reading literature. I've heard lots of praise about this.
If you want more structure, teacher manuals, schedules, school-in-a box, that's literature focused check-out Sonlight. I use a lot of this curriculum with my children. I am really impressed with the testimonials in their catalogue of children begging for school, reading schoolbooks for recreation, and really loving school. I've heard much praise for their choice of literature. My children DO read their Sonlight school books for recreation - they LOVE them!]
The Moore Formula
Dr. Raymond and Dorothy Moore are proponents of modified, casual academics and, based on their research, feel that children are far better off whenever possible waiting until age eight or ten for a sustained learning program. Dr. Moore states, "Despite early excitement for school, many, if not most, early entrants are tired of school before they are out of the third or fourth grade." He cites scientific evidence indicating that vision, hearing and other senses are not ready for continuing formal programs of learning until at least age eight or nine. Before that time, learning games and activities provided at the Moore Foundation teach without pressure. Children who begin formal studies later quickly surpass their agemates, who started school at five or six, in learning, behavior and sociability. Younger children are often taught academic skills before they have enough life experiences and background knowledge to comprehend what they are learning or to grasp the concepts involved. Another disadvantage of children under twelve spending more time with their peers than with adults is their tendency to become peer dependent, deriving their sense of self-worth from their peers. The Moores recommend a program with a balance of study, work or involvement in family activities, and service to others. Their book, Home Grown Kids, is where many veteran homeschoolers got their start and it is considered a homeschooling classic. Other books by the Moores include Better Late than Early, Home Spun Schools and Home Style Teaching.
[I think children have the greatest capacity to learn before the age of 5 and certainly before the age of 10. I would not feel comfortable not teaching my children formally before the age of 8. But I have to think carefully about what they are saying because it's based on research and studies (though many of those can be false and misleading) and many people use, enjoy, and succeed with this method. I do really like their focus on study, work, and service to others. Especially the service to others part. And I strongly agree with their philosophy of isolating your children from peers and building strong family relationships.]
Unschooling
The last approach is hardest to explain as it does not just describe an educational approach but a way of life, unschooling. What it is not: just hanging out or "doing nothing". Unschooling was defined by John Holt, an educator who felt that children had an inborn desire to learn that will surface if not stifled by the usual methods of teaching.
(click on the book to buy it from amazon.ca),
another homeschooling
classic, "what
children
need is not new and better curricula but access
to more of
the real
world;
plenty
of time and
space to think over their experiences, and to
use fantasy
and play to make meaning out of them." The Davises, of the Elijah
Company explain that "unschooling refers to any non-structured
learning approach that allows children to pursue their own interests
with parental
support and guidance, and lets children learn by being included in
the lives of adults. The child is surrounded by a rich environment
of books,
learning resources, and adults who model a lifestyle of learning and
are willing to interact with him. Formal academics, if pursued at
all, are
pursued when the need arises. In this approach, children are apprenticed
or 'discipled' by adults who include them in what they are doing.
In the
process, the child learns everything the adult knows, and possibly
a great deal more." Delight-directed, natural-learning, child-led,
relaxed home school; these are all ways to describe unschooling.
Home
Schooling for Excellence
By David and Micki Colfax
A homeschooling families story of how
they taught using everyday life on their ranch
(as well as other stuff).
Three of the boys went
to Harvard.
(click on the book to buy it at amazon.ca)
The
Relaxed Home School
By Mary Hood
Mary Hood describes a middle-way between extremely structured and no structure.
She describes having a plan but allowing the lessons to "flow
out of everyday life".
Growing without Schooling Magazine, and Home Education Magazine.
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