Approaches to Home Schooling The decision to choose home schooling as a method of teaching your child is a very critical one. The success of this decision is contingent upon the effectiveness of conducting it. After taking the decision to home school, there are many important factors which need to be kept in mind. Some of the areas of concern are the selection of educational material, subjects and the way of teaching the subjects etc. The first step to start the implementation of home schooling should be to know the learning style of your child. Parents should set the primary goals for their children keeping in view the interests of their child. There are different ways and techniques of home schooling. 1. The first and the most commonly used approach to home schooling is the use of textbooks and work books. It is true that this style is not suitable for every child. So, the parents should analyze the suitability of this style with their child’s learning needs. 2. The second approach is to use unit studies. Children learn in a learning environment where they are provided with an opportunity to learn by performing different activities. Mostly, the unit studies use a single topic to teach different subjects. 3. The third approach is lap-booking. Lap books are a very handy, easy to remember, easy to store and portable way of learning. This approach can be adopted to teach children of any age but it is highly beneficial for visual learners. Different colours, papers, and pictures can make the lap books very effective and easy to remember. 4. Montessori home schooling is a very popular approach based on the works of an Italian doctor, Maria Montessori. This approach focuses on developing such an environment which stimulates the five senses of the child and helps him learn for himself. As the focus of this design is to learn, there are no exams and grades associated with this approach. In Montessori home schooling, parents let their children learn freely and observe their behavior. 5. Classical home schooling is a relatively traditional approach. The main focus of this approach is on memorization. It takes place in different stages which focus on grammar, logic and rhetoric. In early years of education, more focus is given put on memorization while as the child matures the emphasis is shifted towards logic and rhetoric. 6. A comparatively modern style is computer-based home schooling. It enables the children to learn in an independent environment. In fact, this method combines the traditional style with an independent, modern and technological way of learning. It requires limited planning, record keeping and instruction. Computer courses provide audio-visual aids and help the students learn through interactive games, videos and animations. It makes learning real fun. Online homeschooling curricula can also be adopted.
None of the approaches to home schooling are right or wrong. The suitability of each approach to your family and the learning style of your children best describe that which style should be adopted. Multiple styles can also be adopted in some cases to boost the learning outcomes. Owen Jones, the author of this article writes on numerous subjects but is currently involved with Home School Games. If you want to read more, visit our website entitled How To Stay At Home From School.