The first bit of advice I have for anyone who is thinking about homeschooling (ever) is this: shake that stale ass perception you have of what homeschooling looks like. Its nothing like you’re probably imagining and I would be willing to bet that you’re going to shit when ya realize what you’ve been missing.

Key Points:

• the first thing you need to do is understand that your vision of homeschooling is likely skewed

• you’ve gotta read this book, even if you don’t have kids yet

• you have to identify your “why" (aka the reason you want to homeschool

• there are multiple styles of homeschooling; they are broken down below

• every family is different and prioritizes different things so you cannot compare your style of homeschooling to others

• you know your child better than any human on this planet.. period

The second thing you need to do is identify the real reason you want to homeschool your kid(s). This is your “why.”

For me, it was because I knew I would never, ever abuse my kid by forcing her to cover her face with a cloth just because some douche-bag politician with zero goodness in his heart said so.

I had no choice but to pull her from that system. (Man does God work in mysterious ways). That isn’t why I continued to homeschool. I’ll be deadass serious: after a few months of homeschooling, I was certain I would send her back to public schools. Certain. But, my “why” ended up evolving along with my beliefs and morals and homeschooling method!

Your why could be because you aren’t down with the government deciding what is best for your kids. Maybe its because you don’t want to to be forced to do something, showing up somewhere Monday through Friday for the next 13 years. Maybe you know you aren’t going to do it forever but just want to keep the kiddos home a little longer in their earlier years.You’re allowed to homeschool, for whatever reason. It is legal to homeschool your children in all fifty states. K? Promise.

Anyway, my point is this: stop thinking of homeschooling as “duplicating the public school system- at home.” If anything, you want to do the complete fucking opposite. Aside from that, know why you want to do it… and I promise… you’re going to be a-okay!

Like everything else in life: humans, personality traits, animals, music, religions… homeschooling has sub-categories and niches, if you will. Breeds. (The cool thing is, they can all be blended!)

Once you understand that homeschooling isn’t what you thought it was, you’ll be able to figure out which method would suit your lifestyle best.

Read through these key facts about each of the most common methods of homeschooling. I recommend that you further research each method. I just have ADHD and like shit broken down, simply, at first- ha!

Anyway, I betcha you’ll naturally gravitate towards one or two methods/approaches. When ya do, boom, start there!

You’ve got this shit.

Notes On: The Most Common Styles of Homeschooling

Traditional

• Students move through grades

• The teacher is the driving force and primary “controller” of the education received by child/student

• This method looks more like a classroom, desk, and text books per subject covered

Classical

• Systematic structure, more stringent, pretty rigorous

• Believes children learn in 3-stages (trivium)

  • grammar: early grades; taught through memorization, songs, rhymes

  • logic: middle grade; taught to use logic in their writing, to know the why behind things, reasoning

  • rhetoric: higher grades; taught to use persuasive speech, to effectively communicate and express themselves

• Children move through lessons based on their maturity and age rather than grades.

• Uses history as a theme

Montessori

• Believes children’s hands are the “chief teacher”

• Independence is valued with this method

• Freedom, order, beauty, nature, reality and the social and intellectual environment are all part of Montessori’s core principles

• The classroom has no focal point

• Everything is scaled to a child’s size

• Think centers and spaces where the kid(s) can move freely at their own pace; cleaning up after themselves etc.

• Focuses on mastery over memorization

Charlotte Mason

• Based on three instruments:

  • Atmosphere: this is the vibe, intention behind everything in the space

  • Discipline: rhythms and habits that are taught; the purpose is to promote consistency to the days

  • Life: the books that fuel the mind

• She believed that children are people and should be treated as such

• Known for her metaphor “laying a feast” which basically means lay out the books and material and let their interests guide them

• Books, literature; reading aloud and often is key here

• Believes in short lessons because kids are not meant to sit still and be bored to death; recommends 15 minutes for elementary students, 30 minutes for middle grades and 45 minutes for higher grades (per subject/interest)

• Believes handicrafts are a wonderful thing; they require learned skills and encourages kids to do their best work

• Think sewing, scrap-booking, painting, woodworking, pottery, etc.

• BIG into nature study; spending time outside

Waldorf

• Mind, body, and spirit

• Designed to be more holistic; mirroring natural stages of development from childhood to adulthood

• Natural materials, child-led free play, music, movement, art, storytelling

• BIG into nurturing the imagination; uncovering truth naturally; meditation, spirituality, nature etc.

• Teaching through living life

• The child is the curriculum

Reggio Emilia

• The teacher takes on the role as a co-learner

• The teacher basically plays lead student; documenting child’s interests, drawing out their ideas for them; repeating back to them their ideas or thoughts

• Researching things that make them curious

• This method is focused more on the journey not the destination

• Designed for younger children, think pre-K and Kindergarten; but can be implemented throughout life

• No planned curriculum

Unschooling

• The term was coined by John Holt; an advocate of school reform

• Defined as “learning and teaching that does not resemble school learning and teaching”

• Unconventional, yes

• Living is learning

• Learning is happening all of the time and cannot be forced

• Believes the key is to trust the child and their interests

• The parents are simply there to support, guide and help them develop skills by providing the resources and materials needed

• Believes learning should be fun, meaningful and interesting

• The most hands-off approach

• The hardest part of this method is convincing judgemental people who know nothing about homeschooling that this is, indeed, a method of learning

There ya have it! I seriously encourage you to further research these methods. Or don’t, maybe you know which one is right for you from the get-go. If you were wondering, my method of homeschooling is primarily unschooling with bits and pieces of Waldorf, Reggio Emilia, and Charlotte Mason. Just depends on the day, week, month, season, year, or phase of life we are in!

All of that being said, which method speaks to you the most? Comment below. Love you!