| There are a variety of methods that can be | | | | means that, while the basic curriculum is |
| applied in the area of homeschooling. The method | | | | established, parents change it to adapt to the |
| you select will have an impact on the curriculum | | | | individual needs and interests of their children. The |
| and style of teaching. The following are some of | | | | curriculum is generally established according to the |
| the most popular homeschooling methods. | | | | temperament, learning style, and interests of the |
| The Charlotte Mason method is named after | | | | children. These programs typically include visits to |
| Charlotte Mason, who is known as the originator | | | | libraries, factories, and museums. |
| of the homeschooling movement. She herself was | | | | John Holt, a public educator in Boston, developed |
| a homeschooler, and she wanted to establish a | | | | the 'unschooling' method. Holt believed that children |
| basic plan for a complete and effective | | | | learn best when they learn at their own pace and |
| homeschooling program. The Charlotte Mason | | | | are guided by their own interests. He wanted to |
| method emphasizes poetry, fine arts, classical | | | | 'unschool' the child by requiring parents to take |
| music, crafts, and classical literature. This method | | | | their cues from the children. This approach has no |
| is designed to encourage an awareness of | | | | set curriculum, schedules, or materials. It is the |
| literature and involves reading to the child every | | | | most unstructured of the homeschooling |
| day. The child is then asked to tell what he or she | | | | techniques. |
| has heard. This starts at the age of six. By the | | | | The Montessori method had its start in Italy. It |
| age of ten, the child is expected to write | | | | was found that children go through extremely |
| narrations in a book. Mason encouraged the use | | | | sensitive periods in which they experience periods |
| of nature diaries as well. The child writes | | | | of intense concentration. In these phases, children |
| observations of nature in the book as well. This | | | | will repeat an action until they receive some |
| creates a sense of respect for the environment | | | | measure of self-satisfaction from it. This method |
| in the child. Mason thought that good behavior and | | | | relies on prepared environments to facilitate |
| character were critical for a child's complete | | | | learning. All materials utilized in this method are |
| personality development. | | | | meant to satisfy the child's interior desire for |
| The Eclectic Homeschooling method is a | | | | spiritual development. Materials for this method |
| combination of several techniques. Innovative | | | | range from simple to complex, and they are |
| parents rely on their own judgment to select | | | | relatively costly. |
| topics that make up the curriculum for their own | | | | Whatever method is selected, the underlying |
| child. These parents are always looking for the | | | | concept is flexibility and a strong interest in the |
| best products they can find to help them meet | | | | child's own desires. The key is to use children's |
| the needs of their home schoolers. Many of the | | | | desire for knowledge to further their education. |
| curricula in this method are improvised. This | | | | |