You have decided to homeschool your children, I’m so excited for you! But where to go from that decision and which curriculum should you choose? The abundant schooling options in modern times makes narrowing down what your school day will look like and even where to begin more than a little confusing. Here are four homeschool philosophies to help you make some sense of which direction you’d like to take your children’s education.
Homeschool Philosophy 1: Unit Studies
The unit study approach is a multi-sensory learning experience that has each activity following an overarching theme. The idea is that when a theme covers many subjects at once, students will receive a wider breadth of knowledge.
Benefits of unit studies:
- Allows for more creative methods to exploring content.
- Encourages multi-sensory exploration which is particularly helpful for visual and tactile learners.
- Learning is interest-led.
- Multiple ages can learn together.
How Unit Studies Work
Let’s say your main theme in honeybees, you would plan all of your school subjects around bees. Bee anatomy & life cycle, pollination, and the chemistry of honey all cover science. Bee counting games, word problems involving bees, and number bonds cover math. Bee keeping vocabulary, bee poetry & books, and bee keeping copy work fall under ELA. Bee keeping in ancient Egypt, indigenous honeybees, and honey stealing can fulfill your history & geography requirement. You can even find music and art projects all centering around bees.
Homeschool Philosophy 2: Charlotte Mason
Probably the most popular homeschooling approach, this education philosophy was developed in 19th century England by Charlotte Mason. This approach emphasizes the importance of living books, nature study, hands-on learning, and forming good habits through consistent daily routines. This type of teaching highly values children developing an appreciation of music, art, and nature. Charlotte Mason taught her idea that children are “spiritual beings” who are educated through the ideas and experiences they are exposed to.
Benefits of Charlotte Mason:
- Aides in the development of good habits and character development.
- Incorporates nature and plenty of hours spent outside.
- Encourages creative expression and imagination play.
- Multiple ages can learn together.
- Trains the whole child – spirit, mind, and body.
- Teaches to mastery instead of hard and fast grade level rules.
- Shapes children to be lifelong learners.
*Something to note
This education method is predominantly Christian and you may struggle to find co-ops, curriculum, or other resources that are secular. I’ve heard experiences from other moms of bullying and cliquey behavior in some co-op groups so always test the waters to find what feels best for you and your family.
Homeschool Philosophy 3: Montessori
Developed by Maria Montessori, an Italian physician and educator who believed “education should be tailored to each child’s unique needs and interests.” This education philosophy is based on child directed activity and hands-on learning. Originally designed to be accessible for poor and low income families who needed their children educated in a group setting with a range of ages all working independently.
Benefits of Montessori:
- Multiple ages can learn together, but complete their work independently.
- Children who find it difficult to remain focused on a single activity can thrive. It has been said that a Montessori education is tremendously beneficial for children with ADHD.
- Offers children a carefully guided education.
- Emphasis on individual work.
- Child-led activities and development at the child’s pace.
*Something to note
Classical Montessori doesn’t allow learning through dramatic play which goes against current research on child development. Don’t allow that to sway your schooling opinion away from Montessori as many schools and curriculum have become more modernized and don’t follow Maria’s original teachings. Also, many companies claim to be Montessori inspired without following the true pillars in an effort to get your money. (I’m looking at you Montessori toy companies.)
Homeschool Philosophy 4: Waldorf
Founded in the early 20th century by artist and scientist, Rudolf Steiner. This education method utilizes a whole-child approach for cognitive, emotional, spiritual, and physical well-being. Waldorf is strictly against the use of standardized testing and the use of technology, which may be a positive for some families. There is also a major focus on pretend play and children using their imaginations, specifically in the younger years. The goals are to develop the ability to work with others, strength of will, clarity of individual thought, and depth of feeling.
Benefits of Waldorf:
- Promotes learning practical life skills.
- Fosters community building.
- Children take an active role in choosing their education.
- Multiple ages are learning together, oftentimes the older children helping to teach the younger.
- Nurtures an attitude of lifelong learning.
- Allows children to learn reading skills at their own pace rather than requiring a specific reading level according to grade or age. (I like that reading is taught without phonics.)
*Something to note
Steiner included anthroposophy ideals (the idea that humans are able to communicate with spiritual worlds) in his Waldorf philosophy. This may not be present in every Waldorf school or co-op, but there have been cases of bullying and racism where some teachers believe they have “transcended above other races.” As always, research and test out different groups before joining .
The Bottom Line
- Unit studies are a fun way to cover multiple subjects under one theme of your child(red)’s choosing.
- Charlotte Mason is focused on living books and nature exploration while typically being religious.
- Montessori has a strict prepared environment and teacher guided educational experience.
- Waldorf is what the modern day masses think is Montessori, with an education style focused on learning through play and absolutely no technology.
I have yet to meet a homeschooling family that teaches with strictly one education philosophy and there are even more schools of thought (see what I did there?) than the four I’ve covered here. I’ll say it again, find what works for your family. Personally, my family has an eclectic approach. I heavily lean into the Charlotte Mason camp and sprinkle in some unit studies when one of the kids has a seemingly random interest or we have something big happening in our lives (like when we did that unit study on pigs before getting our first pigs), but our once per week co-op is Waldorf. This is what works for us in this season of life and thankfully, our homeschool is whatever we want to make of it.