Skip to main content

Don't Overthink Homeschool Philosophies

There are a lot of different homeschool philosophies and methods out there, such as unschooling, Charlotte Mason, Waldorf, Montessori, and many others. When I first started homeschooling, I struggled finding a philosophy that felt like the right fit for my family. I liked certain aspects of many of the different methods, but there were also aspects that I didn't like. After a while, I said "forget it", and stopped trying to fit our homeschool into someone else's vision. We've been doing our own thing ever since and have never looked back.


One of the best things about homeschooling, is the freedom it allows to custom fit your children's education to accommodate their unique interests and needs. Take advantage of that freedom! Your family is unique, and so are each of your children, so shouldn't their educations also be unique? What works for one family or even one child, may not work for another. Don't get caught up trying to make your homeschool look like someone else's, make it whatever works for your family.

 We tend to take a different approach to almost every topic we cover. Sometimes the approach even varies from child to child. My oldest is a very active, hands-on learner, so with her I try to incorporate as much movement and as many hands-on activities as I can. She is also very much a free thinker, and fights too much structure, so an unschooling approach to many topics works well for her. She is mildly dyslexic though, so we take a little bit more of a traditional route when it comes to spelling and phonics, because she needs the practice. My younger daughter on the other hand, is calmer and very contemplative, so our approach to school with her will likely end up looking a bit different than our approach with her sister. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that homeschool philosophies are bad. If you find one that's a good fit for your family, run with that. Just don't become so loyal to a philosophy that you loose sight of your children's needs and learning styles. Take what you like from a philosophy and leave what you don't like. You know your kids better than educators who have never met them. Make your homeschool yours!


Labels:

Comments

  1. yvonneFebruary 5, 2020 at 6:51 AM

    This is probably the number one reason some people shy away from homeschooling. It can be so overwhelming to hear all the methods, approaches, and philosophies. I think my first year I was so consumed by "what method will I use" that I missed the beauty and fun of homeschooling with my first child.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brandy NicoleFebruary 14, 2020 at 11:28 AM

      I agree that it probably does turn a lot of people away from homeschooling. While homeschool philosophies can be great for drawing inspiration from, I think the pressure to choose and "live up to" one can definitely be overwhelming.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Water Relay Races For Kids

I don't know about your kids, but mine absolutely love games involving water and getting wet in the summer time. In  this post I share 5 of our favorite water relay races to play with friends. These are perfect for birthday parties, homeschool get togethers, and other group events. Sponge Relay: For this relay you will need: - 2 teams of several kids each -2 large sponges -4 small buckets or containers of some sort Divide your participants into 2 teams and have each team line up single file at a predetermined starting place.  Hand out a sponge to the first participant in each line. Set a bucket of water by each team. Set an empty bucket about 20 ft away from each team.  The two empty buckets should be the same size and should have a "fill line" marked half way up. On a count of 3 (or ready set go) the first participant in each line should dip their sponge in the bucket of water, run to the empty bucket, squeeze the water from their spo...
2 comments
Read more

STEM Art: 21 STEAM Project Ideas

My kids love STEM projects and we're always looking for ways to add more art to our homeschool days, so I decided I am going to try to dedicate one morning a week this year to STEM art activities. In this post I share some of the ideas we're planning to try, plus a few favorites we've done in the past. What is STEM Education? STEM education is a blended and often hands on approach to teaching science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, which are some of today's fastest growing industries. STEM education offers students the opportunity to problem solve and work on real world problems and questions. Sometimes the acronym STEAM is used, to include the arts. Adding art to STEM education encourages creative thinking and problem solving skills. It can also help make the other included subjects more appealing to some students. STEM Art Projects  Penny Spinners-   Learn about centrifugal force and make your own spinning tops with this fun post from Teach Beside Me. Explo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Make Your Own Mineral Identification Kit

One of my family's favorite hobbies is rock hounding. We love collecting and trying to identify neat rock and mineral specimens that we come across. You can put together your own simple kit for identifying rocks and minerals with materials you likely already have around your home. In this post I will explain how to put together your own mineral identification kit and how to use it to identify rocks and minerals you find on your adventures. Making a Rock and Mineral ID Kit Grab yourself a printable Rock and Mineral Journal for recording your observations here:  Printable Rock and Mineral Journal ,  and then gather the following supplies: -A pencil -A coin -An iron nail -A piece of glass (an old pocket mirror works well) -A ceramic tile -A small watertight bottle or container -Some vinegar -A magnet  -A magnifying glass -A dropper (optional)  -Rock and mineral guide (optional)  -A small container or bag to keep it all in Fill ...
1 comment
Read more

Learning About Thailand: Activities and Resources

Thailand ended up being a really fun country to study. There are so many amazing Thai recipes to try and lots of neat buildings and monuments to learn about. My family's favorite part of this unit study was learning about Asian elephants, they are such interesting and intelligent animals!  Basic Information  Thailand is a country in southern Asia. It is boarderd by Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and the Andaman Sea. The northern region is mountainous while the southern region is hilly and forested. Capital- Bangkok Population- 69.6 million Size- 198,115 square miles Currency- Baht   Type of Government- Constitutional Monarchy National Anthem-  Phleng Chat Thai National Animal- elephant Flag Famous Places The Grand Palace- The Grand Palace in Bangkok was used as the official royal residence of Thailand from 1782 to 1925. It is still used today for ceremonies and state functions. The palace sits on the banks of the Chao Phraya River. It consists of many buildings and pavilio...
Post a Comment
Read more

Learning About The Human Body Part 1: The Skeletal And Muscular Systems

At the end of each school year, I sit down with my daughter to discuss what topics she wants to learn about the next year. One of her science topics she picked to study this year was the human body. Instead of ordering a boxed curriculum set, I decided to put together my own human body unit. In this post I share some of the resources we used for learning about the human skeletal and muscular systems, plus instructions for a couple hands on learning activities. You can find my post about the human respiratory and circulatory systems  here , and my post about the human digestive and nervous systems  here . The Human Skeletal System Our skeletons are the frame of our body. They give us structure, without them our bodies would be limp like noodles. They also provide places for muscles to attach so our bodies can move. Why Does Your Body Need Calcium? Experiment: This is a simple experiment you can do to explore why calcium is important for our bones. You will need: -sever...
5 comments
Read more