Homeschooling Methods, Approaches and Styles Explained

Complete guide to Homeschooling Methods, Approaches and Styles. Knowing about these terms like Montessori, Waldorf, Play way method will help you choose your own unique style that works for you and your kid.

Homeschooling is quiet a known term now. Many of us are aware about it and some are eager to know about homeschooling. Let’s have a small peek in what homeschooling is and what are the methods of homeschooling?

Homeschooling is a movement when parents choose to educate and teach their kids at home instead of sending them to school for traditional learning. The reasons behind it may be many like dissatisfaction with the traditional learning method, parents may think the teaching methodologies are not competitive enough and their kids are not getting proper environment in schools, parents have some security issues of their kids etc.

Now once you have decided that you are going to homeschool your kids, the first thing is to gather resources.

Taking a decision to homeschool means you have sailed half the sea now next thing is to decide what approach are you going to follow, what is your style and what are the available methods or styles of homeschooling.

Common homeschooling methods, approaches and styles

• Montessori Method
• Reggio Emilia – Method and its principles
• Waldorf Steiner- Method and its principles
• Interest – led learning method
• Playway – Method and its principles

Montessori Method

Among this Montessori is the most loved and practised method as it is hands on and easy to implement at a home with available resources.

E.g printables. Any Mom who is homeschooling their toddler /Pre-schoolers will find a wonderful access and the efficiency in delivering the knowledge becomes easy.

Is Montessori practiced in Higher standards ?

Now Montessori can be practised till the age of 12 and further (But we In India have no such state laws or elementary Montessori schools). So from Grade 1 where the options of different boards area where options of different boards are available. Selection can be done according to the curriculum / area you stay or Child’s interest.

Remember there is no such rule that you have stick to one, provided that you are not giving every grade exams. If you are giving every grade exams then you have stick to one curriculum.

-ICSE and IB boards (Selected) allows a child to stay at home and attend the examination at the end.- In other cases Homeschooling is carried out completely till age of 16 and then externally appeared for grade 10.
-Even further one can skip grade 10 and take up Bachelor’s development Programme or similar and pursue his graduation and post-graduation.

Reggio Emilia – Method and its principles

This principle focus more on giving an environment where kids can explore and learn. Naturally kids are quite curious and they keep exploring the world and that is the way they learn.

So this principle tend to give a space and let the child learn on his own.

Kids can understand their own situations. They can interact with others as well and get to know many more things through their conversation. It may be the possibility others can learn something new and different from your kid.

Thus, this method focus on collaborations with other people and tend to keep the kids with peers so they can learn and grow with others.

Communication is a process and kids know how to communicate. Your kid can explain his feelings or may be learning to explain it. We should have patience and should give them the opportunity to explain about something they want to.

Let them learn to frame sentences and give them opportunities to grow.

Kids learn lots so many things from their environment. We should not keep them packed in a class or home and let them roam freely and learn on their own.

Let their mind be open and let their brain to think differently so they can ask and learn something new.

Now we adults or teachers should be act as a facilitator and should help the kids to learn on their own and should try to answer their queries in a best possible way.

We should focus more on what kids interests are should provide the environment where they can learn whatever they want to learn.

Waldorf Steiner- Method and its principles

Waldorf education, also known as Steiner education, is based on the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner. This method of learning focusses on the role of imagination in learning, striving to integrate holistically the intellectual, practical, and artistic development of kids.

This method divides the child development into three major stages

1. Early childhood education (age 6-7) -  focuses on practical, hands-on activities and creative play
2. Elementary education (age 7-14) – focuses on developing artistic expression and social capacities;
3. Secondary education (age 14 and up) – focuses on developing critical reasoning and empathetic understanding.

In the early childhood education, this method focuses on lots of pretend play (free play), artistic time (colouring, painting, crafting), circle time (stories, rhymes, games), outdoor time and practical life skills (cooking, gardening, washing clothes etc.) The idea is to let the child think the world is good and through various practical life skills they learn to do their work on their own.

In the elementary education, this method tends to cultivate children’s emotional life and imagination. In order to develop a better understanding of subject matter, this method use artistic work that includes story-telling, visual arts, drama, movement, vocal and instrumental music, and crafts

In the secondary education, this method, focuses on that kids should learn through their own thinking and judgment. Students are supposed to form conclusions based on their own judgement.

Interest – led learning method

This is the beautiful method of homeschooling. This method focuses on let the child move freely and think freely. This method is really good for parents who know the flaws in the traditional method of learning and want to homeschool their child so he can learn about the world on his own.

This method believes we should not keep the children in the boundaries of classrooms and home. Let them go out and let them decide what they want to learn about. Let them fly freely and decide the things that interest them.

Playway – Method and its principles

This is a wonderful method of making the kids learn and grow in their own pace. Through play kids learn so many things, play give them pleasure and their physical work becomes an enjoyable moment. This method makes the kid learn through play.

Play way method focuses more on activity based learning. As per this method activity based learning stimulates creative skills and self creation and motivates kids to be creative and through their art they tend to express themselves.

This method focuses on providing the best environment to kids where they can learn and grow.

This method focuses on improving memory skills of kids through various games and activities.

Remember this a wonderful journey of you and your child. Success isn’t what the world applauds but something that you master on your own.

Hope you found this article on various homeschooling methods and approaches useful.

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