Unschooling – Unschooling is also called student led education and means that the child controls what he or she would learn. When the child shows interest in a topic, the parents would provide resources that will help them. Unschooling is often dismissed as being irresponsible or negligent, but when combined with unit studies or done responsibly, unschooling is incredibly successful. Many homeschoolers do not use unschooling out of fear that their child will have educational holes (will not learn some important lessons). Educator John Holt detailed the unschooling approach to home education in his book Teach Your Own. The unschooling philosophy says that children learn best from their environment instead of from books and programs.
Umbrella School – If you can picture an umbrella protecting a person from rain, you can understand how umbrella schools work. Umbrella schools allow the homeschooler the freedom to teach their children while shielding them from the scrutinizing eye of the government or local school district. Umbrella schools are often used in conjunction with unschooling to help the parent document what a child has learned. Umbrella schools are usually private, Christian schools or correspondence schools.
Unit Study – A unit study is a way of teaching a child where all of the lessons focus on a central common theme. “For instance, a unit study on electricity would teach the discovery of electricity (science), the first towns and cities to use electricity (history) words associated with electricity (spelling) and perhaps essays or projects on electricity. (writing). The student would also read biographies about the inventor and historical fiction books about the time period. A student might do anywhere from four units a year to a unit a month.
Visual Learner: A visual learner is a student who learns best from what they see. You would show a visual learner something you were trying to explain by drawing pictures and showing diagrams. Visual learners love charts, graphs, and do not mind using textbooks as long as there are accompanying images.
Waldorf Homeschooling Method – The Waldorf method of homeschooling is a kinesthetic form of learning. It was developed by Rudolf Steiner, and emphasizes arts and crafts, music and movement. Students learn to read and write by creating books.
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