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Home Education Methods There are probably as many ways to successfully home school as there are children who home school. No one way is always superior to another, the key is finding the methods that best fit the family and children involved. Many children with Bipolar also have attentional problems and possibly other learning challenges. Many times a traditional textbook approach is difficult for these children but they can bloom and proceed with learning if other methods are employed. Learning is much faster and remembered longer if the process is pleasant. Some children learn best when material is presented visually, others when it is presented auditorially, and yet others need to have a kinesthetic experience or a combination of the above. Some methods tend to reduce the level of conflict between parent/teacher and child and others tend to exacerbate the situation. Some methods require more preparation by the parent/teacher and some methods have little or no preparation. Materials for some methods are expensive to purchase while other methods are much less costly. One thing I recommend for all home educators is reading the article Curriculum Dependent No More by Cyndy Shearer on a regular basis to help break free from over dependence on a "curriculum" on to focus on actual education. Charlotte Mason Method
The Charlotte Mason method involves focusing on what the child knows rather than what the child does not know or where they have succeeded rather than their faults. Fine arts are included from an early age and there is an emphasis on reading good literature and learning other subjects through literature. Dictation and narration, short lessons (20 minute maximum for Elementary ages), nature study and fine arts make up the curriculum. This method can be especially good for very creative children and generally requires minimal preparation time by the parent/teacher after the basic planning has been accomplished. Many of the books needed can be utilized from the public library with a selection of books and notebooks and supplies purchased on an as needed basis. The main strengths of this method are how pleasant the activities tend to be, the short lessons and the focus on the positive. One possible drawback is no book or guide delineates the concepts and/or books to use and when to use them, so parents must make a lot of these decisions themselves. Also, it can be more time intensive than other approaches as the teacher/parent is needed to give dictation, listen to narrations, etc. Unschooling In this method trusting the child to direct their own education is emphasized. A child is not given a course of study that is prepared and directed by the parent/teacher, rather the child is encouraged to follow their own talents and interests. The children learn math, reading, writing and other school subjects in the course of pursuing their interests. Textbooks and curricula are not required, library books are often used. Many people find lessons (art, music, flying, etc) to be a large portion of their expenses for education. The parent is not viewed as a teacher, but rather as a facilitator for the child’s development. The main strength of Unschooling is the low stress and high motivation if the child is doing things they truly enjoy. The main drawback is that many times children with BP are too ill to be interested in learning. They may have LDs that require specific help that is difficult to acquire in this method of home education. Classical Education Classical Education seeks to use the model of education that has been used successfully for hundreds of years in western Europe. The goal is to produce a child who thinks and has "learned how to learn". Education is divided into three phases, Grammar, Dialectic and Rhetoric, with specific learning tasks for each phase. Children learn Latin and other "classical" subjects as part of their education, with a strong emphasis on languages, history and logical thinking skills. The Grammar (Elementary school years) phase focuses on learning facts and laying a foundation for future learning. The Dialectic (Jr. High ages) phase is when the focus shifts to learning to think about all the facts previously learned. The final phase, Rhetoric, is when the child learns to express him/her self. Depending on which curriculum is chosen, there is frequently a great deal of teacher preparation time. The major strength of Classical Education is a focus on strong thinking, history and language skills. The student is usually well prepared for higher education. This method of schooling can be very stressful for children who struggle with book work and/or have learning challenges. It may produce more friction between parent/teacher and child. Waldorf Waldorf home educators believe that Waldorf is truly a way of life, more than just a way of educating the child. Waldorf as a therapeutic/curative education and Waldorf is very art oriented. The curriculum balances artistic subjects with academic and practical endeavors. Art, music, crafts, foreign languages and other subjects are central, and the 3 R’s are delayed until the child is well into elementary school. Textbooks are not used, but they use notebooks to record the information they have learned. TV and electronic media are strongly discouraged, particularly for younger children. The main strength of this method is the gentle and pleasant activities that do not push the child into academic work that is stressful. A drawback may be that the child is not learning the same types of concepts as children in more traditional schools and if returned to another type of school may have difficulty working on the same materials as traditionally schooled students, particularly in the younger years. Work Texts/Textbook The Work Texts/Textbook method is also called "school at home" because the parent/teacher virtually replicates the public school method with textbooks for each subject and grades, and record keeping. The Work Texts/Textbook method would include Switched on Schoolhouse computer curriculum, online classes, as well as textbook or work text sets that can be purchased, usually at a high cost. Some curricula do not require much teacher preparation while other curricula require extensive time by the teacher. The main strength of this method is that the parent/teacher has a clear roadmap and does not have to worry as much about "missing something". The main drawback is that students are frequently frustrated by too much book work and the parent/teacher and child may frequently clash over school work. Unit Studies Unit Studies take a theme or subject and build a curriculum around it. Assignments are created to cover all subjects (Language Arts, Math, History, Reading, etc.) The subject may be a book, an animal, a time period or event in history, an activity, or any other subject of the parent/teacher and/or child’s choosing. Units can last anywhere from a week to several months, depending on the assignments given and depth of instruction. Library books can be used for information, or selected books can be purchased. This method is good for adapting to a child's own pace and whose moods, interests and abilities are fluctuating, and also for motivating the child by providing work related to their interests. Unit studies can be purchased with an outline of activities and materials to be located at the store or library, or units can be created by the parent/teacher to fit current needs or interests, although this can be quite time consuming until the process is familiar for the parent/teacher. Eclectic Eclectic home schooling pulls facets from many methods of home schooling to meet the needs of the child/family at any given time. The philosophy here is to take what works and dump the rest. Eclectic home schoolers will frequently use different methods depending on the age, interests and academic abilities of the individual child, often combining methods to meet the immediate need. The strength of this method is that the child benefits from the closest fit at any given time. However, it can require extensive time and planning for the parent/teacher to be able to gather information on different methods and curricula and decide what method is appropriate for the time and place. Montessori Montessori philosophy encourages parents to spend
more time enriching the environment and becoming a good model for the child than
in actually teaching the child. With guidance from the parent/teacher, children
are helped to understand why they must learn something, not forcing a child to
do anything, and they are also encouraged to plan their own course of education,
If a child is very oppositional and/or unable to take the initiative, it would
be difficult to implement Montessori philosophy, although in other cases it
could be very beneficial to reduce stress and prevent rages. |
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