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Do you know your homeschooling philosophy?


  

136 members have voted

  1. 1. Do you know your homeschooling philosophy?

    • Yes
      82
    • Yes, but I've changed philosophies at least once
      29
    • No
      1
    • I used to, but not anymore
      10
    • I researched it, but I can't decide
      3
    • What's a homeschooling philosophy?
      5
    • Other?
      6


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Do you mean overarching principles or pratical methods?

 

The first has never changed, but the second changes and grows all the time. IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m still learning how to homeschool oldest. IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢ll have it all figured out probably...a few weeks before I graduate her... And then the second is a whole nother kettle of fish. And the third and the fourth...

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I said yes...but I nearly said 'yes, but it's changed over time.' It has changed, but I haven't really changed philosophies.  I've just honed what I believe and how I apply it.  There's no one school of thought that I subscribe to, so I'm going to call this HomeAgain's Awesome Idea Of School:

 

-children learn best in an uncluttered environment

-toys should be minimal, with scaled tools taking their place.

-there should be a lot of time to run, play, and be bored.

-lessons should be organized to have a firm understanding of how they lead into the next step.  For example, we don't teach the alphabet before reading because names have nothing to do with phonics.  That step comes in spelling and learning to use a dictionary.  We do teach visual-spatial, blind sound, and gradient puzzles before reading, because visual and auditory discrimination are important to learning how to read.

-hands on lessons as much as possible

-history is a 4 year rotation, with similar materials used in each rotation.

-lessons always meet the child where they are, starting with very brief sit-downs to introduce organized learning and building up.

-throwing marshmallows should be done sparingly ("Teaching when a child is uninterested and calling it learning is like throwing marshmallows and calling it eating."

-the child should be given more and more influence into their studies: what books they're using, their schedule, etc, building up until the child goes to college and is fully autonomous.  The parent should increasingly take a step back, but set the boundaries and appropriate consequences (like stepping in) if the child doesn't demonstrate readiness.

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Mine is a buffet of educational and sociological philosophies, sort of an eclectic mash-up of my own gleaned from researching every philosophy under the sun. But it's not changed since 1997 when I first began working with my oldest kid at home! 

 

Homeschooling wasn't on my radar at the time, we were just doing what we thought was a good supplement to his preschool and preparation for his future public school career. My approach has been refined over time, and sometimes tweaked to reflect a student's reality, but the overall philosophy of parenting and education (home or otherwise) has remained true!

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I set out to be a classical homeschooler with rigorous academic requirements and probably what some might call "school at home".  I'm more eclectic in the way we actually homeschool. I pick curriculum that works with the way I teach and the way my children learn. I'm heading into middle and high school and I'm starting to think experience and interest based studies may be more productive than what we do in some areas. I'm trying to figure out how that looks and how that works on a high school transcript. I'm a box checker by nature and want to finish things, but that isn't always the best way to learn. My overall philosophy is to have my kids love to learn and teach them how to learn in such a way that they are prepared for whatever opportunities come their way. I'm no longer sure how that translates to a teaching philosophy and might just mean, ironically, that I'm open to learning new ways to homeschool if that helps us reach our goals.

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Yes. It is not easily defined by typical homeschool terminology, however. I want my kids to spend early childhood learning to entertain themselves and self-regulate. Knowing that they are playing and using their imaginations is an actual parental objective and more important to me than modern academic standards. When they are older, my educational philosophy is founded on encouraging love of learning and developing higher order critical thinking skills. All wrapped up in high academic standards.

Edited by 8FillTheHeart
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Yes, but I have changed. I started out sort of classical and sort of CM, but never adhered to a philosophy strictly. Now, in my 11th year, I have a "do what works for the kids and our family" philosophy. I've also realized that every philosophy is equally good - it's just that different things work for different people.

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I had lots of lofty, unrealistic (at least for the kids I have) ideas. I wanted learning to be fun, to be an adventure, to be individualized to their interests/strengths. Seems easy enough, but I haven't been able to make it a reality. (This is an extremely simplified version, but I don't want to get into the details)

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Do you mean overarching principles or pratical methods?

 

 

More leaning towards overarching principles, but this poll was inspired by people on an oldschooling thread recently (that I just got around to reading) talking about how oldschoolers had researched stuff and had a homeschooling philosophy, including Jean saying she had a homeschooling philosophy because she'd researched it (or something along those lines... it's been 9 hours since I posted this). BC, I had a homeschooling philosophy, and then reality happened, and while I can tell you a fair amount about different homeschooling philosophies (because I researched!), I'm not sure I really have one atm. Not that I'm an oldschooler. 

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More leaning towards overarching principles, but this poll was inspired by people on an oldschooling thread recently (that I just got around to reading) talking about how oldschoolers had researched stuff and had a homeschooling philosophy, including Jean saying she had a homeschooling philosophy because she'd researched it (or something along those lines... it's been 9 hours since I posted this). BC, I had a homeschooling philosophy, and then reality happened, and while I can tell you a fair amount about different homeschooling philosophies (because I researched!), I'm not sure I really have one atm. Not that I'm an oldschooler.

IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m not entirely sure having a philosophy is always helpful, if people mean by that Ă¢â‚¬Å“IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m CMĂ¢â‚¬ or Ă¢â‚¬Å“IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m an unschooler.Ă¢â‚¬ I went through phases of both where my philosophy became an idol that made me resent my children. Now I just try to stick with my overarching principles that are mainly based on my faith and do what works as far as the practical stuff goes. Or at least try. Sometimes my vision for what I wish we were starts crowding out who we really are and I need to examine my conscience.

I do think itĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s good to research philosophies so you can have lots of good ideas to draw from, though.

 

Eta, It may be that my personality lends itself to taking things WAY too seriously though. Just, you know, if you find yourself worrying what Charlotte Mason would think about something, time to unclench a lil. ;)

Edited by Spudater
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I do know my philosophy. Classical when dealing with language arts and literature, lots of reading of the classics,Latin and Greek language focus, 4 year history rotation with lots of literature, rigorous hands on science with deep learning taught with the same importance as reading and math, lots of manipulatives and hands on learning across the curriculum. Plenty of time to wrestle with ideas and synthesize knowledge without the distraction of tech as much as possible. High levels of personal accountability and privileges granted as responsibility grows.

 

With a heaping helping of fun and freedom to be kids and explore deeper interests either at home or in co-op classes.

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the philosophy behind our decision to homeschool is that schools enact the conditions for proto-fascism. 

 

 

I'm, unfortunately, not laughing. However, I would think that that's a philosophy for why not to use the school system, but not a homeschool philosophy. Like, (at least certain) radical unschoolers have a philosophy of not using their age, size, etc to make kids do what they want them to do... a philosophy of respecting the autonomy of the child, even when that means the kid won't brush his teeth for years on end, but they believe that children learn from natural consequences and from good role models and conversations etc. Whereas tiger moms for example have a different philosophy - they feel that they know better than the child and that it's helpful to the child to push performance, whether the kid wants it or not. Those would be educational (though not necessarily *homeschool*) philosophies (though I'd absolutely count them as homeschool philosophies for the purpose of this poll.

 

I do agree that the distinction between philosophy and method can be a gray area at times?

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IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m an eclectic homeschooler (meaning we use what works & have no commitment to a style or publisher) and our primary focus is raising Godly adults. We desire for my sonĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s education to exceed what he was getting in the public school (he attended 3 years).

 

Not sure if this counts as our Ă¢â‚¬Å“philosophyĂ¢â‚¬- but there ya go Ă°Å¸ËœÅ 

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I've tried to figure out what to call our homeschool method for years.  Maybe we're a cross between Charlotte Mason and interest-led learners?  But, I think we've been changing in the last couple of years.  My teens and the 12 yro are asking to follow the WTM for the rest of high school.  And the 4th grader is using MFW and has asked to continue using MFW.  So, I guess, after all these years, we're morphing into real classical homeschoolers??  Boy, that would be ironic...     

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I've tried to figure out what to call our homeschool method for years.  Maybe we're a cross between Charlotte Mason and interest-led learners?  But, I think we've been changing in the last couple of years.  My teens and the 12 yro are asking to follow the WTM for the rest of high school.  And the 4th grader is using MFW and has asked to continue using MFW.  So, I guess, after all these years, we're morphing into real classical homeschoolers??  Boy, that would be ironic...     

 

Could you repeat that more slowly?  I don't think I heard you correctly, lol.  

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Could you repeat that more slowly?  I don't think I heard you correctly, lol.  

 

:laugh:   I know, right?  And, ironically, after all these years of interest-led homeschooling...  I guess they're so tired of choosing their own stuff that they just want something mapped out for them.   

 

So, a few weeks ago, I had to break out my old copy of TWTM.  I left it out and went somewhere...and the dog ate it.  Our Australian shepherd literally ate TWTM (he did leave me the index, though).  So, now I have to buy a new copy (I guess I needed the new edition anyway).

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:laugh: I know, right? And, ironically, after all these years of interest-led homeschooling... I guess they're so tired of choosing their own stuff that they just want something mapped out for them.

 

So, a few weeks ago, I had to break out my old copy of TWTM. I left it out and went somewhere...and the dog ate it. Our Australian shepherd literally ate TWTM (he did leave me the index, though). So, now I have to buy a new copy (I guess I needed the new edition anyway).

Haha! My DH looked at me wide eyed the other night when our 1st and 2nd graders sung the praises of copywork and narration. They beg for it. It is hilarious. They pull books off the shelf and do their own copywork. My husband was telling me a story about something and my 6 year old asked to narrate it. It boggles my mind but makes me smile.

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I do, sort of, which is I do what works for each kid individually.  I didn't start out with a philosophy, I just started out because I didn't like the looks of the school we were zoned for and after a year or two of trying to figure out what I was doing I was able to do more research and decide what was important to me and what outcome I was hoping for.  We have for years mostly used MFW with my own choices for some things rather than their recommendations.  Which I guess that is classical(ish).

 

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For those of you saying you just do what works... If you don't have a philosophy by which you abide, how do you define what "works" means?

 

When I say that it is because I have two children with challenges, one with dyslexia and one with OCD.  While I may favor one type of teaching, in order for them to learn, I need to approach it in a different way so that they can learn.  My son who has dyslexia needed his curriculum tailored to someone with dyslexia.  My DD who has an innate ability to write and spell well could do a lot of her learning instinctively from reading books, this would not have worked for either of my DSs.

 

I have spent a lot of time researching how to teach to the children I have, rather to the children that are, for lack of a better term, typical.  In my ideal world, I think I would much more favor a very classical style of teaching, and much more laid back.  But I don't have that ideal, I have children who need special attention and who need structure in order to learn and succeed in learning.  So in essence, in a perfect world I would do X, but in my given set of circumstances I do Y which may include some X but with tweaking to make it work.

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For those of you saying you just do what works... If you don't have a philosophy by which you abide, how do you define what "works" means?

For me, it's because I started with a philosophy and over time found what worked about it and what didn't. For example, my boys couldn't handle rigorous grammar like WTM advocates, so I went more CM with that. We've ended up using so many pieces of different philosophies, that we don't fit into just one or two anymore, and that's what I call "do what works". Some people call it eclectic.

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I know my philosophy, and I also know the method I am currently using. Two different things, imo.

 

We are eclectic homeschoolers with CM flavor (method), but the philosophy behind our decision to homeschool is that schools enact the conditions for proto-fascism.

 

lol, yeah, laugh away.

 

I'm popping in a link to an article, in the unlikely event someone is interested in radical education a la Giroux. It's sort of the educational version of liberation theology. Sort of.

Thanks for the link! I read the title and laughed out loud. Perfect. I needed a laugh. Excited to read the rest over another coffee...

 

Eta - one paragraph in. Frankfurt school, I'm REALLY interested to see where this goes, knowing the Conservative thoughts on THAT!

Edited by LMD
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Oh, right, the actual thread question...

 

I know my philosophy, describing it is another matter entirely. It has less to do with particular books/methods and more to do with our understanding of the meaning of life/family/childhood/education and how that informs our priorities. Clear as mud?

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 I'm going to call this HomeAgain's Awesome Idea Of School...

 

I wandered in with thoughts of CM, classical, ecletic, unschooling, and so forth, but in fact we follow HAIS, or is HAAIS, or perhaps HAIOS?

 

I have changed. I started homeschooling because of deeply unschooly impulses; I could hardly even bear the way preschool seemed to be pulling the kids out of their own individual, natural interests and curiosities and even penalizing them for not wanting to follow the teacher's plans for "really fun" crafts and activities. I mean, most kids love it, but I don't think coming to circle time to sing about the days of the week and dressing a pretend bear for the appropriate weather is a reason to wage a battle of wills against 3 year olds who are involved in deep sandbox play, building and discussing their constructions...and this is a feeling I come back to frequently whenever I am feeling irritated that my kids don't want to conform to my own plans, that the reason I started homeschooling was because of this willingness to see kids' work as valuable and not to do the work for them and then get mad that they weren't on board. I reread all those books that helped confirm my Bad Feelings About School in General and I remind myself I don't want to do that.

 

But I do want to do something and I have to say HomeAgain's Awesome Idea Of School is what has turned out to be "just right" for us. My own continual self-education has also been priceless, because it keeps me occupied enough not to interfere too much, it provides a good model, and it reminds all of us just what learning really involves (and, for me, how challenging it can be to stay the course even when you ARE motivated, and why I want to be a coach and guide to my kids, rather than completely hands-off).

 

I did also go through an early, post-preschool period of Waldorf, but as it turns out, that appealed to me because of the kind of child I had and my own fear of repeating my "brain on legs" experiences of early childhood. And mid-childhood. And late childhood. The dogma had too many absolutes in it for me, about what kids should be doing, about how they should experience certain events, and it really disturbed me to hear even the parents I consider to be extremely thoughtful and devoted parroting certain things I'd read in my Waldorf materials about their own children as if they were incontrovertible truths. It almost seemed to mask the individualism of each child and family, and I've been suspicious ever since of any beautiful philosophy that might drive a wedge between me and a child whom it just didn't fit.

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I guess the reason we switched to homeschooling in the first place is the best indicator of my homeschooling philosophy: to discover the way my kids actually learn, teach to that as best I can (since for at least one child the schools couldn't), and most of all reduce stress.

 

That's not to say I expected homeschooling to be some happy easy-breezy way to pour knowledge and ability into my kids' heads.  Far from it, and I knew just enough going in to know it was going to be a lot of work.

 

Nor did I expect us to find the perfect fit; I actually planned on buying several different curricula for various subjects as we learned our way through this together.  Every year has thrown up different challenges (not related to homeschooling directly) as well, so between the changing study needs each year and each year's particular demands we plan, then change, then re-plan, then change again.

 

My philosophy is simply figure out what my kids need to get on well in life and find a way to provide it.

 

 

 

Life is a Dagwood Bumstead sandwich.  "They" say that people taking on both the raising of kids and eldercare are "sandwiched".  Add in another responsibility, such as a job or homeschooling (another job integrated with child rearing but often best treated like an additional job, with all of the hoops and paperwork often required) and that sandwich becomes a club.  But life doesn't stop there; there are many more responsibilities and demands and one's own needs and desires to consider, adding more and more and MORE layers to that sandwich until you have Dagwood's dream sandwich.

 

In order to fulfill the desire to provide what my kids need to get on well in life I have to figure out how to deal with Dagwood's excessiveness.  Some layers might get squeezed out, but in the end it boils down to flexibility and dexterous juggling.  Which happens to be a life skill the kids should learn, as well.

 

 

Caveat:  written quickly when I'm tired from a weekend and facing dealing with several of those layers today.  The writing and composition lettuce is rather wilted today.

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Yes.

 

I'm ideologically a CM homeschooler - not so much with methods, but in terms of her basic understanding of what it means to be human and to be educated.  

 

I use lots of her methods because they flow out of that, but the methods serve the ideology and also the child, so I feel I have a lot of freedom within that, and I don't worry about getting hung up on these things.

 

I still try and learn about her practical methods, and sometimes have a real reversal - I pretty much changed my approach to history which had been classical on the WTM model.  But I also use other programs where they seem to fit in or be a good match for the student.

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So, I'm not an oldschooler, but I have our homeschool "goals" (ideals? not sure what to call them) on the wall. In theory & practice, I'm eclectic. I use what I have on hand, what I think will work for that kid or that year, what I have to in order to combine kids, and morph things as necessary. I often rewrite entire history plans (looking at you Pandia Press History Odyssey) or never use something again after the first time .(I can't even remember the name of the chemistry program I used one year with my oldest two girls - I gave it away & never wanted to see it again. It used to put ME to sleep when we were reading it aloud. It did give us some really good soundbites from the younger girl - like when she answered that the three states of matter were solid, liquid, and gratitude. ETA:  I think it was God's Design for Chemistry - an older edition of what is out there now.) 

 

I do love my copies of TWTM, though.

Edited by RootAnn
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I have a general philosophy. And I have a parenting philosophy. And I have a homeschool philosophy. One flows into the other. The methods I use support my philosophy but are not the same as my philosophy.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

What Jean said.

 

 

 

(Because it's more clear and concise than anything my foggy brain could ever produce even on a good day with at least 3 cups of coffee.)

Edited by Lotsoflittleducklings
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I have overarching, big-picture goals for kids. I have a parenting philosophy.

I read a lot, and looked into a few homeschool philosophies and methods to find which one (or combination of a few) would fit who I am as a parent, as an educator, and also fit my goals I had for my kids.

 

I've always leaned very heavily into the CM methods/philosophy. I'd say that's our baseline but we do move closer to, or further away, from it from time to time depending on what my kids need. I always say my philosophy is "a bit of a quirky/rebellious CM homeschooler" - in that, we're a secular family, we read from more modern books than vintage books, we study current composers and art styles, and have been known to study the poetry of punk lyrics lol. My son also uses a more structured science curriculum because that's what he likes and we found one that is freakin' amazing (RSO's Astronomy Level 2).

 

What we 'use' in our homeschool fits us to a tee and may not always look like someone else's idea of 'Mason' - the 'why' we do certain things and how we implement it, is definitely Charlotte Mason influenced.

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 It did give us some really good soundbites from the younger girl - like when she answered that the three states of matter were solid, liquid, and gratitude. 

 

:laugh:

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~

 

My philosophy is an eclectic mix. 

 

Waldorf/CM with a dash of WTM in the younger years.

 

CM/WTM with a dash of Waldorf for the older years.

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When my oldest was a tiny thing and I was reading everything I could find about homeschooling, I came across "For the Children's Sake". I am not an evangelical or a protestant, but it resonated deeply with me. I consider my underlying philosophy to be Charlotte Mason - the idea of education being an atmosphere, the development of good habits, and exposure to living books & ideas. That was my philosophy when I was starting out, and that's my philosophy today. I still read "For the Children's Sake" every year to keep myself grounded.

 

I was also motivated to start homeschooling by my desire to give my kids something gentler and more developmentally appropriate when they were small than what I saw in my local public schools. And I had a desire to lay a solid academic foundation and have more time together as a family. Those goals still guide the educational choices we make as a family.

 

In practice, though, I have never felt obligated to do everything the CM way or to use old books. I have always read current education research, and I try to follow current research and the needs of my children over any specifically CM method. As my kids have gotten older, we have gradually gravitated more and more toward many classical practices and approaches, because those have been a good match for my children. We even study Latin and logic. But I don't consider myself a classical homeschooler, because I don't really buy into the philosophy of the trivium. So I guess we are CM homeschoolers who lean classical in methodology.

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When my oldest was a tiny thing and I was reading everything I could find about homeschooling, I came across "For the Children's Sake". I am not an evangelical or a protestant, but it resonated deeply with me. I consider my underlying philosophy to be Charlotte Mason - the idea of education being an atmosphere, the development of good habits, and exposure to living books & ideas. That was my philosophy when I was starting out, and that's my philosophy today. I still read "For the Children's Sake" every year to keep myself grounded.

 

I was also motivated to start homeschooling by my desire to give my kids something gentler and more developmentally appropriate when they were small than what I saw in my local public schools. And I had a desire to lay a solid academic foundation and have more time together as a family. Those goals still guide the educational choices we make as a family.

 

In practice, though, I have never felt obligated to do everything the CM way or to use old books. I have always read current education research, and I try to follow current research and the needs of my children over any specifically CM method. As my kids have gotten older, we have gradually gravitated more and more toward many classical practices and approaches, because those have been a good match for my children. We even study Latin and logic. But I don't consider myself a classical homeschooler, because I don't really buy into the philosophy of the trivium. So I guess we are CM homeschoolers who lean classical in methodology.

 

Me too. 

 

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When my oldest was a tiny thing and I was reading everything I could find about homeschooling, I came across "For the Children's Sake". I am not an evangelical or a protestant, but it resonated deeply with me. I consider my underlying philosophy to be Charlotte Mason - the idea of education being an atmosphere, the development of good habits, and exposure to living books & ideas. That was my philosophy when I was starting out, and that's my philosophy today. I still read "For the Children's Sake" every year to keep myself grounded.

 

I was also motivated to start homeschooling by my desire to give my kids something gentler and more developmentally appropriate when they were small than what I saw in my local public schools. And I had a desire to lay a solid academic foundation and have more time together as a family. Those goals still guide the educational choices we make as a family.

 

In practice, though, I have never felt obligated to do everything the CM way or to use old books. I have always read current education research, and I try to follow current research and the needs of my children over any specifically CM method. As my kids have gotten older, we have gradually gravitated more and more toward many classical practices and approaches, because those have been a good match for my children. We even study Latin and logic. But I don't consider myself a classical homeschooler, because I don't really buy into the philosophy of the trivium. So I guess we are CM homeschoolers who lean classical in methodology.

Me too, almost exactly. For The Children's Sake has had a massive impact on me.

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My goal has been to expose my children to the greatest achievements of our culture. I have been inspired by TWTM, Mortimer J. AdlerĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s Paideia books, the original Core Knowledge sequence, LCC, CM, etc. but have been pretty eclectic in terms of the materials I actually use.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I voted yes, although IĂ¢â‚¬â„¢m not entirely sure if I understand what you mean by philosophy. I know why we homeschool and we have underlying principles that drive the way we learn. If thatĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s a philosophy, then yes. 

 

As far as methods, we primarily use a classical approach, although less strictly so than when we started. 

 

 

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I voted yes, as I still enjoy the same ideals and programs from my initial years of homeschooling; so much so that I am reusing them with my "middles" this year.

 

I believe in reading aloud to children beginning from birth.  (If you are interested in free childrens books being sent to your house monthly, it may be worth your time to look into Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, the books are such an exciting treat for the children)

 

I believe in children getting more time "playing" than doing seatwork at young ages/ I also love to add Montessori/STEM activities as they get older.

 

I believe teaching my children to love others, to love God, and to have good habits is the MOST important thing that I am learning right along side of them.

 

I believe copywork, narration, and dictation is such a beautiful way to strengthen natural writing and speaking skills.

 

Some children learn better pictorially and some learn better tactilely when it comes to mathematics- find how they enjoy learning and go with it- try to limit yourself to no more than 2 math programs if you have lots of children.  You can modify any curriculum to fit the child, but for everything you add there is a learning curve.

 

I love to continuously build each child independently in skill subjects, yet I love to bring the family together for all other subjects as much as possible.  The older my children get, I encourage my children to pick some of the important parts of their education for themselves, it makes them happy and more accountable to doing well. 

 

I love reading aloud in any subject with my students, but some of mine learn better with unit study activities/ worksheets- so I try to add those in when applicable.

 

The park is your best friend.

 

Play with your children (this is something that I have to tell myself- with 6 children and cleaning banks late most evenings, I need to stop and enjoy these sweet hearts).

 

LOVE EVERY MOMENT YOU HAVE TEACHING AS IT IS FLEETING.  Our children are growing up fast, and we only get to do this once.

 

Brenda

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I have found that the longer we home educate, the less I feel that we need to fit into a particular category of home educators.  I know what our family values and principles are. I know what works for my kids' learning-wise (at least right now). I know how much structure I can maintain and how much 'go with the flow' I can tolerate. I know how much control I am comfortable with handing over to the kids, and what issues I am prepared to put my foot down on. I have given up caring that we don't neatly match any one approach.

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I have found that the longer we home educate, the less I feel that we need to fit into a particular category of home educators. I know what our family values and principles are. I know what works for my kids' learning-wise (at least right now). I know how much structure I can maintain and how much 'go with the flow' I can tolerate. I know how much control I am comfortable with handing over to the kids, and what issues I am prepared to put my foot down on. I have given up caring that we don't neatly match any one approach.

Yes so much this. I have bits and pieces from different philosophies but I have to work them together into a coherent whole that takes into account my state regs and my kids personalities.

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When we started I said we were "Semi-classical Eclectic".  We've moved away from even semi-classical due to the needs of the actual kids I have.  We're pretty school-at-home at this point.  They want work that gets right to the point, they do it, and they're done.  They don't want projects and activities and discussion.

 

I think my heading by my name is still "Eclectically Us-Schooling".  Someone used that term years ago and it really resonated with me.  We're basically doing what works for us at any given point.  Sometimes it changes based on the needs of the moment.

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