If you have taken my quiz to find your homeschooling style, you are now wondering what to do with that information. Where do you begin? Well, simply put, you read, read anything and everything you can find about any approaches that seem to be a good fit for you or which just intrigue you. To help you in that endeavor, I am providing below a resource list for each approach to get you started.
Homeschooling Resources, by Approach
Robinson Curriculum
The Robinson Curriculum was designed by one man, Dr. Art Robinson, in the 1990s. As such, there is pretty much one place to find out about it, his website:
http://www.robinsoncurriculum.com
Moore Method Homeschooling
The Moore Method was developed by Raymond and Dorothy Moore, also, I believe, in the 90s. (It is not to be confused with another Moore Method used in universities and developed by Robert Lee Moore.) The Bible (if you’ll pardon the expression) for this method is their book:
The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook by Dr. Raymond and Dorothy Moore
You can also find them online at:
http://www.moorefoundation.com (seems to be identical to http://www.moorehomeschooling.com)
Ruth Beechick’s Approach to Homeschooling
Ruth Beechick has been writing about education since at least the early 1980s and has many books including You Can Teach Your Child Successfully, The Three R’s and A Biblical Home Education.
Advocates of her approach can be found online at:
“Ruth Beechick 101” by Sarah MacKenzie at http://www.amongstlovelythings.com
Unit Studies
Unit Studies is more of a way to do schooling that can be combined with other approaches, notably Ruth Beechick’s and the Moore Method. I do think it has its own presuppositions, though, so I include it among my list of approaches. If you Google “unit studies,” you will get a long list of sites with unit studies prepared for you. If you want to read more about the how and why of unit studies, try these:
“The Joy and Ease of Learning Through Child-Led Unit Studies” by Kandi Chong at http://www.besthomeschooling.org
You can read my thoughts in unit studies here and here.
Montessori
Maria Montessori was an educator in the very early 1900s. You will still find many Montessori schools today, particularly for the elementary years. She wrote a couple of books: Dr. Montessori’s Own Handbook, The Montessori Method, and The Absorbent Mind.
Other books on her approach include Teach Me to Do It Myself by Pat Thomas and How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way by Tim Seldin.
Some of the resources I made use of when learning about the Montessori approach are:
“Montessori Education” from Wikipedia
“Montessori FAQ’s” from http://www.michaelolaf.net
“Montessori Homeschooling” from http://www.montessori.edu
You can also read my post on Montessori education here.
Waldorf
Waldorf education was created in 1919 by Rudolf Steiner. Christopherus Homeschooling identifies itself as “Waldorf-inspired” and Oak Meadow, another curriculum which can be used independently or as a distance learning option, also has some roots in the Waldorf approach.
Books on Waldorf include:
Understanding Waldorf Education by Jack Petrash
Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne and Lisa Ross
The Waldorf Homeschool Handbook by Donna Ashton
Websites:
“Oak Meadow and Waldorf” from http://www.oakmeadow.com
“An Introduction to Waldorf Homeschooling” by Donna Simmons from www.ChristopherusHomeschooling.org
Enki
Enki is an offshoot of Waldorf, with some Montessori elements as well, which was developed by Beth Sutton in 1989.
It can be found at:
“Enki Education” from http://www.treeoflifehomeschool.blogspot.com
Classical/Great Books
When we speak of “classical” education, we are really talking abut the modern classical movement (how’s that for an oxymoron?). Based upon the classical education on the Middle Ages, it was resurrected by Dorothy Sayers in 1948 in her essay “The Lost Tools of Learning.” The main expositions of it (in its secular form) are the Core Knowledge Foundation created by E. D. Hirsch and the “Great Books” movement of Mortimer Adler.
Books and articles on classical education:
The Lost Tools of Learning by Dorothy L. Sayers (and my review here)
“The False Promise of Classical Education” by Lisa VanDamme at http://www.theobjectivestandard.com
Paideia Program: An Educational Syllabus by Mortimer Adler, as well as many other books
The very-popular-among-homeschoolers series What Your …. Grader Needs to Know is actually put out by E.D. Hirsch of the Core Knowledge Foundation. Hirsch also has other books including The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy.
Websites:
My post on modern classical education can be found here.
Christian Classical
The go-to book for the modern Christian classical movement, which also finds its origins in Sayers’ article, is The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise.
Other books:
The Case for Christian Classical Education by Douglas Wilson
The Liberal Arts Tradition by Ravi Jain and Kevin Clark
Websites:
biblicalhomeschooling.org/classical
My article on Christian classical is here.
Charlotte Mason
If you want to truly understand Charlotte Mason’s approach, you need to read her 6 volume series on Home Education. It can be found online here.
Having said which, Charlotte’s writing can be a little hard to comprhened initially if you are not sued to reading her more dense late-19th century style. I recommend beginnign with one or more of the following books:
A Charlotte Mason Education by Catherine Levinson
For the Children’s Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay
A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola
After getting this introduction, try one of Charlotte’s books. Many recommend starting with the sixth volume. I disagree. I think that Charlotte has reached a different point by her 6th volume. It is written after WWI and her sense of urgency has increased. I recommend reading volumes 1, 2 and 3 in order. Volume 4 is a wonderful, wonderful book all people should read, but it is not inherently about educating children. It is more like an owner’s manual for your mind. Volume 5 is a collection of different sorts of essays, with a more practical twist than most of her books, and can also be left by the wayside initially.
Websites:
http://www.simplycharlottemason.com – free curriculum guides, discussion forums, articles and more
http://www.amblesideonline.com – also a free curriculum guide, Ambleside is a little more intense than SCM
http://www.charlottemasonhelp.com
and, of course, this blog 🙂
Thomas Jefferson Education
TJEd is the brain-child of Oliver DeMille, created in the 1990s. He has a number of books including A Thomas Jefferson Education and A Thomas Jefferson Education Home Companion.
George Wyeth University uses the principles of TJEd; their website is gw.edu.
Websites:
My post on TJEd is here.
Biblical Principle Approach
The Principle Approach, or Biblical Principle Approach (BPA), is the work of the Foundation for American Christian Education. Their curriculum is called the Noah Plan.
Websites:
“The Principle Approach” from http://www.homehearts.com
Find my initial post on BPA here.
Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia is an approach which developed in Italy after WWII.
Books:
Working in the Reggio Way by Julianne Wurm and Celia Genishi
The Hundred Languages of Children by Carolyn Edwards and Lella Gandini
Bringing Reggio Emilia Home by Louise Boyd Cadwell and Lella Gandini
Websites:
http://www.aneverydaystory.com
Accelerated Learning
AL is an approach was is used for adults in business and other areas but has also been applied to homeschooling.
Books:
Accelerated Learning Techniques for Students by Joe McCullough
The Accelerated Learning Handbook by David Meier
Websites:
http://www.acceleratedlearning.com
Unschooling
John Holt is the original guru of unschooling. His books include How Children Learn and Teach Your Own: The John Holt Book of Homeschooling.
Other Books:
The Unschooling Handbook by Mary Griffith
Big Book of Unschooling by Sandra Dodd
Free to Learn by Peter Gray (and my reactions to it here and here)
Websites:
“What is Unschooling?” by Earl Stevens at http://www.naturalchild.org
My post on Unschooling is here.
