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Combining Home Education Approaches

by Beverley Paine, March 2022

It is entirely possible to combine popular approaches to home educating. I didn't learn about some of the most popular approaches, such as Charlotte Mason until my children were in the teens, but I did draw upon some of the ideas from Montessori and Steiner education in the early years. There are a lot of great ideas to be had from all of these approaches, so reading widely and learning about them may help to enhance your home educating experience and make it more enjoyable.

Recently a mum on one of the support groups wrote:

"I took a homeschooling quiz and my top three results were Charlotte Mason, Unschooling, and Unit Studies. My question is how can I combine all three of these methods for an eclectic mix?"

Unschooling means your children have choice, autonomy and freedom to learn in the way that best suits their needs and interests.

Stewing 'living books' and opportunities to touch base with the lives of people in the community through excursions to interesting places will support your interest in Charlotte Mason as well as unschooling. Encourage the establishment of habits through working on them together, gradually building independence and responsibility as the children become more competent in their abilities and confidence.

Children who are unschooling will naturally have a range of 'unit studies' on the go at the time - they won't look like school projects because of this. A child might work on one thing (interest, passion, obsession) in a fixated way for hours or weeks or longer, while mucking about with a few other interests at the same time, in spare time, while going along with and participating in the interests and activities of other members of the family or friends.

Record it all. I see my job as an unschooling parent as the person that facilitates opportunities while keeping homeschool records for the purpose of registration and to build confidence that this approach works as an educational alternative.

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