Educational Methods & Philosophy

There are many ways to educate your children, and, if you're just getting started in home schooling, just choosing the approach you wish to take can be overwhelming, never mind the curriculum itself! If you're interacting with more experienced home school families, the stuff they're doing might intimidate you into thinking you can't possibly home school your kids, but stop! Take a breath. You just need to sit down, ask yourself a few common sense questions about what you want to accomplish, and get a handle on what options there are.

As we see it, all approaches to education should fall under a broad "covenantal approach," in which parents deliberately focus on training their children to love and reverence their God, respect their parents, and explore their world. From our perspective, that's the main reason to home school. But when one talks about "approaches," one typically means the philosophy driving the way you educate your kids. There are limitless methods to teach your kids, but they seem to fall under five main philosophies.

These are: 

 "Eclectic" home schooling, explained conservatively, is to blend elements of all of them (generally what we recommend). "Eclectic" can also refer to a much more liberal, anti-Christian education; We obviously suggest steering clear of that approach.

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106 Days of Creation Studies
by Sonya Shafer
from Simply Charlotte Mason
for 3rd-Adult
in Simply Charlotte Mason (Location: CUR-SCM)
Better Late Than Early
by Raymond & Dorothy Moore
from Word Publishing
in Practical Home Schooling (Location: HSR-PRAC)
Big Book of How to Make PROJECTS
from Dinah-Might Adventures, LP
for Kindergarten - College
in Classroom Teacher Resources (Location: HSR-CTR)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Case for Classical Christian Education
by Doug Wilson
from Crossway Books
in Classical Education (Location: HSR-METCE)
Charlotte Mason Companion
by Karen Andreola
from Charlotte Mason Research and Supply Co.
in Charlotte Mason Education (Location: HSR-METCM)
$19.99 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Charlotte Mason Education
by Catherine Levison
from Champion Press
in Charlotte Mason Education (Location: HSR-METCM)
$14.99
Classical Conversations: Education Trilogy
from Classical Conversations
for Adult
in Classical Education (Location: HSR-METCE)
Classical Education and the Homeschool
by Wes Callihan, Doug Jones & Doug Wilson
2nd edition from Canon Press
in Classical Education (Location: HSR-METCE)
$7.00
Classical Education Made Approachable
from Classical Conversations
for Adult
in Classical Education (Location: HSR-METCE)
$5.00 $6.00 (4 in stock)
Climbing Parnassus
by Tracy Lee Simmons
from Intercollegiate Studies Institute
in Classical Education (Location: HSR-METCE)
$19.99
Common Arts Education
by Christopher Hall
from Classical Academic Press
for Adult
in Classical Education (Location: HSR-METCE)
$10.95
Consider This
by Karen Glass
from CreateSpace
for Adult
in Charlotte Mason Education (Location: HSR-METCM)
$13.95
Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum
by Laura M. Berquist
3rd edition from Ignatius Press
in Classical Education (Location: HSR-METCE)
$15.00 $10.00 (2 in stock)
Echo in Celebration
by Leigh A Bortins
1st edition from Classical Conversations
for Adult
in Classical Education (Location: HSR-METCE)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Education of Henry Adams
by Henry Adams
from Houghton Mifflin
for Adult
1919 Biography Pulitzer Prize
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
For the Children's Sake
by Susan Macaulay
from Crossway Books
for Adult
in Practical Home Schooling (Location: HSR-PRAC)
$14.39
For the Children's Sake
by Susan Macaulay
from Crossway Books
for Adult
in Practical Home Schooling (Location: HSR-PRAC)
$14.39
For the Love of Learning
by Jenny Sockey
from Xulon Press
in Charlotte Mason Education (Location: HSR-METCM)
$14.99
Free Range Learning
by Laura Grace Weldon
from Hohm Press
for Adult
in Clearance: Home School Resources (Location: ZCLE-HSR)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Home Grown Kids
by Raymond & Dorothy Moore
from Word Publishing
in Clearance: Home School Resources (Location: ZCLE-HSR)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
How Children Fail
by John Holt
Revised from Da Capo Press
for Adult
in Practical Home Schooling (Location: HSR-PRAC)
How Children Learn
by John Holt
Revised from Da Capo Press
for Adult
in Unschooling (Location: HSR-METUN)
How To Tutor
by Samuel Blumenfeld
from Paradigm Publishing
in Practical Home Schooling (Location: HSR-PRAC)
$16.00 $7.50 (1 in stock)
How To Tutor
by Samuel Blumenfeld
from Storehouse Press
in Practical Home Schooling (Location: HSR-PRAC)
$24.00
In Vital Harmony
by Karen Glass
from CreateSpace
for Adult
in Charlotte Mason Education (Location: HSR-METCM)
$14.95
Laying Down the Rails
by Sonya Shafer
from Simply Charlotte Mason
for Adult
in Charlotte Mason Education (Location: HSR-METCM)
Laying Down the Rails for Yourself
by Sonya Shafer
from Simply Charlotte Mason
for Adult
in Charlotte Mason Education (Location: HSR-METCM)
Lessons at Blackberry Inn
by Karen Andreola
from Charlotte Mason Research and Supply Co.
for Adult
in Charlotte Mason Education (Location: HSR-METCM)
$16.95
Mathematics: An Instrument for Living Teaching
by Richele Baburina
from Simply Charlotte Mason
for Adult
in Math Reference & Teaching Aids (Location: MATR-TA)
$13.00 (2 in stock)
Millstones & Stumbling Blocks
by Bradley E. Heath
from Fenestra Books
for Adult
in Practical Home Schooling (Location: HSR-PRAC)
$12.50 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Mind to Mind
by Charlotte M. Mason and Karen Glass
from CreateSpace
for Adult
in Charlotte Mason Education (Location: HSR-METCM)
$14.99
Modern Miss Mason
by Leah Boden
from Tyndale Momentum
for Adult
in Charlotte Mason Education (Location: HSR-METCM)
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More Charlotte Mason Education
by Catherine Levison
from Champion Press
for Adult
in Charlotte Mason Education (Location: HSR-METCM)
$14.99 $9.00 (2 in stock)
Norms & Nobility
by David V. Hicks
from University Press of America
for 11th-Adult
in Classical Education (Location: HSR-METCE)
Old Western Culture Year 1 Volume 1 - Reader
by Wesley Callihan
from Roman Roads Media
for 9th-Adult
in Old Western Culture (Location: LITCUR-OWC)
Original Home Schooling Series - 6 volume set
by Charlotte Mason
from Charlotte Mason Research and Supply Co.
in Charlotte Mason Education (Location: HSR-METCM)
Paideia of God and Other Essays on Education
by Doug Wilson
from Canon Press
in Classical Education (Location: HSR-METCE)
$8.00
Pattern of God's Truth
by Frank Gaebelein
from BMH Books
for Adult
in Practical Home Schooling (Location: HSR-PRAC)
$9.99
Pocketful of Pinecones
by Karen Andreola
from Charlotte Mason Research and Supply Co.
for Adult
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
Punished for Dreaming (ARC)
from St. Martin's Press
for Adult
in Secular vs. Christian Education (Location: HSR-PE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning
by Doug Wilson
from Crossway Books
in Classical Education (Location: HSR-METCE)
$9.00 (3 in stock)
Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning
by Doug Wilson
2nd edition from Canon Press
for Adult
in Classical Education (Location: HSR-METCE)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Repairing the Ruins
by Doug Wilson, editor
from Canon Press
in Classical Education (Location: HSR-METCE)
$14.50 $6.00 (3 in stock)
Seven Laws of Teaching
by John M. Gregory
from Canon Press
for Adult
in Classical Education (Location: HSR-METCE)
$14.00
Story of Charlotte Mason
by Essex Cholmondeley
from Lutterworth Press
for 11th-Adult
in Charlotte Mason Education (Location: HSR-METCM)
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Studying to be Quiet
by Laurie Bestvater
from Underpinning Press
for Adult
in Charlotte Mason Education (Location: HSR-METCM)
$11.00 (1 in stock)
Successful Homeschool Family Handbook
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
in Practical Home Schooling (Location: HSR-PRAC)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Teaching the Trivium
by Harvey & Laurie Bluedorn
from Trivium Pursuit
in Classical Education (Location: HSR-METCE)
$25.50
Tending the Heart of Virtue
by Vigen Guroian
unknown from Oxford University
in Literary Analysis & Reference (Location: LIR-LAR)
$36.95
The Core
by Leigh Bortins
1st edition from Palgrave MacMillan
in Classical Education (Location: HSR-METCE)
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The Question
by Leigh Bortins
from Classical Conversations
for Adult
in Classical Education (Location: HSR-METCE)
$16.00 $10.00 (4 in stock)
The Trivium
by Sister Miriam Joseph
from Paul Dry Books
for Adult
in Classical Education (Location: HSR-METCE)
$18.95
Thomas Jefferson Education Home Companion
by Rachel DeMille, Oliver DeMille, & Diann Jeppson
from George Wythe College
for Adult
in Thomas Jefferson Education (Location: HSR-METTJ)
$17.50 $9.00 (2 in stock)
Three R's
by Ruth Beechick
from Arrow Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Practical Home Schooling (Location: HSR-PRAC)
$12.00
Trivium Mastery
by Diane Lockman
from Outskirts Press
for Adult
in Classical Education (Location: HSR-METCE)
$21.95 $12.00 (1 in stock)
What Do I Do Monday?
Innovators in Education
by John Holt
from Heinemann Educational Books
in Unschooling (Location: HSR-METUN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
When Children Love to Learn
by Elaine Cooper, editor
from Crossway Books
for Adult
in Charlotte Mason Education (Location: HSR-METCM)
$15.99
Why Christian Kids Need a Christian Education
by Douglas Wilson
1st edition from Athanasius Press
for Adult
in Classical Education (Location: HSR-METCE)
$7.95
You Can Teach Your Child Successfully
by Ruth Beechick
from Arrow Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Practical Home Schooling (Location: HSR-PRAC)
$14.00