5 Days of Popular Homeschool Teaching Methods~Day 5: What is Eclectic Homeschooling? {5 Days of Homeschool Blog Hop}

Here we are on the last day of my blog hop all about Popular Homeschool Teaching Methods! Thus far, we have chatted about why knowing your teaching method is important, and I have shared with you information about what the Charlotte Mason, Classical, and Unit Study approaches look like, including pros and cons for each.

I have also mentioned what aspects of each approach we have used as a family, yet each time have mentioned that it STILL isn't the method that we use. Well, today I am going to talk about the method that we use--one that isn't in the list of usual methods, yet is gaining popularity among the homeschooling community. Today I am going to talk about the Eclectic Homeschooling method!

The links on this blog and in the posts may be affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for full details and thank you for your support!

What is the Eclectic Homeschooling method?

To begin with, let me share with you the definition of eclectic: deriving ideas, style, or taste from abroad and diverse range of sources. In life, many of us have eclectic tastes, especially when it comes to things like entertainment. Some use it to describe clothes. We know it means that the person likes a little bit of this, and a little bit of that, but never just one thing.

Are you getting the idea on how this works for homeschooling? In an eclectic approach, there is

5 Days of Popular Homeschool Teaching Methods~Day 4: What is Unit Study? {5 Days of Homeschool Blog Hop}

Welcome to my fourth installment of my Popular Homeschool Teaching Methods series! I hope you ahve been enjoying my discussion this week. Thus far, we have spoken about why knowing your teaching method style is important, and I have explained what the Charlotte Mason and Classical method are all about. I also have mentioned that I have not yet shared the style that our family relates to the most yet--could it be today? Let's talk about another of the popular homeschool teaching methods: Unit Study!

The links on this blog and in the posts may be affiliate links. 

Please see my disclosure policy for full details and thank you for your support!

What is the Unit Study teaching method?

Before we go any further, let's take a minute to talk about what a Unit Style teaching method is all about. In the unit study method you find find the following to be true:

5 Days of Popular Homeschool Teaching Methods ~ Day 3: What is a Classical Teaching Method? {5 Days of Homeschool Blog Hop}

The links on this blog and in the posts may be affiliate links. 
Please see my disclosure policy for full details and thank you for your support!
Welcome back to Day 3 of my 5 Day series about Popular Homeschool Teaching Methods! Yesterday, I discussed a widely popular method called Charlotte Mason. Today, I'm going to jump to the other side of the method style, to explore a more rigorous and academic focused method. It too is one of the most popular methods, although it looks very very different from Charlotte Mason.

Today we are going to explore the Classical Teaching Method!

What Is a Classical Teaching Method?

Interestingly enough, the Classical teaching method pulls third on my list of compatible teaching methods, and it really isn't THAT big of a surprise, because Classical teaching revolves around...books! It is a very visually oriented teaching style, because it is predominately

5 Days of Popular Homeschool Teaching Methods ~ Day 2: What is the Charlotte Mason teaching Method? {5 Days of Homeschool Blog Hop}

The links on this blog and in the posts may be affiliate links. 

Please see my disclosure policy for full details and thank you for your support!

Throughout this week I am continuing to share with you some of the Popular Homeschool Teaching Methods that you will find discussed among the homeschooling community. Many of you already know your method--some might be just finding out what they lean to. I woulnd't be surprised is many of you have discovered that your style leans towards the Charlotte Mason method. Because that name is bantered around all the time, I thought I would take a moment today to share WHAT Charlotte Mason method is.

What Is the Charlotte Mason Teaching Method?

Before we get into what the method is, let's quickly touch basis on WHO Charlotte Mason was.

(all of this information can be found by simply typing in her name online--sources are vast, but I like Simply Charlotte Mason the best)

Charlotte Mason was a British educator who lived 1842-1923, who invested her life in improving childhood education. Living during a time when education was determined by social status (poor taught a trade, rich were allowed to study fine arts and literature), she envisioned a more broad curriculum that included

5 Days of Popular Homeschool Teaching Methods~ Day 1: The Importance of Knowing Your Homeschool Teaching Method {5 Days of Homeschool Blog Hop}

Welcome to the kickoff day of a week focused on Popular Homeschool Teaching Methods. Before we start talking about any particular homeschool teaching method, it is important to start with understanding what a homeschool teaching method is, and why it's important. Let's dive right into today's post.

What Is A Homeschool Teaching Method?

I started homeschooling right from the get-go. I had a 5 year old who we were getting ready for public school kindergarten registration, when all of a sudden, my husband decided he didn't want to go that route. I was back in college finishing up a teaching degree, but was still just a junior, so not in a critical stage. I remember him asking me if we could do it. I didn't even blink. YES! Did I know anything about homeschool teaching methods? Nope. Did I know about them the next year? Nope. I didn't really know about them until we were preparing for 2nd grade. That's when I stumbled onto an assessment. I took it, and low and behold, discovered I had a "homeschooling teaching method".

Okay. So maybe it's not quite like that. It's more like I discovered that my personal philosophy on education and schooling, matched a particular teaching method (aka philosophy) popular in the homeschooling world. Two of them actually. Charlotte Mason and Unit Study.

So if you want to know WHAT a teaching method is--here is how I would define a teaching method:

Popular Homeschool Teaching Methods~Introduction {5 Days of Homeschool Blog Hop}

Hello my friends! It's that time of year again--time for another Schoolhouse Review Crew 5 Days Of Homeschool...blog hop! That's where my team members and I each share a series of 5 posts centered around any theme relating to homeschool. And that means just about anything goes! There are topics relating to just about anyone and anything homeschool. It was sort of hard to think about what I was going to talk about...but lately, I've been giving a lot of guidance and encouragement around one thing--Teaching Methods. So for this week, I decided that I would spend my time talking about Popular Homeschool Teaching Methods!

It amazes me how many people who homeschool give me a blank stare when I ask them what their teaching method is...I usually ask, after hearing them talking about troubles finding JUST the right curriculum, or talking about burnout, or routine...all of these things play into knowing what your homeschool teaching method is--so I really wanted to spend some time sharing information to help these parents learn more about what they are--and in turn, more about THEMSELVES.

Here is how the week is (hopefully) going to play out:

➤Day 1 (Monday): What IS a teaching method and why is it important?
➤Day 2 (Tuesday): What is the Charlotte Mason Teaching Method? 
➤Day 3 (Wednesday): What is the Classical Teaching Method? 
➤Day 4 (Thursday): What is the Unit Study Teaching Method? 
➤Day 5 (Friday): What is the Eclectic Teaching Method? 

As each of these posts go LIVE, I will be linking them up to this landing page, so you can find them all together for easy navigation!

I hope that you will join me as I explore this important aspect of homeschool, and why I think it is so important for every homeschool family to know. I truly believe that it can really help ease some of the stress in a homeschool--so why not explore it?!

Don't forget to check out the list of other topics from my fellow bloggers on the Homeschool Review Crew website!

Here are some topics to whet your whistle:

*Melissa B – 5 Days of Extracurriculars to Add to Your Homeschool – Enrich your homeschool experience with extra curriculars. This week, we’ll highlight some of our favorites!

*Meredith D – 5 Days of Homeschooling a High Achiever. – Homeschooling a high achiever just happened to us and now we’re facing a high schooler who may graduate at 16. We address how this happens and how to handle from this point forward.

*Missica J – 5 Days of Eclectic Homeschooling with Special Needs – This first post is to introduce what will be discussed over the Blog Hop

*Monique G – 5 Days of Homeschooling the Middle School Years –  I will be talking about changes that come with middle school, independent learning, read a-louds, and how to survive.

*Rebekah T – 5 days of Simple Homeschooling in a Complicated World – Life got you down? This series will provide practical ideas to help you implement a simple homeschool lifestyle no matter what your circumstances.

Do any of these strike your fancy yet? Have a lovely week!