Homeschooling

Archive for April, 2010

Question: Are there Homeschooling Programs where the parents teach the children, not some "teacher" over the Internet?

I'll have a B.A. in Elementary Education and a M.A. in English Language and Literature so I'll be qualified to teach my kids. I thought the point of homeschool was so the PARENTS can teach the kids.

Answer: Yes, there are innumerable ways to teach your own children. You had an earlier question about k12 and that curriculum is marketed three different ways. There are (1) public schools online, (2) private online schools, and (3) parents can purchase the textbooks and printed materials separately and teach it on their own. So if you liked that curriculum, that is still a possibility. It is one of the better secular curriculums available. Go to the parent's 'buy direct' section on the website and order only the books, not the online package.

However, since you really want to be your children's teacher (and I agree that is the best kind of Homeschooling!) then you should take the time to find materials that will fit your children's learning style. That will take a bit of research, but since you are studying in this area anyway, I think you will probably find the research interesting. You will find that parent-directed homeschool is very, very different from classrooms at home.

One of the most comprehensive is Cathy Duffy's website: http://www.cathyduffyreviews.com/ Be sure to check out the "Approaches to Education" page from the left menu.

Homeschool reviews, http://www.homeschoolreviews.com/reviews/curriculum/showall.aspx, reviews curriculum choices, but everything is listed in alphabetical order. If you know a title and want more information, it is great; but if you are wanting to limit your search to a special teaching style or philosophy, it is hard to navigate.

Another site worth researching is http://www.hslda.org/EarlyYears/Resources.asp
This will lean toward Christian materials, but it explains the basics of finding materials very well no matter what your faith.

California Treasures Literature Program

This section, we discuss Visual vs Auditory Learning Styles. Comparing visual vs auditory learning, auditory learning may be abit more in depth and rare. More people are of visual style vs. Auditory Learning Style. However, a vast number of people are both visual learner and auditory learner.

Visual vs Auditory Learning

Visual vs Auditory learning benefits

Visual Learning Styles are able to learn by observing silently, watching what's going and learning what they see. It's a skill that people with Visual Learning Style possess to be able to extrapolate the situation from just seeing things. Auditory Learning Styles, on the other hand, rely on someone saying things to them and hearing things said out loud.

Which is better, visual vs auditory Learning Styles?

Both Learning Styles (visual and auditory Learning Styles) are useful when learning in different situations. When a demonstration is in place, you need to use the visual (vs auditory) learning style and when a verbal instruction is given, the auditory Learning Styles will come in handy.

Differences in teaching visual vs auditory Learning Styles

When teaching visual vs auditory Learning Styles, you need to use different techniques and strategies. When reading from a book, you can show visual learners diagrams and pictures in the book whereas you can read and explain verbally to the auditory learner. Different learning style tools are also needed. Diagrams, pictures, puzzles, crayons and other physical tools are good for kids with visual Learning Styles whereas audio tapes will be good for children with auditory learning styles.