Many of us grew up in systems where nearly every aspect of our learning was decided for us. We didn’t have to pick which core subjects to study, which curriculum we would use, or what progression we would follow. The school decided it all; we simply had to show up, follow along and stay on track.
But as homeschoolers, decisions abound! How many hours a day should we be working? It’s up to you! Which books should we use? Up to you again. What subjects do we cover? Also up to you, in some states anyway. Even when you live in a state that mandates specific subjects, you still have a lot of choices when it comes to materials and curriculum.
For some families, getting to make these choices feels freeing as you finally get the opportunity to curate an education that aligns with your family’s values and style of learning. For other families, the sheer amount of choices out there feels overwhelming and adds stress.
Something I’ve noticed over the years when it comes to picking curriculum for our family is that many are developed according to established philosophies and/or styles of education. Understanding these foundational ideas behind the curriculum can serve as a shortcut to identifying the kinds of resources that work best for your family.
Choosing the Right Approach for Your Family
There is no wrong or right homeschool style. There is simply the one that works best for your family.
Finding a style that works may take some trial and error but it helps greatly to have a solid understanding of how your children learn and to select resources that are in-line with their unique needs.
Here is a brief summary of common homeschooling styles, examples of what their approaches look like, as well as a few links to help you get started exploring, inshaAllah.
1. School at Home
School at Home isn’t a philosophy but a general approach to homeschooling that involves recreating formal aspects of brick and mortar schooling (like schedules, specific subjects, testing, and state standards) at home.
I’m covering it first because it's an approach that is often taken by new homeschoolers who feel overwhelmed by too many choices. It’s also seen among homeschoolers who live in states with strict homeschooling laws, homeschooling families with two working parents, as well as teenage homeschoolers who want to ensure that credits are fulfilled for their highschool and/or college requirements.
School at home can look like many things and be rooted in a variety of educational philosophies. It often involves opting for an all-in-one type of curriculum that will cover a range of core subjects, progress in a structured way, and include all of the materials, instruction, and transcripts for you. While the school at home approach can be found in book format, it is gaining popularity as a virtual/distance learning platform offered through public charters and private educational providers.
For families who choose homeschooling to have more freedom from the more structured aspects of educating, the school at home approach can feel restrictive and too traditional. For families interested in open and go learning that meets state requirements, school at home can be a solid option.
Note: Some states do not consider full-time online schooling as meeting the legal definition of home education. In order to legally pursue virtual learning options from home, you may still need to register with your local school district or charter as a distance student (which would remove your family from the homeschooling category). Thoroughly research your state’s definition of homeschooling and the legal requirements before you begin.
Here are a few examples of school at home options:
Power Homeschool - Complete Online Courses for Grades K-12
Oak Meadow - Waldorf Inspired, Accredited Distance Learning for Grades K-12
Book Shark - Complete Literature Based Homeschool Curriculum
2. Classical Education
Classical Education is a language based, academically rigorous approach to homeschooling that is founded upon the trivium, a three stage process of learning. In the Grammar Stage (early grades) children are focused on facts, rules, and memorization. Middle School begins the Logic Stage where children explore relationships between knowledge, cause and effect, abstract thought, and deeper questioning. The Rhetoric Stage is where older students begin to use their foundation of knowledge and logic to express their original thoughts and opinions.
Classical homeschoolers tend to emphasize core subject learning such as math, reading, writing, grammar, science, history, foreign language (often Latin) and language practices like copywork, dictation, and narration across subjects. Emphasis is also given to “classical works” of literature across subjects as well.
Recently, some classical education providers have come under criticism for emphasizing Eurocentric perspectives and resources in their materials (a common issue in education). Muslims should also be aware that many classical education providers are Chrsitian-based and lean towards Christian teachings in their materials, though it is not difficult to adapt the teachings to Islamic perspectives.
Classical resources can be found as both book-based and online learning formats, and often involve piecing together different materials to form your core curriculum.
Here is an example of a classical education model:
The Well Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education At Home
3. Montessori Education
Montessori is a child-centered approach to learning that fosters creativity, curiosity, independence, and self-regulation while honoring individual learning styles.
You’ve probably seen or at least heard of Montessori methods being employed in classrooms around the world, especially at the lower grade levels. Adapting it in your homeschool is similar with an emphasis on living by the core principles and creating an environment that supports your child’s interests.
Homeschoolers who use Montessori methods often have hands-on materials that are kept within easy reach for their children. There is also a heavy element of child-led learning and facilitating the child’s exploration rather than giving direct instruction. Children are often included in real life activities learning to use real tools and experiences rather than toy imitation items or strictly textbook learning. For example, instead of only reading about nutrition and coloring in a food pyramid worksheet, you and your child might learn about food by getting in the kitchen and actually cooking healthy meals together every week.
Montessori-style curricula can be found for homeschoolers in many subjects. I used a Montessori inspired math curriculum for my children from KG to 5th grade and it gave them a strong foundation in math, Alhamdulilah.
Authentic Montessori materials can get expensive. To save money, many homeschooling families who use Montessori choose to create their own materials and plans.
Here is a nice resource that explains the Montessori philosophy and some examples of Montessori materials:
The Absorbent Mind by Maria Montessori
Guidepost Homeschool - Complete Montessori Framework for Ages 2-12
4. Charlotte Mason
The Charlotte Mason style of education was developed with the goal of respecting the child as an individual and providing them with a “feast” of ideas. This approach usually covers all the core academic subjects as well as nature studies, art, music, handicrafts, character building, and training in life-long habits.
Charlotte Mason famously summed up her philosophy toward education as “an atmosphere, a discipline, a life.” The main idea is that education is not compartmentalized or disconnected from everyday life; it flows in and about all the parts of a child’s experience as they grow.
In a Charlotte Mason homeschool, learning is often considered as something that can happen all the time, anytime. Learning doesn’t exist only between the hours of 8am and 2pm or within the covers of a workbook. A child’s personal interests and curiosities are also given high value. My son’s love for Lego© building gets just as much respect and attention as his daily math lessons and both are valued as real learning.
Homeschoolers who use Charlotte Mason approaches often engage in fine art studies, nature-based learning and play, and language practices like copywork and poetry readings. There is also an emphasis on providing children with language rich, quality literary works to read and copy from as opposed to many modern children’s books that are made using slang vocabulary or crude, slapstick humor.
Here are some resources that are based on the Charlotte Mason Method:
Our Muslim Homeschool - Islamic Homeschooling with the Charlotte Mason Method
Ambleside Online - Complete FREE K-12 Charlotte Mason Curriculum for Homeschoolers
Note: This is a Chrisitan-based resource but it is also very thorough and well-planned. References to faith principles not in line with Islamic values can easily be left out or substituted.
ROOTS Quranic Copywork and Activity Book - Copywork from the Qur’an for Young Children
5. Waldorf
A Waldorf education is one that emphasizes creative, artistic, and practical pursuits across all areas of learning. At its core, a child’s educational development is broken into three distinct stages, each lasting for about seven years. The first seven years of a child’s development is focused on play-based learning. The middle seven years (elementary years) is when academics are incorporated. The final seven years (secondary education) focuses on critical thinking and engaging with the community.
Waldorf homeschoolers often stand out by the sheer beauty of their work, materials and lessons. All subjects are studied in ways that include art, color, storytelling, and recognition of patterns and relationships. There is also a strong emphasis on practical handicrafts, engaging with nature and imaginary play.
One of my favorite Waldorf practices is their block scheduling of subjects. Instead of covering five or six subjects in the same day for 30-40 minutes, block scheduling encourages less subjects at a time with deeper, longer dives over an extended time frame (block). For example, I might focus only on world history and geometry over a six-week period, really digging into both each day, and leave off everything else (in Waldorf these are called Main Lesson Blocks). When that block of time is finished, we might spend the next six weeks focused on biology labs and essay writing.
I’ve used this method of scheduling for many years in our homeschool and it works beautifully, providing more time for my children to immerse themselves in an area of interest without the overwhelm of me having to juggle materials and resources for too many things at once.
Here are some examples of materials based on the Waldorf method:
Pepper and Pine - Islamic Homeschooling with the Waldorf Method
Oak Meadow - Waldorf Inspired, Accredited Distance Learning for Grades K-12
6. Unschooling
Unschooling is about allowing your child as much freedom as possible to direct their own learning and focus on their personal interests.
Unfortunately, it’s an approach that often gets a bad reputation as unschooling families are perceived to be “doing nothing” simply because their approach doesn’t fit easily into timed schedules, standards based checkboxes, or structured routines.
I think the biggest misconception is that unschoolers cannot use curriculum or structured materials for their children. While some unschooling families may prefer to not use these types of materials regularly, it doesn’t mean that a formal curriculum can never be used or that it can’t be exactly what your child needs in order to pursue her passions and goals.
Over the years I’ve personally grown more and more to love the unschool approach and often incorporate methods of self-directed learning into our homeschool throughout the year. The main difference between unschooling and other homeschooling styles is that there is little planning done ahead of time and parents are much more a facilitator for their children rather than a teacher.
A lot of trust is extended toward the child to manage their time and remain productive in their pursuits, training the child to better recognize and express their own needs, take ownership of their education, and carve their own path forward.
Here is a nice resource by Dr. Saira Siddiqui, an unschooler:
Confessions of a Muslim Mom - Unschooling and Decolonizing Education Blog
Some Important Notes
Again, I want to reiterate that there is no wrong or right homeschool style. There is simply the one that works best for your family. You can also leave yourself open to mixing and matching styles as needed, which is officially called Eclectic Homeschooling.
My own family has had years where our history studies were Classical, our math was Montessori, and our science was all Charlotte Mason. The past two years, we’ve taken mainly an unschool approach while incorporating everyday methods and habits from multiple styles.
I’ve found mixing and matching especially helpful while homeschooling multiple children because each child’s personality is different and each can have very different learning needs. If you don’t yet know how your child learns best, start talking to them. Have a family meeting and ask them how and what they like to learn. Take the summer to allow your child free exploration and observe them in their element. Take mental notes about how they like to spend their time and what topics they get excited about.
Remember, homeschooling gives you the opportunity to curate an education that is truly meaningful for your family. By deeply understanding your family’s particular needs, making homeschool choices becomes a whole lot easier.
Melissa Barreto is a homeschooling mother of five children and the Co-Founder of Wildflower Homeschool Collective, a homeschool organization based in Northern New Jersey.
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