At our September meeting we discussed a variety of homeschooling styles. Perhaps the greatest strength of homeschooling is that you can change what you're doing when something isn't working! For a good introduction to homeschooling styles, check out this "Homeschooling 101" page at about.com. If you scroll down, you'll see an introduction to a variety of homeschooling styles, including Montessori, Waldorf, Eclectic, Classical, and Charlotte Mason. We also discussed Thomas Jefferson Education for a bit, a method that provides some structure and a lot of child-led learning. And never forget unschooling, which may defy easy definition but has lots of proponents. One of the most popular websites for finding more about unschooling is run by Sandra Dodd.
The local libraries have lots of books about homeschooling, and that is a great place to get more detailed information after you've done some research online. Remember - you don't have to plan 12 years at once! You just need to have an idea of what to do for the next few weeks or months, and you can change your plans at any time. If you really feel lost, spend some time just going to the library frequently with your child, and see what kinds of books they're most interested in while you figure out what you want your learning environment to look like.
