Classical Education Teaching Method and Curriculum Ideas

I thought that a good beginning post to the Three R's Academy would be to explore some of the teaching styles that are available to homeschoolers everywhere. As I started listing them, I thought, "I'd like to see more information on them in one place, as well". That is where this got long.

So I'm going to do a series on teaching styles. Today I'll be focusing on Classical Education.

Classical Education is completed in three phases.

Primary Education
Secondary Education
Tertiairy Education

Primary covers grammer, logic, and rhetoric. It is also called the trivium.

Grammer studies language skills, reading and writing. This is geared towared elementary school age children.

Logic is reasoning. More to the ability to do so. It is normally taught when when a child is in middle school.

Rhetoric would be to debate and create compositions.

Secondary Education is called the quadrivium. Astronomy, arithmetic, music and geometry is learned at this time.

Tertiary education was taught by someone in the profession that one was interested in. One learned by hands on usually doing all of the masters business.

For some ideas for applying classical education to your homeschooling experience, try this site.

Be sure to come back to see more about other teaching styles, for instance:

• Charlotte Mason Teaching Style


• Child-led / Unschooling


• Computer Learning


• Eclectic


• The Moore Formula


• Textbook Learning


• Unit Studies

Child-led / Unschooling Teaching Method and Free Curriculum

I thought that a good beginning post to the Three R's Academy would be to explore some of the teaching styles that are available to homeschoolers everywhere. As I started listing them, I thought, "I'd like to see more information on them in one place, as well". That is where this got long.

So I'm going to do a series on teaching styles. Today I'll be focusing on Child-led or Unschooling.

The term unschooling was coined by John Holt. After many years supporting and speaking for school reform, Holt felt that the changes he as working for was not supported. He had been labeled "a 'social critic' or 'public intellectual' rather than just a school reformer." As soon as he heard about homeschooling, Holt was an instant supporter.

In John Holt's opinion, "People, even children, are educated much more by the whole society around them and the general quality of life in it than they are by what happens in schools."

Not everyone is on board with the unschooling or child led way of learning. The Best and Wisest Parent by Susan Douglas Franzosa suggests:

John Holt visualizes exemplary parents, exemplary children—and an excrable society.

Today unschooling is understood to be the use of no formal curriculum but make use of the all the learning opportunities that you find in every day in life. Unschooling does not force information on children before they are ready for it. In theory a child will ask you to explain things and that is when you teach them.

Some free curriculum that follows the Unschooling method can be found right in your home. Anything that you do with your child can be a learning experience; from baking great grandma's secret cake recipe (history, science, cooking, math, and communication) to taking a walk in a flower garden (life cycle of a plant, types of plants, earth science, math, history, and communication).

Be sure to come back to see more about other teaching styles, for instance:

• Charlotte Mason Teaching Style


• Classical Education


• Computer Learning


• Eclectic


• The Moore Formula


• Textbook Learning


• Unit Studies

Charlotte Mason Teaching Method and Free Curriculum

I thought that a good beginning post to the Three R's Academy would be to explore some of the teaching styles that are available to homeschoolers everywhere. As I started listing them, I thought, "I'd like to see more information on them in one place, as well". That is where this got long.

So I'm going to do a series on teaching styles. Today I'll be focusing on Charlotte Mason.

Charlotte Mason or CM, developed her vision for "a liberal education for all", in the 1800's. She did this because English children were educated according to social class; the poorer were taught a trade, and the fine arts and literature were reserved for the richer class.

According to Charlotte, she envision "liberal," to be a generous and broad curriculum for all children, regardless of social class.

According to the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU), "Liberal education is termed "a philosophy of education that empowers individuals with broad knowledge and transferable skills, and a stronger sense of values, ethics, and civic engagement ... characterized by challenging encounters with important issues, and more a way of studying than a specific course or field of study".

Using the CM Method your subjects are taught using "living books" In other words, you don't use textbooks, but you do use books which make the subject more interesting for the student. It uses nature study as a way to learn about science and the world around you.

You can find a free curriculum that follows the Charlotte Mason Teaching Style at Ambleside Online.

Be sure to come back to see more about other teaching styles, for instance:

• Child-led / Unschooling


• Classical Education


• Computer Learning


• Eclectic


• The Moore Formula


• Textbook Learning


• Unit Studies